its hard to be specific w/o a pic of your plant ...

it SOUNDS LIKE .... you are in year one.. of a multi year renovation process....

google: renovation pruning of flowering shrubs

otherwise .... who knows w/o a pic ...

i would not bother tying it up.. let it be what it wants to be.. but continue shape it thru pruning ...

ken

Ken, I did what I was advised to do by the google experts. It was not supposed to be a multi year process. I watched several
you tube videos and this is what they did.
In retrospect, I would have just cut the existing branches back by about half, rather than almost to the ground.

no.. cutting to the ground was proper.. as your name suggest.. TRUST me on that ...

otherwise.. the half cut back ones.. would flop to the ground in a year or two.. when they exploded in growth at height ...

i cant really comment on GOOGLE EXPERTS ... nor their system.. without a link ..

and again.. i cant really tell you if you did good.. w/o a pic of your plant...

but again.. simply in my minds eye... i would not have tied it up ... personally.. i would rather watch how a plant responds to a certain situation.. than to force my aesthetic on it by binding it into a form of which its not ...

but if it makes you happy.. then who cares what i prefer ...

my gut tells me.. that you have a rather.. naturally unruly plant ... and you are having a hard time.. emotionally .... dealing with it ... and when i get to that point.. the point where my expectations.. are not fulfilled.. i GET RID OF THE PLANT... and plant something that fulfills MY NEEDS... and sometimes i lose money on the plant ... but on the other hand.. money lost is better than being irritated by it.. every time i look at it .....

you are going to have a hard time forcing a plant into a shape that it is going to fight ... and this plant... is fairly aggressive.. in doing whatever it wants ...

i wish you luck ...

ken

Cotinus are aggressive growers and when pruned hard(especially when dormant), respond with exuberant growth. That means branches coming out every which way. Just cut off the ones that are not to your liking (in this case the ones growing horizontally). If you want to keep it really tidy it will mean selective pruning during the growing season as well. I have generally decided to let most of mine be rangy and irregular; I do keep the one that is in front of the house neater, and that means constantly removing suckers, side branches, long branches, etc.

Sara

Thanks for the info. I'm sorry I cut it back, because it really was nicely shaped before, just getting too tall. My parents had one for years and it was always nice looking. Ken, I'll take a picture after I untie it.