Advice on pruning/fixing my Viburnum shrub

Hi, I've only owned my own home for 3 years and I'm tackling educating myself on care of my trees and shrubs this year. All of them except my Viburnum I'm feeling pretty comfortable with. The past couple of years I've sort of given the Viburnum some bad haircuts not knowing what I was doing. Now they look like matted fur balls that my cat spit out! Oops.

There are a few different issues I'm dealing with. First of all, everything I've read says to only take out about 1/3 at a time. Well, I honestly don't think this is true for my Viburnum. I cut more than half off last year and the things tripled in size this year! So first off, is it going to be ok to take more like half out of these things? I want them to grow back next year to fit the size they currently are or even smaller.

So I started out by taking the matted mess out on the ground and in the middle of the bush, but because of my previous bad care, the bush has all these matted tangles mostly on the ends of the bush. So if I cut the branches back to the center, there won't be anything but straight sticks growing straight up left. Is that ok?? It's going to look very odd like that.

Last issue. Should I be focused on trying to make these low growing rounded shrubs in the future or keep the lower branches cut back and let the growth come from the top (more like a bushy tree)? They seem to want to grow straight up is why I'm asking.

I'm not sure what variety of Viburnum these shrubs are. My best guess is Trilobum, but I've never seen them grow fruit. So I'm not really sure. I do know that the flowers look like the Trilobum variety. Here are a few pictures as they look today.

Any advice would be appreciated.

A close-up of the interior mess... Not the best representation, but hopefully you get the idea.

Viburnums are pruned right after flowering. Annual hard pruning of a viburnum is not desirable and shouldn't be necessary. My advice would be to take them out entirely and replace them with shrubs that will not outgrow their alloted placement.

Darn, I only checked on online reference for the pruning time and they suggested winter for pruning. I knew I was a bit early, but they really were in very sad condition after what I had done to them in the spring. A little more research suggests early spring before the new leaves come out unless they needed repair.

I might have been a bit vague about my intentions earlier. I really don't want to rip the Viburnum out, it seems so wasteful. Other than the left one that occasionally runs into my front walk, they aren't hurting anything. I don't mind them hiding the front patio if that's what would be best for them, I just thought it might be nice to keep a small window of openness there. Really I just would like to know what's best as far as how they should look and be maintained.

The poor things were choking to death in the middle with thick over grown branches that were mangled in knots, most growing back down into the ground. I think the combination of my misguided grooming in the past and being mashed down by heavy snows the last two winters was responsible for most of that. Anyway, I took a crack at one of them late this afternoon and here is how the shrub looks now. Does this seem reasonable? Or should I have done something different? I mostly just thinned things out of the base and middle to clean it up. I didn't really touch anything on the exterior of the shrub.

This message was edited Oct 8, 2007 10:14 PM

I can certainly understand your reluctance to tear out a vigorous shrub. But, if it is a trilobum the expected height and width is 10ft.or even wider I see doors and windows nearby. You will have an annual battle on your hands to keep them from blocking the view and entry way. The pruning tangle you are working so hard to correct may be the result of the previous owners attempts to keep the shrub in check for the same reason. Pruning in winter removes the fruit bearing flowers for the next year. Light pruning right after flowering, if not excessive, at least leaves some flower buds for next year and allows the shrub to produce some new flowering wood. Prune no more. If all of next years' flowers havn't been pruned off maybe you will see it flower and fruit. Next spring make an exact identification. If you cant figure it out from the plant files here take a cutting to your local extension agent. When you learn the shrub's natrual height and spread, then decide if you can have this shrub grow in an attractive manner and still get in the door and see out the windows. Sometimes stuffs' just gotta go.

If you have a special interest in viburnums, Michael Dirr's new book on viburnums just came out. This is the ultimate resource and authority on this Genus. http://www.timberpress.com/books/isbn.cfm/9780881928532/viburnums/dirr

This message was edited Oct 9, 2007 8:45 AM

Thanks for the info. I won't make any cuts on the limbs I'm leaving. 10 feet!!! I thought these were shrubs not trees. (slowly contemplating giant shrubs) Yes, there is a porch between the shrubs and the windows and I do like a little bit of a privacy screen, but I'm not sure I want the whole thing closed in.

It really comes as no surprise that they didn't think through the long-term. When we first moved in I dug out 2 Ponderosa Pines, some variety of dwarf pine, and a blue spruce. I still have another Spruce, and 3 Aspens, a Poplar and some variety of Crab Apple I think. They all looked cute at 3ft, but I knew my little backyard (maybe 1000sqft) was going to be a huge mess with all those huge trees. I only just ID'd the one tree as a Poplar that is only 20ft from our (and the neighbors) house. Had I known what I know now, I would have taken it out too when it was only 6ft tall. As it is, it's taller than the houses now and I'm still contemplating it. Sorry, I got to rambling.

Thanks again for your helpful feedback.

Those will get big and aren't the best choice for planting next to doors or under windows. If I was you I would prune them way back. Most likely they grow right back to the size they are next year but thicker.