Dear Hansi Cutting the foliage imposes a rest on the plant so that it can "save energy" for blooming...You should go on doing that during mid summer/early fall as the young leaves that comes just after blooming helps to restore reserves in the roots and initiate the next flowers.. This also helps to prevent red spider mite and others insects and/ or when the foliage is ugly during hot summer... Outstanding foliage all the same!!! ( Don't you go too far with fertilizer levels?! :- ) Cheers ~*

Since no one has answered, I'll share my experience with them. I had two of these bushes in my backyard when we first moved to our house in 2000. I decided I didn't like them within a couple of years. The white one gets some type of bugs on it every year and the pink one was ill placed. It was about 4 feet from the gate entrance and it had grown very large so, the gate was not as accessible as it needed to be. Anyway, we cut them both down to the ground. The pink one eventually died with some help from Roundup, but the white one is still alive and I still don't like it. It is just as big, if not bigger than before we cut it down. My experience tells me you can prune them however you wish and they will most likely come right back. If yours have been around for 100 years, they are probably pretty sturdy specimens and even hardier than the newer varieties. If you are still concerned, you might try pruning one or two and seeing how they react. Now would be a great time to prune them as they are getting ready to put out their new spring growth.

the base problem is that you have a root mass.. for the size you have right now ... no matter how far you cut it back.. you might be surprised how fast it grows back ... and was planted.. sited.. for the cute little plant it was in the pot ... with no real concept of its potential .... considering the side of the house and the driveway ... i like mikes suggestion of rooting some more plants ... and finding some other place for them ... and thinking about removing this monster ... in the mean time.. cut it back as suggested ...and see how fast it responds ... and then if it displeases you in a year or two ... removal will be less of a decision .. since you have others to enjoy .. ken ps: if you dont have a damp shady spot for rootings.. put a couple in a pot of damp media.. and put it near the spigot ... and keep it damp .... not sure if winter in your zone is the best timing for cuttings????

Thanks ediej! For some of my tomato plants I planted yesterday, I did bury and bend them gently and brought them out. Unfortunately, I needed to move one further away from the other, and I broke off the whole stem. So I brought it in and put it in water.......so we'll see how it does. And the thing with trenching longways, is that you have to remember that you did that when you're weeding/cultivating later around the plant , or you could really hurt it. I'm so glad there is a place here to ask lots of tomato questions! Thanks again!