I don't believe that I've ever seen one of these plants pruned.

I prune mine a LITTLE bit each spring in an attempt to reduce its ground spread a bit. Prune with hand pruners, never shear. Remove branches or sprigs at their point of origin. Do not cut into brown, bare, or dead wood. A little bit, often, is the best rule with these.

I prune the regular non-dwarf version of Chamaecyparis psifilera aurea...actually prune may not be the right word. I "trim" it because I want to control its size somewhat. I typically take off 6"-8" at a time in an irregular pattern so that it looks like it hasn't been trimmed at all. The key, as with many conifers is: just don't cut back too far or new growth won't result.

it is a conifer... and there is a conifer forum ... but i personally dont care where you post ...

most conifers.. if you leave a bare branch.. that branch will die ..

so if you want to prune it back ... leave some green on the branch.. but dont leave stubs all over the place.. trace back to a fork in the branch.. and choose one or the other ...

in the alternative.. get rid of it.. and replace it with a specimen that will grow within the confines of the space allotted ..

good luck

ken