My Newest Toy and Lorepetalum

At one time in my life I used the good old-fashioned, arm/shoulder-operated trimmers - whew.. .glad those days are OVER. Then I graduated to the electric shears. The electric shears weren't bad, but it was unwieldy and you always had the electric cord strung across the yard and had to be aware of the cord when you were trimming. When the electric one played out, I purchased a Black & Decker (B&D) lithium battery-powered hedgetrimmer.

Today was the first time I've had to truly put it into action. It's lightweight. It has a dual-action safety switch. It will operate only when both switches are engaged and will stop if either switch is released. It comes with two batteries and a charger - so if you run out of power, you don't have to wait for a charge to start back up. I dearly love it.

I'm not proud of what I'm showing you, but you need to see it to get an idea of what the B&D is capable of doing.



Lorepetalum Before


Within in 25 minutes using the B&D trimmer I had it looking like this - including the debris removed.



Lorepetalum After

  A little hand shaping and it will be good as new!

The lorepetalum has proven to be a very reliable hedge for me. They were purchased about 10 years ago to hide an ugly 1,000 gallon propane tank. It took about four years to accomplish this, now I only have to shape her periodically and give her some food/water.. In spring the entire bush is covered with crimson colored honeysuckle-type, fragrant blooms for several weeks. It's one of the first shrubs the hummers hit when they return in the spring! The shape, color, and fragrance of the blooms beckons them.

I know you've heard it said - and probably from me - a good rule of thumb is to prune a spring blooming shrub immediately after it blooms. But, since the stems of the lorepetalum bloom from bottom to top - even on the new growth, this rule is an exception for the lorepetalum.

The leaves are a deep bronze in the fall/winter.

These shrubs can stand alone, they can be grouped, hedged, or most anything else you want. I have one that I'm allowing to grow into a tree.


I have seen them shaped into a ball. The trunk was allowed to grow to about three feet then allowed to bush. The top was maintained in a round shape. It was absolutely beautiful. I thought about trying to do it, but I'm not sure I have the discipline to maintain it .. . .

Some of the newer hybridized lorepetalum bloom periodically throughout the growing season.

At any rate, I'm sure you'll love the B&D trimmer and the lorepetalum! Happy Pruning!