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What is this shrub? How much can I prune it.

11 years ago

I live in North Carolina and have lived in my current house for 3 years. There is a very large shrub in the back near the sunroom that looks really leggy and overgrown. I want to trim it but I'm not sure what it is and how it will respond. It only appears to have leaves near the ends ofthe branches, so pruning it would essentially mean cutting all the leaves off. Can I do this? What is it and how far can I cut back? It's about 8 feet tall now.

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Comments (5)

tlbean2004
11 years ago
Pittosporum Vareigated
User
11 years ago
Yes, you can prune it. Cut it down by a third. Then next year, cut it down by a third again. Every year, cut it down, they are really hardy shrubs. It'll be fine, if you really want to you could cut it down by half, but mulch it and water it so it becomes fuller.
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floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK
11 years ago
Pittosporum tobira 'Variegatum'
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
11 years ago
googole: rejuvenation pruning of shrubs ...

i would not cut thirds off .. like a haircut ... no shearing ...

i would start removing thirds ... per google

ken
rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
11 years ago
And yet another option is to cut your shrubs all the way to the ground and allow all new, juvenile growth to emerge from the bottom.

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