Will bushes grow back after being cut down?

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kayamfarmer Reisterstown, MD Feb 02, 2010

I have a perennial butterfly garden near Baltimore, MD and somebody accidentally cut it all down to the ground last month. I know that most of the flowers will come back up from their roots, but a few of the plants were woody bushes that I don't think are meant to die all the way back. The ones I'm particularly curious about are a "Lord Baltimore" hibiscus, a Dwarf Korean "Palibin" lilac bush, and a "Ruby Spice" sweet pepperbush. All of these plants are now woody stumps about an inch or two above the ground. Will they grow back come springtime, or do I need to buy new ones to replace them. Thanks for the help!

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edgeoftheworld Conneaut, OH(Zone 5a) Feb 02, 2010

I have heard people doing a hard prune on lilacs that are overgrown.I don't know about cutting them to the ground? It would be several seasons before it would flower again.Edge

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ecrane3 Dublin, CA(Zone 9a) Feb 03, 2010

If your hibiscus was labeled correctly and is indeed 'Lord Baltimore', it is a cultivar of H. moscheutos which is herbaceous and will die back every year naturally, so getting cut back last month won't hurt it in the least. If it's a woody shrub and doesn't die back every year, then it's probably another type of hibiscus and was labeled wrong, but I expect it should still come back for you. Hibiscus can be a bit slow to get going in the spring though so don't give up on it if it doesn't spring back to life as early as some of your other plants.

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Katlian Carson City, NV(Zone 6b) Feb 05, 2010

Wow Kay, I'm sorry about your garden. I would wait and see if anything grows back on it's own before you spend a ton on replacements. I'm not familiar with pepperbush but lilacs should grow new shoots. Most shrubs are surprisingly resilient. I thought my nanking cherry was dead the spring after I planted it but it started to grow from a shoot near the base and got quite tall by the end of summer. It took a couple of years to fill out again but it looks fine now.

Maybe your garden needs some "Don't mow me" signs with butterflies on them :)

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cathy4 St. Louis County, MO(Zone 5a) Feb 06, 2010

Kay, is the person who did this still alive? I'd be sick! I place good sized rocks around my plants so my husband doesn't whack them when he turns on the weed whacker. I sure hope they come back for you.

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kayamfarmer Reisterstown, MD Feb 15, 2010

thanks all for the advice. It seems that everything should bounce back eventually -- I will wait hopefully and see. And yes, a "Don't mow me" sign was one of our thoughts too!

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