How to Prune Tecoma Capensis

Tecoma capensis, more commonly known as cape honeysuckle, is a tropical flowering vine species native to South Africa. It can grow quickly to a very large scale with a brambly habit making it almost shrublike. The evergreen vines can reach 100 feet in length and will require regular pruning to keep in bounds in most residential settings. Cape honeysuckle flowers most heavily from the fall through spring when tropical ambient temperatures are relatively cool, but it can flower year round.

Things You'll Need

• Secateurs
• Long-blade pruning shears

Show More

Instructions

1. • 1

     Prune your Tecoma capensis any time of the year as needed, with the exception of fall and winter when the buds and blooms are at their peak.

   • 2

     Cut away any dead, defoliated or diseased vines back to a point of healthy tissue. Carefully pull the cuttings from the plant mass and discard them.

   • 3

     Reduce the size or reshape the shrub with hard pruning cutting back the vines as desired. Remove up to one third of the living plant mass in any pruning session. Use a shearing technique to create the appearance of a groomed hedge.