see link

after which ... lets discuss what your plans are for this plant.. free bird?? .. to do what it wished.. or do you plan to play with it ...???

most things simply fill in.. given time ...

ken

Here is a link that might be useful: link

Ken, have you been smoking that wacky weed, again?

Ha ha ha ha!!! Ken, I love when you reply. Thanks for the laugh :)

Pruning encourages growth - I'd prune/shear lightly to encourage denser growth in that area. In my area this can be done pretty much any time one feels inclined but late winter/early spring when the plant is pushing new growth is appropriate timing anywhere.

Hehe, thanks for the reply. I'm caretaking family shrubs and have only this year had the chance to work on landscaping. My plan is to do whatever is needed to make these shrubs fill in as quickly as possible. So I don't need to cut them way back in the Spring? (Whacky weed may not help as much as steroids)!

Grow them well, using whatever appears to be needed (fertilizer, irrigation, mulch...) and wait for them to improve on their own. If you cut back you will have less foliage, and less growth, as cutting back either the top or the roots reduces the amount of overall growth afterward, until the removed growth has been replaced and the specimen recovers its previous stature.

Leaves make food which is stored in stems and roots, used to fuel future growth. When you cut part of the shrub away, it has less ability to grow than it did beforehand.

The gap in the photo is relatively small. I've had a couple where larger pieces have been broken out or died out for various reasons, such as vole stripping of bark.

My solution there was simple -- go down and pick up onne or two gallon plants of the same cultivar, and very carefully work them into the original to fill the hole.

It works, takes some careful digging and sometimes some pruning, shaping and possibly even some temporary staking/wiring to make the two fuse into a convincing one.

no wacky stuff here ... and.. simply playing devil advocate ... i submit.. rod serling style ....

i hate shearing things.. its a teenage nightmare at the homestead thing ..

i dont know why peeps would plant things that need shearing a couple times per year..

but what you are seeing.. is an intermittent growth phase of the shrub [its confused] ... left to its own devices.. it will grow.. as it wants to grow.. and USUALLY that involves filling in its own holes.. because that is where the plant will be getting more light into the interior ... and then next year.. it will get this phase in another form .... elsewhere on the plant. .. unless you go out there.. and give it a haircut ...

i dont understand peeps who want to force some preconceived notion of perfection on Gods creation ... why cant you just leave it to its own devices.. with some bare guidance or repair from damage???

why .. in your mind.. must it be perfect.. to some norm in your head ...

do you simply have so much spare time.. that you want to force it to do something it isnt inclined to do ??? [kinda the definition of bonsai .. lol]

i am just playing devils advocate.. trying to make you think about a plan.. rather than a knee jerk reaction to cutting on the thing .... it is your plant.. and you are more than welcome to enjoy it any way you want ...

ken

ps: in that spot.. you can do a lot better than a green boxwood ... one of the dwarf lilac.. would at lest give you a flower show ... perhaps you ought to contemplate removal of a work-inducing rather plain old green shrub.. rather than sign up for a lifetime of shearing????? [can you tell i am not a boxwood fan.. lol]

Here is a link that might be useful: and the band played on ....

Dwarf lilacs aren't evergreen.