I have approx 60m of James Sterling along all my rear fences, in the Western
Suburbs of Melbourne.

They have been in since March 2000.

They are thriving and I have trimmed them 3 or 4 times in their lifetime, at
ad hoc times. the most recent was September 2002. Then I trimmed the sides
and cut the tops to approx 2m high.

The tops agaisn grew, which is great as they are now approx 3m. The concern
was I think I trimmed them too late (ie September), as it wasn't until Oct
or so this year, with all the new grow that they looked nice and busy again.
ie for the previous 12 months, I could see all the branches etc that I had
trimmed back to. Now they are nice and bushy and all you can see are the
nice dense leaves.

I am considering trimming them around July or August next year so I can get
the appearance I want by around October when the new growth kicks in. ie
the sides will be nice and straight and flush, with plenty of leaves/bushy
growth. For the time between trimming and the new growth appearing I am
happy to wear the poorer look as I know it will be better.

Does this make sense? I am concerned that trimming at the wrong time of
year will mean that the bare, branchy look will remain longer.

Thanks for any advice anyone can provide.

Craig