Hi I think I have attached a picture of my problem, aside from the 3 chubby pines in the front yard I am more concerned about the 3 pencil pines, I really want them either removed or cut/shaped. However, being pencil pines I have a feeling that my ONLY option is to have them taken out - which I would prefer as they are too close to the house for my liking, - but the cost is huge, so I wondered if while I am trying to save to have them removed if they could be trimmed or something? In the back of my mind, I think if you cut a pencil pine it grows back in two leading branches, so it forks at the top, does anyone know if that is true? Any help would be appreciated, thanks
Can't see too well from the small pic, but they're not pines; probably junipers or arborvitae, maybe cypresses. How they will respond to pruning will depend a bit on exactly what they are, but yes, overall, there is a high risk the shapes will look awful if you cut back hard. Even a risk they might just die. I'd be inclined either to keep them as they are, or remove them completely.
Probably Italian cypress, if partly yellow maybe 'Swane's Golden'. Look small enough for a fit person to remove with hand tools. Athrotaxis cupressoides is also called pencil pine but I doubt that's what these are.
