When and how do I prune my lavatera tree? We used to think this plant was a bush!
Lavatera does tend to grow vigorously, and can get quite woody. You can cut a third off the top of each stem in late autumn, and then in mid-spring finish your pruning by cutting all the previous year’s growth to about 6 inches from the ground. Hard pruning will encourage flowering, and keep the plant more compact. New shoots may be slow to appear (may not happen until early summer).
In my experience, a small start of Lavatera turned into an 8 foot tree in one year, and because it was in a spot where a tree was not desirable, I took a cutting, then dug up the plant, and started afresh–but this may be an extreme solution to the problem!