Hello there! I am your Grevillea bush, a proud member of the Proteaceae family, hailing from the sun-drenched landscapes of Australia. I hear you want to help me produce more of my beautiful, spider-like flowers and maintain a handsome shape. I appreciate that! Pruning is how we communicate. When you do it correctly, you're speaking my language, telling me exactly what you want. Let me guide you through the process from my perspective.
First, you must know when I bloom. Most of my kind flower on what we call "old wood." This means the flower buds for the next season form on the branches I grow this year, shortly after my current flowering display finishes. If you prune me at the wrong time—like in late winter or early spring—you will be cutting off all the embryonic flower buds, and we will both be disappointed with a flowerless season. The golden rule is to prune me immediately after my main flowering flush has ended. For many of us, this is in late spring or early summer. This timing gives me the whole growing season to produce fresh, new branches, which will then harden and set the flower buds for your spectacular show next year.
Please, no blunt "haircuts." Topping me off flat across the top is stressful and encourages a dense, unattractive outer shell that blocks light and air from my center. Instead, follow my natural growth habit. Make your cuts with sharp, clean secateurs. Always cut just above a set of leaves or a side shoot that is pointing in a direction you'd like new growth to go. This is like giving me a clear instruction: "Grow this way!" Make the cut on a slight angle, about a quarter-inch above the leaf node. Avoid leaving long stubs, as they will die back and can become an entry point for disease. By pruning back to a leaf node, you encourage multiple new stems to burst forth from that point, creating a denser, bushier form with many more potential flowering sites.
Our goal is twofold: more flowers and a good shape. Here is how we achieve it together.
Start by removing what I call the "Three D's": any wood that is Dead, Diseased, or Damaged. This is non-negotiable for my health. Next, look for any branches that are rubbing against each other or growing back into the center of my canopy. Remove the weaker of the two. This improves air circulation, which helps prevent fungal issues. Now, for flower production: go around and tip-prune the longer, newer growth. This means taking off the last 3 to 6 inches of these soft stems. This simple action, called pinching, signals to me to stop putting energy into one long stem and instead branch out into two, three, or even four new stems from just below your cut. More stems mean more flowers.
To maintain a tidy shape and control my size, you can make more substantial cuts. Identify older, leggy branches that have flowered and follow them back into the bush. Cut them back to a point where there is a healthy, vigorous side branch. This method, called "cutting to a lateral," renews me from within without leaving a harsh, visible wound. It reduces my size while encouraging strong, new growth from a well-established part of my structure.
I am a tough plant, but I have my limits. Please, never prune me during the cool, wet winter. My cuts will heal slowly, and I am more susceptible to fungal infections. Avoid cutting back into the old, hard, leafless wood. Many of my species do not have dormant buds there and may simply refuse to reshoot, leaving you with a dead stump. And finally, be mindful of my feeding. I am adapted to low-phosphorus soils. A fertilizer high in phosphorus can be toxic to me. After pruning, a light feed with a native plant-specific, low-phosphorus fertilizer will give me a gentle boost for all the new growth you have encouraged me to make.
