Hello all

Can anyone give me advice on what to do with a very old Potentilla bush.
It must be a good 30 years old. It flowers every year prolifically with
primrose yellow flowers, and we're very fond of it.

HOWEVER, year by year, inch by inch, it has got too big, and too
scraggy. I need to lower its height, and preferably improve its
bushiness. I definitely don't want to take it to ground level, unless
that is the advice from this group!

Here are two pictures:

http://tinypic.com/r/2eghg75/7

http://tinypic.com/r/67plsg/7

It's now about 5 feet high -- we'd prefer it to be about four feet. I've
always been reluctant to prune savagely because I'm afraid it won't come
back. However this summer it had to have some branches removed because
of flower-bed -redesign, hence now would be a good time to have a real
go at it.

TIA for any advice
John