i cant focus on the leaves in this pic ... it might be a yew ... a conifer ..

regardless. my gut says.. its overly mature.. and you can make a much better statement on the front of your house .. get rid of it ...

we need the ID.. so as to define what if any rejuvenation pruning can be done ...

after that.. the issue.. is whether you want a 3 year project of trying to rescue it.. in its location .... and i usually sum that up by saying.. if it was on the back 5 acres.. why not fool around with it.. but this is the front of the house.. you can do better .. [and frankly.. nothing would be better at this point in time]

closeup please ...

ken

Thanks, Ken. I hear what you're saying, and if I didn't have them as a foundation plant around my house, I would rip this one out w/o a thought. I'll post a close-up and another pic of a healthy one.

closeup

healthy ones

Yes, those are yews, Taxus sp. I'm not at all sure why you would be reluctant to replace these with something with a bit more visual appeal. They are only foundation plantings, not part of the foundation itself :-)

If you are determined to maintain them, yews can be pruned back quite hard.......virtually to the ground. But they take awhile to regain any sort of pleasing appearance. Sometimes quite awhile. Why not take this opportunity to rethink this area of your garden and start over? It is not a crime to pull out plants and try something else........

lets cut the carp ..

they look like hell.. get rid of them ... lol .. and the healthy one too!!!

cut them hard.. and we are talking 3 to 7 years.. before they look like much of anything ...

what gal said .... with emphasis on 'Sometimes quite awhile'

ken

ps: personally.. i would get rid of the healthy one also.. and do something like this ...

{{gwi:240153}}

or this with mini conifers
{{gwi:211254}}

Nice pics Ken! Newby, welcome to Gardenweb & keep in mind Ken is a brilliant gardener and we all drool with envy over his shots :)

Thanks for the suggestions. These plants are at the front of my home on either side of my front door. I have a pretty traditional style home, hence why the original builder probably selected yew and boxwoods as the foundation for the front. I've added some heavenly bamboo to some of the areas where I've already had to replace dead plantings. If anyone has any suggestions regarding replacements for the yew, fire away. Needs to support Zone 7 part shade/part sun. I know quite a few evergreen shrubs fall into this, but just looking for where you've had success. Thanks!