Plumbago - Pruning for Winter

Today is the day I took a leap of faith and pruned the Plumbago for the coming winter.


Following my light trim I decided it was time and I read so many articles which said that it doesn't really matter when and how much you prune a Plumbago it will come back stronger than ever.  I saw a picture of one pruned all the way to the ground!  I didn't go so far but I definitely took off a big chunk.  I would say a third of it is gone which should be ok (I hope).

Plumbago before pruning

I decided to cut off all the right section which is trailing on the ground.  That section has been hard to keep under control and I decided to cut all of it out and then control the stems better when they start growing back.  

I took the shears and cut the main stems straight off careful to keep a 45 degree angle.  I didn't manage at first and the stem broke off in a million pieces.  This is dangerous for the plant as it can bring disease.

Cutting the stem incorrectly

Cutting the stem correct at 45 degrees

I realized it's actually very simple to do this if you hold the shears straight.  I was trying to hold it at an angle...  I made sure to cut down the stems to where there where new buds so as to encourage growth at the lower end of the plant.

Stems cut off

It was a bit hard at first because I cut off so many flowers and buds :(  To think it took all year to get some decent growth out of the plant and now I cut a lot of it off.  I believe however that in the end it will be worth it and I will have denser foliage and a spurge of flowers as soon as it recovers.  I transferred the plant to a sunny spot on our roof now because I was not getting enough sun in the yard.  

Here it is nice and pruned:

Plumbago after pruning

I wanted to trim off the parts on top as well to shape it a bit better but I was afraid to, I thought perhaps I would be chopping off too much.  The soil is still damp from this week's rain so I let it be.  When it dries I will give it some fertilizer  to help it a bit.  The sun will also be beneficial I think, let's hope it doesn't rain any time soon to give it some rest.