You’ve seen them. Ruined junipers appear to be timber from Whoville. They’re wonky, bizarre, and filled with naked spots!
Junipers develop in a different way from most woody perennials. Their new development emerges from the ideas, and so they by no means produce new development from decrease on the stems. If you happen to lower right into a naked spot, it’ll stay naked for the juniper’s lifetime.
This doesn’t imply it’s inconceivable to prune juniper. Correct cuts result in wholesome, vigorous specimens that fill the backyard with their lush foliage sprays. Most junipers require little to no pruning, although you possibly can affect their form should you’d prefer to.
When to Prune
Prune juniper timber and shrubs anytime through the yr, if needed. Trimming a stem or two gained’t hurt them. The very best occasions to prune are through the dormant season and when new development emerges in spring.
If you wish to restrict the peak or width of the juniper, one of the best time to prune is from late spring via the summer time. It will forestall new development from forming till the subsequent yr’s rising season.
What’s the Objective?
How one can prune your juniper is dependent upon your pruning targets. Prune to restrict measurement, to take away lifeless development, or to keep up a topiary or hedge. Although hedging isn’t beneficial, it’s potential with routine upkeep and a focus.
Take away a Department
All the time take away the three D’s: lifeless, broken, and diseased wooden. Any such pruning is beneficial for all woody species, regardless of in the event that they’re evergreen or deciduous. Junipers are not any exception.
Use hand pruners to take away branches as huge as your finger. Make cuts above the department collar, the place the department bulge is bigger, near the trunk. Use a swift, single lower to take away the department.
Bigger branches require a noticed to chop. Make correct cuts by utilizing the three-step technique. Make the primary lower away from the department collar on the underside of the limb. Partially noticed via the limb; don’t lower it fully.
Make the second lower fully via the department, a bit additional than the primary lower. Then, with the load of the department off, make the third lower proper outdoors the department collar to take away the stump.
Topiary and Hedges
Junipers usually aren’t well-liked for topiary and hedges as a result of they don’t resprout from their interiors. Hedging can create naked interiors. If among the outer stems die, they gained’t get well.
I’ve seen juniper topiaries and hedges that work, although they require annual upkeep and maintenance. You’ll have to trim them yearly as new development emerges from late winter via early spring. Have a gradual hand when trimming the lengthy stems, and don’t lower far into the branches the place they lack leaves.
Shearing isn’t fascinating, because it produces brown stem suggestions that take many seasons to get well. It’s higher to make use of selective cuts to keep up a foliage pad or an extended hedge.
Casual Hedging
Junipers lend themselves higher to casual than formal hedging. Casual, or pure, hedges have random shapes that match these of untamed landscapes. They appear extra pure within the backyard than formal hedges.
For an off-the-cuff hedge, merely prune lengthy branches as soon as they develop too tall or vast. Take away them at their base, and let the opposite branches fill the area with recent development.
Any such pruning works effectively for dwelling hedges with many crops in a row. Plant them in a zig-zag sample to additional improve the wild impact of the casual shapes.
Cut back Top
Decreasing a juniper’s peak is as tough as sustaining a juniper hedge! These wonky timber and shrubs work greatest once they’re left to develop as they naturally would. Juniper shrubs are straightforward to restrict, whereas timber are tough to regulate.
If a juniper outgrows its place, it’s greatest to let it thrive or exchange it with a smaller rising selection. Select a cultivar that stays slim and manageable, like ‘Spartan.’ Or, go for ‘Shimpaku.’ It’s a dwarf type of the Chinese language juniper tree that stays below three ft tall when mature.
Chances are you’ll scale back the peak of shrubs by pruning tall branches once they poke out their tops. Take away the stems at their base, or trim them again to some extent the place leaves are nonetheless actively rising.
Keep away from chopping into juniper timber. They have a tendency to have a single main trunk with limbs that develop off it. Go away the trunk intact, and prune the aspect stems in the event that they want a trim.
Bonsai
Juniper bonsai want particular care! They want annual trimming to look their greatest. As with the bigger specimens, keep away from chopping previous the purpose the place leaves are rising.
Preserve foliage pads not with shearing, however by eradicating the lengthy shoots. Utilizing small pruning scissors, take away lengthy shoots at their base.
Prune the juniper bonsai yearly when new development emerges. Use steel wires to coach the branches into twisted shapes, and prune them to additional affect their measurement and stature.
Key Takeaways
Regularly Requested Questions
Completely, you possibly can! Merely keep away from pruning into naked wooden with out leaves. Lower into areas producing foliage.
You possibly can prune these woody perennials at any time when it’s needed, like once they have lifeless or broken wooden. It’s greatest to do the majority of your pruning within the dormant season, or when new development emerges in late winter via early spring.
Make selective cuts when new development emerges so you possibly can see the place to make your cuts. Keep away from shearing the topiary; as a substitute, make selective cuts to maintain the shrub inside its bounds.