Jason, what was your winter like? Has your spring been pretty cold? What are your temps now?

I have 8 of these in various spots (some in sun, some in shade) and this is how mine look during winter/early spring. But they always fill out again. Mine are looking great right now, loving the ridiculously hot weather we’re already getting in Tx.

Is it possible that’s the issue here? If not, hopefully someone will know, or you could ask at a trusted, local nursery.

The Winter wasn't particularly bad, we had about 2 weeks of temperatures dropping to 18-20F but otherwise pretty mild.

Our last frost was late April, when the last is usually around May 1-15. It's 81 degrees right now at 6:19pm, so it feels like a relatively warm Spring so far!

It hasn't rained a lot, but the sprinklers should be compensating for that. And since all of the other flowers are OK, I don't think it's an issue of water.

Everything I've read says that now would be the time to prune them (and maybe try to root cuttings), but I'm hesitant to do it with them looking this wimpy! My only thought would be liquid fertilizer, but I'm not sure if that would help them or hurt them.

Ok, that’s good to hear — I think they’re possibly still recovering from the April frost.

I have found them to be more cold sensitive than any shrub I have. I really think yours will bounce back.

(We’re at 98 right now, awful record heat wave. Have already had triple digits in May!)

These shrubs are semi-deciduous. They will lose leaves over winter and the harder the winter is, the more leaves they lose. But they will leaf out again, if somewhat slowly. You may find that top dressing with compost or composted manure or the application of a high N organic fertilizer (alfalfa or cottonseed meal) will speed things up a bit. And now is the perfect time to prune these, before growth gets too advanced.

Mine were pretty thin & tall last winter. I gave them a good pruning back in Feb & they have bounced back with a vengeance. They seem to need to be pruned yearly to look their best.

Hmm. I'm hesitant to prune right now with them looking so wimpy, and it already being 81 degrees. What do you think, prune them now or wait and see?

I wait with mine. I usually prune later in the season … these don’t suffer from pruning at any time or temp. They’re the most resilient of all my shrubs (well, tied with dwarf Yaupon Holly). I love how soft they are. They don’t look pruned when pruned, they keep such a nice, natural shape.

I would go ahead & prune. My daughter prunes hers back by 1/2 in the spring & again in the summer. Hers always look great. We are in N. Texas zone 8a.

Waving, hey girl! I’m 8a near Fort Worth. :)

Two of mine (taken tonight), the only ones I slightly prune in late summer. Sorry, blurry pic:

My others are in big beds and I let them do what they want.