Pruning - Ask Extension
I have a shrub/bush I want to cut back. It is about 7’ tall and I am having a hard time keeping up with its growth. I would like to cut it down abou...
Knowledgebase
Pruning #814590
Asked October 18, 2022, 12:48 PM EDT
I have a shrub/bush I want to cut back. It is about 7’ tall and I am having a hard time keeping up with its growth. I would like to cut it down about two feet. Is that something I can do without severely damaging the plant, and if so, when is the proper/best time to do that?
Henrico County Virginia
Expert Response
That looks like a Japanese Holly. Proper pruning time would be February-March. You could prune it back to 2'. It is a species that typically tolerates this drastic pruning. You can also do rejuvenative pruning over a 3-year period to reduce the stress this may cause.
https://hgic.clemson.edu/a-shrub-do-over-involves-a-makeover/
https://hgic.clemson.edu/a-shrub-do-over-involves-a-makeover/
Thanks for the reply. I also read the article, and another one that was linked to it.
In your email (and in the articles), it describes a technique by which the shrub is cut down to 2’ or lower. The articles say 6-12”.
I don’t think I’ll like going from 7’ to 2’, especially with the lowest 2’ being nothing but trunk/branch; no foliage.
Question 1 - Would cutting the entire shrub down to 4’-5’ work?
Question 2 - If I go with the 3-yr Renewal program and I cut 1/3 of the shrub branches to 6-12”, the remaining 2/3 of the shrub/branches will grow 1-2’ during the growing season. Should I periodically cut them back during the year as I’ve been doing? (And after the second year, 2/3 of the shrub will be short, 1-2’, and 1/3 will be 7’.)
Question 3 - As a variation of the 3-yr Renewal program, could I in one season (next Feb-March) cut back 1/3 of the shrub to 1’, 1/3 to 3’ and 1/3 to 5’?
Thanks. Kevin
Question 1 - Would cutting the entire shrub down to 4’-5’ work? Yes
Question 2 - If I go with the 3-yr Renewal program and I cut 1/3 of the shrub branches to 6-12”, the remaining 2/3 of the shrub/branches will grow 1-2’ during the growing season. Should I periodically cut them back during the year as I’ve been doing? (And after the second year, 2/3 of the shrub will be short, 1-2’, and 1/3 will be 7’.) Yes, you can begin pruning the new growth that emerges to help encourage it to branch out. You can prune that through the summer, stopping in August.
Question 3 - As a variation of the 3-yr Renewal program, could I in one season (next Feb-March) cut back 1/3 of the shrub to 1’, 1/3 to 3’ and 1/3 to 5’? Yes that would also work.
