Expert: C.L. Fornari - 9/4/2006

Question
Oue cedar shrubs are approx. 30 years old and badly overgrown. When I try to trim them back I easily make the front of them go brown. How and when is the best way to trim overgrown hedges? They are around the pool and currently I lose about two feet of deck.
Thank you

Answer
Tammy,
Many plants are commonly called "cedar" so without knowing what type of evergreen these are it's hard to know exactly what to advise.  But those that are called cedar are either arborvitae, Juniperus virginiana, or  Chamaecyparis, and none of these flush out if cut to bare wood.  If you cut them and the area goes brown, I'd suspect that they are arborvitaes.  In any case, your best bet is to limb them up, not prune them back.  That is, cut the lower branches back to the trunk, leaving a stump of only about an inch next to the main trunk.  You can cut a quarter of the way up the tree and still have them look good - In other words, if the plants are twelve feet high you can cut the bottom three feet and they will look fine.  Then every year trim another limb or two back to the trunk.  

This is the only way to clear walkways etc from overgrown hedges - your only other option would be to remove them completely..

I hope this helps!
C.L.
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