Looks like it could be Philadelphus. Doesnt look too bad, it can take hard pruning. In fact I would have cut it harder, to about where that tie is. And Id have thinned the bush out by removing all the thin weak branches in the centre.

since its the prior owners mistake ... i would just cut it down to 3 to 6 inches.. and see what happens...

not many things die simply from pruning .. whether the pruning be good or bad ...

at worse... you miss a cycle of blooming next year .. upside is.. you dont have to look at that ugly mess ..lol ...

the decision to remove it.. if it were mine.. would be in 2 or 3 years.. to learn how it responded ... and then based on my goals for the yard ...

ken

ps: when the prior owner got to the point of trying to wire it into a certain form.. he should have said to himself.. i should get rid of this beast.. lol ... instead she decided to move.. and leave the problem to you ... lol

Ok, that is exactly what we need to know! We will chop it to the ground and see what happens.

They put wire around everything. The dogwood tree in front, the deutzia, the rose of sharon, the flowering quince...I don't even know.

Chop to the ground now or wait til next spring?

Did you check the id I gave you?

Yes I did floral_uk--I think that is what it is, beauty bush! It is hard to tell because my boyfriend chopped everything off before I could get a good look at it. Hoping if we dont whack it all the way down, and just cut some to the ground, that it will flower again next year.

So much "chopping" here-I tend to use a saw, lol. In any case, multi-stemmed shrubs that have become gangly, unattractive things can best be handled by coppicing, or cutting to the ground. You needn't retain the 3 to 6 inches mentioned above. What you want-and will get-is primarily new shoots from below ground. And these will be more sturdy than new growth coming off of low stubs, although those stems too can be a part of the mix.

and get him a tree saw .. and take away the hatchet.. lol ...

i saw one in the 6 dollar range last week ... ah.. 4th pic.. wallyworld.. 11 bucks.. unless tractor supply is closer ... thats where i saw it in the discount pile ..

ken

https://www.google.com/search?q=foldsing+tree+saw&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8#q=folding+tree+saw

Indeed Ken, what used to be the domain of only professional arborists can now be had by all-the tri-edged saw blades that make a mockery of older saw technology. Any old hardware store....or big box outlet...carries these items today.

I remember the first demo of the then-new ARS blade (Turbocut-about a zillion other names by now). Was at a conference of the Wisconsin Arborist's Association and a guy had these new-fangled things in his booth. Had a section of old, dried-out oak log in a vice and asked me to cut through it with his saw. I was converted immediately and have never looked back. This would have been right around 1990.

Oh god, we are using loppers and a saws-all on this thing! Time to upgrade!

Well, a good loppers is a legitimate pruning tool. I wouldn't be without one. The sawzall, while one of two or three indispensable tools around the home, is not and was never intended as a pruning tool.

See if you can find one of these tri-edged bladed saws. You'll wonder how you ever lived without it.

Note I said 'cut' not 'chop'. Obviously you'd use the tool for the job. It's well worth getting a proper pruning saw if you have lots of shrubs and small trees. The stems look just a little too thick for loppers. But they too are indispensable tools.

The loppers I have are Toro (different brand but Toro puts their name on them) and they ROCK. What is this tri-edged bladed saw? I need to get my hands on one. The stems are wayyy to thick for loppers.