use the full latin.. and google REJUVENATION PRUNING OF SHRUBS ELEAGNUS ...

you will probably even find youtubes ... the process is not really dependant on the specific shrub ... so dont get too tied up in reading about only Es ...

its more about making a small young plant .. rather than giving them a haircut at 2 feet ... though you can do that with the remnants.. until its their turn to be cut near the ground ...

i would probably ... on old plants.. remove upwards of one half the plant ... and the other half in fall .. to speed up the process ... as with no insult to the root mass... you might be surprised how aggressive they will be upon returning to massive size ...

if you ever decide to be done with them ... i do NOT recommend digging them out .. utilities and all ... cut to the ground.. and apply a stump killer or 100% round up ...

ken

I looked online and didn't have much luck finding info on hard pruning eleagnus pungens. I know some shrubs are more tolerant of this aggressive type of pruning than others.

I may have answered my own question though. This morning I took note of one a few houses down from me that they cut back to sticks last summer. It's regrown quite vigorously, so based on that lone example, it looks like it'll come back fine.

I agree that these would be a nightmare to yank out due to the proximity to utilities.

BJ, are they single-stem where they exit the ground? If yes, this is not a case for renewal pruning. That technique is for multi-stemmed plants. Now here's the thing: You've got neighbor who would be unhappy if you were to do the right thing and put a proper plant or plants in that location. So why not just whack them hard and see what you get? Not at all a proper pruning, as far as that goes, but that's probably not an option for you, so why worry about it? Just prune them back as you describe. Even as a rough a treatment as that is likely to be, I'll be there will be regrowth. as you say, these things are tough.

Finally, depending on where you are, Eleagnus angustifolius is now sitting comfortably in many states' lists of invasive species. Yet another reason to not get too concerned about any possible impropriety on your part!

+oM

I looked online and didn't have much luck finding info on hard pruning eleagnus pungens.

===>>> where did you look?

link

all these type of shrubs have dormant buds ... if you cut branches down very hard... new buds will trigger ...

toms suggestion that since its a single stem shrub .. you can not hard prune it.. is a bit off ...

obviously .... i did not mean for you to cut it down to the single trunk ... but even if you did.. odds are.. it would be the same size by fall .. but of course.. your neighbor will have stroked out ...

my bottom line.. is that you will not succeed ... if you give it a hair cut at 2 feet ... presuming.. you want it at two feet ...

i call these type of plants.. RUN THEM OVER WITH THE TRUCK PLANTS ... you cant kill them.. with the truck ... so no matter what you try to do.. you will have many chances to figure out the right manner ... since they wioll grow back with vigor ...

ken

What the heck has happened to this forum?

To the OP, I know Elaeagnus pungens only too well. There was a huge, thick hedge of them on my college campus. The smell from the flowers on an October evening was indescribable. This evergreen shrub is usually used as a barrier or screen. As you noted, they can be pruned back hard, all the way to the ground if you want. Just don't prune after the summer solstice or else you reduce fall flowers.

I missed the pungens part, was talking about Russian olive. YMMV.

Ken, not sure where your going there, but "renewal pruning" is, by definition, the selective removal of the largest, oldest stems, in a multi-stemmed shrub. Again, quite frankly, not sure what you're saying. Please don't put words in my mouth.

+oM

Sorry, I should've included my zone, which is 8b. I've attached a pic of the thing. It looks like these are at least a half dozen plants grown into one hedge. It's about 6'm tall.

I just wanted a little extra confirmation that this will turn out ok. I know the neighbor's a little nervous about it and will especially be when they look all hacked up and left for dead.

If they ever move, I may see if I can get rid of this monstrosity. They're great people and I just don't want to rock that boat.

Not sure what tool you planned to use, but by using hand pruners and loppers if necessary, you will end up with much less ragged-looking cuts, etc, albeit a much longer time to perform work, compared to gas hedge trimmers, etc. So in other words, taking your hand pruners and reaching into each branch, cutting back to a lateral (or even just a bud, if there are any), and finally, realize that this plant will probably rebound regardless how that part goes.

+oM

I know this is an old thread but I wanted to weigh in. I took a chain saw to mine and they are fine. Jim Putnam of HortTube says these are plants you can plant upside-down and park your car on and they'll survive! :-)