Just because an existing plant is healthy and thriving does not mean it was well-selected initially or the slightest bit suitable in terms of size, scale or appearance for the current location. Besides, this is now YOUR garden and your preferences should override. That doesn't necessarily mean you need to go in and remove all existing plantings and start over but there is no need to feel guilty about removing anything and replacing it with something else more appropriate.

If just chopping down or otherwise destroying the plant in question is objectionable, consider transplanting it to a more suitable location, offering it to friends or neighbors or posting a notice on your local craigslist or ebay as "free to a good home - you dig".

Assuming they can be dug up, ask your neighbors or co-workers if they want them. Are you a member of your local Freecycle group? Post on Freecycle message that you have free landscaping but they have to dig or whatever.
That might alleviate some guilt.

Here is a link that might be useful: Freecycle

I totally agree with Gardengal. If you don't want them, you should feel absolutely free to take them out. The same plant is probably available in multiples of 100 at your local garden centre. Not likely to be a rare botanical threasure.

But because I have an attic (and basement) just like yours, I would only add that you might also be able to prune the bushes to something other than the meatballs they now appear to be. "Are kept trimmed" is an odd way to put it - I presume you are trimming them, and you can trim them to any shape you like. You could maybe take out some major branches, let them grow taller and keep them thinner, or make topiary chess pieces out of them.

But the main thing is, you should give yourself permission to remove them. Feel free to post a photo here (in the same thread) if you want second opinions.

KarinL

Gardengal, I hadn't even thought about Craigslist (though I surf it often enough!). I'll definitely post there -- I really like the "free -- you dig" idea. (Probably not as much fun as my plan of heavy duty rope attached to the hitch on my pickup. But probably less fraught with YouTube potential. LOL)

theras_garden, it looks like there is a local Freecycle board so I'll post a notice there too.

karinl, the bushes "are kept trimmed" not by me, but by my boyfriend so the trimming schedules (and shapes) are not entirely my call. Although I can catalyze the trimming by threat of housework. Actually, "shaping" them crossed my mind during my post-workout shower this noon.

I'll try to post a photo later this evening when I get home. Any input would be much appreciated!

Lorree

Without a picture, I may be way off base, but ....

Steps down from the porch mean the porch is raised. Sometimes this translates into about 5 ft of plain white siding between the ground and the top of the porch rail. Other times, it's just 2 or 3 ft of not much of anything between the ground and the porch floor. Either way, taking out the shrubs and replacing them with something deciduous or herbaceous is going to expose whatever it is for a good part of the year. Is this acceptable? If it isn't, what is the smallest a shrub can be and cover what needs to be covered?

If the plants are yews, they can be cut back hard.

Ok, so the photo that I was remembering doesn't really show the front of the house. Hopefully by the time I get home today there'll still be enough daylight for me to get a "postable" photo.

mad_gallica -- Yes, the porch is raised. But since the house is older (c. 1930), the porch is worth exposing a bit. It sits on brick supports and has some architectural details. Hence, part of my motivation for reducing the shrubbery (a shrubbery??!! oops, sorry).

I'm thinking the bushes might be yews 'cause I haven't seen any berries. (Guess it's time to hit Google and see if I can figure out what I've got.) How hard can yews be cut back?

Lorree

Overgrown yews can be rejuvenated and they respond well to a heavy pruning. Prune in spring as new growth appears, and then remove any stray growth as needed throughout the summer.

To hand prune, remove longest growth at point of origin every other year. This helps keep an informal, natural look.

If there are still green needles on the lower parts of the branches, they should do just fine. But, if you're cutting into bare branches, it may be a little difficult for the new needle growth to develop. Whenever possible it's best to prune back as far as but staying within green needle growth zone.

Ok, so I haven't figured out how to embed the picture in the message.... At any rate, this is the front of the house from the other side of the street. See what I mean about the bushes?

Thanks for any suggestions!
Lorree

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:50710}}

I'm guessing yews also, and yews already sheared to a fare thee well. You could probably go farther without hitting a dead zone, but then you'd be left with smaller cubes and rectangles.

You do have a nice porch and the shrubs are not an enhancement. Even being Catholic, I could rip those out without a tinge of guilt.

Great house and porch. I'm with duluthinbloom, I don't think those shrubs are doing anything for the overall look. I'm Catholic and I wouldn't feel guilty either.

Now that I'm feeling less guilty about the planned shrub removal.... What's the best removal method? According to my mother (who coincidentally recently saw a PBS program that covered this topic) the best method is to use a truck and tow chain because digging won't remove enough of the roots.

The truck isn't a problem: I have a 4wd 1/2 ton -- and access to bigger vehicles if necessary. I'm sure I can borrow a tow chain. (Probably the most difficult part of planning the extraction will be avoiding having the truck keys end up in the hands of anyone with a "y" chromosome. I can just see the whole thing ending as a nightmare version of "Home Improvement.")

Any other suggestions for getting rid of older, overgrown yews? If I pull them out, should I saturate the ground first? Any cautions? (I've been towing horse trailers for years, so on the pulling part I'm ok.)

Lorree

I just saw that episode. It was amazing. They used a rental machine, sort of like a hybrid between a tractor and a huge push lawnmower. It moved on treads so didn't muss the lawn. But it cost 200 bucks a day to rent.

My advice, do it soon before the ground freezes or wait until spring. You've got all winter to plan that way.

That was interesting - it was an episode of "Ask This Old House" - which is oftentimes repeated during the course of the week (at least here it is). There is definitely something to be said about having the right tools. The key in that removal was an initial knocking down of the shrubs - pushing them over to help disengage the rootball a little before attaching the chain and pulling.

If it's impossible to knock them down because of space and lawn, etc. and if pulling them out with chain and 4wd doesn't work; an additional option would be chainsawing them off at ground level and renting a less expensive than $200 a day stump grinder, or axing as much of the stump out as possible and planting around them. A removal by a professional tree service is fairly expensive. I'll be getting the bill for the removal of 5 mature trees shortly... $2500.

I wondered about that episode because the plants just came tearing out of the ground, the whole root ball. I wondered why the plants didn't snap off. Seems like at the very least you would have to do some digging around the root ball to get it to easily come out, but I've never removed a shrub that way. The few times I've done it I've just dug and dug, and even had to lever the thing out!

I always worry on those shows that some pipes will come flying out, too.

Hey, thanks for the info on the exact program. Looks like it'll be on again tomorrow afternoon and I can tape it!

Lorree

Correct me if I'm wrong, but yews don't resprout from roots, do they? If not, then you could do all this with manual equipment - mammoth loppers, a pruning saw, maybe a chainsaw for the stumps, and then hack out the bases with an axe as suggested, or go underground with a shovel and a saw. You can leave the bulk of the roots in the ground.

Hey if you have horse trailers, then maybe you have access to real horsepower too!

But I don't think either of the horsepower methods or the axe and lopper method will get you something that can be posted on Craigslist. For that, you need to consider shovels and sliding the rootball out onto a tarp.

KarinL

karinl, I don't know if I need to worry about the roots resprouting. If I can find a home for the shrubs it'll be on a "free -- you dig" basis.

Yes, I do have access to real horsepower, but he's never pulled anything in his life. Besides, it'd be difficult to convince him that he was supposed to pull them rather than jump them. And I don't really want to find out if my porch is strong enough to support 1250 lbs of horse landing on it. ROFL

Lorree