Hebe Caledonian

[BooseysMom]

Hi, does anyone know whether I should prune this Hebe around now? It had beautiful lavender blue flowers through the summer but looks a bit poorly now
Thanks.

If you want to prune it, now is as good a time as any. Also take it out of the pot and change the soil - the soil will be a bit exhausted by now.

@MereDintofPandiculation.. Thank you for the advice. I'm lazy when it comes to replenishing compost and must have lost many a plant this way. I don't want to lose this one so will get it changed! Thanks again

I think Hebes should be pruned in spring/ March just before they start growing again. You could rejuvenate the soil then
They are a bit like Lavender and shouldn’t be pruned into the old hard wood.

@Beebumble2.. thank you for the advice. I have made a note to prune and rejuvenate the soil next March. Attached is a pic of it flowering. I def don't want to kill this one. It's so pretty and the hoverflies love it

Ah just realised i posted the wrong pic, sorry!

Looks pretty, though. Hebes are quite tough, but maybe next early summer you could take some cuttings, they’re easy to do. Then you’ll have some standby plants.

That's a brilliant idea thanks! This is my first ever proper garden so lots of learning to do! I don't know where the actual photo of the hebe went but the flowers are the same colour as the one attached

Rule of thumb for pruning is "after flowering", so spring flowering things are pruned in late spring, etc. But with late flowering things, you can prune them in autumn, but usually you leave them till early spring when they're about to burst into growth again. Pruning in autumn gives the risk of early regrowth which is susceptible to frost, late opens them to wind-rock, compaction of soil round the root ball, and rotting roots. For most people, the frost danger is greater than the wind rock danger. Hence the dichotomy of timing advice in the replies so far.

@MereDintofPandiculation ...thanks for the info on pruning. That's very useful. I've always been a bit confused about when to prune certain plants