Can most evergreen trees be trimmed down as shrubs?

Question

I want to know if evergreen trees like conifers can all mostly be treated as shrubs .
I think maybe this is what makes them different than decidous trees. I mean you cannot trim a Maple tree down to look like a shrub, but you can a hemlock.
IS this true. Any evergreen trees that cannot be trimmed down to a shrub form?

WELL, IF IT WILL KILL THEM , WHY CAN YOU TRIM A CANADIAN HEMLOCK (TSUGA CANADENSIS) WHICH REACHES 70 FEET DOWN TO A HEDGE OF 8 FEET?

Answer 1

Mostly all evergreen trees could be trimmed down like a shrub, that is all Dicotyledons (plants with taproots and "network" venation.) So you can't with Monocotyledons (plant's with a fibrous root system and parallel venation, strappy leaves) like palms. Of course with the exception of pines like the "Norfolk Island Pine".
Some trees like Eucalyptus may be difficult although possible to maintain in shrub form.

Answer 2

If you want an evergreen hedge, I urge you to select one of the many adaptable to such. Pines, for instance, are evergreen conifers, but you will never train them as a nice hedge even if you start them young. There are many junipers and arborvities that will foot the bill just fine, but not all. My favorite evergreen hedge is not a conifer. It's Bayberry. There are some hollies that fit the bill perfectly. If you want a nice hedge, don't fight nature, a waste of time and energy. Do a little research at the garden centers in your zone and chose something sensible. Native junipers can be trained if pruning begins young,

Answer 3

No!!!!!!
If an evergreen is pruned back to the bare wood (that without needles) then that tree is finito. Conifers are not like deciduous trees in this respect: if you chop down most of a say, maple, it will send up suckers. No evergreen that I am aware of will do this.
As for your hemlock, it depends on what size it is now. If it's relatively small, you can carefully prune it to stay that way; again, do not cut any branch that you want to keep back to bare wood.
There are many species of dwarf evergreens; if you want your evergreens to stay small, then start with the appropriate ones.

Answer 4

Holly (ilex aquifolia) can be cut back as a shrub, as can Yew (taxus) and Eucalyptus (it's grown for the small juvenile leaves) but there aren't many others.

Most Conifers hate being cut back hard and most will die if cut down into bare wood. Most are kept at their desired height from initial planting and not retro-actively.

Many however are grown as hedges. For instance Macrocarpa "Goldcrest", Leylandii and Thuja are good examples. However whilst these allow cutting back into green growth they don't like being cut back into old wood.

You can cut down SOME Acers and get regrowth from the stump and Castanea sativa (Sweet Chestnut) is cut down every 7-9 years to get regrowth for coppicing. So you can cut down some deciduous trees, in fact many cut back better than conifers, but not all.

So in summary some evergreens cope with hard pruning as do some deciduous trees, but not all of either.

Hope this helps in some way.

Answer 5

well most trees can be trimmed down into a shrub form. some kinds of conifers can tolerate shearing more than others. such as a yew(taxus) can be cut back and shaped to form and will still bud out. a hemlock, whitepine, or spruce on the other hand if you cut back from 70ft to 8 ft it will die. that amount of cutting will kill it. but the yew will sprout back up. some deciduous plants can take this not typically the trees but a forsythia can be cut back to the ground and it will come back. also lilacs can be cut back and they will sprout new buds.

Answer 6

Like most trees, evergreens come in various varieties. Some are dwarfs and can be kept as shrubs. Others grow to immense sizes and pruning them to keep them as shrubs would kill them.

Answer 7

I dont think any of the eucalypts (Ausssie "gum" trees) that I know of would appreciate it- you would probably kill them and that is also the likely scenario for acacias (wattle trees) and casuarinas (she oaks) as well. Dont assume that evergreen means conifers there are heaps of evergreens, some will and some wont- cope.

Answer 8

i have a heap on bonsai of both decidous and conifer
and all i can say is that just about any plant can be dwarfed, shaped and pruned to attain a bonsai
so in theory with pruning and planning anything can be a shrub, i have a neighbor who has a blue spruce hedge and it is really neat

Answer 9

Any plant can be kept in a small form...ever hear of bonsai? And you can do that with just about any plant...a maple bonsai even develops smaller leaves...it's just that conifers don't have as vigorous a spring growth as the deciduous trees...it makes them easier to keep small...

Answer 10

No, they will die. Evergreens were meant to get huge. You can trim down cypresses though.