Short of cutting off Hamelia Patens at the base, it's pretty hard to cut them back improperly.

Best bet is to find the skeleton of the plant (trunk + main 3-4 branches), and cut back to 2-3 inches above the branchings.

Plant will look a bit nude for a few weeks, but you'll start getting a smaller, denser shrub out of it that way.

I own a full-sized H.P. and tried it out in a new location where it was too big. Cutting it back, the Firebush went from hundreds of leaves to about 15, and it bounced back just fine.

I don't personally own a dwarf, but from what I've read, even that dwarf will require regular maintenance to maintain the size you're looking for. Fair warning.

Ditto on maintenance to keep a dwarf small. Dwarfs are just dwarf as compared to the native variety. My dwarf is about 10' tall now; the native firebush went over 15' before I shovel pruned it this spring (not enough space where I had it). The native is re-growing in at least three places from the pieces of root I missed. I am now trying a "Firefly" firebush that is supposed to stay 3-4 feet. Just put it in last fall so don't know how it will behave yet.

Here is a link that might be useful: Firefly

Thanks all. I knew about the maintenance aspect of it before we got it, so I don't mind that--at least for now--as the look is exactly what we were going for in the areas it was planted.

I just didn't want to go to town on it the way we wanted, without checking first. :)

I cut one down last year. Literally chopped it to the ground. Four months later it was wider and fuller. I was shocked how fast it regrew.

It does look much better since the chop, but these bushes grow very quickly.

Jane