With its dark green, almost blue, white and leaf, semi-snowball blossoms, Viburnum juddii, or Judd viburnum, is a deciduous shrub that adds color, fragrance and even fruit into your garden. It grows in full to partial sun in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 4 through 8 and areas in higher zones where summers are not extreme — although Judd viburnum is much more heat-tolerant than other varieties. Since Judd viburnum blooms on the previous season’s growth, prune it instantly after it blooms in late spring.
Spray the blades of the hand pruners or loppers using full-strength household antiseptic cleaner and wipe them dry with paper towels after a couple of minutes. A family antiseptic cleaner is just as effective as bleach or rubbing alcohol at preventing the transfer of plant disorders from resources however is less corrosive to metal tools within the long term.
Cut out feeble, sweeping, broken or diseased branches into the foundation in early spring prior to the shrub leafs out, which makes any difficulties are easier to see. Prune at an angle 1/4 inch above where the branch joins a larger branch or cut for an upward slanting angle an inch or two above the ground. Cutting just above the division prevents damage to the tissues at the base of the division that heal pruning wounds, and also a slanted cut sheds water to prevent rot.
Prune off apical growth — stems close to the ends of branches that tend to grow faster — expanding outside the naturally mounded shape of the tree after blossoms fade on the Judd viburnum in spring. Cut the tips of those stems straight across and 1/4 inch above where they form the middle of a fork with two side buds inside the natural silhouette of this viburnum. Lateral stems develop from those buds.
Cut one among the oldest, tallest branches back to the bottom if you want to significantly decrease the size of the Judd viburnum, that reaches 6 to 8 feet wide and tall. This technique, lasted for three years running, and revitalizes a shrub which is not flowering as prolifically as it used to.
