you might find some references in older posts.. in the conifer forum .... that are on point ...

how tall are these.. how long they been there.. and were they planted ON the foundation 20.. 30.. 40 years ago??? .. i grew up in livonia.. trust me.. i know the look ... lol ..

if so.. you are going to have an unsightly mess... for many years to come.. in FRONT OF YOUR HOUSE ...

you might be better off removing them.. and starting over ...

conifers.. do not react to pruning.. like shrubs.. you will probably have big ugly knobs.. in plain site for at least a few years ...

a pic would sure help define the situation..

otherwise.. there is no wrong time to prune things in MI ...

ken

ps: give it a go. the worst that can happen.. is that next summer you understand what i was trying to tell you.. and get rid of them next year.. lol ..

Here is a link that might be useful: 2nd link.. second pix and caption .. and note.. its not in the prime focal point of the front of the house ... are you willing to look at that for 3 years.. out the front window????

Yews can take a hard prune, but I don't think I'd be doing it now. Although a zone lower, fall is definitely in the air here. Yews need ample time to harden off after pruning and before winter sets in.

If you can stand to wait, prune them in the early spring before new growth starts. Once any new growth fades from bright green to dark green, you can prune/tidy up again sometime in July.

Thanks. The yews are about 6.5' tall. I think I will wait til early spring. I don't mind the look of them, but I want them to be about 4' tall. I have heard they are awful to dig out and I don't want to go there if I don't have to.