Hebe gone black & died

[E Dinham]

I pruned a lovely hebe bush as it was getting to big. After that it turned black at the base, almost as if it had been burnt, looked a bit like tar. The new shoots died and finally the whole plant died, what did I do wrong or is this a disease?

[Robinia]

Maybe you pruned it too early, before all the frosts were over, or too severely. If a bush becomes overgrown, it's better to spread the cutting back over a few months than to prune it back hard. You should cut to a shoot that's growing further down the stem. Straight after flowering I find is the best time to shape the plant - remove a few inches on small varieties and 6 to 10 inches on bigger ones. The prunings can be used for cuttings, they root really easily & are good stand by's when you lose a plant.