[tippben]

We have one planted at they entrance to the house. It's 10' by 7', and was topiarised, but it's 40 years old. There is a lot of dead wood in the centre. Everybody who tries to come to the door gets scratched, and it has become too high for me to maintain it. It is of great sentimental value to my wife, as it was her mother's bush. I'd like to reduce it to about 3 or four stems, about 2' high to 4' high, and continue the topiary tradition, even though I'm not a great fan, but in a "cloud pattern" shape. It is great for the bees and birds, so I don't want to lose it. Given the enormous root system it must have, can it take a savage pruning like that?

[Good guy]

In my experience, it's a pretty tough plant. Why not reduce it one half at a time, over two seasons, the way you might renovate an overgrown yew in a hedge? I get lots of seedlings, too and it also tries to spread through suckers.

Incidentally, the berries are good to eat, though a bit on the sour side. They are used dried in Persian cuisine. I made a delicious jam from them last summer - I licked out the last bit from the last jar at breakfast this morning!
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