HELP! How Do I Prune These??

[Clueless_Gardner]

Hi everyone! I'm obviously new here and I have some questions and need some help. Hopefully someone can help me. Last Summer we moved into our house. Everything was in full bloom and looking good but you could tell some of the trees, shrubs, etc. were gonna need some pruning, new mulch, etc. eventually. We had planned on having a professional do it all this Spring but the quote we got so far was close to $1200 just to trim everything and lay some mulch. Not saying they were asking too much but, we just were not prepared for such a quote. This whole house and gardening things is new to us as we lived in apartments all our lives. So, we decided we're gonna give this a go ourselves.

Our main concern are these two HUGE false cyrpus trees (? that's what we were told they were by several people, no clue) that sit in front of our house & in front of our windows. I myself HATE them but my husband likes them but either way, we both agree, they're out of control! They are so high (almost to the second floor window although you can see that so well in the pics) and so wide that they are covering and smothering other shrubs and plants that are beside and in front of them. Some you can't even see because they are totally covered by the cyprus!! And in the one pic of the cyrprus near the corner of our house, there is actually a hose/water faucet that we can't even access because the tree is so huge and blocks the way.

So, what we really want to know is, how do we go about pruning/cutting these dang things? I'm thinking they need heavy pruning! Right now the branches in the back are bent up (because they are so big and close to the house) and touching/rubbing against our siding. Not sure why the old owners would have planted such a thing in this location but they did. Anyway, we need to trim these down so that we can get in there and clean up the beds and replace the mulch that looks like it hasn't been done in about 10 years (can see old plastic torn up and sticking out underneath, weeds, etc.)! Should we totally cut off some of the branches at the bottom (cut to the trunk) so that the other shrubs/plants/flowers hidden under the cyprus can breathe/be seen? Or should we just trim the branches back and how far back? Just don't want to screw this up but something needs to be done. Thanks a million!! I will attach pics of them.

 

[Chuck]

Whoever originally planted them put them too close to the house. They must be trimmed enough so that they do not touch the house. These trees look great when trimmed into a Christmas tree shape, wide at the bottom and tapered to the top. I would remove enough of the lower limbs so as to have about a foot or foot and a half of the trunk showing. Then I would trim the limbs closest to the house so as to leave about 1 1/2' of clearance form the pruned limbs to the side of the house going all the way around the tree. Then I would start at the top of the tree and trim the limbs that form from the sides of the main trunk tapering down to the lower branches which you have already pruned. Do not top the tree. Leave the top of the trunk alone. It will probably look like a bad haircut from your hairdresser at first but will grow back nicely. And $1200? That is outrageous. You can do this yourself in a days time with plenty of adult beverage breaks to boot. The only tools you will need is a hand held tree saw for the big lower branches, a lopper and a pair of garden shears plus a good stepladder.

 

[Clueless_Gardner]

LOL Well, the $1200 was for more than just these two but these are our main concern. He pretty much told us how he would handle the rest as we walked the property with him and are confidant we can do the other smaller plants and whatnot with ease ourselves. And mulching is no big deal. And yes, adult beverages will be at hand. Well, maybe after the fact as I wouldn't want to have one too many and the poor things come out all jacked up. LOL

Thanks for your suggestions. I am actually kind of anxious and excited to get started. I guess the first cut will be the scariest since we've never done this before. Now we just have to wait for the sunny, non rainy weather to come back so we can get started. It's a shame we have to leave the top alone because on the one closest to the porch, there is sort of a bald area between the bushiest part of the tree and the very tip of it. The bald spot spans about a foot of space. I think this past Winter with the heavy snow in our area kind of did some of the branches in with all the weight that laid on them. Not sure.

Thanks again!!

Whoever originally planted them put them too close to the house. They must be trimmed enough so that they do not touch the house. These trees look great when trimmed into a Christmas tree shape, wide at the bottom and tapered to the top. I would remove enough of the lower limbs so as to have about a foot or foot and a half of the trunk showing. Then I would trim the limbs closest to the house so as to leave about 1 1/2' of clearance form the pruned limbs to the side of the house going all the way around the tree. Then I would start at the top of the tree and trim the limbs that form from the sides of the main trunk tapering down to the lower branches which you have already pruned. Do not top the tree. Leave the top of the trunk alone. It will probably look like a bad haircut from your hairdresser at first but will grow back nicely. And $1200? That is outrageous. You can do this yourself in a days time with plenty of adult beverage breaks to boot. The only tools you will need is a hand held tree saw for the big lower branches, a lopper and a pair of garden shears plus a good stepladder.

 

[Chuck]

LOL Well, the $1200 was for more than just these two but these are our main concern. He pretty much told us how he would handle the rest as we walked the property with him and are confidant we can do the other smaller plants and whatnot with ease ourselves. And mulching is no big deal. And yes, adult beverages will be at hand. Well, maybe after the fact as I wouldn't want to have one too many and the poor things come out all jacked up. LOL

Thanks for your suggestions. I am actually kind of anxious and excited to get started. I guess the first cut will be the scariest since we've never done this before. Now we just have to wait for the sunny, non rainy weather to come back so we can get started. It's a shame we have to leave the top alone because on the one closest to the porch, there is sort of a bald area between the bushiest part of the tree and the very tip of it. The bald spot spans about a foot of space. I think this past Winter with the heavy snow in our area kind of did some of the branches in with all the weight that laid on them. Not sure.

Thanks again!!

I bet that within 2 years that bald spot will disappear. You will need to trim the tree every couple of years or so, so invest in a GOOD pair of loppers. When you cut the lower limbs off with the saw, first cut the limb off about a foot from the trunk and then cut it off again almost but not quite flush with the trunk. The first cut is to assure that the weight of the limb will not tear downward damaging the trunk while cutting next to it.

 

[Clueless_Gardner]

I'll be sure to get good ones. I just took some more pics. I don't even know where to begin with these. I'm so scared to make the cuts! LOL Mostly because they're so out of control and growing wild that there really isn't a good shape to follow as they stand now. After looking at the top of the one, I guess the baldness wasn't as bad as I originally thought. In the other pics, you can see how it's right up to the window and touching the siding. They REALLY planted these suckers WAY too close to the house! And on the other tree, closer to the edge of the house, you can see that it appears as though this thing has two leads. WTH?

I bet that within 2 years that bald spot will disappear. You will need to trim the tree every couple of years or so, so invest in a GOOD pair of loppers

 

[Esther Knapicius]

see if you can find in google, pruned pics of them. would hate to lose the soft effect they have naturally grown into.

 

[DrCase]

i would get in their and just start cutting the lower limbs off
if it has more than 1 main trunk just keep cleaning the small stuff off it until you get it up to a height you like, seeing the wood is good thing .

 

[Clueless_Gardner]

I have been googling and trying to find such a thing on Youtube for the last two days! That is what led me here. I wasn't having much luck. Unless I'm searching for the wrong thing? This is a false cypress or goldmop, yes?

see if you can find in google, pruned pics of them. would hate to lose the soft effect they have naturally grown into.

 

[Clueless_Gardner]

Just the one seems to have two trunks. I am surprised you and Chuck are suggesting "skirting" (is that the correct term?) these trees as every pic I have come across of them I've yet to see their trunk. But, that's probably because they weren't like ours which are overhanging/encroaching on our other plants and shrubs. The guy who came out to give us a quote said that the one tree has an azalea under it that the cypress is killing! We had no clue!! Can't even see it!!

i would get in their and just start cutting the lower limbs off
if it has more than 1 main trunk just keep cleaning the small stuff off it until you get it up to a height you like, seeing the wood is good thing .

 

[Esther Knapicius]

maybe there is no YOU Tube for these, because they should not be pruned. (thought)

 

[Clueless_Gardner]

Trust me, I wish I could just leave them as is. And I would had they not been so close to the house but, they are rubbing our siding, the branches are coming into the window screen in the one window when we have the window open, there are lots of bugs on these trees in the Summer which then get on/in our windows, our porch, etc, they're making our siding green, they're killing other plants and shrubs, they're blocking our water faucet in the front of the house, and they just look bad compared to the other houses that all have nice landscaping going on. Don't want to be "that" neighbor who has the house with the crap landscaping. LOL But I really can't afford to have a professional do it right now. Not at those prices.

maybe there is no YOU Tube for these, because they should not be pruned. (thought)

 

[Esther Knapicius]

Here you go.

 

[Clueless_Gardner]

I did watch this one. Thank you!! And any others that I found that pertained to these trees but none really showed instructions that well on how to do it. I mean, this one is ok but, as you can see, it's different than what the guys here are suggesting. And I think I agree with them when they say expose/cut off some of the bottom because the plants and stuff underneath need to breath as well as the trunk/tree itself. Then again, this is all new to me.

Here you go.

 

[Clueless_Gardner]

While we're here, does anyone know what these two trees/bushes are (the second one actually has green buds right now at the ends of each tip)? This was taken last Summer of course and do not look like this now. I was just wondering what they were and if they should be trimmed up? Sorry I don't have a closer shot. I can get better pics of what they look like now if I need to and post them for you. Let me know. We didn't move in here until mid Summer last year so if they had flowers/blooms in Spring, we don't know about it.

 

[Chuck]

see if you can find in google, pruned pics of them. would hate to lose the soft effect they have naturally grown into.

The hardest cut is the first one. Get the bottom cleaned up first, grab a drink, stand back and eyeball it. Look at what doesn't belong there in you mind and go cut it off. Just don't cut off too much at a time. You can always cut more off but you can't put the cut parts back. All it amounts to is a haircut, no big deal at all, and it will grow back. Google false cypress tree pics. There are all kinds of pictures there