I have an Aucuba that has died out on the bottom but has growth on the top. Is it possible to rejuvenate this evergreen by cutting it to few inches above the ground in late winter/early spring? I also have a Rhodo that is in a similar state but does has a few new shoots coming from the bottom.
Yes, aucuba grows back from a stump. However, what this particular specimen will do depends on what is going on with it now, that caused part of the crown to die. If the rhododendron has foliage mildew - as most here do these days - that will affect its ability to regrow from stumps. Most susceptible kinds (there is variation between them in how much they are affected by the mildew) may lose new stump sprouts to mildew and die if cut down hard.
Good to here that the Aucuba should grow back. I think the reason it died out or lost all it's leaves lower down was due to a site issue and years of neglect. It had a tall holly hedge about 6ft to the south of it, but the hedge was removed a couple of years ago. I'm not really sure what mildew on a rhodo would look like, I assume I would be looking for some white powdery looking stuff on or under the leaves. Again with this, I think it is a site issue and neglect. I recently assumed some responsibility for taking care of my 6 unit condo and the rhodo is squeezed into small are which is way to small for it to spread out, so it grew up and looks sad on the bottom. Just poor site planning. They planted it when it's small without any thought to it's eventual natural size. I might cut it back and transplant it or just remove it all together.
