Elaeagnus ebbingii rejuvenation

Question

I am getting conflicting advice on this subject, so I thought I’d ask the experts. I have an old Eleagnus Ebbingii. It is about 3 meters (13 ft) tall. It is very bare & woody from the bottom half to 3/4 of its height. It has quite a lot of green foliage at the top ¼ of its height. I would like to try and rejuvenate it so that I get growth from the bottom & then I can hopefully keep it in shape. Some advice I’m getting says wait until spring when it starts to shoot. Other advice is – do it now. How and when would be the best time to do this drastic rejuvenation?

If possible, I’d like to do it now. If I did, what would be the likely result? I would appreciate it if you could give me some advice on the subject.

Thanks

Answer 1

It's just the general practice to prune many evergreens, etc. in spring, when they've broken dormancy. However, you can prune it later if you want, just not so late that winter weather might damage new growth. You will also be cutting off your fall flowers, of course.