Garden Q&A: When should I cut back my viburnum shrub?

Whether you're a gardening beginner or expert, Irish Examiner columnist Peter Dowdall has the answer to your questions

Viburnum Dawn budding in the New York High Line Park. Picture: iStock

QUESTION

My Viburnum x bodnantense ‘Dawn’ is in flower at the moment but I need to cut it back as it is encroaching on the driveway, where I park the car. 

When should I cut it back?

ANSWER

My immediate thought is to park the car somewhere else and leave the beautiful viburnum alone to do her thing. 

My immediate thought is to park the car somewhere else and leave the beautiful viburnum alone

The strongly scented pink/white blooms of Viburnum x bodnantense ‘Dawn’ are truly one of the highlights of the winter garden and a good rule of thumb for all winter and early-spring flowering shrubs is to cut them back immediately after flowering. 

The blooms are a highlight of the winter garden

From a horticulture point of view, they don’t need cutting back once established but obviously in cases where they need to be cut back such as here or if they are simply getting too big for their allotted space, then the good news is that Dawn will tolerate and respond well to a severe haircut if needed.

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