Can this somehow be trimmed to be smaller?

Can this be trimmed?

replacing the yellow guys *they have not looked good for 2 years now - tried cutting them back last year) with these:

if thats a burning bush on the end.. just get rid of it ... need a bit closer pic ...

if your not ready to get rid of it.. just go at it ... you cant kill the thing.... and with its root mass.. it will be just as big by fall ...

ken

I'll get a close up..I can't just hack at it....The leaves are only on the outside...Don't want it too look crappy all season...Perhaps cut it back in the fall...Or reshape it?

But you CAN just hack at it if it's burning bush. They grow quickly and will fill back in. The little square bushes look like boxwood -- those are slow growers and will look awful for years if you hack them. So go ahead and whack the BB (or yank it out & replace with something smaller) but only give the box a light trim.

Thanks...so I took a pic...not sure if it helps...I know the leaves get bigger and fall off in the fall...is it a burning bush?

No, not burning bush. It's a viburnum (snowball bush). Don't do any pruning until after it blooms and then only prune lightly.

So can it be stopped from getting bigger?

"So can it be stopped from getting bigger?"

It needs rejuvenation pruning because it has been sheared in the past, and it looks rather unappealing. This will reduce the size and make it grow denser.

Woah....This looks unappealing? Can you show me a pic of what it Shud look like...We like the round look and it feverishly flowers...I can smell the fragrance in my bedroom above..neighbors seem to like the look....It's just becoming a struggle to keep it this size....Though I have managed for a decade since we inherited it....

"Can you show me a pic of what it Shud look like.."

Yes. https://terra4incognita.files.wordpress.com/2008/05/100_0329sm.jpg

Viburnums are not a formal shrub, and don't really fit in well in a formal landscape.

I'm sorry that I offended you. It's your shrub and you can manage it however you please. I will remove my comment above. Please accept my apologies.

It wasn't you cecily, it was me who called it unappealing.

This is what a full sized snowball viburnum looks like:

garden web photos · More Info

Wow...That's a very nice...When I move in it was round so I kept it that way...It really does not belong where it is! Two thoughts...How big is root ball..How deep...Sucker has likely beens there 20 years....Second thought...Maybe in fall (?) I can trim out sides to try to get the sort of mushroom effect shown in picture?

You could prune it like that now, but the problem is all of the crossing, large branches that are contributing the the dense, round shape. When you trim out the sides, it will take out parts of the top too. Most likely, you will have to make heading cuts as well. But that's just my thought and what I would do.

It's certainly possible to reestablish some semblance of natural form after years of shearing, but it's not going to be a one season change. I've been working on rejuvenating a shrub that has been sheared for decades, but in the opposite way than most. When many people hear "rejuvenating" pruning, they think: remove all the large stems (aka trunks) and allow younger, small stems to take over the form. With a shrub that has been sheared for quite some time, if you have the patience (I'm talking years) and the desire to try something different, it is possible to select attractive mature trunks and reinvent the shrub.