We recently moved into a home with established trees and shrubs. We love the landscape, but do not like the way the shrubs have been pruned. The previous owner used a power clipper to prune the shrubs. Their shapes are artificially thick and round or flat on top. Can they be pruned to give them a more natural look?
Shrubs which have been sheared can be pruned to restore a more natural shape and thickness. However, it may take more than one pruning to recover. When shrubs are sheared the tips of all the branches are pruned. This causes them to produce multiple side branches. The first pruning causes about three branches to develop where there was one before. The second pruning produces about nine branches to develop. After the third pruning there are 20 to 30 branches.
Start by following a branch down inside the shrub two or three layers below the outer branches. A single cut deep inside will remove multiple branches outside. By removing about a third of the branches this way, the shrub is opened up and no longer looks so crowded. The adjoining side branches fill in where a major branch has been removed. If the shrub has been pruned into an artificial square shape, the branches on the corners are shortened more to give them a round shape. Don’t prune so severely that all the leaves are removed on the corners. You may have to prune several times with a month’s growth between them to completely recover. Don’t prune all branches to the same length. The variety of lengths will give the shrub a more natural appearance.
It is also important to prune upper branches shorter than lower ones. This allows light to reach the lower leaves.
