we need pix.. for any worthwhile opinions ...

most plants are bare inside.. because as the canopy expands ... it blocks the sunlight needed to sustain leaves inside ...

i am not familiar with this specific plant... but wonder why you cant grow a good enough outer canopy.. that you are wanting/needing.. interior leaves... hence the quest for a pic or two ...

there is never a reason to leave dead material on any plant... its dead ...

if you want to get a jump on other options google: rejuvenation pruning of dodonea

to see if that is an option ....

pix????

ken

Thanks, Ken. I'll take some photos.

Tommy i had about 20 of them that got hit hard. i cut back to live tissue and they budded out some, but took so long and loked so feeble that i pulled them out and replaced them with Leptospermum 'Dark Shadows'. That gets frost burn but buds back very reliably. The Dodonea are such prolific seeders that i could have another 2000 if i wanted! My own thought is that Dodonea don't lend themselves to the kind of pruning you're doing. Have you looked at Pittosporum 'Silver Sheen'?
Sara

Thank you, formandfoliage! I'll look at Pittosporum Silver Sheen and see what my wife thinks. (And I apologize, everyone, for leaving this thread for a while. Life gets in the way sometimes.) I just took some photos of the dodonea in question. For the last four years or so, it has reliably formed a wall between me and the neighbors, and I've been pretty much shaping it as a wall. But last winter, after the frost, I stopped pruning it and let it recover from the cold damage. The new growth covered over the dead stuff, but it also caused the plants to overgrow the adjoining pathway. When I trimmed it back to allow access to the pathway, this is what I saw. I'm wondering if these inside holes will fill in come springtime. I guess time will tell.

Hi tommy - it wants to be way too big to fit that space and doesn't really take well to shearing. Something like the Pitt should do better. If you keep shearing it you'll have the same look that you have above just due to old-age woodiness. It's generally not that long-lived a shrub. I have a bit of a love-hate affair with it because it is one of the few evergreen purple-leaved large shrubs, but the lack of cold tolerance and the prodigious self-sowing are real negatives.

Ah. That's too bad ... But good to know. Thanks for the help, formandfoliage! I'll look into replacements.

I had a hedge of them for about eight years. They are short lived plants that reseed freely--great for a temporary situation but not a long term solution.

For that location I would look at 'Green Tower' Boxwood, if you are in a location with not super-hot summers. With some patience and light shearing you'll have a tight, solid hedge in a few years. In California boxwood isn't the best choice for full sun in hot summer, low-humidity locations, however.

Better than 'Silver Sheen' is a selection of Pitto called 'Tasman Ruffles'. It is more a hedge shrub, shorter, denser, vertical habit, while 'Silver Sheen' is a true tree. For best results as a screen with Pittos, light, regular tip shearing as soon as you see a bit of new growth to build up a dense compact habit.

If you want something completely reliable, the Ligustrum japonicum 'Texanum' is a standard--too common for many people, but utterly reliable as a tough, low-water, regularly clipped screen

Good thought on the Pitt, hoovb. I couldn't remember any other good cultivars. I'll check that one out!