no but you have chopped off this springs flowers. these shrubs need pruning after they have flowered. but dont worry it will grow away again but dont prune it until march/april 2011!

thanks for your swift answer seaburn girl! I am starting to manage a big garden that is communal & nobody wants to help but do want to tell me off! have been feeling terrible that i've possibly killed it off.

Fonz you have not killed... You can get a lot of info either by searching this site or by googling :-)

glad you decided to join us.
dont hesitate to ask for more help.
welcome to GoY

They are tough shrubs, so don't worry! It will soon grow back, sadly without flowers next spring, but probably all the better for being cut back.

Tell the 'critics' that it was for its own good! ;-))

I hacked mine back severely 3 years ago and cut out much of the old wood from inside and completely reshaped it back to a decent looking bush. It has flowered beautifully eversince. But all pruning should be done just after it has finished flowering.

Fonz - I wrote a couple of blogs about pruning in January last year. You might want to check them out for future reference