Pruning

Question: What bush is this? How and when do we prune

responder: Answered by the Home and Garden Information Center (HGIC), University of Maryland Extension. For timely gardening information and tips, subscribe to our Maryland Grows blog and quarterly newsletter. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. Replied July 06, 2023, 4:06 PM EDT
response: This is an Elaeagnus or a type of ornamental olive plant. There are 4 different species showing in Maryland that are considered invasive in our region. We would encourage you to remove and replace with a different plant to help encourage our native biodiversity in the landscape and reduce its escape into the wooded and natural environments. If you are not prepared to remove it just yet, it would be helpful if you can manage the berries from getting dispersed by removing any that fall to the ground and if possible, pick them off the branches and discard them in the trash. This will remove them before the birds can eat and spread the seeds. In the meantime it is simple to prune but trimming back the branches to shape and lightly reduce size any time of year but larger amounts of pruning to reduce the size should be done in late winter.  Let us know if you would like further plant recommendations for a replacement.  Emily

responder: The Question Asker Replied July 07, 2023, 7:52 AM EDT
response: Thank you, Emily!  This solves the mystery of why it was sold to us as an "Elegant" bush.  It has not spread beyond our bush, and I think taking it out, as much as I am tempted, would be an enormous task (I transplanted it when we moved in 2012--it was a new tree then--and it was very difficult. I can only imagine how hard it would be now!).  Can we just take trimmers and lop it to 3-4 feet high, and narrow the bush?  The interesting thing is, we don't see any berries on the bush...I can't recall ever seeing berries.  So....maybe this "invasive" species will just mind its own business and not spread?   Thanks so much for your help--hope we can be in touch. Richard

responder: Answered by the Home and Garden Information Center (HGIC), University of Maryland Extension. For timely gardening information and tips, subscribe to our Maryland Grows blog and quarterly newsletter. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. Replied July 07, 2023, 9:57 AM EDT
response: Hello Richard,  This particular shrub is probably the hybrid Elaeagnus × ebbingei, as most in the nursery trade are, though we have still seen berries on it (sometimes hybrid plants are sterile). Its common name is Silverberry, which is apt as the berries nearly blend-in with the leaves given their color; they're somewhat olive-shaped but smaller and close to the stems. Flowers appear in autumn and berries ripen in spring. We do not have reliable information as to whether or not seeds of this hybrid are sterile or not. If not, seedlings aren't likely to sprout in the same yard; rather, birds or other animals carry them into woodlands and clearings where they germinate and take over. (Many Elaeagnus of various species have already colonized our highway roadsides and some neighborhood paths through wooded areas, where the sun reaches them due to the clearing.)  As for the timing of pruning, you can probably trim it any time other than autumn (when it's best not to prune anything), though the late winter into spring timeframe might be best. Some shrubs don't regrow well from drastic pruning but in this case, given the plant's overall vigor, it's probably fine to be aggressive with it. Indeed, it would probably be a bear to remove if or when you are ready to.  Miri