Kay, if it's too big and blocking your entrance, it's in the wrong spot. You can prune, but it's a temporary fix...a well established healthy rhododendron will regain the size you were needing to reduce.

You are right about the timing for pruning, right after it blooms. When you have to cut into a branch below any leaf rosettes, look for faint rings on the bark which mark the ends of previous growth periods where there once were leaves. Careful inspection should reveal small bumps which are growth buds under the bark. Make your cuts just above the rings so that dormant buds below them will be stimulated into growth.

If you can't find any rings or dormant buds on bare branches, make your cuts where you must; later when new growth starts, remove stubs down to the new growth. Dormant buds should begin to grow within a month on smaller limbs, ten weeks on tall main trunks.

My landscaper pruned my overgrown rhodies by cutting the branches close to the trunk. Now the plants look like sticks with green leaves on top. Is the the correct way to cut back overgrown rhodies?

I'm not sure exactly what you mean...any photos?

Pruning into a tree shape with lower limbs removed is one acceptable way of dealing with a large wide rhododendron.

It depends on what you mean. If a rhododendron is not in too much shade, it can be cut back severely and will come back from the base.

Severe pruning is not uncommon with rhododendrons and azaleas. A healthy plant can be cut to the ground and will usually come back. Rhododendrons and azaleas have dormant buds beneath the bark which sprout to form new growth after severe pruning. However, Richard Colbert reported that such attempts at Tyler Arboretum were only successful if the plant had enough sun light. Those in heavy shade frequently died. He recommend first opening up the shade by thinning the forest canopy. Then he recommends just removing some of the top to induce new growth at the base. Then when that new growth is established, the remainder of the top can be removed.

Thank you for your comments. My rhodies get a fair amount of sun.

Is moving it an option? They move easier than most people realize. They also can be moved with a smaller rootball if you provide good watering afterwards and a good root environment. Move it once and give it room to grow rather than prune it on a regular basis is the way I would go.

I had no idea that I could not do any pruning before blooming. I learned that a minute ago by reading the posts! This past weekend I cut several branches because they were taking over the whole front yard but it is not blooming season yet. Did I kill it?

You just killed the stuff you cut off; nothing more. But you may have removed many flower buds. That is the only concern. If you left some green leaves on the plant, your plant is still alive. The reason for pruning after the blooming season is to not cut off flower buds. The flower buds form in early summer for the next springs bloom. Pruning removes those flower buds. Your plant should be OK. It may be green this spring, but should bloom in 2013.