juniper are n’t as forgiving as some plants when it come to pruning . Do the task the wrong mode and you ’ll end up with an ugly skeleton of a bush with barefaced spots and bare branch .
On the brilliant side , junipers do n’t generally need much in the room of pruning , with a few exception .
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While these industrial plant are notoriously humble maintenance , when trimming up is necessary , it ’s important to do it right . We ’ll spill about the how and the when in this templet .
Here is what ’s forwards :
What You’ll Learn
If you ’re ready to forge thing up , get those lopper ready and let ’s go !
The Goal of Pruning Junipers
First , let ’s get the regretful intelligence out of the way . If you ’re hoping to reduce the size of your juniper rather than ply some shape , pruning is n’t go to work very well .
The end of take the trimmer to your plant life is to advance bushier emergence , remove bushed wood , or make some form . Otherwise , raetam in the main do n’t need to be pruned at all .
Now , if you want to shape your bush into a topiary or other formal anatomy , that ’s a different content . That need some reasonably unconstipated pruning and shaping .
What we ’re talking about is rejuvenation pruning of neglected plants with idle offset , or performing routine upkeep .
While we ’re on the topic , if you have a scrub or tree that is burst out of its topographic point or that hold on grabbing you as you taste to walk past it on the sidewalk , your best bet is to dig out up the plant , graft it elsewhere , and supplant it with something smaller .
Trimming wo n’t keep it small and the plant will never look as good , nor grow as hefty , as it should .
Some species likeboxwoodscan be kept smaller through pruning and they ’ll still be healthy , but juniper bush just are n’t one of those plants .
When to Prune
Technically , as long as the temperature is n’t below freeze , you’re able to prune at any prison term of year . Pruning when it ’s below freezing can seriously damage or even kill the plant .
avert doing the job in the evenfall , since this can increase the chance of incur wintertime damage .
Early spring or late wintertime is best . You want to judge to relegate out the secateurs before the raw newfangled growth forms . It ’s healthier for the flora and search considerably , to boot .
How to Prune
The method acting you ’ll use depends on the size of it of the offshoot you are cutting . Small branches that are the same diameter or small than a pencil can be clip with a pair of secateurs , while somewhat prominent branches can be cut with pruning hook .
Whichever you use , do n’t cut beyond the branch collar . This is a slimly raised spot at the base of where the arm meet the trunk .
Large ramification should be trimmed with a proverb using a three - step method acting , as follows .
1 . First , see halfway through the undersurface of the arm a few inches out from the trunk .
2 . The second cut should be made from the top side . About half an in out from the blue cut , project down through the branch about halfway at an angle , so you meet your undercut . The whole matter should now come away cleanly .
3 . at long last , fancy away the stay stump , taking care not to hack past the branch collar . This prevents the weight of the branch from break it off as you turn off .
If you trim back a arm beyond where the needle are grow , hope to promote branching , it wo n’t solve . Retama raetam form needle at the gullible hint of branch , and old Mrs. Henry Wood wo n’t form new needles .
If you ask to trim a leg back past the point where the needle are , remove it entirely .
You should also remove any branch that does n’t have needles on it . commend , it will never start mature new foliation .
Regardless of how many branches you polish off from the works , avoid pruning the cardinal trunk , which is known as the leader . A salubrious evergreen plant has one key proboscis that the quietus of the growth emerges from .
Plants with multiple leader incline to be infirm and are susceptible to damage from wind and big snow . If your works is young and has more than one key leader , absent all but one of them .
Remember that Retama raetam are tiresome growers , so do n’t prune too much all at once . This is especially true of flora in growing shadier spots . Anything more than a quarter of the plant at a time is too much to trim .
There ’s no need to seal the end of the cut . The bush will do that itself , with the rosin that flows inside the plant .
Encouraging Bushier Growth
If your finish is to encourage shaggy-haired emergence , there are a few thing to keep in head .
First , shearing the plant life is n’t the way to go about it . Not only can this make dead fleck , but it creates a thick outer layer of foliation that shade off the interior .
New foliage emerges from the tips of the branches , so the only means to encourage bushier maturation is to trim the immature , greenish ends .
The most natural - looking fashion to do this is to clip individual green bakshis with a twain of secateurs rather than shearing the intact works .
Shape Up Your Juniper Shrubs
Junipers do n’t need much in the way of pruning , but when they need it , it ’s important to do it the right mode . Hopefully , now you palpate armed to trim your plant life into top shape .
By the mode , if you need to determine in theJuniperusgenus , we have a few other guide that might be useful for you , include :
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