How to Prune Young Cotoneaster Hedge

I have a hedge of 14 young cotoneaster plants that I just planted late last summer and they're doing well this spring but the plants are not very uniform. Some are 24" tall with 2-4 main branches, others are as little as 14" with only one small main branch. Should I leave them alone for a year or two to become established before doing any major pruning/shaping or should I do it now so they all start off as a similar size with one main branch? I read somewhere about pruning a young hedge right back in their first year to about 2" but want to make sure that's the right thing to do before I do anything major. Any advice?

 

I have one at a new strata complex that I let go kind of wild. I guess it's a hundred feet long.
I kept its tallest pieces in check at two feet tall until the other plants caught up and
filled in the area between.

In the second year I took the hedge saw to it and it looks thick and uniform.

 

If you don't need to shear the hedge, and want it like 2 to 4 meters tall, it could just be thinned with pruning cuts.

What kind do you have?

How big of a hedge do you want?