On Thu, 11 Mar 2004 19:16:40 GMT, Curtis wrote:

I planted red tipped photinias around the perimeter of my back yard 20
years ago as a privacy screen. They have done well and are very bushy
from chest high and higher but the bottom 3-4 feet of each plant is
bare trunks now and no longer provide much privacy. I'm considering
sawing one of the trunks of each plant a few inches above the ground.
Will new branches sprout and bush out?

--
Curtis
The problems with red-tips are well documented, but if you're not
ready to yank them out yet you can probably restore them to a screen
without such drastic measures.

Most plants put all their growth into the dominant buds at the tips of
branches. If you remove that tip, the latent buds farther down the
branch will be stimulated and make for a bushier form. Cut the low
tips off, cut the top down a foot or two, and make the high branches
shorter than the low ones (i.e., taper to the top as was already
mentioned). This should get some new growth started in the lower
branches. It will take some time to go from where you are to a
well-balanced hedge, but probably no more than if you lop them off
near the ground, and the plants will weather this treatment far
better.

good luck,

Keith
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