This is a summertime pic of the shrubs/bushes in front of my home. I bought this house a little over a year ago. We walk behind them to the front door. They look and feel like a bit of a mess. Anyone have advice? Are they too big to trim? What are they?
by jessifica
1 Comment
Those look like Arborvitae and the bad news is you generally can’t prune them hard. Unlike Yews or Boxwoods, these guys have a dead zone in the center. If you cut past the green needles into that old brown wood, it never regrows. You’ll just be left with a permanent stick figure. They are planted way too close to the foundation for their mature size and are practically swallowing your entryway.
Honest advice is to remove them entirely. They are acting like a privacy screen where you actually want an inviting transition. It feels drastic to chop down healthy plants, but your house needs to breathe. Run this photo through the GardenDream app and wipe them out digitally to see how much bigger your property looks. You can test out some lower native shrubs or a layered bed that frames the door rather than hiding it. It makes the demolition decision a lot easier when you have a better plan ready to go.