loropetalum pruning

Anone have one of these ??? i bought one at a box store that all the leaves are at the end of the branches !! Jim sa id they are not that good of a bonsai but it is here so can it be pruned back hard,, no leaves,, ???? thanks very much john

I have not ruled out loropetalum for bonsai. I bought several older nursery specimens and cut them back hard and root pruned last summer. They all responded well..lots of buds....and they flowered this spring! I do think there is some potential for interesting trees.

jgeanangel,, thanks for your responce.. did you prune your trees back where there were no leaves ??? thanks john

Hello John,
I am currently working with four of these trees. There are a couple variants we see locally here offered for sale, a green leaved version and a more purple-colored leaf cultivar. I have noted that the green leaved version seems a bit more hardy than the purple variety, but I have both types growing well.
I have not cut any of mine back past the point of no leaves. An ever-green type tree, it's possible they will bud back just fine by being pruned very hard like this, but I have had success with back-budding by erring on the side of caution. A couple notes:
- They scar easily and terribly from pruning cuts. To combat this problem, I've resorted to near human grade surgical pre-cleaning methods, and have since experienced better post-pruning results. I first scrub the wood on the tree with a tooth brush and light soap water solution, then after rinsing actually apply listerine to the spot I will cut. The pruning shears get cleaned continuously with listerine as well. Seal all cuts heavily with Kyonal.
- They are not very cold tolerant. I suspect these trees would do just fine with a very limited or no winter rest cooling period at all. Place in a cold green house, or at the least a well-protected (shady/dark) spot out of the wind, and in deep mulch over the winter months.

Good luck with yours and post up a picture of what you've got!   

Thank you for post.... The leaves dried out on the bush so i cut it back hard sit thing back on the bench.. now will see if it back buds or not !! thanks for all your post.. take care john