Hi Susan
Ceanothus don't respond well to pruning .Buy this months issue of Gardens
Monthly(magazine) were there is a article by Roger Philips who holds the
National Collection for them.The next piece is from the article-
Their tendency to die back usually starts from damage & pruning.
Roger offers the following advise:If you cut them back after flowering on
the new wood,then that's fine.But cut them to half size and you will
probably lose them.The best time to do this is in winter,so they can restart
to grow in spring.
He also says in the article : if you see a dead branch it will eventually
run back into the plant and kill it.
Hope this helps at all.

--
Thanks Keith,Nottingham,England,UK.
"Susan" wrote in message
...

"andrewpreece" wrote in message
...
"Susan" wrote in message
Can anyone give me advice on how to prune Ceanothus autumnal blue?

Odd, I have one of these, and it's covered in leaves and is in full
bloom
( it blooms again in the autumn - can't figure out why they call it
Autumnal
Blue when it flowers in spring AND autumn ). Autumnal blue is evergreen,
so I would be inclined to think that yours is most unhappy about
something.
What is its situation/aspect/soil?


Hi, Andy. It's in a south-facing border in neutral to slightly acid soil.
However, it's in a fairly windy spot, which I think might be the problem
(I
live on a hill and can't get away from the wind). It does have new growth
on it, so at least it's still alive and it has one lonely flower on it
right
now.

I wondered if I should prune each branch back to where I see new leaves
coming; but that would mean its height and bulk would be reduced quite
drastically, which would be a shame as it's taken 4 years to get to its
present size.

Thanks.