Not sure but it's always better to cut back long and wait for buds to appear in spring then cut back to where you really want to.How much die back does this get when cutting back? I cut one branch back that had a huge clump whorl of branches that was not pleasant looking. It wasn't quite hollow...but not totally solid when I did it. With it being dormant...I didn't put any paste on the location. But I left it longer than desired for dieback issues. Maybe the younger material doesn't have solid branching? Or, I could have cut it back more.