How to Prune a Silver Germander

Silver germander is an eye-catching plant that produces gray-green leaves and attractive light blue flowers, with small white hairs that cover the stems and foliage. It is drought-tolerant and easy to care for. Your pruning method should depend on whether you want to enjoy abundant flowers or intend to grow it as a hedge. You can allow it to grow in its own habit, without the need for pruning. Or you can shear the sides of the plant to create a tight hedge. If you enjoy the snapdragon-like flowers, avoid pruning until new growth appears after spring.

Hedge clippers or pruning shears

Instructions

- 1
  Observe the plant for the best pruning time, which is just after the plant sets its blooms. The best time to cut back stems is just as it is entering a new flush, a time during which each stem will grow as much as 1 foot. The flowers emerge just before this flush.
- 2
  Grab fist-fulls of stems and cut them at the desired height with hedge clippers or pruning shears. Taking off a few inches will give it some room to grow. Additionally, remove old woody growth to improve the vigor and appearance of the plant. Old stems with new growth at the tips can be removed. Continue removing any jutting stems that look out of place.
- 3
  Shape the plant into a hedge or oval shape by cutting back selected stems as desired. If you are growing this plant as a hedge rather than for its flowers, prune frequently at any time of the year. Restrict pruning to some degree if you want to encourage more blooms. Silver germander will grow and be healthy even if it is not pruned, but pruning helps form a tight shrub shape. If you let the plant grow naturally and loose, it can reach 4 to 5 feet in height.

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