help pruning my evil looking overgrown bushes

Help... I have these 3 overgrown bushes in front of my garden... it provides privacy but they are an eye sore,,, I don't want to destroy the bushes, but I can;t see "any shape" in this things...

Any suggestions will be appreciated!!!! thanks

Someone apparently has been whacking away at them for years. I'm a proponent of allowing plants to assume their natural form, if there is room to do so. Assuming they are junipers (?) if you cut into them too much they will not respond with new growth and you'll have a bunch of dead stubs instead of green shrubbery.

So, is there room for them to grow and display the beauty of their natural form without mutilation?

Guy S.

I agree with Guy, looks like they've been overpruned already into the shape they're in, I'd either pull them out and plant something you like better, or let them grow for a while and see how they look in their more natural state.

Instead of pruning the shrub, plant something around it to fill-in. I'd use something like Cranesbill (hardy Geranium) or a groundcover-type plant such as Pachysandra terminalis 'Variegata' to bring your attention away from the shrub.

ok... what I think is that for the last 6 years, the previous owner tryed to do the pruning by himself and didn't know what he was doing... anyway, these 3 junipers... are more than 6 feet wide each and they really look overgrown...

I will take some more pictures tomorrow and post... next spring I am planting a rose garden, and I just want to see how I can incorporate that into the mix...

I will look what Cranesbill is and aks Pachysandra.. ( I am a complete novice at gardening... just started this year).

thanks for your suggestions.!

Well, if the plants are too big for that location and don't fit to your plans, remove them. Sometimes conifers like that get to an older age and they can't be repaired to look good.

I would take all three out and plant something nicer.

just look... you can't even see the house from the street...

sure can't...LOL

sorry... for some reason the picture didn't attach... I will attach it later tonight!!!!

If you feel like they're too big for the space, there's not really much you can do besides take them out. If you prune them to try and make them significantly smaller, you're going to have to prune back to a point where it's all old dead brown stuff and that'll look even worse, plus it likely won't make new growth from that point so you'll have to take them out then anyway.

I think there has been a glitch in the server or something, I couldn't get my pics to attach either.

I've got the same problem!!!!! can't get the pic's to attach to message.....somebody please help......"I must share my pics"

p.s. this problrm started last night.

conifer50

yank 'em. Anything you might do to make the junipers look better will take 10x the effort of yanking them and planting something nicer.

Oh, and there is hardly anthing more disgusting than the inside of a juniper that has been improperly maintained

Like this:

What is the latin name for the junipers that have the flat topped windswept look? I usually see them at around 15-20ft (popular in the 60's). All of the ones I research are cone shaped.

Most unusual. I'd coat it in epoxy and offer it on eBay as some kind of unique artwork.

LOL, notgrnjean, you're up early . . . or late. Pulling vinca by moonlight?

Here are the monster bushes>>>>

If that's a Holstein cow they're really big.

Only a Cheesehead (or a Krauthead, like me) could recognize a Holstein at 1/4 mile!

Guy S.

I had similar overgrown junipers, and I pulled them out. My yard looks much much better. Come to think of it, there's still one in the back that needs to go.

Unless you can live with them the size and shape they are, as the others have said, they just don't do well with renovating.

Good luck.

w

Thanks Resin, I think that's it! It must take many years for them to develop the twisty ancient looking trunk?

yep...they will be gone next year... I am buying a chain saw... and ask my neighbor to help me... this is my attempt to prune another bush... they look like punky bushes now.... my hedge trimmer is not that big and my ladder is not so tall... so I did as much as I could... I almost cried so much that I was laughing after the hard work!!!

Looks like it's lying on the ground laughing with you!
Oh, I see -- the pic is sideways!

Consider doing MUCH less with the hedge trimmer -- or just sell it on E-Bay. That poor tree will grow out of the bad haircut in a year or two. So many plants look so much better when left to assume their natural form; so many plant trimmers cannot trim to perfect symmetry; and so many plant owners feel so much better when they have time to relax, instead of constantly trying to maintain vigilance over contrived shearing jobs that need a shave (and a styptic pencil?) with every little growth spurt.

Guy S.

My personal view is that if I need to do more than prune out dead wood every spring to keep the shrub in the right form and height I'm not planting it -- I'm composting it.

Kassia, it looks like a Cha-cha-cha-chia pet. It looks like your landscape is a mature landscape that may need some amendment and all that grass! Time to dig some of that out and start having fun planting new and interesting plants.

I have massively overwhelming juniper bushes that may have been there since the house was built for all I know. Some of them are turning brown. Some of them are showing ugly branches and not much else. They look awful. Some smaller bushes and some flowers would look much nicer.

But how do I yank them out? Should I hire a professional? Do it myself? I hate to destroy any living, growing thing, but these take over half my front yard. I can't get to that part of my side yard because of them, and I'm afraid that they hide wasps and spiders. I also have massive juniper bushes around a light fixture, and I can't even get to the light fixture to put a new bulb in.

kassia...that looks sort of like a pineapple..you could have a topiary. the welcome shrub

they are easy to yank out when the soil is slightly dry but not frozen. Shovels and a pair of heavy pruning clippers is all your need. If you want to compost the mortal remains, you will need to rent a chipper.

Hook them up with a log chain to a friend's dump truck and tell him to put the pedal to the metal. They make great bonfire wood for weenie roasting, and occasionally you'll find some beautiful sculptural qualities that might suggest a lamp base or something like that. You also might consider saving some of them by limbing them up artistically into small picturesque trees, if their location, size, and form are coducive to that.

WH, you gotta get past this spider thing somehow -- it's taking all the fun out of your outdoor life. Come on out here for a visit and we'll try some aversion therapy! Hee-hee-hee!

Guy S.

See, I knew you guys would have a good laugh.... I did 2 of them this way... guess how many more I have to do.... come on... they are yes, mature... only 2 out of 10! yes, I still have 6 to do it because my wonderful neighbors had mercy on me and trimmed the 2 smaller ones and they actually look decent.... I have to buy a taller ladder...
I asked 2 of my neigbhboors if they are offended if I don't finish the prunning this year and they said that they are ok with that... since I am the one that has the most flowers on my street and they saw how hard I worked this year...

This is my first year in this house so I have a better picture of shade and sunny areas , and I have planted some roses and perenials... my blog has some pictures of what I have done...

What I need is Edward Scissorhands .... anyone has Johnny Deep's phone number???

Johnny Deep -- that's great! LOLOL!

I hope you "forget" to trim them for a few years and see how much better they look in their natural form . . . no ladders involved then either!

Guy S.

Guy, my only fear is that they will grow so much that it will take over the house... hahaha

Yeah, if they're up against the house ya gotta euthanize them. But if they're out in the yard where they have room to grow and offer some landscape benefits, consider leaving them alone for a few years and see what happens.

Guy S.

Your neighbours will like this topiary.

Johnny Deep? Sounds like the name of a porn star.

Yeah, sort of goes with that topiary from Mike, doesn't it!

(We're bad -- gotta clean things up around here . . . )

Anonymous

I think Johnny Depp. . But what's the difference?