Gardening and Horticulture - Bush too far out of control? (Pic)

So here it is... I bought a house about a year ago. I just concreted my driveway and im ready to do some landscaping. I would like to trim this bush down to a manage-able thing. I dont know what type of bush it is, anyone know? Should I just cut it out of starting trimming it down?


http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p276/superman_006/Photo_040309_002.jpg

Thats a little far away for me to guess. A little closer showing the branches and leaves would be appreciated.

Someone else may have an idea, but it would also help if you put where you are located in your profile.

Located in Charleston, WV.

Here is a close-up
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p276/superman_006/Photo_040309_003.jpg

Ahhh TY, much better. I can't give you an answer..but there are several knowlegable folks that probably can. You should hear something in time to do some trimming tomorrow.

Oh, one other thing..does it have any berries, seeds, cones or blooms at any time? That always helps the experts..

Almost anything can be trimmed, but if you want to keep it healthy and looking good, better to get the right procedures.

There is no berrys, seeds, or cones....just the needles. It looks like this all year long. My niegbor said that he help but it in 30 years ago or so and he doesnt know what it is... and it was only a 2 or 3 ft tall

Superman, it appears to be a yew, but your second pic is a bit small. My only reservation is that you mention not seeing any berries. I have several yews and don't always see berries. Take a look at these pics.

Japanese yew aka Taxus cuspidata
http://www.uwgb.edu/BIODIVERSITY/herbarium/gymnosperms/taxcus01.htm

American yew aka Taxus canadensis
http://www.uwgb.edu/BIODIVERSITY/herbarium/gymnosperms/taxcan01.htm

Pruning of conifers (needled evergreens) has to be done according to which one you have. With some, cutting back to bare wood with no needles can result in the death or severe decline of the shrub.

Newt

Superman, it appears to be a yew, but your second pic is a bit small. My only reservation is that you mention not seeing any berries. I have several yews and don't always see berries. Take a look at these pics.

Japanese yew aka Taxus cuspidata
Trees of Wisconsin: Taxus cuspidata, Japanese yew (http://www.uwgb.edu/BIODIVERSITY/herbarium/gymnosperms/taxcus01.htm)

American yew aka Taxus canadensis
Trees of Wisconsin: Taxus canadensis, American yew (http://www.uwgb.edu/BIODIVERSITY/herbarium/gymnosperms/taxcan01.htm)

Pruning of conifers (needled evergreens) has to be done according to which one you have. With some, cutting back to bare wood with no needles can result in the death or severe decline of the shrub.

Newt


I belive its the american yew but I never seen one of the female berries on it.

From the shape and the length of time it's been in the ground, Hick's yew comes to mind. It's a cross between an English and Japanese yew.
http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=hick's%20yew&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wi

Just to be sure, let's eliminate some type of Juniper. They come in many different sizes and shapes.
http://www.uwgb.edu/BIODIVERSITY/herbarium/gymnosperms/juncom01.htm

Newt

From the shape and the length of time it's been in the ground, Hick's yew comes to mind. It's a cross between an English and Japanese yew.
hick's yew - Google Image Search (http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=hick's%20yew&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wi)

Just to be sure, let's eliminate some type of Juniper. They come in many different sizes and shapes.
Trees of Wisconsin: Juniperus communis, common juniper (http://www.uwgb.edu/BIODIVERSITY/herbarium/gymnosperms/juncom01.htm)

Newt

i think the needles look diffrent from the jupiter..... and I see where the hick grows 15ft +....so I am going to say the hick yew

You can hard prune yews. Best time is now before new growth appears. Keep in mind that if it is a Hick's yew, these are slow growing shrubs, so you might want to prune in stages by pruning a half or quarter of what you want gone, and then do the same next year. Here's some info that should be helpful.
http://www.conifersociety.org/cs/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=19&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0&POSTNUKESID=6992a8935f54613ab0e0687804397b4f

Click on the picture here to see what shearing does. There's also good info here.
http://search.shelmerdine.com/NetPS-Engine.asp?CCID=11050002&PID=1490&page=pdp

Personally, I would hand prune, removing a few branches and stepping back to see where it's going. Hand pruning instead of shearing will give you a more natural look and you can prune some limbs back more then others and the pruned tips will be hidden in the remaining foilage.

Newt

See superman...told you you'd have some work for the weekend.

I agree w/newt.....prune some..step back..prune a little...step back. If you have a boss lady there...have her check it as you do it. You don't want it looking like it just got a haircut.

Thanks for all the info....I dont mean to seem like a complete idiot but which part of the shrub is the branch nodes? One of the artical states that I can trim it back the the branch nodes.

Superman, you are so very welcome! No question is stupid when it comes to gardening! A branch node is where two branches meet or a 'bump' where a new branch would emerge. Prune just above it at an angle. Guess it's time for more links? ;)

Some good sketches here. Look at figure 4 - 'heading back'.
http://www.hort.purdue.edu/ext/HO-4.pdf

Good pics here on how to make pruning cuts.
http://www.aridzonetrees.com/images/AZTimes/pruning%20cut%20angle%20and%20placement.pdf
http://www.aridzonetrees.com/images/AZTimes/Pruning%20Cut%20Angle%20Wound%20Formation.pdf
http://www.aridzonetrees.com/images/AZTimes/Pruning%20other%20common%20mistakes.pdf

Unfortunately the fantastic site I had no longer exists in it's old form. If it's still not clear let me know and I'll search out a site that might be easier for you to understand. Sorry about that.

Newt