Saint Louis MO needs some plant help

The following message was received via email:

Hi my name is Diane and I moved to the Saint Louis MO area about 1 year ago....we have approx 10 bushes? in the backyard that I cannot identify.

I have attached pictures of both the bottom and the leaves of the bush...hopefully that will help.

What I do know is that they are absolutely a problem in the property that we own...we have a fairly small backyard and there are also quite a few large trees within the yard and around the neighborhood.

The bushes grow probably 3 or so feet each year....they grow every direction possible and have become a problem as our neighbor behind us is furious that they will grow across the fence and hang above his yard. I probably also want to mention that they are currently about 10 ft high and probably 8 ft wide at the very top and they narrow down at the bottom to probably 3 ft or so.

I have no idea how to trim them or what can be done as far as maintaining them. I would like to keep them as a screen to provide some privacy but they are just too much trouble and it seems as though the leaves mostly grow on the top portion....not the lower 5 feet where it would be most conveinent. As you may be able to see the "bark" is quite dried out and doesn't have a smooth texture as some bushes and plants do.

First of all...can you tell me what I have growing back there and secondly I would really appreciate any input as far as what I can do to maintain them.

Thank You

Diane

 

Does it flower, Does it have berries?

The bark and the shape of the leaves look like a honeysuckle (lonicera) to me. They are quite durable, able to withstand any pruning you may inflict on it. They can be whacked off completely down to the ground to get them to fill in lower. The branches will grow fast.

Maybe it looks like this (note this link is to The Nature Conservancy's Global Invasive Species Initiative): http://tncweeds.ucdavis.edu/esadocs/loni_spp.html

 

Strikes me more as a Weigela. Though they flower nicely and I'd think you would have mentioned it.

See what you think.

http://www.hort.uconn.edu/plants/w/weiflo/weiflo1.html

 

Since there were two guesses I thought I'd add a third. Kolkwitzia amabilis? It also has flowers but sometimes early pruning will do in the flowers.

 

The first one looks to me like forsythia, and I wouldn't do a thing to it til after it flowers and then flowers are gone. If it needs thinning, or pruning, you can do it then.

 

Looks like forsythia to me too. When I lived in Ontario the forsythia often only flowered on the lower branches where the snow had protected it from the hard winter.
Margaret

 

Wrong bark, mode of branching and leaves for forsythia. Later pictures showing flowers would get you better results.