Only part of my Spirea is blooming, need to know if I should prune or if there is some other problem that would cause this
By Terrid28
United States 
We have a bridal Spirea that is was in our yard when we moved to our house and we have lived there for about 4 years. Last spring and this spring only a portion of it has gotten leaves and bloomed. I can't seem to find anything about what could be causing this, it doesn't look diseased anywhere. I am wondering if I should prune it back a lot or if maybe it's getting too much water? Any ideas would be useful
8 Apr, 2009
Answers
You say a portion of it hasn't got any leaves? Sounds like that part might be dead. Do a scratch test - scratch away a little bit of bark from one of the bare stems. If it is green underneath, it lives. If it's brown on the other hand it's dead and you should cut down all the dead bits.
8 Apr, 2009
Some shrubs are not all that long lived. That happened to ours and we just dug it all up (jolly hard roots!!) and as you can see, are in the process of replacing virtually all our garden!
8 Apr, 2009
spireas don't need alot of pruning, to shape only just after flowering as they flower on the previous years growth,
could it be you gave that part of plant a late pruning?
if it seems like it is dead, it won't harm the rest of the bush to cut those parts right out
9 Apr, 2009
Hi there Terrid,
I have actually just planted one of these today ! On the label under plant care it states the following- 'Three years after planting, in early spring ,remove one in three of the shoots to near ground level,choosing the oldest.This will in turn maintain a good display of flowers and foliage.' So maybe yours is just overdue a little pruning,now would seem to be a good time. Hope this works for you :) Oh and maybe a general fertilizer would help if it hasn't had any !
8 Apr, 2009