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Pruning back Gro-Low Sumac

11 years ago

Newbie in over my head here!

I have a big section of gro-lo sumac in my yard -- about 12 feet x 6 feet. It is overtaking a wall and covering up lighting fixtures. I trimmed it back a bit, but when I removed the green stems, I found that underneath was a tangle of brown stems and it looks unattractive.

Is it OK to prune it back now, or do I need to wait until a different season? Will it damage the plants to prune at all? Can I just get in there and hack away with hedge clippers, or does each branch need to be cut at a particular place? How much can I safely remove? Any other info you have about this groundcover/shrub will be very much appreciated!

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Comment (1)

pinusresinosa
11 years ago
This shrub does well pruned back in later winter, like a lot of shrubs. You can prune that old tangled growth down to the ground, as it'll be quickly replaced by new shoots in the spring.

Between cuts, keep a cup of rubbing alcohol by you to dip the pruners in between each cut to keep the probability of disease from spreading- just as a precaution.

For a future idea, pachysandra is a great ground cover that doesn't require pruning or cleaning up. It should be more widely used, as it is a tame and beautiful, tough ground cover. I added a link to what I'm talking about here.

Hope this helps!

Here is a link that might be useful: Pachysandra Green Sheen
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