I've never had great success with Ninebarks in lots of sun - they get along ok but don't really flourish. Last summer I moved two of them into what I would call mostly sun (so 6 hours of sun instead of 9 like their previous location) and they seem to be doing much better - fuller and more erect. So my guess is the location of your floppy one is just getting too much sun.

Hmm... interesting. It is also getting reflected sun from the south side of my house. Perhaps I will move it to a less sunny location. Thanks Brigitte.

Hmm... interesting. It is also getting reflected sun from the south side of my house. Perhaps I will move it to a less sunny location. Thanks Brigitte.

Actually I would leave it where it is. Some ninebarks take a season or two before a proliferation of upright shoots develop from the root system. Give it another year and it will start growing more upright.

Good advice, Iowa. I actually wasn't going to move it this year anyways. I messed my shoulder up a couple of weeks ago and it's in no condition to be digging up plants right. Lol

We planted two summerwine last August. How old are yours? It was my understanding that they get 5-7' high and wide --I am curious if you planned on this based on where you put them.

Ours are not as bushy as yours but taller. I am thinking we should cut them back this fall to encourage them to grow fuller. They seem somewhat slow growing but then again we only planted them last August and we have a short season here in Michigan.

My Ninebark Summer Wine was planted four years ago. Yes, they do get 5-6' tall and wide; maybe bigger than that depending where you live. I do cut mine back so it doesn't crowd out the Goldmound spireas flanking it. However, I don't cut mine back in the fall. Ninebarks bloom on old wood, so I cut mine back right after the blooms have faded, which is usually mid to late May. This gives time for the plant to recover, (and it will recover FAST), so that it still blooms again next spring. In fact, I'm getting ready to cut back "Mr. Floppy Branches" by about half this weekend.

Did your summer wine turn out? I ask because I am planning on moving mine which was right outside my window in a location similar to where yours was originally..but now I am moving to a location with full sun..I don't want to to lose its luster so to speak, so I'm curious how it's looking since the move?

Hi, Nessdizzle. I actually didn't cut my Ninebark back last summer. I just left it alone, and it turned out great. Below is a pic I took last week of it, and just for kicks I included a pic I have of it approximately 3 1/2 years ago when I first planted it. Its really developed into a beautiful shrub. It reminds me of one of those weight loss before and after photo shots. Lol

April 27, 2017

September 4, 2013

Looks great! I have my ninebark that I want to move but I'm nervous it will really struggle because here where I live it can be 60 degrees for a few days, and then go straight to 80+degrees for weeks on end with no rain in sight...so I have to just be sure I'm ready to move it because time is of the essence lol...but I, happy to see how great yours is doing because it looked so sad in the first transplant picture..I thought for sure mine would do the same...and it still might..but knowing yours came back like that makes me feel better about it. So thank you :)

All pictures show 'Summer Wine' Ninebark, much, much too close to the house. My 'Summer Wine' is easily 7 feet tall and 7-8 feet wide and in full sun in zone 6a heading fast to 7.

You certainly don't want any shrub crushed up against the side of a house--bad for the house, bad for the shrub. In the last picture, the ninebark is planted as close to the house as a small flowering plant. It won't work.

Mine is planted somewhat close to my house, but I am moving it to put something else there...but I will say I planted it 5' away from the house so it wasn't smashed in there...regardless it is going to be in another area of my yard all together

Laceyvail, it's further out now. I moved it out furhter from the house the following year. It's about 4' from the house now. 4' should be pleanty of space for a shrub that can ahve a 7' diameter. That is a 3.5 foot radius in any direction. Also, Ninebarks respond very well to pruning, right after the flowers have faded of course. That little flowering annual lantana is not there anymore.

The bed should be larger also.

Nice looking plant!

Mine is still in a pot. :-( Not for long though! :-)

Here are mine -- year 2. I would like mine bushier. Should I wait until after they bloom and chop them down a bit?

They are too close together in the above picture to develop their natural shapes. And they don't need any chopping. Move them farther apart and let them grow. Pruning is best done on mature ninebarks by cutting out the very oldest stems as far down as you can.

I'm not sure if spacing is the issue here. Whether they grow bushy
or leggy really has little to do with how close together they are planted.
My guess is that they aren't getting enough sun or they are getting too
much nitrogen. Plants grow leggy when they add too much greenery before
the plant has adequate dimension and strength in stems and roots. That has nothing to do with spacing.

Stir_fryi, if you ninebarks are not getting adequate sun, I would move them to a place where they have morning sun and afternoon shade or full sun. If you are fertilizing them, stop it. Plants only need fertilizer if they are lacking nutrients from the soil in which they are planted. Too much nutrients can cause a plant to become leggy like the ones in the photo. But lacey is right, pruning them won't help.

TJ, that's a lovely collection you've got there. :-)

My ninebarks get full South, Southwest sun so that can't be an issue. I don't think the picture does them justice as they look "washed out", but they really aren't. They were planted 1 1/2 years ago. I remember the person at the nursery telling me to cut back the longest branches to make them grow bushier and not "leggy".

I think they look fine for only being 1.5 years old...they'll fill out a lot this season..I'd just leave them...although maybe moving them about 3' further from each other might make them really mop out more

@tsugajunkie z5 SE WI, your yard is beautiful. Please, what is the name of the columnar blue/green looking conifer towards the right?

Thank you. It was sold as Abies concolor ‘Compacta’ but there is disagreement in the trade as to whether that is a legitimate/correct name or not.

tj

Thank you very much!

My summer wine ninebark gets floppy after a hard rain or storm, NE Indiana, and remains that way . Doesn't bounce back and regain it' shape. Anyone have thoughts on that? Also, hasn't flowered the last 2 years. It is a mature plant, planted around 2005.

I used to have a Summer Wine Ninebark. It did indeed bounce back after hard rains, although it took a day or two. Sadly, mine declined and eventually died. It was too bad, because I really liked it.

Summer Wine, Wine & Roses, Spilled Wine, etc. I have to have a glass of wine just to sort it all out.

After a storm or heavy rain, I've waited weeks and it doesn't bounce back so I have to prune it. No amount of wine drinking helps the plant but I might feel temporarily better.

Wine & Roses and Spilled Wine are actually cultivars of Weigelia, not Nine Bark.

Yes, I have all of them in my garden.