Many people have asked if you can trim or prune back boxwood shrubs because they are just getting too big. They were a fantastic height a few years ago, but now they are blocking the windows or walkway.
Can boxwood shrubs be cut back? Yes, you can prune hard or trim boxwood shrubs to the desired height depending on the time of year. Major pruning should be done in the late winter to early spring. Touch up trimming can be done all spring and summer. Avoid pruning in early fall into early winter.
Depending on your goals with your boxwood, you will want to pay attention to different pruning schedules and what type of pruning you are going to do.
Are Boxwoods Fast Growing?
Depending on your plant zone – how long your growing season is, the boxwood will put on about 5-8 inches a season. The longer your growing season naturally the more growth the boxwood will put on in a given year.
The growth is easily control with some light pruning each year.
There is also a dwarf variety that stays very small and will top out at about 3 feet.
Can I Hard Prune a Boxwood?
Hard pruning or rejuvenation pruning is when you cut a plant back by remove the majority of it top. With some plants that means cutting them down to within 6 to 12 inches of the ground.
With boxwoods, you should think thirds. Only cut up to a third out in any given year. Boxwoods need green leaves left on the plant in order to produce the energy to grow.
If your boxwood is only a couple of feet tall to begin with then you can cut it back to 15 inches or so. Just make sure it has some green leaves left.
The way I was trained to hard prune boxwood was to take the tallest stems and cut them way down into the plant to a branch fork. Aiming below the ultimate height I want the shrub to be.
For example if the boxwood is 3 feet tall and I want it to be only 2 feet tall as a finished height, I would take about a third of the longest stems down to 18 inches off the ground. Then the following year do that again and then the third year I would finish the hard pruning and have a nice full boxwood at around 2 feet.
In the sections that were pruned down in the previous years, you will see new growth that fills in the plant at a lower inside level.
If you are starting with a tightly sheared boxwood that doesn’t have any green leaves beyond the canopy layer, just prune holes in the canopy so that sunlight and air can get deeper into the plant. We referred to this as punching holes in the boxwood to make it look like swiss cheese.
Again only take out about third or less. It might take an extra year to accomplish your goal since the shrub needs to generate new growth where there hasn’t been any for several years.
You will see new green growth deep within the shrub the new growing season. Once this happens you will be able to start taking out more of the canopy again. Be patient!
When To Prune Boxwood Shrubs
When Should You Hard Prune a Boxwood?
When rejuvenating or hard pruning a boxwood you should do this in late winter or early spring. This will encourage the boxwood to grow so you never want to do this in the fall because the new growth will not have time to harden off for the winter.
The tender new growth will freeze back if it doesn’t have a month or so to get use to the climate.
When Should You Prune Box Hedges (Boxwood Hedges)?
If you need to encourage lower inside growth, making deep cuts are best done in the late winter to early spring or just after the first growth spurt.
For trimming the stem tips to keep the nice box shape, you can do this all growing season long. It is recommending to do it at least 2 to 3 times a season for best results.
You can even touch up the hedge in the early fall if you are only cutting off a few wild tuffs of growth. For anything more than that you will want to wait until the next season.
Everytime you make a cut, the boxwood will start gearing up for new growth at a cellular level. This can cause the shrub to turn brown from the cold temperatures and wind. It is always better to wait until the next season.
PRO TIP: Keep in mind to always make the bottom a bit wider than the top to keep sunlight on the bottom leaves, so that they stay green.
PRO TIP: Pick a height and width that is towards the smaller plant sizes. With any hedge, there will be some plants that grow faster than others because of the soil, available water, or sunlight. Measure the smaller plants dimensions and try to get the bigger plants down to that size each season.
When To Prune Different Varieties of Boxwoods
If you are curious about when to prune your specific variety of boxwood like Japanese Boxwood, Winter Gem Boxwood, Green Velvet Boxwood, and English Boxwood. Or types of boxwoods like dwarf boxwood, follow the rules of pruning all boxwoods.
When To Prune Newly Planted Boxwood
If you just newly planted boxwoods you will want to give them a light pruning immediately to help them recover from the shock of the planting faster. You don’t have to do this if they were container boxwoods (in a pot, box, etc…) since you are not really cutting any roots.
If when you pull them out of the pot and they have very tight roots that wrap around in the shape of the pot you will want to make some cuts down the sides to encourage new root growth outward. After planting you will want to give them a good pruning since you just cut some of the root system.
If they are B&B (balled and
You can take advantage of this pruning by beginning the shaping – training process. Make sure the bottoms are wider than the tops so that sunlight reaches the lower leaves otherwise they will just die and make a bare bottom on the plant.
Prune Boxwood For Growth
Growth means different things to different people. If you want to control the growth you will have to do pruning more often as the boxwood growths.
Always keep the bottom of the plant wider than the top to encourage green growth all the way to the bottom. If the top gets wider the bottom branches will start dying from lack of sunlight to produce energy for growth.
To promote growth deep within the boxwood you will need to prune holes in the canopy layer to allow sunlight and air flow inside the plant. This will give you the opportunity to keep the size whatever you would like and it helps to give the boxwood a natural informal look.
For ultimate growing for a bigger plant you will just remove dead, damaged, or disease branches as they happen. Other than that you don’t need to do much as for as pruning goes. Maybe occasionally trim the wild stem that is just out of place.
PRO TIP: To help with cleanup lay a tarp or old sheet out to catch the clippings and small stems.
Related Questions
Do boxwoods need to be covered in winter? No, in general you do not need to cover boxwoods in the winter. You will need to make sure they have water if it is a dry fall and remember not to prune in the fall.
Why are my boxwoods turning yellow? This can be a sign of under or
