Do You Even Need To Prune Escallonia? Only If It’s Become Congested – Here’s Why
Elizabeth is a Permaculture Garden Designer, Sustainability Consultant and Professional Writer, working as an advocate for positive change. She graduated from the University of St. Andrews with an MA in English and Philosophy and obtained a Diploma in Applied Permaculture Design from the Permaculture Association.
Reviewed By COLIN SKELLY
Colin is a Horticulturist and Horticultural Consultant with experience in a range of practical and managerial roles across heritage, commercial and public horticulture. He holds the Royal Horticultural Society’s Master of Horticulture award and has a particular interest in horticultural ecology and naturalistic planting for habitat and climate resilience.
IN THIS GUIDE
Escallonias are attractive evergreen shrubs that come in a range of sizes and colours.
These plants are generally quite hardy and require a moderate to low amount of care.
Pruning shrubs can sometimes be rather confusing for new gardeners, but the good news is that with escallonias, things are very simple.
There is no need to prune most escallonias on a regular basis each year.
The only exception to this is where you are growing it as part of the hedge or your shrub has become congested, as we explore below.
| Difficulty | Easy |
| Equipment Required | Secateurs or gardening knife |
| When To Prune | Spring or autumn |
Do You Need To Prune Escallonia?
As mentioned above, you really don’t need to prune escallonia shrubs at all if you are growing them in a bed or border in your garden.
The shrubs generally tend to have a pleasing natural form and do not really benefit from regular maintenance pruning.
Some gardeners give the plant a light prune in late winter or early spring, but this can actually reduce flowering if you are too vigorous.
With this in mind, I would suggest that if you do wish to prune, it is best to restrict yourself to very light reshaping by focusing on the removal of any dead or damaged material.
When To Prune Escallonia
If you are growing escallonia as a hedge and want abundant flowers, prune annually just after flowering in September or October.
If you want a more formal and neat hedge, you can also shear over the hedge a couple of other times through the year.
However, keep in mind that if you do this you will have fewer flowers in the blooming season.
A mature shrub that has become overgrown and congested can be renovation pruned.
This involves taking out one in three of the oldest branches either close to the ground or where they join another main stem in mid-spring.
Pruning Hedged Escallonia
If you are growing escallonia as a hedgerow, a little more shaping will naturally be required to keep your hedging looking good.
There are different schools of thought about when and how much to trim escallonia hedges.
However, if you are interested in and like your hedge to flower well, then the best time to prune these hedging shrubs is immediately after they have finished flowering for the year in autumn.
Alternatively, if you like a neater hedge and are not too bothered about abundant flowers, you can also trim the escallonia hedge a couple of times throughout the growing season.
“Escallonia hedges have a tendency to grow incrementally year by year if pruned annually,” says Colin Skelly, a Horticultural Consultant.
“To keep them within bounds, I find it necessary to cut them back 2 or 3 times a year. Ideally, cut back some older branches every year to rejuvenate growth and avoid bare patches or die back.”
When pruning the hedge, think about making it a trapezoidal shape so that sunlight can reach the base of the hedge and ensure that it remains healthy.
Thin out the odd old branch in congested sections if necessary.
Renovation Pruning
If you have a mature escallonia shrub that is overgrown and congested with old wood, you can give it a new lease of life through gradual renovation pruning.
The idea is to remove up to one-third of the oldest branches each year over a number of years.
This type of more extreme pruning is best carried out in mid-spring.
This more extreme pruning will create plenty of new growth, so after doing this job, you might also want to consider taking cuttings in mid-late spring to propagate your shrub.
Shrub Aftercare
Whether pruning a hedge or a mature congested shrub, aftercare is crucial for the best results.
Make sure that after pruning you spread a good quality organic mulch around the root area of your shrubs.
This mulch, which should be around 5cm deep, provides fertility, reduces moisture loss from the soil and helps to suppress weeds.
A good quality homemade compost would be ideal.
