How to prune unfamiliar plants without killing them
New homeowners with zero gardening experience face the challenge of managing unknown plants that are already starting to block pathways. The fear of accidentally killing or damaging the plants prevents them from pruning, causing the landscape to quickly become overgrown.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1Asking for identification and pruning advice from online forums or landscaping professionals
- 2Using Google image search to identify plants
- 3Waiting for a full season to see how plants grow before removing them
- 4Using shovels, hand pruning shears, and hedge trimmers to clear paths
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“I don’t want these to become overgrown, but I also don’t want to end up damaging them in a failed attempt at pruning them.”source ↗
“One issue I have is that it is blocking the sidewalk to our backyard. It really bothers me.”source ↗
“I have no experience with any kind of gardening and landscaping.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
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- 5How to clear poison ivy and deep roots without digging up the whole yard
- 2How to hide trash cans with plants for HOA rules