Question
Hello, I'm not sure if this is an appropriate place to ask this question but I'll give it a shot.  I have numerous tall evergreen shrubs separating my property fro my neighbor offering privacy.  I noticed a few weeks ago that some of the branches were beginning to sag as opposed to sticking straight up.  We had a snowstorm recently (NJ) and the weight of the snow made it worse on several of these bushes.  Any idea why these shrubs are susceptible to this?  I looked inside the bush and some of the branches in there seem dead.  I think I saw on TV once where they said that due to improper pruning no light was getting inside the bush therefore the outside was getting thicker while sacrificing the inside, can this be what's happening here?  And if so, is the answer just to prune it accordingly?  We just bought the house a year ago so I haven't done too much maintenance to it in general and given the condition of the house itself when we bought it the previous owners didn't either.  Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Mark

Answer
Hi Mark,
Thanx for your question.  I'm not an expert on trees or shrubs.  I do know that improper pruning and weather conditions will adversely affect shrubs.  The branches that may have been affected by the snow, will recover and return to normal in most circumstances.  Even branches that are affected by a bad pruning will recover also.  I think it is normal for most shrubs to be thicker on the outside than on the inside because light does not get through.  I'd like to refer you back to Jim Hylund who is the expert in Conifers under Landscaping under Gardening.  I Hope this helps.
Tom