In article ,
crom wrote:

There is a hebe that has got very woody and patchy but still has new,
healthy shoots appearing now about 2 feet off the ground. The
gardening book we have says 'gentle clipping in March'. But is it
possible to cut is back hard and encourage growth from the woody
stems?

You can try, but it may well not work. Many (all?) hebes are New
Zealand plants and are not adapted to browsing, so don't like that
treatment. But, if it would be unsightly if left as it is, you don't
have much to lose.

The same question about the honeysuckle really. This too has plenty of
twisted, woody stems - very thick in places - and no foliage until you
get to about 4-5 feet from the ground.

It depends on the honeysuckle. Some can be cut back to ground level,
and others do not shoot well from very old wood. If there are lots
of separate stems rising from the ground, then it is almost certainly
one of the former, but it might be a bit of a shock to remove them
all. But, generally, honeysuckles can be pruned very hard, so it
is worth being fairly tough on it.

If it responds to being cut back and having old or dead stems cut
out by shooting from the base, you can then remove the other old
stems in successive years. I has some completely tangled
L. japonica, so I have sheared them off at ground level. They
clearly didn't like that but are reshooting.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.