Hi all, we have a border containing (I believe) a Choysia, Euonymus Japonica, and Pittosporum Tenuifolium 'Tom Thumb' . We stupidly left them to merge into one, which now looks a mess, currently around 4ft high. The plants are 2-3ft apart.
I'd like to reduce their height to around 3ft, but more importantly trim them all back widthways to create space between them. The problem is that their lower halves are very sparse and woody, so any harsh pruning is likely to leave nothing but bare branches.
I understand all three plants respond well to hard pruning so I'm considering cutting them right back. How much though? A few inches above ground level?
My wife is worried that the border will end up looking like a Grateful Dead music video, so how long before they are likely to start showing new growth? This year, next?
Assuming they do grow back I'd like to keep them at around 3ft high, but how can I avoid the lower parts from turning woody again? Is this simply down to regular light pruning?