Gardening and Horticulture - How Much To Trim Boxwoods

I have 6 boxwoods that are about 4ft in diameter. When I bought my house, they were plush, but not exactly round. My question is, now that it's fall, how far back can I cut back my boxwoods so that (a) they grow back round and (b) I don't destroy the value of my 4'-5' diameter shrubs.

Sorry I don't have pictures... at work right now. If needed, I'll get some photos on here this afternoon. Thanks!

Try to keep shape of the boxwoods by just shaving off the green. If you start taking too much of the brown branch parts its hard to get that part to grow back if at all. I only take the green leaf looking stuff and new green branch growth off. If you keep up on it a few times a season you should be fine keeping the shape you desire. They do not grow round though so when cutting them back, cut to the shape you desire. Im no expert though just speeking from my own doings at home. Also now would be a good time to dose them with fertalizer expecially if you plan to really chop them. We use SprinGreen Tree and Shrub Care Maintenance: Fertilizing Trees & Disease Control (http://www.spring-green.com/Tree-Shrub-Care.aspx) at home and have always been thrilled with the results.

I have to disagree...you need to occasionally get inside the shrub and thin it a little bit. If you don't let some sun and air circulate down inside, you wind up with a brown woody inner mass surrounded by a thin layer of green. By removing some of the woodier stems and branches you provide more nutrients for the remaining so that they will grow thicker and healthier. You don't take so much at once that it leaves spotty open areas..just a bit of thinning.

If you just constantly shear the exterior you will eventually not have enough leaves to support the food production (photosynthesis) for the size of the plant.

This is what I did with mine back in VA (Tidewater area) and they were healthy, thick, and green for the 16 yrs I was there.

Can't get any better info than the last 2 links. The Boxwood Society is located right at UVa...

The American Boxwood Society (http://www.boxwoodsociety.org/)
Thinning Boxwood * * * * (http://www.usna.usda.gov/Gardens/faqs/BoxwoodThinning.html)
Spring bulb strategies; Pruning boxwoods - Roanoke.com (http://www.roanoke.com/outdoors/gardening/wb/196447)

That is actually where I am right now: this wooded shrub with a thin layer of dark green. I was actually just giving them a quick trim the other day with the hedgers and noticed when I hit one area and shaved off about a quarter of an inch, it was just a solid wooded matrix. The rest of the plants are in tact so they'll spring back leaves when the weather gets warmer, but still obnoxious. The previous owners (a bank) didn't really care how big they got... as long as they were round and green.

If I "thin out" the shurb greater than normal, will it start sprouting leaves deeper in the plant? (i.e., cut more branches then normal, but leaving a good layer of green on the outside for sustainability?)