How to Fix Overgrown Old Bushes

Cutting back old, overgrown bushes in the correct manner adds a tidy look to your lawn and garden. Pruning bushes removes diseased, dead or damaged limbs and should be part of the regular maintenance of shrubs, rather than a task you perform when the growth is unwieldy and unattractive. Annual pruning helps the landscaping look its best. It requires little time if you do it consistently each year.

Pruning shears
Heavy lopping shears
Pruning saw

Instructions

- 1
  Prune a branch back where it connects with a lateral side branch. Use pruning shears for the best results. Cut back to the point where the lateral is one-third the diameter of the branch you are cutting. This thinning technique helps give the overgrown bush a more open look and increases air circulation. Severe pruning is best in the late winter or early spring. If severe pruning occurs in the summer months, the new growth often does not have time to mature before winter.
- 2
  Rejuvenate the bush by cutting the oldest branches back near the ground area with pruning shears.
- 3
  Remove about 50 percent of deciduous bushes' branches back to the base. Choose old, damaged limbs, branches that grow inward or any that detract from the natural shape of the bush.
- 4
  Use heavy lopping shears and a pruning saw to perform an extensive rejuvenation on bushes such as dogwood, lilac, mallow, honeysuckle, rose-of-Sharon, hydrangea, spirea, St. John's wort and abelia. Cut the entire bush 6 to 10 inches from the ground.

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