I have several shrubs in my front yard that aren't overgrown yet, but they are on their way. I would like to hand trim them back down in size. To get them the size I want (which is smaller), it would remove the outer leaf layer and not leave much but a few leaves in the center. So I have decided to wait until winter and handle all the bushes at that time (around end of February right before our growing season).

So here are my questions...

1) Is this a good plan?

2) Will the shrubs sprout new leaves during the next spring growing season?

Thanks,

John