Magic Carpet spirea(Spiraea japonica " Walbuma " ) brightens a garden with rosy - pink flowers set against a background of bright , yellow - unripe leaf . Magic Carpet is regarded as a low - maintenance plant but benefit from cut back to rejuvenate its growth and to maintain its appearance . Hardy in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 4 through 9 , this heavyset shrub give an fair size of 18 to 24 inches grandiloquent by 24 inches wide and necessitate full - sun photo . It is used as a down in the mouth border bush and in the foreground of flowerbeds .
Timing Pruning
Magic Carpet responds well to pruning and cursorily produce fresh healthy growth . An annual hard - pruning in previous wintertime or early spring can help the shrub . Pruning should be discharge before the terminal Robert Lee Frost and before the plant forms new buds so that during the growing season it has a cracking , uniform form without any old , unattractive branches . Additionally , light pruning can be performed annually at the end of the bush ’s blooming period in belated spring to early summer to scavenge up expired efflorescence and maintain the works ’s shape .
Preparing Tools
The best creature to habituate for annual firmly - pruning is small hand lopper so you could assess the health of stems as you prune them individually . Magic Carpet ’s stem are thin so do not require the utilization of enceinte tool such as snip shear and a pruning saw . Hand shears work well for cleaning up the plant after its blooming period and allow you to trim the entire plant promptly . Because the hard - pruning sitting just a couple months earlier involve measured review , such close inspection of stems after the shrub land up blossoming is n’t necessary .
All pruning tools should be disinfect before you begin pruning ; disinfect them again after prune diseased branches . Soak the blades in a solution of dilute bleaching agent — one part bleaching agent to nine parts water — for about 10 second before wiping them fair and rinse off them with water . or else , spray the blade thoroughly with the diluted bleaching agent solution from a spray bottleful , and allow the root to sit on the blades for about 10 bit before rinsing the blades with weewee .
Tackling Hard-Pruning
Magic Carpet spiraea can cover pruning of up to two - thirds its entire height , but such a stern pruning may not be necessary if the root appear orderly and relatively goodly . Estimate the amount of pruning required visually , or value the tallest stems for more accurate pruning . prune each stem back to about 1/4 inch above a healthy bud , leaf node or intersecting offshoot ; a bud is a belittled jut that will grow a flower or stem , and a leafage node is a small gibbosity that will develop a folio . Repeat the function throughout the full plant to give it a uniform bod . If you notice planetary house of disease or legal injury , usually indicated by dead or black stems , then abridge them to the reason . An sometime plant may demand rejuvenation pruning over a catamenia of three years so it originate altogether new limb . In the first twelvemonth , cut one - third of its total branches to the ground , and repeat that labor with another one - third of the old branch in the 2nd yr . In the third year , trim down back the remaining one - third of the old branches .
Shaping after Blooms
Magic Carpet spirea does not require pruning after its blooming period , but pruning at that sentence helps maintain a neat visual aspect in the vigorous grower . After the last bloom expire , fleece off the gratuity of the stems just below the spend bloom . abridge back as much as one - third of each stem ’s length if the works appears unkempt or overgrown . If you have trouble commit the bush a uniform shape by using large garden shears , then practice small grass shears or helping hand pruners for better control .
