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2ajsmama

Help with 6 yr old Siberian cypress Microbiota decussata

2ajsmama
9 years ago

These have spread nicely - actually a bit too much, they were overgrowing the walkway so DH cut them back last fall. WAY back! I prefer the drooping feathery look, and want to hide the black plastic edging. He chopped it back even (or just behind) in a straight line.

The oldest "layers" at the bottom are dying - should I cut these back to the middle now? I know they're normally pruned much earlier in the year, but since these are dead DRY brown not the normal winter bronze, it can't hurt, can it?

And should I just live with the buzz cut for the summer and fall, then prune next March after the worst of the winter is over and (hopefully) the snow won't be covering them? I found this quote on louis the gardening geek:

"Because its spread is almost indefinite, Microbiota will eventually outgrow any planting area bordered by grass or pathway. Only a few years after planting, you will need to prune. Do this in early Spring so that new growth will cover the stubs of cut branches.

If you have the patience, prune Microbiota as if you had first learned how to maintain Farrah Fawcett's feathery mane, and were now keeping her memory alive horticulturally. Work on individual tresses, I mean branches; don't be afraid of cutting a stem back substantially. Start feathering farther back into the colony than you would at first think, so that the colony is thinned as well as shortened. A gradual slope out to the perimeter is preferable to the crude little cliff of a blunt cut; admittedly, it's a much more time-consuming look to achieve. If it was good enough for Farrah, it's good enough for your Microbiota. "

So thin them out, maybe take the chopped branches way back to the center, and let the shorter branches on top grow out over them? And keep DH away!

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