I like the privacy..I wouldn't do much (if any) pruning..can't see it well enough to tell what it is..does it bloom?

It IS a shrub, not a tree :-) And how best to prune and when will depend on what sort of shrub it is. The photo is not clear/close enough or showing enough detail to determine what kind of shrub.

also help to know where you are ....

we need a close up of the leaves.. with a scale.. to get an ID ...

i agree.. its there for deck privacy ...

i dont see any hurry for you to be cutting on it.. so lets wait until you get the ID.... so you can make informed decisions ... you can always cut later.. its hard to glue mistakes back on .....

the best thing.. imo.. that you can do in a new garden ...is to spend the first year just observing.. and deciding what to do ... especially if you are a newb at it all ... there usually isnt any hurry .. unless its rotting and hanging over the house.. or some such ...

ken

Thanks a lot all of your for your answer. I do not remember seeing it blooming last year but I will make sure to check better this spring. Unfortunately, I could not find any closer pictures where we can see the leaves.

Thanks Ken for the advice. I think I will do that then. So far, nothing is threatening the house so it it can wait another year of observation ;-)

Thanks a lot !

Can probably tell kind from close view of twigs, one close enough for features of winter buds to be made out

I'm thinking it might be Burning Bush, Euonymus alatus. Was it screaming bright red last fall? If that's what it is, step back, you may hear a few words.

Yes it was quite red and beautiful during fall. Indeed, It really look like a Burning bush if i compare with google 's pictures.

Below are more pictures of it now

I can tell from the stems..yes it's euonymous alatus..

Listed as a noxious weed in some eastern locales. Where are you?

Thanks a lot Yardvaark. I like its current shape, which looks like the V-shape you describes, and it is perfect to hide the street from the deck. I am going to follow what you suggest. I actually started yesterday cleaning the bottom, because i thought it was such a mess. I already removed a lot of branches, which were going in every direction. I will do more cleaning until the 50% line.

Thanks a lot, I really appreciate.

You should know that this plant can be a prolific self seeder in many areas (one of the reasons for its invasive status) and it is also known to produce copious root suckers.

Thomas, I think you will come to love this plant as a tree form. There is (or was ... I haven't been back there in many years) a pair of them that flanked the entrance to my home town library, which was a beautiful 1930's, art deco Indiana limestone structure. They were outstanding regardless of the season, but stunning when the leaves turned red in the fall. They were one of the few plants I admired even as a kid. They were at least forty or fifty years old when I last saw them and still doing great.