We have a large evergreen "shrub" on the north side/front of our home. It has grown like crazy this year (lots of bright green sprigs all over); however, it is beginning to look rather unruly. When is the best time to trim and how far back can I trim without causing permanent damage? Thanks!
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trimming evergreens
Submitted by stanleycox on August 18, 2008 - 11:04am.
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Evergreen Pruning
The first step is to identify which evergreen you have. This will dictate how you will prune the plant. As for timing with most evergreens the best time to prune is in the spring just after growth has emerged. You can do some follow up from time to time during the summer if needed.
Avoid the heat of summer and the dead of winter. I would also avoid late August through October to prevent new growth before winter.
Dennis - Johnson County Extension
Im going to guess you are
Im going to guess you are talking about a yew.
It would be best to wait until after the cold starts and new growth is discouraged.
If you prune this late in the summer several potential things could occur from the weather as new growth starts:
-if new growth starts and it gets real hot it could kill that new growth and you'll be left with brown tips
-if new growth gets hit by a hard frost it will again leave you with brown tips
neither will "kill" the plant but could stunt it's growth some.
Best to wait until the plant is essentially dormant.
It wont hurt that much to prune it now if it really bothers you, just be aware of the above issues. The brown tips can later be pruned out when it goes dormant or early spring.
Yews generally need trimming several times a year.
Best to get a positive ID
Different types of evergreens respond differently to trimming and being cut back hard. Yews are very good about regrowing, even when cut down to tjhe ground. I once cut a dead-looking Canadian yew to the ground with the plan to dig it up the following spring, and it came back. Two years later, with a lot of compost and regular feedings, it was beautiful. The same can't be said for pines and junipers, so it would be good to know what kind of evergreen the poster is talking about.