Hey there!

New homeowner here. I have a few bushes in my yard that are sort of unrully, growing into walkways and the sidewalk. I would love to trim them back, but there's only about 6 inches of green and then after that it's just branches.

Any advice on how to deal with this? Doesn't seem like I have much material that I can trim before it gets really ugly.

Thanks!

What kind of bushes are they? If you don't know, add a photo for identification.

Yes, photos, we can probably advise once we see what it is.

Some of these bushes will not send out new growth after they've had the green stuff cut off.

Cutting limbs back off the walkways probably can be done if care is taken. (no shearing)

Learning how to trim shrubs to where you can't even see they've been pruned is a bit of an art.

Hey all, here are the much awaited photos.

There first group are by the driveway front porch, the second group is obviously at the sidewalk and takes up about half of it.

Stone, that is my fear. Any good reading on how to start thinking about cutting back bushes in that way?

It's a negative creativity.

First you look deep into the mess and pick out what you like; the elegant healthy stems that dominate, the symmetry among groups of stems, the view of what you'd like to see looking through if only it weren't for all that mess.

Then you notice the mess; the crossing branches, the branches pointing inward, dead branches, broken branches, the puny little branches that will never amount to anything - all that visual clutter interfering with what you liked when you first looked into the plant.

Also, you pay attention to the space between the branches you like. You pick the ones that are a pleasing distance from its neighbors - not too close and not too far. Try to keep distances between the branches more or less consistent - to match the natural personality (called "habit") of the species you are working with. You can see the habit in your mind's eye if you look closely at the plant.

Lastly, you cut away all that other stuff which interferes with your vision, focusing on those stems you liked when you looked in the first time. You want to see what's not there and then make it that way by cutting out the mess.

You end up with a plant that appears not to have been pruned at all!
You create it by taking away.

Gawd, I've been trying for years, it's really hard for me to envision.
First group, common yew? If so, regrows well from any cutting.

Second group, ugb my brain, is that the evergreen that usually gets bagworms. Not sure, this one might stay bald if cut too far.

Others will know.

I don't recognize any except for the juniper.
I know that the juniper will leave you with bare wood if cut back past the green.

The one with needles?
I don't know.
Before cutting, or even reading about cutting... we probably should identify.

I'd be real tempted to get the sidewalk cleared... and worry about re-growth later...
But maybe someone else can offer a better solution.

I downloaded a book on pruning, but I don't know if it's what you need...

but, a free download?
Might help.
https://oceanofpdf.com/authors...

I agree with Sallyg that the first few pics seems to be yew. although i haven't seen any of the berry looking things. But, those do grow back from the hardwood.

If the second batch on the sidewalk is juniper, seems like that does not grow back, so it'll just be a mess. Maybe just remove? It's kind of silly anyway.

Yeah, the yew can be shared or cut way back.
Couple principles for the yews:
New growth happens near the cut ends- so if you just shear 'up' from the edge of the driveway, you're only buying a little time.
If the tops of shrubs shade the bottoms, bottoms may get bare. So if shearing, let the bottom be wider than the top.

I agree the junipers have outgrown their space. I would get them off the sidewalk, I personally hate when greenery invades walking space. And I believe they would stay bare if you just cut way back the lower parts.

In my opinion, any gardener trying to purchase juniper should first be required to drive around town to observe the countless yards where it's covering sidewalks and/or has been butchered to remove same. Plus it's overused, not that attractive, collects trash on windy days.

My suggestion, rip it out. It will be an ongoing source of needless maintenance.

NMoasis said: In my opinion, any gardener trying to purchase juniper should first be required to drive around town to observe the countless yards where it's covering sidewalks and/or has been butchered to remove same. Plus it's overused, not that attractive, collects trash on windy days.

My suggestion, rip it out. It will be an ongoing source of needless maintenance.

California says rip them out. They're a fire hazard. But the roots grow to the center of the earth so easier said than done.

This has all been great advice. Didn't expect the juniper to be such a loser!

I think we are likely to pull it out, by the time we lop off the 6-12 inches needed to get out of the side walk, it'll be bare bones. Looks like it'll go when the weather warms up.

Still need to figure out how to handle the yew up by the porch. It give a nice bit of depth to the walk way, and covers up the ugly porch steps a bit.

Luckily, Yew is one of the few conifers that regrows on old wood. It can be pruned back to branches with no green and regrow. Do it a little at a time so its not ugly all at once.

By the time you deal with the juniper, you'll probably be willing to leave the yew for later, haha.

The bushes by your driveway and porch with the needles are yews. I have them in front of my house. As others have commented, you can trim them back a lot and they will sprout new growth off of woody stems. Here's an article that provides more information on how to prune an overgrown yew. https://www.gardeningknowhow.c...

Don't be shy about pruning the yew. The put on 2 flushes of growth per year. This is why they are so popular (along with boxwoods) for topiary.

I severely pruned Chinese Juniper (not a hedge) about 3 years ago. It grew back, filled in, and now needs another pruning. Here it's a tough evergreen that needs little care and little water.
I'd get it off the sidewalk, and thin it out some. Then give it a little time, I think you'll see new growth.

The first set are YEWS (JAPANESE AND HILL ) they both can be trimmed back to branches and they will regrow over time .
The other is JUNIPER and you can't cut back past greenery .
HOPE this helps .