Yes, if in fact top-dead, you may as well get the saw out and cut to ground. What have you to lose? I do, however, wonder why an entire row of these would be stone-dead suddenly. But in any case, why not give it a try?

+oM

i find it hard to believe.. that Hs already bloomed in KY ... are you sure???

give them at least another month ... and see how they sprout out ... you can prune or make your decision in late june ...

if it is just winter damage ... and with no insult to the root mass.. these things regenerate incredibly fast ... once they get going ....

a pic.. would sure explain.. more than i can dream up.. without such

ken

bacino,

Honeysuckle bush lives about 20 years, give or take. Sounds like its getting harder for it to bounce back from winter due to age. Just saying.

Thought i would update you on my bushes. Cut them down to about 3 feet over the past 2 weeks and now they are growing back from the ground and base and appear to be very healthy. In fact they seem to grow a half foot overnight. Cutting them was a LOT of work so I am hoping that they will not require this again! Thanks for all the input.

coming out at the 3 feet you cut them at.. or down at the ground ??

i might remove the 3 foot stakes if its coming from below... while you have easy access ...

ken

Ken-adrian, I'm interested in your recommendation to prune the dead wood to the ground. I have often been lazy about doing that with sprawling shrubs like spirea. I reach in with the loppers and take out what I can reach. Is it better for the rejuvenation, or aesthetics? Thanks.