Mine want to be five feet. I trim them back at least a foot a year to keep them at four feet. They might get to be six feet tall if I let them go, though. Renee

Matsuo-thank you for your reply. Actually, I was trying to use nandinas for two purposes. The first was to enclose the Japanese garden area and separate/seclude it from other areas. The second purpose is to use it as you indicate, to screen the details of the japanese garden area and to invite entrance and discovery as you approach it from the bottom of the second picture (pathway begins at lower right of second picture). The nandinas follow the contour of the low rock wall which is not a straight line but they still appear to be pretty much in a line. Should I move the center Nandia farther from the wall for a w shape or perhaps to the other side of the wall and form an elongated curve?

My mockingbird took care of my dogwood fruit this year. I've seen bluebirds going after them in the past but didn't see a single one this year. Did you mean flowering or do they have red berries Glenda? I don't remember seeing them but if they're west of AB, I haven't been out that way lately. There are some shrubs on west Kearney almost to the airport that have LOTS of red berries on them. It's something the city/county planted beside the road. I thought they might be deciduous holly. They're really impressive. I have a red-berried aronia that holds its berries for quite awhile but not as long as nandina.

Are you sure you have that name right? I am not familiar with any nandina of that cultivar name but 'Firepower' is a very popular variety. I sometimes wonder why it is so popular as I find it to be the least desirable of any nandina cultivar. It has a much larger leaf structure so loses any of that lacy foliage effect of other nandinas. And with kind of a dumpy, lumpy growth habit compared to other cultivars. It is also overly prone to leaf spot and powdery mildew. And is not really a dwarf but more of midsized cultivar (can get as much as 60" tall). But it is sterile and can get pretty intense winter color, which likely accounts for much of its popularity. Unfortunately its propensity for leaf spot in my climate takes away from much of its winter appeal. Pruning nandinas should be done from the bottom up, not from the top down :-) Top pruning or shearing a nandina seldom results in a pleasing appearance and sheared plants develop an awkward, unnatural growth habit. Generally, the recommendation is to remove any leggy or older canes at the base. This will encourage new cane formation from the base of the plant. And with the taller, more leggy varieties, pruning some of the exterior canes back by 1/3 to 1/2 can encourage foliage development that will fill in and hide the bare interior stems. 'Firepower' is not known for being a very leggy selection and seldom requires any pruning at all. But I can see where the much broader leaves than typical for nandina could make a mature plant somewhat top heavy with new growth and rain. Thinning would be your best approach in this case, rather than just whacking the plant back.