About now will be fine.

Hello,
This is a subject i know well as i put a 12 feet wide hedge of the red robin in front of my greenhous doorway two years ago to act as a wind breaker and these shrubs take about two years to really root and then they grow like mad,

I first used the phontinia 8 years ago as a screen for the swimming-pool to act as a dust protector as the track in front of our house gets dusty in the hot weather and when the tractor or post lady passes we'd get a dust storm blowing over the pool,
This hedge at first had the same as yours "twigs growing side ways"
and i gave them a very slight prune towards the end of april the second year after planting and this helped the shrub to bush out a little, but as ive said after the 2 year spell these bushes really do get going,
I feel they are one of the very best worth while shrubs as they turn red this time of the year and more on the green side during winter, they are excellent for a wind screening device and they clip very well,

Thanks for that. I have it in a pot as my soil is too neutral I believe. I am hoping to grow it more as a specimen bush so I guess after its second year, as you say, Bamboo, that it will just need pruning to size. I will give it a slight trim now as the weather here today is unexpectedly sunny!. Thanks again.