Periodically cut off and extract the oldest, most rubbishy stems such as these near the ground during winter. This is a regular part of the maintenance routine for shrubs of this growth type.

Thanks. I'll try that.

google rejuvenation pruning of shrubs ... for how to info.. maybe even a video ...

the bluish stuff is lichens ... google pix of those also.. way cool .. and totally harmless ...

ken

also ... those two branches 'cross' as we call it ... years of rubbing on each other has caused injury ...

so when you do go into renovate ... that is one of the first things you look for .. crossed branches ... and you remove at least one ... both if there is significant injury ...

ken

Thanks to all. Will definitely look everything up before starting to prune.

http://extension.psu.edu/plants/green-industry/news/2012/hacking-whacking-dealing-with-overgrown-shrubs

Thanks for the link. This shrub is not overgrown. If anything it has never liked its location. Too little sun I fear. It is straggly and just seems to be getting weaker. No flowers this spring. Maybe what I need to do is prune it and move it to a sunnier location. It has been there for maybe 10 years and is not more than 5 feet high and 2.5 feet wide.

Could you provide an overall picture and describe the growing conditions? While this website is using the scenario of overgrown shrubs, it is also used (like in this case) to produce new growth, to get more blooms. What is your USDA hardiness zone?

I will take another picture this weekend for posting. It was planted at the end of a row of arborvites that were to be a sceen. It gets full sun on one side only. I'm in zone 6 but live in a very cold valley so we plant for zone 5.

More pictures will help, I'm sure. Thanks for the suggestion.

Here are more pictures. We planted the arborvitae to form a screen from our neighbors. They were put in about 15 years ago and have been destroyed by deer over the last 5. We moved our fence back and started a new evergreen garden behind them in 2014. The arborvitae will eventually come out once the new evergreens mature a bit more. The mock orange was planted about 10 years ago at the end of the line of arborvitae to add some color and fragrance, but over the last few years it has showed signs of being unhappy. We haven't done anything with. I can try to move it to the new bed we are creating / planning to incorporate it in with the new evergreens once we cut the arborvitae down. No sure what to do with it - prune it, move it, or give up and dig it out. I keep an inventory of everything we purchase now, but back then I wasn't so diligent, so all I remember is that we bought one that was know for fragrance.

It looks to me like it just needs rejuvenation pruning.

Lynn, your property is gorgeous!!!

Oh my - I was expecting something much bigger. That's really quite small for an old Philadelphus and should be easy to rejuvenate or even move.

Pruning it is. I'll let you know how it looks in the spring.

Cecily, thanks for your very kind comment. It is a work in progress.

Wish we had thought of moving the fence back 15 years ago before the arborvitae where planted. We didn't have the deer problem back then that we do now. I have to remind myself that it will be much nicer with a evergreen/deciduous garden that has depth instead of a "green wall". Still need some privacy, so we have added a combination of evergreen textures and some deciduous. We have the winter to plan for the shrubs that will give us four seasons, fragrance, and colorful blooms. Suggestions are welcomed.

Over the last few years we have staggered the plantings of the following:

1 weeping Serbian spruce

3 dragon lady hollies

3 Prague viburnums

1 cryptomeria

1 Gowdy oriental spruce

3 Sweet Thing magnolias

1 yellowwood

The Yellowwood and the Serbian are our anchors and because of a slight hill nothing in the middle needs to be more than 9 to 12 feet high to give us adequate coverage. Now the fun begins to identify the right shrubs, grasses, and perennials to make all the money and effort worthwhile. Again, suggestions are most welcome.