major boxwood & evergreen cutback

[Kogafortwo]

I have a residential job coming up over the holidays: a homeowner wants his old overgrown boxwoods & hollys cut WAAAYYYY back. I have done big cutbacks and major rejuvenation pruning before, but only on my own shrubs and over 2 or 3 seasons.
On this job I want to get in and back out with one big cutback & prune. Here are some stats:
- we are in zone 8b coastal SC
- the shrubs have been in the ground for years = very well established root systems
- it's dormant time here right now, so major pruning is OK but preferred would be January - February
- boxwoods & holly shrubs are like weeds, they always grow

How far can I cut these back and still have them resurrect in the spring? Can I take them down to stalks w/o leaves and expect them to grow again? That's what all the hacks do down here with crape myrtle trees and they grow like weeds.

Two more notes:
1. Don't wanna be a hack, I only do what I am capable of and what will have a good result
2. I already warned the guy that he will think his shrubs are murdered until April or so when they come back

See picture - big shrubs covering front of house. Advice appreciated!

 

[Kogafortwo]

before & after

I showed up for the job. The guy had a bank of some relative of Leyland Cypress evergreens - not hollies like he said. I told him the choices were either a) major hack-back or b) complete removal. We went for the major hack-back with the promise of rejuvenation in the spring growing season.

He wants me back to deal with some overgrown redtips and some jungle killin'.

Pictures attached.

 

[BC WetCoast]

They looked like one of the arborvitaes to me. I trust you left some green on the branches. If they are arborvitaes, they don't have much epicormic budding. Once a branch is brown it stays brown.

 

[Kogafortwo]

How do I identify an arborvitae vs Leyland Cypress, cedar, and some of the other evergreen varieties? I have to admit they all look very similar to me. Like I wrote before, basically there was no way to get the house exposed again without cutting back this far, so it was either what you see in the pics, or total removal.

There are a very few bits of green left. I will be going back to his place in a couple of weeks and will check to see if there has been any recovery, although it is winter here (or as much "winter" as we get in coastal SC).

If they die completely, I am going to recommend Burford Hollys to him since they are cheap, hardy, and easy to maintain.

 

[treeseer]

How do I identify an arborvitae vs Leyland Cypress, cedar, and some of the other evergreen varieties? I have to admit they all look very similar to me.

If you look more closely, you will see big differences. Visit a retail nursery or a botanic garden/arboretum where plants are labeled. or try the sc extension website.

It's hard to know how to cut something when you don't know what it is.