I’ve always loved flowering shrubs for their beauty and versatility in the garden. But what many people don’t realize is that with the right technique, you can actually train these shrubs into elegant standard trees. It’s a great way to save space—especially in smaller gardens—and create a striking focal point for beds or borders. I’ve had great success with this method, and in this guide, I’ll walk you through exactly how to do it. Whether you’re working with a young hibiscus, a butterfly bush, or even a spring bloomer like forsythia, you’ll be surprised at how simple and rewarding it is to grow your own flowering standard tree.
With the right pruning technique, almost any flowering shrub can be trained into a standard tree. We’ll show you how it’s done.
Standard trees offer several key advantages over regular flowering shrubs: they don’t grow as wide and therefore take up less space. This is especially beneficial for owners of small gardens. They’re also well-suited for flower beds, as most types can be easily underplanted with groundcovers, perennials, or summer flowers. And the great thing is: with proper pruning, many flowering shrubs can be quite easily trained into standard trees.
By nature, shrubs display what’s called basitonic growth. This means that unlike trees, which only produce new shoots at the tips of branches and twigs, shrubs can also sprout new growth from so-called dormant buds near the base of their stems. For this reason, shrubs are typically multi-stemmed. This growth pattern is especially pronounced in hazelnut bushes, which often have over 20 main stems and continue sprouting near ground level well into old age. Other shrubs, by contrast, produce fewer shoots at the base but sprout more strongly from the middle section of the main branches — as seen in forsythia, weigela, and many other spring bloomers.
Summer-flowering shrubs such as hibiscus, panicle hydrangea, and butterfly bush are especially well-suited for training into standard trees. But it can also be done with spring bloomers, as long as you consistently prune all shoots that develop below the flowering crown.
How to Train Your Flowering Shrub into a Standard Tree
To grow a standard tree, it’s best to start with a young plant — ideally one measuring 60 to 100 cm or 100 to 150 cm in height.
In the first year, remove all main shoots at the time of planting except for one strong, upright-growing stem. Next, determine the desired height of the trunk. Starting from this height, count five buds upwards toward the tip of the shoot, and cut the main stem just above the fifth bud. During the season, shoots for the future crown will grow from these upper buds.
In the second year, shorten the new crown shoots to encourage branching. Also remove any shoots that emerge below the crown. In the third year, trim the crown shoots again and continue removing any unwanted side shoots on the trunk.
The branching of the crown is initiated with the capping of the tip (left). Shorten the side shoots to form a crown (right)
In subsequent years, prune the crown according to standard rules for spring and summer bloomers. As the shrub matures, it will gradually produce fewer side shoots on the trunk. Nonetheless, you will occasionally need to cut off the odd shoot.
Training a flowering shrub into a standard tree takes a bit of patience and regular pruning, but the results are well worth the effort. Over time, you’ll be rewarded with a beautiful, space-saving plant that adds height, structure, and color to your garden. I still find it incredibly satisfying to see how a simple shrub can be transformed into such an elegant feature. I hope this guide has given you the confidence to try it yourself—trust me, it’s easier than you think, and the payoff is truly stunning.
