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Identifying shrubs so I may decide how to prune
I am trying to identify these shrubs that are planted in the front yard of a house I just bought. They are quite tall and I wish to cut them down to maybe 3-4 feet (they are currently at about 7-8 feet) but I don't want them to die. Any help in identifying them and pruning suggestions? It is March in Texas if that helps regarding whether I can cut all the branches/leaves off. Thank you for any assistance.
- rainbowgardener
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 25279
- Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 6:04 pm
- Location: TN/GA 7b
- rainbowgardener
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 25279
- Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 6:04 pm
- Location: TN/GA 7b
Most plants are not pruned or replanted until after they have bloomed. A rule of thumb for most things is to cut out any diseased or dead wood and crossing branches. If you are pruning a hedge and you don't want bare legs, you should taper the shape so that the top is narrower than the bottom.
https://www.finegardening.com/trimming-hedge
Those shrubs are quite over grown. I would not try to prune off more than a third of the shrub or even less. Most shrubs have no leaves at all on the inside of the plant. I would just take out what is obviously dead, disseased and crossing. Remove the straggler branches and then do some reduction pruning by only taking off a couple of inches at a time. You can always come back and cut more off, but if you take off too much it will take a long time to fix it. Every couple of weeks you can reduce a little more. Pruning and feeding after will tell you how fast the plant grows. The ones that start sprouting new leaves will quickly rejuvenate and can take a little more pruning, the ones that don't grow as fast you have to go slower.
https://www.finegardening.com/trimming-hedge
Those shrubs are quite over grown. I would not try to prune off more than a third of the shrub or even less. Most shrubs have no leaves at all on the inside of the plant. I would just take out what is obviously dead, disseased and crossing. Remove the straggler branches and then do some reduction pruning by only taking off a couple of inches at a time. You can always come back and cut more off, but if you take off too much it will take a long time to fix it. Every couple of weeks you can reduce a little more. Pruning and feeding after will tell you how fast the plant grows. The ones that start sprouting new leaves will quickly rejuvenate and can take a little more pruning, the ones that don't grow as fast you have to go slower.
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- The e. cotonifolia (red ball), can be pruned severely and comes back in 6 weeks. While the Indian Hawthorn hedge below it is over 30 years old and gets pruned maybe twice a year and I take off only an inch or two. I had to cut out a lower branch that was growing out toward the driveway. And three years later, the hole is still filling in.