Smart Shrub Trimming

Respecting Your Shrubs’ Natural Beauty

For many home gardeners and landscapers, trimming shrubs can feel like a straightforward task - grab the hedge trimmers, shape everything into neat, tidy balls or boxes, and call it a day. But here’s the truth – some shrubs are ruined with this approach!

Improper trimming can do more harm than good, leading to awkward shapes, fewer blooms, and even sickly plants. Understanding which shrubs need a delicate touch with secateurs (and why) is the secret to a thriving and vibrant landscape. Let’s dig into the best practices for shrub trimming, highlighting what to avoid and how to achieve beautiful and authentic results.

This holly was improperly trimmed several years before this photo was taken. The gap will never fill in because the branches that would generate new growth was cut off. Photo by Judith Paul.

Why Proper Shrub Trimming Matters

Pruning isn’t just about keeping your yard looking neat. It’s essential for plant health, controlling size, encouraging blooms, and maintaining your garden’s overall aesthetic. The right technique can rejuvenate an old shrub, while the wrong cut can stunt growth, increase disease risk, or permanently alter your plant’s form.

Diseased deadwood from a previous hack job that was done with manual hedge clippers. Photo by Judith Paul.

In addition to homeowners who have purchased a property and don’t know what’s in their gardens (or remember what they planted), unqualified ‘landscapers’ are often to blame for the widespread issue of improperly trimmed shrubs. While many excel at the tasks in their core business, like “mow and blow,” they often lack the knowledge to identify the shrubs they are being asked to maintain or select the right technique for doing that maintenance. Without knowing what a shrub is, they cannot determine the correct (or most cost-effective) way to maintain it. 

One example is a ‘landscaper’ who spent five hours in my neighborhood attacking shrubs with a gas-powered hedge shearer when it should have been an hour with a pair of secateurs. The homeowner paid for four hours of labor that weren’t needed, and the result was one of the worst that I have ever seen. When individuals who aren’t well-informed are given free rein with trimmers and chainsaws, the results can be disastrous, leaving plants misshapen, unhealthy, and far from their natural beauty.

Chamaecyparis pisifera ‘Golden Mop’ converted into a green meatball. The color is gone (should be bright yellow), the amputated ends of the branches are visible, it’s a weird box shape instead of a round, pyramidal form, and the graceful weeping foliage has been shorn off. A homeowner paid for this!

Photos by Judith Paul

Understanding Shrub Types Before You Pick Up Tools

Before you reach for your tools, it’s important to understand that shrubs fall into two broad categories when it comes to pruning.

Shrubs That Tolerate Shearing 

These include boxwoods, privet, yew, and some types of holly as well as many more. These plants respond well to being shaped with hedge trimmers and will bounce back with dense new growth.

Electric and gas-powered hedge shears make quick work of producimg a 'shorn' look, but they are not suitable for many types of shrubs. Photo by Aleksander Dumala.

Shrubs That Need Careful Trimming (or Pruning) 

Many flowering and specialty shrubs, as well as those with weeping or naturally arching forms, can be harmed by shearing. These require careful, thoughtful hand-pruning with secateurs or loppers to look and perform their best.

Secateurs come in many different shapes and sizes. Secateurs and loppers should be used on shrubs that hedge clippers and shears should not be used on. Photo by Boryslav Shoot.

Shrubs Not Suitable for Hedge Trimmers

Let’s look at some examples of shrubs that should not be trimmed with manual or powered hedge shears.

Hydrangeas

Many, but by no means all, hydrangeas set their flower buds on old wood. Some bloom on both old and new wood. This is significant because cutting them back indiscriminately can remove next season’s blooms, leaving you with a leafy but flowerless plant. 

Indiscriminate trimming also doesn’t thin out the stems in the center. I have seen hydrangeas that, when cut back, resembled a hedgehog! When done year after year, the result is hundreds of competing stems, which struggle to function, let alone bloom. Hydrangeas thrive when pruned by hand, removing only spindly, dead, or crossing branches and shaping in a manner appropriate for that particular cultivar.

Weeping Varieties (e.g., Weeping Japanese Maple, Gold Mop False Cypress)

The elegant, flowing shape of weeping shrubs and trees is lost when they’re shorn into rounded shapes. Hedge trimmers blunt their natural grace, turning a showpiece into a “green meatball.”

This Golden Mop False Cypress had just recovered from a hack job 18 months before. It had reached maintenance height and was starting to fill out, with gracefully weeping foliage in shades of chartreuse and yellow that contrasetd beautifully with the dark leaf lorapetalums behind it. At most, it needed 5 minutes wit secateurs to shape and balance it. Instead, a contractor spend 15 minutes with a gas-powered hedger turning it into a bonsai-sized green blob with exposed branches that will become unsightly deadwood. Photo by Judith Paul.

Hollies

While some holly types can be lightly shaped, frequent shearing causes them to produce more spines and denser, prickly growth that makes them less pleasant to touch or maintain. If done at the wrong time of year, it also reduces (or completely removes) the red berries that tell you Christmas is on the way! 

Forsythia, Lilac, Viburnum, Flowering Quince

These shrubs bloom on old wood and either have a natural, arching habit or an upright habit. Shearing not only removes flower buds but also ruins their natural shape.

Proper Techniques for No-Shear Shrubs

What’s the right way to trim shrubs that shouldn’t be shorn?

1. Use secateurs, hand pruners or loppers.

2. Trim one branch at a time, focusing on removing dead, diseased, or crossing stems.

3. Make your cuts just above a healthy bud or side branch, angling the cut slightly away from the bud.

4. Thin central mass to improve airflow.

5. For large, overgrown shrubs, selectively remove a few of the oldest stems all the way to the ground. This encourages fresh, vigorous growth without changing the plant’s shape.

6. Preserve the Natural Form - step back periodically and look at the shrub’s shape. Trim just enough to neaten and open the plant, but don’t force it into a ball or box.

The ‘Green Meatball’ Problem: Why Not All Shrubs Should Be Rounded

We’ve all seen yards full of “green meatballs” - shrubs shorn into tight, featureless globes, squares, or – frankly – just weird, miniaturized shapes. Frequently shorn shrubs may be great for formal hedges, but it’s a disservice to many plants. Here’s why:

• Weeping and arching shrubs lose their beauty. The appeal of these shrubs lies in their unique “shape and drape,” which is lost when they are forcibly rounded into unnatural, dense shapes that don’t suit their growth habit.

• Flower buds and foliage are often removed when trimmed, and especially if this is done at the wrong time of the year, because the growth that would have produced next year’s blooms has been cut off.

• Thick outer growth blocks light and air. Improper trimming can result in a dense outer shell that shades inner branches. The lack of light and air circulation increases the risk of disease and dieback inside the shrub.

• Shrubs don’t always regrow foliage. A 20ft shrub that is forced into a 4ft ball is still going to grow as if it were 20ft. As amputations continue year after year, its ‘trunk’ will be exposed. If it is the type of shrub that does not grow new foliage on old wood, all you will ever see are branches without leaves. At this point, rip it out because the problem isn’t improper pruning; it’s that it was planted in the wrong place.

This is what happens when a 20ft holly is shorn into a 4ft meatball. The foliage will never regrow in this area, and within a few years, the whole plant will look like this. Photo by Judith Paul.

Trimming or shearing the wrong way isn’t just a cosmetic problem; it can have lasting effects on a plant’s appearance. Once a shrub is forced into an unnatural form, it’s tough to undo the damage and restore its original habit. Repeated shearing can cause permanent stubbing or misshapen growth.

Previous trimming has resulted in these dead and twisted braches. This problem is likely to introduce diseases as they rot out on the plant. Removing them to try to save the plant will be a laborious and challening task. Photo by Judith Paul.

Indiscriminate shearing can also produce a mess of debris that becomes lodged within the inner structure. Unless it is removed, this debris can start to rot in and on uncut stems. The bacteria created by this composting process can infect the living plant and cause dieback.

Debris created using a gas-powdered hedge trimmer left by the contractor to rot on the plant. Photo by Judith Paul.

Pruning at the wrong time or with the wrong tools can also leave stems that will never produce new growth and will remain on the shrub as unsightly deadwood … at least until it rots down, creates pathogens, and kills the whole shrub.

Woody stems left by a contractor who used a gas-powdered hedge trimmer. These stems will never produce leaves and will become deadwood that is not only unsightly but will also possibly intoduce disease and kill the plant. Not also that the debris left behind to threaten the plant's health further. Florida Sunshine Anise (Illicium parviflorum), and it should be trimmed by hand with secateurs. Photo by Judith Paul.

Frequent shearing makes holly shrubs bushier and with a ‘sharper’ outline, but it also triggers a defense mechanism that produces prickles (to deter deer). When ‘attacked’ – either by deer or a hedge clipper – the leaves grow sharp spines, making any future contact with the plant more difficult and less pleasant.

Exaggerated prickles (spines) on frequently trimmed holly. Photo by Judith Paul.

Trimming v. Shearing

It's important to distinguish between trimming and shearing when caring for your shrubs. Trimming involves selectively cutting back individual branches to shape the plant, remove dead or diseased growth, and encourage healthy and aesthetically pleasing structure. Trimming maintains the shrub’s natural form and supports its overall health. Shearing, on the other hand, uses hedge trimmers or manual shears to cut all outer growth to the same length, creating a uniform, sculpted look. This sculpted look works well on shrubs like boxwoods, but it’s a disaster for shrubs like Florida Sunshine Anise (Illicium parviflorum). 

While trimming is generally preferred for ornamental shrubs, shearing may be used for achieving the “green meatball” look, formal hedges, or topiary, but should be done understanding that it forces the plant to adopt an unnatural form. This stresses the plant and may not be viable long term, e.g., forcing a 15ft conically-shaped holly into a 4ft meatball will probably not work after five or so years.

Timing Matters: When to Prune for Best Results

Knowing when to prune is just as important as knowing how. Here are some general guidelines:

Spring Bloomers (e.g., Forsythia, Lilac, Viburnum) 

Prune right after flowering. These shrubs set next year’s buds soon after their spring display, so late pruning can mean no blooms next spring.

Summer Bloomers (e.g., Rose of Sharon, Butterfly Bush)

Prune in late winter or early spring before new growth starts. These shrubs bloom on new wood, so cutting them back encourages lots of fresh flowers.

Hydrangeas

These can be confusing because there are many different varieties, and within each, individual cultivars may need to be trimmed at different times of the year. Keep your plant tags so you can check your variety’s needs before cutting them!

Hollies and Boxwoods

Light shaping can be done in late spring or early summer. Avoid heavy shearing late in the season because this removes berries, and new growth may not harden before winter.

Plenty of gorgeous berries because this holly has been left to assume its natural shape. Also note the absence of exaggerated prickles on most leaves because this plant has only been trimmed by hand with secateurs. Photo by Judith Paul.

A light prune in spring next year will tighten up the folirage and sharpen the ouline... and then nothing for the next 2-3 years. Photo by Judith Paul

No Maintenance Alternatives

Some excellent evergreen “no trim” shrubs include Dwarf Japanese Holly (Ilex crenata ‘Compacta’), Dwarf Alberta Spruce (Picea glauca ‘Conica’), Blue Star Juniper (Juniperus squamata), Dwarf Cypress (Chamaecyparis), Dwarf Inkberry (Ilex glabra), Dwarf English Boxwood (Buxus sempervirens ‘Suffruticosa’), and Dwarf Arborvitae (Thuja). 

These shrubs have naturally tidy shapes and slow growth rates, which means they rarely, if ever, need pruning to maintain an attractive appearance. Their evergreen foliage comes in a variety of colors and adds four-season interest to your gardens. For homeowners, this means less time spent on garden chores and no ongoing expense for hiring contractors to trim them, making these shrubs an ideal, low-maintenance choice for creating beautiful and resilient landscapes with minimal effort.

Conclusion: Respecting Your Shrubs’ Natural Forms

Great shrub trimming is about more than just appearances. It’s about supporting your plants’ health, encouraging blooms, and letting their unique features shine. 

By recognizing which shrubs need a delicate touch, avoiding the “green meatball” trap, and timing your pruning just right, you’ll enjoy a more beautiful, diverse, and resilient garden. 

Before you – or your lawnmowing contractor – head out to the garden with tools, spend a few minutes doing some research to find out whether it’s trimming or shearing that you should be doing. Not only is this best for your plants and the look of your property, but you also avoid making a public declaration that you’re the type of person who purchases a dining room table, then cuts the legs off it, because what you really wanted was a coffee table.

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Article by

Judith Paul

Hi, I'm Judith Paul, with a gardening style best described as “Oooo, there’s a gap over here!” My work history is equally unpredictable (possibly even quirky) and ranges from pulling eel-infested cow carcasses out of creeks to managing multi-million-dollar projects across various industries. I’m a Kiwi (referring to the iconic flightless bird of NZ, not the fruit) who has also lived in Australia. Currently, I run a licensed and inspected plant propagation nursery in North Carolina (USA) when I’m not teaching, writing, or editing.