hmmmmmm ......

except for dead.. damaged.. or crossing limbs...

i would leave the things alone ...

it will grow up.. and be what it will be.. if you simply leave it alone ....

why dont you google the latin name.. flip to images.. and peruse a couple thousand pix.. and get a gut feel.. for its NATURAL shape ...

and if you like its natural shape..well.. then let it go natural ...

once pruned.. always pruned.... but you said you didnt want to shear/prune it.. and then ask us how to prune it ...

focus man.... leave it alone ...

ken

ps: sounds like you have a bunch.. go to town on one of them.. see how it reacts next year.. if you like it.. do more;.. if not .... get rid of it ....

ken, I can't believe you said that. The dude that chops on anything at any time? ;o) Sometimes, like mine in the shade of an oak and bald cypress along a fence need topping to make them spread 'cause they "reach" up and don't spread as much in the shade.

The natural shape in the sun looks like a giant mushroom top. In the shade, ain't the same.

I trim my Prague viburnums about every two years. Last time I chopped 'em back to chest height to make them get wider. You can whup on 'em as often as you want (within reason!) and they will recover, but maybe have fewer blooms the next season if you're pruning in later summer.

hortster

noooooo

i kill things.. i NEVER SHEAR ...

from the day oi saw old enough to electrocute myself with electric shears.. i had to shear.. 3 times a year.. a 75 foot privet.. and all the yews and junipers planted 2 feet from the foundation ... of mom and dads house;.. and yes.. i am making no difference in shearing.. or pruning to make things bigger.. once they get bigger.. you are back to an endless job ...

fans of mine.. will see numerous rants contained therein.. lol ...

i would NEVER plant ANYTHING.. ANYTIME.. ANYWHERE ... that REQUIRED shearing ... [and i am really wondering why i planted all these flowering shrubs that need constant.. yearly rejuvenation ....

and if i had something that did not.. but i went out there.. and pruned it.. to hasten shearing.. i would just turn the shears on myself.. and commit shear suicide ...

fix things... BUT never prune for the shear joy of it.. but as you note.. this is a personal thing.. [apparetnly!!!... llol]

they are your plants.. do whatever you want with them ... but do note my last suggestion ... do one... see what happens... you can do the rest next season...

whatever.. he asked for opinion.. and i gave him mine.. lol

ken

Ken, you need to warn people ahead of time that your comments are based on EXTREMELY limited experience, lol. Good experience, but very limited.

Ralph, I am ALL for learning how to do some reconstructive pruning early on in a shrub's life. It should be detail pruning, not shearing. One learns to prune, with good hand pruners, to an outward growing bud. A few well positioned cuts early on in a plant's life can make a huge difference.

Detail pruning does not result in a flush of new growth, which can be artificial in appearance. No shearing.

But it does take some knowledge.....and a good pair of by-pass hand pruners.

Cutting back slows overall size increase, if you want tall as fast as possible limit pruning and instead focus on growing plants well with fertilizing, mulching and watering as needed. Need for mulching is a constant, fertilizing and watering variably required.

This post was edited by bboy on Wed, Aug 28, 13 at 15:02

ken, let 'em give you hell, but I should have said, "prune." My fingers hit the wrong keys, as I hate shearing also, but do shear my own stupid mistakes as to keep them from growing against the house (let 'em suffer!).

My V. pragense are PRUNED to cause them to spread in the shade; if I didn't they would look like heck.

Forgot that you exterminate culls vs. shear! :o)>

hortster

Well, now is sure not the time to prune it. You can do that right after it blooms. I have six Pragues, beautiful things, aren't they? They're supposed to max out around 8-ft though: not the most gigantic of all the Viburnums. There are six Burkwoods in the same row; now those are giants.

So to address your question, yes, it will probably take a bit longer for them to reach maximum height, but you will also see more blooms each spring and you will have a nicer shrub.