Dropping height on Yew's?

[Swampy]

I should get some pics but I'll try to describe.

I doing some freeish work for a gal that owns a corner liquor store a stone throws away from my house. Well here problem is that she has some taller upright Yew's as a privacy screen along her parking lot near her dumpster area.

The plants are very old (I remember them as a kid 20+ years ago being that tall) and have kind of thinned them selves out. They reach about 12-15ft and the stems are about 3in wide. Can I go in a cut about a 1/3 of the bigger stems out drop the height?

[Whitey4]

Yeah, you can do that, but they will look lousy for a couple of years. Which direction are they oriented in? If the viewing side is a northern exposure, it might never fill in. A carefully done hand pruning and some growth regulator would be my plan of attack.

[CkLandscapingOrlando]

I'm not sure where your at but in florida it would'nt be much of a problem.Make sure all your cuts are clean with no ragged edges.You may want to cut each one about a foot above where you want them and then cut the remaining foot off to leason the stress on the cut.You should also cut just above a dormant bud thats pointing in the direction that you wish the new growth to grow.the cut should be done at an angle going away from the cut to help shed water.You should also treat it with a fungicied after the job is done and maybe a follow up if you see problems.If your looking to simply fill the shrub in and not reduce the hieght,then maybe you should use hand prunners or loppers to do some work one the branches that are about an inch around.Any cut will produce new growth with the exception of a heading cut so you could probly get it done with out all the super drastic.It could be a hell of a free job if done right.OR YOU COULD JUST CHAIN SAW THE HELL OUT OF IT AND SEE IF IT LIVES.Good luck

[Swampy]

Thanks I probably won't hit it with a chain saw.