Be very, very careful about who you hire, if you're going to have somebody prune the tree. If they do a hack job on it, the tree could become weakened. (I'm speaking as a former member of an Urban Forestry crew.) There are very specific rules for how much of a tree's biomass can safely be removed, and what time of year it should be pruned, given the species. Certain types of trees, if stressed by prunning at a certain time of year, can become susceptable to pathogen or insect infestation. Also, pruned in the wrong way, a tree will release a lot of epicormic shoots from adventitious buds. These are dormant buds which only break when the dominant one has been removed. It's the same growth you get when you pinch back an herbaceous dicot, but on a larger scale. (Again, a lot of this will be affected by what type of tree it is.) This has three effects. Firstly, you defeat the original purpose of pruning, because now you've got dense foliage coming out everywhere. Secondly, it's more weakly connected than the original branches were, and more likely to fall when it gets large. Thirdly, it doesn't follow the same growth structure that is natural for the tree, so it makes the tree rather unsightly, and harder to prune. Unfortunately you see it all the time. You can spot an epicormic shoot easily- it will usually be growing straight out from the branch, often up through the canopy, unlike the rest of the branches, and the bark will be a different texture and shade than the rest.

Every different class of rose is pruned differently. The extremes being from grooming hybrid tea types for exhibition purposes (intense pruning), to letting old garden roses grow practically unpruned to achieve their maximum impact in the garden. IMHO the most important pruning any rose bush gets is every so often, and with great care and much deliberation, removing the oldest, most non-productive, declining cane as close to the crown as possible. Such canes are usually at least 3-4 years old. This encourages fresh basal growth (the most valuable growth a rose bush can make), reduces disease and insect problems, and rejuvenates a rose bush like nothing else can. Young bushes do not need this procedure until they get old enough to show such canes, and then usually only the oldest one or two canes a year are removed per bush, the exact number dependant on a number of factors: vigor, growing conditions, etc. I have seen the shrub rose Kockout managed as a hybrid tea, pruned for exhibition purposes, which is somewhat out of context for a Knockout. The results are very nice, though. It (a mature Knockout bush) is pruned to 6 evenly spaced canes about 10" tall each, in spring. The lateral growths from these canes terminate with flower clusters at about 2 ft. When the cluster is done blooming the spent lateral growths are pruned back to the first 5 leaflet that also has an ideal minimm stem diameter of about a pencil's thickness. The balance of the bush is also considered and summer pruing back heights to the first 5 leaflets are adjusted down farther, as needed, so the bush does not grow too tall on one side. New growth emerges and blooms in about 40 days from every fresh 'deadheading to the first 5 leaflet'. The entire bush is in costant bloom, always very fresh looking and stays under three ft. tall by summer's end. An interesting adaptation of a shrub rose, don't you think so? All done by pruning not usually reserved for a shrub rose. Rootman

I'm in a similar growing zone and have 300 shrub roses. Many are green to the tips and require only tip pruning. Others, I remove the dead wood as far as needed to reach good wood. If that requires pruning to a few inches, that's what I have to do. Explorers and hybrid rugosas are pruned to shape and keep in bounds. Depending on the amount of room they have and how I want them to look, determines how much I prune. If I had the one pictured. I'd shape it with a pair of hedge clippers then go back and remove any dead or damaged wood. In our area, the 1/3 method is not necessarily the best method. I think that's good in warm growing areas where there is little dieback. The rabbits got a few of mine too, I clean those up and by late May or early June, mine are all blooming. Some of the shorter pruned bushes take longer to reach their usual size but I have time!

Linda, Without a photo it is impossable to tell what ilex you have, but just shooting off my hip by your description I will guess it is a variety of Ilex x meserveae. It's very wide with long leggy branches and has a wide opening in the middle and back due to the branches being way too long and leggy. Again I am speculating not knowing the variety but the wide opening is not due to lack of pruning it is more likely winter damage and the long leggy branches are the result of the shrub growing into its natural form. One of the wonderful things about hollies is they love to be pruned and you can do this year round (most folks will waite until the holiday season and use their cuttings in seasonal displays.) I would strongly suggest you determine what type of holly you have and deceide whether its sited correctly...after all what is the point of having a shrub growing where you have to constantly shear it into a form that is not natural for the plant. kt