yeah, we cut it back to a reasonable size in late feb. its got seven main stems that come from the base. we left those stems 18 inches tall and bare in order to allow room for the hostas and heuchera to grow beneath it. you can see that each of the seven main stems has 2 or 3 new stems coming out right above where we cut it down back in feb.
what I want to do is cut the new shoots back by 1/3, or perhaps 1/2, just above the next set of intersecting leaves where you can see tiny buds starting to form. normally we just let them grow, then all the new shoots that are now only 8 inches will turn out to be single 4 foot long stems with absolutely no branching at all. we want it to have a more bushy, full look. will cutting each new stem now encourage it to be bushier later on, the same way you pinch back a fuchsia to give it a fuller look? I would assume those tiny buds in the pic below will turn into new shoots themselves if I cut the stem just above them, no? or does it not work that way?
