Why not limb it up into a small tree and plant other plants underneath it. Some of the best looking plants at my house are ancient burning bush that I have allowed to grow tall. I trim any small branches that form below 5' or so. I can easily see through it and it helps shape a 'garden room' adjacent to it.

They really are bushes and they need to be shorter. I am going to have to trim them down . We had to replace two, because of them dying. If I trim some of the top off that won't make them trees right. Won't that encourage growth at the bottom?
{{gwi:493565}}

They were really beautiful this year and now they have all their buds and berries and if I trim, all the buds will be cut off. Does anyone know what that does that do to them? Will they leaf out at all in spring? Should I trim now or wait till March

Trimming anything that has flower buds already formed just means they won't have those flowers in the spring. But they will grow just fine and have leaves.

And as a bonus, if you trim off those berries now - the birds won't be able to eat them and spread them to other locations. Burning bush is actually considered an invasive plant in some areas because the birds spread the berries.

By all means, trim away now if you want. They will recover.

The birds may not get to them but a few will inevitably drop down on the ground at the curb and wash away during a heavy rain to some natural area where the seeds will likely germinate and create a thicket of vegetation/wildlife-displacing out-of-control monstershrubs.

thanks, then I won't hurt them? we are coming into winter, frost , snow etc. In fact it went down to 20 degrees F last night. I don't think they are invasive here, they do no grow wild . Heck a bush is a pretty heft price.thanks!

I don't think they are invasive here

People always say that. Go to Google and do a search for "euonymus alatus invasive" and add the name of your state. Look through a few of the links and see what you find.

And even if it isn't invasive, you shouldn't buy it because if it's selling in your area, you can bet it will end up getting shipped to other places where it is invasive.

Sort of like really awful fashion trends.

What I don't understand is that Burning Bush is listed as invasive in WI, but why does every single nursery stock just a boat load every year? Same with Norway Maple.

I remember seeing Viburnum Lantana on the invasive list as well here. That one stumped me. I couldn't get the DNR to give a straight answer as to why its on the invasive list here.

but why does every single nursery stock just a boat load every year?

Profit.

This has been another edition of 'easy answers to easy questions'.

;o)

But to the OP:

I am against butchering plants to make them smaller than their genetic predisposition. I can see from the pic that their pruning reaction is stating they are unhappy.

And I see that their current form is going to make it a lot of work to train to a single trunk. I guess if you really want to do it, IMHO you'll have a new hobby for a couple years; if you have a marginal hobby now, drop that one and replace it with this.

Last, I don't know why you'd want to wait til March. But take ken's advice and start on one. Good luck.

Dan

they have not been pruned yet , but we have sharpened the tool! I really want to get it done now, so I think I am going to jump in and just do it. Its really bugging me now. I am going to trim off 1/3rd , safe to do? Thats my question?

Ramblings.
Usually when you prune a large bush in to a small tree you don't shorten it by a third. Some plants lend themselves to this treatment better than others. Yours have multiple stems which makes it quite difficult to do at this stage of the game and have them look decent. They will sprout a lot from the base next Spring detracting from the 'tree look'.
They're going to look butchered all winter long if you prune them now the way you want. I would give them a light shearing if at all.
Who said you should wait until March? Maybe their reasoning was the butcher job won't look bad as long, because of the new growth sprouting then.
I have the feeling you are going to do what you want to do no matter what we say. It's safe to do now, but as Dan Staley said, you are putting yourself up for a lot of continuing work over the years to maintain and a whack job all winter.
Go for it and show us what you come up with.

then I will leave them as bushes, thats probably what I should do, if i cut them some now they will be fine looking. They have gone to stick anyway, they will just be shorter, which is the goal in the end. The landscaper that put our trees in said I should wait. Why? I don't know, now. thanks for the advice

I trained a Burning Bush into a tree. Euonymus alatus, winged Euonymus. It's not in the best spot, but here it is.
{{gwi:493569}}