I have 4 round, 3 ft. high evergreen bushes in front of my house that have been there for more than 20 years. They are too 6" too high to see the window planters behind them. They are also out over the sidewalk. When is the best time to prune them, and how much can I cut them back and still have them green in the spring and summer? When we trim them back from the sidewalk a few inches, we just get brown ugly branches showing.
2007-01-01 09:23:41 · 4 answers · asked by musicforalllife 1 in Home & Garden ➔ Garden & Landscape
The good thing about evergreens is that they're very hardy, as far as trimming goes. I would suggest that you trim them in the early spring. When you do that, it will encourage the shrub, if encourage would be the correct word, to send out more growth. This new growth that you will get will be sent from the inside, filling in the ugly brown spots. Don't be afraid to give the part that's too high a good lopping off of. Just be sure that you trim the shrub so it will grow in its original "shrub-shape."
The other good thing about your particular evergreens is that they're 20 years old. They probably won't live much longer, and seeing as they are a nuisance, you probably wouldn't miss them.
If you do end up tearing them out, and want something to replace them, I would go to your local nursery, and ask for something compact. A few good compact shrubs include the Potentilla (it has green foliage and is one of the few shrubs that produce flowers from early spring to late fall), a dwarf Spirea, or Barberry, specifically a Crimson Pygmy.
Landscaping all depends on the owner's personal tastes, allowing them to accent their yard to their best interests. Don't do anything that you know you won't like.
2007-01-01 16:00:36 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
When To Trim Evergreen Bushes
2016-11-07 00:28:52 · answer #2 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
This Site Might Help You.
RE:
How and when should I trim my evergreen bushes?
I have 4 round, 3 ft. high evergreen bushes in front of my house that have been there for more than 20 years. They are too 6" too high to see the window planters behind them. They are also out over the sidewalk. When is the best time to prune them, and how much can I cut them back and still...
2015-08-18 21:16:03 · answer #3 · answered by Farr 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It sounds like you are dealing with the Curse of the Juniper. Builders love to install Junipers when a new house is built. They often grow too big for these foundation plantings, and need to be reduced in size. It is not enjoyable brushing up next to these prickly things either. The bad news is that they just need to be removed, because, as you have discovered, pruning only makes them uglier. Take a pickup truck and a chain and yank them out. The removal of the root system will "till" up the dirt for an easy replanting job.
If the problem plants are Hollies, Abelias, Privets, Barberries, Hawrthorns, Nandinas, Viburnums and many others, prune them back between the first of March and the 21st of March, and they will grow back better than ever. Do not play namby-pamby with them, though. To achieve the look of a fresh "new planting", cut them back to 6" to 8" above the soil level and fertilize well, and in about 6 to 8 weeks they will look like brand new plants. Their well established root system will soon push the new fresh growth back up to an attactive, but not an overgrown height, and very quickly.
2007-01-01 10:29:59 · answer #4 · answered by Emmaean 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
New transplant evergreen trees and shrubs, pruning before planting is essential, pruning trees should be transplanted in maintaining the basic skeleton of the premise, proper pruning.
2016-03-22 15:31:26 · answer #5 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
--->> Tips---> https://trimurl.im/g7/how-and-when-should-i-trim-my-evergreen-bushes
2015-08-04 19:04:46 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋