Moon's Graden

Recent heavy snow (or a mountain beaver) has left my Nandina Domestica,
Heavenly Bamboo, without any lower branches.  The bushes look pretty
silly now with just foliage at the top with bare stems below.  Anybody
know if pruning the tops of these will cause new lower growth so they
will look bushy again all over, or do these bushes only put on new growth
at the top?  
--
Sue Adams

The proper way to renovate nandina is to prune the older canes within a
few inches of the ground. Nandinas can be a bit slow to regrow. Try
aerating the root zone with a spading fork and then add about a handful of
organic fertilizer.

Evan Blewett
Gardenworks Landscape Design
Cary, NC

 Accepted pruning procedure for the Nandina is to remove about one
third of the oldest canes each year.  Cut them off at the ground.  New
canes will sprout at that point and fill in the bottom of the plant.
Shearing just the top will encourage new growth at that point but not
at the bottom.