How to prune daphne laureola

Late spring, after flowering, if any dead growth needs removing. Remove only dead, damaged or diseased stems, cutting back to healthy green wood. Use clean, sharp tools to minimise wound size. Never shear or hard-prune — Daphne does not reliably regenerate from old wood and heavy pruning frequently triggers whole-stem or whole-plant die-back.

Rarely; only as needed to remove dead or diseased wood. Spurge laurel (Daphne laureola) rarely needs pruning and generally resents it — Daphne species are prone to die-back after cuts. Limit any pruning to removing dead, diseased or damaged stems with clean, sharp secateurs. Do not attempt to reshape or reduce the size of the plant; it naturally forms a neat, low mound without intervention.

Remove only dead, damaged or diseased stems, cutting back to healthy green wood. Use clean, sharp tools to minimise wound size. Never shear or hard-prune — Daphne does not reliably regenerate from old wood and heavy pruning frequently triggers whole-stem or whole-plant die-back.