Shrubs - Boxwood
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  (January) We moved from Russellville to Benton the end of July. The beds have not been kept up and are overgrown. I need help with the when and how much to prune. I have Crape Myrtle on the corners of the house and around the deck that are 18 to 20 feet tall. Can I cut these back to 8 to 10 feet? The Boxwood are four feet and the holly are eight feet high. How much can these be cut back and when? I also have overgrown azaleas. Shouldn't I wait until after they bloom before cutting and moving? I will appreciate any advice you can give.

  Why do you want to cut the crape myrtle back that much? If they have a nice shape and are growing well, and are not blocking a view, I wouldn't prune that severely. I think they are stunning small trees. If you need to prune, they can be pruned in late February or March. Selective thinning would be better than a general shearing. For the hollies and boxwoods, prune them back to the desired height. If that means taking off more than one third of the plant, try to get that done before spring growth kicks in--usually March or April is best. General light shaping can be done at any time. For the azaleas, wait until after bloom to prune and move.

  (April) Spring has sprung and time, I think, to do some bush trimming. We have four large boxwood shrubs in front of our office here in Little Rock. Is it ok to trim them back at this time? Thanks for the help!

  Yes, but get it done soon, especially if you need to do severe pruning. Boxwoods tend to have very dense outer foliage, and very little interior foliage. They can look a little ugly immediately following pruning. Pruning while the weather is ideal should encourage a rapid recovery.

  (May) We bought an existing home which has many boxwood shrubs in the front. They are taller than I would like. When is the best time to prune these shrubs and how far can I cut them back without hurting them?

  You can prune as much as necessary, but try to get the job done fairly soon. Boxwoods have a very dense outer foliage, and often have little to no leaves on the interior of the bush. Prune early enough to allow time for plants to grow and fill back in. Severe pruning won't hurt the plant, but try not to make it an annual hard shearing. Prune enough to allow the plant some wiggle room for growth, without immediately being overgrown.

  (June) I have two dwarf nandina's that have grown larger than I want. Can these be trimmed back over all the plant? If so, when is the best time to trim them? Also, is it too late to trim boxwoods? I usually trim them in early spring and again in October, but I did not get around to pruning them yet this year.

  Dwarf nandina's typically don't need the severe pruning of larger shrubs, but if they are extremely overgrown you can prune them. Taking them all the way to the ground at the beginning of summer, may make for a slow recovery. Severe pruning is often best done in late winter to early spring, so we can catch that quick burst of growth in the spring. A light shaping or shearing on boxwoods would be fine at any time.

  (July) Is it too hot to trim boxwood and holly shrubs? Should I wait until September?

  If they simply need a little shaping, go for it. Major pruning now would not be a great idea, since their recovery would be slow. But, September is also not a good time for major pruning, since it can encourage new growth that would not have a chance to harden off before winter. Early spring is best for major pruning, but light shearing or shaping can be done at any time if flowers are not involved.

  (December) How much can we prune overgrown boxwoods? They are probably four or five feet high now. How much pruning can I do at this time of year?

  I would not prune too much on a boxwood at this time of year, for several reasons. One, boxwoods have very dense outer foliage, and very little foliage on the interior of the plant. If you prune you may be looking at a very twiggy shrub all winter -- not too appealing. Secondly, you are taking away their winter protection. Wait and do your pruning in the spring when the plant can recover. For now, light shearing or shaping would be all I would attempt.

  I have some English boxwoods that have gotten too large. Is it ok for me to prune them back now? In another section of the yard I have some other boxwoods that have started turning orangish in color. One of my bushes did this last year then turned yellow and completely died. I fear this will happen to my other bushes. What can I do?

  Boxwoods should not be pruned now. They have such dense outer foliage that it excludes sunlight through to the interior of the bush. Pruning it now, you would have an ugly bush to look at, not to mention that it would be more susceptible to winter damage. Wait for early spring before pruning. The discoloration on your other boxwood could be caused by several different things. One is a nutrient deficiency and the other is nematodes. If the boxwood that died is right next to this one, and now this one is beginning to decline in the same manner, you might want to test the soil.. For nematode testing, you need a quart of soil with roots from the plant in question. This needs to be taken to your local county extension office. For a fee, they will send the sample off to be tested for nematodes. This will determine how many nematodes are in the soil and then you can have the soil treated. A regular soil test can determine nutrient levels and pH. Check with your county office before taking in your samples, because the labs will be shutting down for the holidays at some point, and you don’t want the nematode sample to dry out.

  I have English Boxwood all in my back yard dividing my beds. I would say the dry weather and hot summers have taken their toll on them. They came through the 1994 (?) ice storm beautifully, whereas the Korean Boxwood was severely damaged. Now I have a yard full of half leafed English Boxwood and only new growth on the top and maybe one side some on the inside bare limbs. Help! Do I prune back to a foot off the ground or fertilize, if so, what product or do I just need to replace them? Thanks a million.

  Prune them as soon as possible. Boxwoods traditionally only have foliage on the outer edges of the plant. The outer foliage is so dense, that there is little to no growth on the interior. It sounds like your plants have very little life left in them. If you want to give them one more chance, prune them back to within a foot or so off the ground. Lightly fertilize with a slow release high nitrogen fertilizer, and water well all season. See what happens. If they don't fill in by mid to late season, pull them and replace with something else.

  I was out working in my yard this past weekend and got quite concerned about my boxwoods. There are fairly large webs in the plant. I have heard about spider mites and the damage they can do, so I would like to catch this problem early. Any help would be greatly apprectiated. What should I spray with and how often?

  If you have large webs, they aren’t caused by spider mites, but plain old garden spiders. Spider mites are tiny insects that build up webbing around the stems and veins of the leaves. They only produce webs with heavy infestations, and by then damage is usually visible. Garden spiders are good bugs for your garden, feeding on many other insect pests.

  I have enclosed a picture that shows the front of my house and the foundation plantings. We have English boxwoods, miniature boxwoods, a really thorny holly and nandinas against the house. The nandinas seem very unhealthy, and only one side has growth. They have better top growth but are quite woody at the base. The hollies grow all the time and are a pain to keep trimmed. The boxwoods do fine, occasionally losing a branch. Any suggestions on how to trim, fertilize or change things?

  The problem with your nandinas is competition and shade. They are at the back of the bed and are being shaded out by your larger hollies. The reason you have only top growth is that is where they receive sunlight. The sticky hollies are Chinese hollies--the thorniest around. They are a pain to prune, in more ways than one. For the low or "dwarf" boxwood, (which I would guess are actually dwarf hollies) try to let them grow together, instead of individually shaping them. You may want to pull out some of the Chinese hollies and plant something with color, and without so many thorns. Established non-blooming landscape plants, rarely need fertilization, especially if you are already pruning them every year. You might consider moving the nandinas to a location without the competition.

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