Any idea what these shrubs are, and can I cut them back now?

I have this row of shrubs that grow outwards very enthusiastically. I trimmed them by about a third a couple of years ago and they grew back very fast. I am thinking now that I would like to cut them right back, removing about 2/3 or 3/4 of the length of the branches. They would look bad for a while without any leaves and it's a risk they wouldn't recover, but they do seem to sprout new foliage easily.

It's hard to see from the photos but they have a lot of leggy branches stretching right back.

Just now I have slightly trimmed the ones over the flowerbed, just enough to allow me to plant some bulbs in the soil. I was going to wait until spring to cut all of the shrubs right back, but could I go ahead and do it now? I'm in central south east england.

Also does anyone know the names of any of these shrubs? I'm a bit of a beginner at this so thank you for any thoughts!

 

It's Choisya ternata I think @Pink678. Usually best to cut back before flowering in mid spring. Your recent trimming should be fine. This RHS guide should help:

growing-guide

 

Thank you so much Plantminded, I'll wait until April next year then as suggested in the link. Just before the growth starts in spring does sound best.

 

Just to be awkward, I've always cut back after flowering, but if you dont mind losing the flowers you can do it anytime, just avoid frosty weather. You can get some damage if we have a really hard winter.

 

Thank you Pete ! That is really good to know I will consider that too, and the bits I cut back today won't be creating damage hopefully. It'll be a relief when I finally do cut them back properly, they have turned into monsters!

 

I rather like them like that @Pink678 .

 

I think they are about normal size for that kind of shrub, they do get bigger as well.

Might be worth thinking about something smaller for that position if you find they are too big.

 

Ah do you Plantminded, hm maybe I will keep them roughly as-is then. Would save me a lot of work! They are creeping more and more into the flowerbed/lawn so maybe in spring I'll just trim the rest of them back just a little like the ones I did in front of the flowerbed in the photo.

 

I agree, nice big healthy informal hedge.

 

Thank you Escarpment!

Overall I'm thinking now in spring I should just trim them back a little (the ones to the left and the right of the central ones I already trimmed) ... I'm new to this so any tips appreciated! It's a bit hard trimming without spoiling the look of the leaves and overall shape, but then I feel they will keep on creeping forward if I completely leave them.

 

Yes - they can be grown as hedging @Pink678, which is what seems to be your situation, but they can be affected by severe weather after harder pruning, although they usually recover. It also depends what else you want to do with the area you've put bulbs in as to how you proceed. Are you putting other perennials in with those?

They're quite popular shrubs here, and they cope well with hard pruning, but it's always better to make sure the weather's benign enough for any hard pruning. It's also why they're usually done after flowering, so that they have time to recover and put on new growth before colder temps come in [like many shrubs] but you'll have to judge what's best for your conditions.
If you're leaving them in situ, and you have other planting as well as bulbs, you'll have to consider access to maintain the Choysias in future.

 

I cut my Choysia back just after they finish flowering too - here that's about June. If you prune in spring you'd lose at least some of that year's flowers, or maybe they'd flower later in the year. It won't hurt them to prune at other times but it can affect the flowering. No problem if you only want the foliage.