Fuzzyred's Marvelous Reading Nook

I've killed more plants than I've kept alive. Never trim more than 1/3 of the plant's length. If the plant is a foot tall, you can give it a haircut that removes 4" from pretty much every branch if you want. Water and fertilize gently once you're done, if you're worried, and then use successive trimmings (four or six weeks apart) to shape slightly. I'm thinking that these are green bushes with no fruit? Mostly, you don't want the inner branches crossing each other, which makes them harder to trim, and cutting one or two unruly branches all the way to the crook is probably not enough to shock and kill the plant.

Take it slowly. Next spring's growth is going to show you what it wants to do, and you'll be able to shape it with more frequent "haircuts."

You have a county extension office, and they are DELIGHTFULLY willing to help.