Janet Tweedy wrote in
:

In article , Victoria
Clare writes

I've been beating it back since I moved in and it's now just about under
control (I'd guess about 6 years since it was last pruned...)

Victoria Clare


I prune mine right back to about 5 inches every other year Victoria, it
then produces lovely coloured stems, I have elgantissima and two which
have very red stems, and yes, they do root easily!

Sorry - I was unclear.
It was the previous owners that did not prune for a very long time - I have
been slowly wading into the vast resulting bushes and chopping them down to
something that can indeed be pruned back each year, but they are huge
enough that I have not completely succeeded yet! Though to be fair,
elegantissima does make a rather nice mature bush/tree, especially when it
is in bloom.

It's just the way the ends of the branches bend down and root to make an
ever-growing mass that worry me.