Don't know anything about pruning them but have you taken cuttings and rooted them?

Jo

Topsie, now is NOT the time to do a rejuvenation pruning job on any broadleaf evergreen. Wait until March in our area, when threats of severe cold temperatures are over.

Boxwood can tolerate this type of pruning, but the older (and bigger) they are, the slooooower to recover.

Proper rejuvenation calls for leaving a very short stump....less than twelve inches.

Hold on to your hat these 24 hours.....it's going to be single digit in our Alabama zone. Yikes.

Thanks rhizo...I am not going out there now! Brrrrrr!

Howdy! It is brrr cold in Texas Hill Country as well. Woody shrugs really are durable plants but must be cut hard after the last killing freeze; yet early in spring. That being said it will take years for the new growth to reach a three foot size with a pleasant shape. Soil aeration with a sharp garden fork, compost and an iron source worked into the soil will aid in nursing them back. Although radical in concept, it is better sometimes to rip out the old, do needed soil improvements and start over with a 5 or seven gallon plant..

Well, I just hacked my two mature boxwoods almost to the ground so I guess I will let you know if they survive. I am somewhat ambivalent as to whether they make it since they weren't providing any privacy or topiary benefits. But here's to hoping they make it so I don't have to pull out the stumps! Any suggestions as to when/if I should give them a little kick of fertilizer?

Boxwood, while very good at being pruned multiple times a year are not going to come back with a hard cut, that is what its called, they are amazing fillers though.

I know, but follow me on fb, and you will see what I am working on right now. It is a plethora of arbovitae and ......overgrown dogwood. I am cleaning out the old, dead limbs. Opening up the top and allowing sun in and will bug defense and nurtrition.