Tips on pruning various shrubs?

I recently transplanted a Nikko Blue Hydrangea, a Forest Flame Pieris, a Fragrant Tea Olive shrub, and several Waxleaf Privets into my yard. Theyare all 3 gallon size.



I want all of them to grow 5 or higher. Mostly to their full potential height, width, and fullness.



Do I have to prune them to promote growth?



Or do I just let mother nature take her course until they are near my ideal height and then prune?



When, how often, and how should I prune?



Do I have to thin out the waxleaf shrub if it becomes too compact in the center?



Obviously I have a ton of pruning questions. It's difficult to find this information on the internet. I found some information on Nikko Blue, but It seems complicated. I am worried I'll mess up and not have any blooms, or worse, kill my plants from improper pruning.



I am a very new, beginner level gardener. Please, any help regarding pruning is welcome.



Thank you
Tips on pruning various shrubs?
i love to prune, and consider it an art. take a class in aesthetic pruning at your local comm. college. just a day-long seminar is enough.



yes, let them grow to thier full height before pruning/hedging. pruning is not the same as hedging, by the way. hedging is a low-skilled activity, pruning requires more know-how. basically, you pick out your basic platform structure of the tree/bush, and from all that grows from that platform you favor smaller branches over more aggressive ones, outward growing over inward-growing and sideways growing, and you want there to be roughly equal spaces between branches, so eliminate duplicate growth, ie: if two close-together branches are growing in the same direction, eliminate one, preferably the larger one and/or the one that is closest to another branch. you are aiming for balance, symmetry, and equal light and air exposure. make an "undercut" on the underside of a heavy branch before cutting from the top so that the falling branch doesn't pull the bark off. don't leave stubs and stumps.



use sharp, high-quality tools, and always use saws for the big branches. the japanese make the best.



the best time to prune is the early spring for most plants, but there are some exceptions. lightly hedge every three months or so. frequent light hedgings are better for the plant and will give you prettier results than infrequent heavy ones. structurally prune once per year.



that you are even asking these questions before starting speaks well of you. most people are content to cluelessly hack away at their plants, much to the detriment of their health and beauty.