Is it ok to round out a potentilla bush or it would not bloom after?
I have several potentilla plants with cheery bright yellow buttercup-like flowers. Please, advise if I can round out a potentilla bush? Mine is really unruly and I would kinda like to tide it up and round it. But I’ve heard that if I do it, the plant would not bloom after. Is that correct?
Thank you!
My potentilla bush blooming
I wouldn’t recommend to prune the potentilla bush to a round form. It is better to cut out the oldest canes at the base of the plant. To me, a natural shape of the plant is more attractive and healthier for the shrub.
Most blooming deciduous shrubs should never be rounded out. You can do selective pruning and then remove the oldest canes right back to the soil line each year.
This will keep your plant in an attractive informal form and provide continuous blooming along with fresh new growth. The rounding out will leave a bunch of sticks with a witch’s broom type of growth, something completely unnatural.
