I'm no expert, but I'll tell what I did with the neglected boxwood hedge and stand-alones that came with my house when I moved in five years ago. The first job was cleaning out about 10 years' worth of dead leaves that so completely clogged the bushes, top to bottom, that literally no light or air could get through. Just getting some air circulating and letting light in went a long way toward rejuvenation. I think the poor things had been suffocating for years! (Among the treasures I found buried in the hedge were silverware and a toy fire truck at least 18" long that had apparently been missing for years!) Next job was to do some cutting back. I did this in the spring, and continue to do it in the spring, mostly out of habit but also because I fear stimulating new green growth in the fall that will get zapped by freezes and snow. The 'cutting back' is actually done by hand, literally snapping off 4-6" branches all over the hedge by hand to give it some shape. (I have a neighbor who lives and breathes boxwood who threatens to faint dead away if I ever go near mine with a pair of clippers. I guess if I want to kill him off, I'll wave a pair of secateurs in his face and head for my bushes!) I try to make the upper half of each shrub a little narrower than the bottom so that the bottom gets light. (It's tempting to do the opposite, to keep the top fuller than the bottom, but it's healthier the other way.) By doing so, you help to avoid having the bottom and interior of the shrubs basically die off for lack of light and air. This is a time-consuming, but in some ways pleasantly-mindless job. I only do it really thoroughly every other spring, however; the years in between I settle for a little bit of shaping, just snapping off the really straggly long branches. I prefer a more 'natural' shape to the hedge, which the snapping-by-hand encourages, if only because you get too tired to even consider trying to make a 'perfect' shape! Every spring, on the heels of the shaping, I spread well-aged chicken manure under the whole 50' long hedge. Warning: even though it is well-aged, the odor can be a little ferocious until rain or watering dilutes it. Chicken manure is apparently just the yummy level of acidity that boxwood thrive on. I buy a couple of bags at my local Southern States ag supply store. I also make a point after really heavy snowfalls to go out and GENTLY, with a broom, knock a lot of the snow off the branches, especially if I can see that they're really drooping under the weight of the snow. If you're tackling a big hedge, or just really overgrown boxwood, you might want to divide the job up a little so you don't feel overwhelmed. Cut it back a certain amount this year; feed it; see how it improves. Then cut it back more the following year, to the shape and size you really want. My two cents'! Others will probably have more experience and expertise to offer. Good luck!

From Virginia Tech: Virginia Cooperative Extension. Good website "Boxwood in the Landscape" just by Googling pruning boxwood. Check out the Nat'l Arboretum's site "Thinning boxwood" on the same google page (has pictures). Books on pruning abound but lots of the same info is on the net. "Shearing and Pruning Shearing is the uniform removal of all or part of the latest flush of plant growth. Plants are sheared to increase compactness or to maintain a specified size or shape. During the first few years after planting, boxwoods should be sheared after each flush of growth to encourage additional branch development. Thereafter, they should only be sheared to maintain a desired shape or form. However, be aware that continuous shearing causes a thick outer shell of foliage that creates dense shade on the interior branches. Continuous shading of the inner branches results in foliage drop from those shoots, thereby decreasing plant value and aesthetics. Do not shear boxwood in late summer since this might force new growth that will not have sufficient time to harden before frost. Pruning is the removal of selected branches or plant parts. Plants are pruned to remove diseased, injured, dying, or dead branches. Unwanted branches are also removed by pruning, especially when plants are being trained to a specific form, such as a topiary or espalier. Boxwoods are best pruned, rather than sheared, to maintain a natural shape and to keep plants at a desired size so that they do not outgrow their landscape value too quickly. Boxwoods usually require some pruning in spring to remove any branches that have been killed during the winter. Also, as plants get older, some of the older branches may have to be removed so that light can get to the inner shoots." Wait till spring - forget the hedge trimmers and go with a pruning saw or good pair of bypass pruners to take out any damage or selected overgrowth. Boxwood can pretty much take whatever you throw at it provided it's the right time of the year. Living in Maryland for 30 some years, I've dealt with lots of boxwood - hedges, freestanding specimens, the whole nine yards and am delighted we're getting some varieties here that can withstand Zone 4 conditions.

You don't want to have new fresh growth going into winter so stop cutting soon (or now). Also tell the hubby to reach into the plant with hand prunners and cut back branches within the bush. This allows light and air to enter the cavity of the bush and allow new branches to grow. If you continue to "hedge" a plant (any plant) with hedge prunners after while all you will have is growth right at the tips (the outer edge) of the bush and when a section browns up and dies (and it happens) you will have no growth within the plant to take the dead spots place. Hope that made sense. :) Mike

You keep trying to pound a square peg into a round hole. Dr Scott, bless her heart, has dispelled a lot of horticultural myths, but one of the things that sets her apart is her ability to qualify her work as she writes. Dr Scott is talking about transplanting plants with viable, functioning root systems, not plants that lack a functioning root system entirely. "Research performed under landscape conditions ...." We're not discussing a plant you're shucking out of a nursery can and dropping in a planting hole, like Dr Scott is. Recognize this?: 6CO2 + 6H2O + sunlight ------> C6H12O6 + 6O2 See that 6H2O in the equation that is required for photosynthesis? If the plant can't take up and move water (no roots), how can photosynthesis take place? Roots come FIRST. The first thing to emerge from a seed is the root radicle, and a push of top growth (quantified as a function of sustainable mass) is always preceded by a volume of root growth sufficient to sustain the top. In this individual case and in other cases where the root system is severely compromised, it makes no sense to cling to (current) convention (square peg - round hole). It's spring there. The plant should have a LOT of energy reserves in cambial tissues, stored for the spring push. After the top is reduced, the plant will use stored energy to push root growth. As root growth comes on line, and the plant can support top growth, foliage will follow. Diminished auxin flow means cytokinin is king, so as the plant is able to support new growth, back-budding will occur and the plant will soon establish and maintain it's own balance between roots and shoots, as is their normal growth habit. Al