Boxwood should need very little pruning if the correct one is chosen for the correct space. Unless grown in heavy shade, they are naturally dense. However, an occasional, light shearing will keep them in shape. If shearing is done regularly, thinning will also be needed (see blog on “Pruning Formal Hedges”).

Occasionally, a client has overgrown American boxwood that they cannot bear to remove. Proper reduction pruning takes two to three years since boxwood may not recover from loosing too much top growth suddenly. Using sharp loppers or hand saw, remove up to one-third of the growth back to a branch crotch. One-third more can be removed each year until the proper size is reached. This leaves an unsightly plant for several years but works to reduce the size and save the plant.