Boxwood - Major 2nd Pruning?

10 years ago

Hi all! We have 4 Boxwood bushes planted in front of our front porch. They came with the house and are well established. I started off by just trimming/shaping them when we moved in because the house had been vacant awhile and the yard as a whole needed a good deal of cleanup.

Within the last couple of years they've gotten WAY too tall, almost to the top of the porch roof. I took almost a foot off the tops in March, cutting down to plain bare wood and just shaping the rest to leave SOME leaves on them. We are already seeing little green buds. After looking at them some more, we'd like to cut them way down again, another foot maybe, to get them closer to the manageable height we want. Can I still do that this year? Or should I wait until next spring? I'm in Knoxville, TN.

Featured Answer

floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK

10 years ago

Not Boxwood. Looks like Ilex ie Holly.

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Comments (6)

gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
10 years ago
Are you sure they are boxwood? Boxwood has a reputation - and deservedly so - for being extremely slow growing. Can you post a photo?
Julie Ann Blaylock
Original Author
10 years ago
It's possible they aren't. They ARE much bigger than the boxwood I recall from childhood.
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Julie Ann Blaylock
Original Author
10 years ago
Roxana *** ZN 5 Indianapolis IN ***
10 years ago
Yeah, I don't think those are boxwoods either, they look like a holly.
Julie Ann Blaylock thanked Roxana *** ZN 5 Indianapolis IN ***
bossyvossy
10 years ago
third vote for holly. I am prune crazy so I would trim it to the height you want and go from there. Just like when you have an open wound, there is exposure to fungal diseases, especially during rainy or high humidity times. When I'm not happy with a plant I trim it w/ abandon. Only 20% of the time have I had to remove after severe pruning. The remaining 80% things worked out the way I envisioned. Halving said that, most literature recommends cutting no more than 1/3 at a time. I take my changes and do whatever I want. Again, has worked out about 80% of the time.
Julie Ann Blaylock thanked bossyvossy