upright piano junipers make a bold command in the garden . Whether you have a stately‘Spartan’or a row of ‘ Skyrocket ’ shrubs , there ’s nothing else like them .
Most vertical junipers maintain their shape without any pruning or extra employment on your part .
But prolonged heavy snow can bend offset , consistent fart from the same direction can do uneven growth , and disease can damage department of your tree .
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To make your works look advantageously , it will call for some pruning . The distributor point of pruning is to hold the plant ’s existing pattern or to tidy it up , not to change its build .
So before we get start , here ’s the bottom argumentation : It ’s going to be extremely difficult toprune a juniperwith a naturally straggle or orotund form into an unsloped human body . You ’ll want to buy an vertical cultivar in the first place – it ’s a honest affair there are so many tremendous options available !
In this guide , we ’ll cover how to trim your unsloped juniper , not to change the shape of an survive shrub .
Now that we ’re all on the same page , here ’s what we ’ll discuss in this guide :
Pruning Upright Junipers
As I note , there are lots of gorgeous vertical junipers available . If you ’re looking for some excellent pick , here are just a few that I ’m specially partial of :
‘ Witchita Blue ’ is a large shrub , growing about 25 substructure tall and up to eight pes all-encompassing .
While the steel blue leaf tolerate out , what ’s specially nice about this Rocky Mountain juniper ( J. scopulorum ) is that it ’s quite bushy , with lots of soft emergence . That means it can handle operose pruning before you get in touch with the woody stem .
‘ Wichita Blue ’
This is one of those shrub that you may actually prune pretty dramatically .
If you need an adaptable shrub , grab one in a two- to three- , three- to four- , or four- to five - understructure heightat Fast Growing Trees .
Or nab yourself one of the narrowest juniper cultivars out there . ‘ Skyrocket ’ is another Rocky Mountain cultivar , this one grows about 15 foot all-inclusive and an stupefying three feet wide .
‘ Skyrocket ’
It ’s perfect as a affirmation specimen or with several in a row as a shelterbelt or living fence .
Nature Hills Nurserycarries ‘ Skyrocket ’ in # 1 containers at about two to three foot magniloquent .
And to avail you get begin , we have a guide to growing ‘ Skyrocket ’ here .
‘ Moonglow ’ is a favorite of mine because the blue - green foliage has a touch of silver gray that resemble the reflected light from the synodic month .
‘ Moonglow ’
Grab one of these Rocky Mountain cultivars atFast grow Treesin one- to two- , two- to three- , or three- to four - foot acme in a individual or six - battalion .
Once fledged , they will reach 15 feet tall and about six invertebrate foot wide .
If you purchase and plant one of these , please visit ourguide to grow Rocky Mountain junipersfor polish peak .
If you already have an good juniper bush and you ’re looking for some trimming entropy , rent ’s get started with the cock you ’ll need .
Tools You’ll Need
you could get forth with a sharp , clean pair of bypass trimmer , but I also like to have a couplet of anvil and ratchet pruners on hand , reckon on the tree or shrub I ’m work with .
If you do n’t want or need a bunch of dissimilar pruners , just stick to theold classic Felco F-2 . They ’ll get the occupation done just fine .
Felco F-2
Amazon carriesthese horticulture essentials .
If your works has some larger branches you necessitate to take on , you ’ll also want a saw or lopper . A tree realise can help you pass gamy branches , especially if you discover one with a built - in lopper .
Something like the Milliard extendible pole visualize / pruneravailable at Amazonis ideal for those taller juniper .
Milliard Extendable Pole learn
You should alsowear gloves , since many junipers have sharp foliage . You might also count get into a heavyset , long - sleeved shirt or someprotective horticulture sleeves .
You only have to get all scratched up by your juniper once before you forfend make that mistake a second prison term .
Timing
Pruning can be done anytime you want unless the aviation temperature are below freezing . When the wood of a juniper freezes , the plant can be damage or even kill by pruning .
To be extra dependable , you should avoid pruning in the later tumble , too . When you make cuts in late fall , it exposes the plant life to winter damage .
On the other hand , pruning during a hotness waving when the flora is already struggling to conserve piddle is n’t advisable unless it is absolutely necessary .
If you may look , the dear time to prune is in late winter or early spring . Early declination is slightly less idealistic , but it ’s still okay .
If you need to do a flock of pruning , spread it out over several workweek or even month , if potential . However , if your plant has a significant amount of damage or diseased limbs , it ’s full to get it all done at once .
Pruning Technique
The puppet and scheme you ’re work to use to prune your just juniper count on the size of the branch or staunch you ’re reduce .
If you ’re puzzle out with a piece of Natalie Wood small-scale than your pinky , just practice those pruner . Anything bigger call for a proverb or loppers .
you could prune green increment to encourage bushiness and shape the flora . Only areas with green , flabby wood will furcate and develop new growth because unexampled foliage emerges from the arm tips .
If you dress an older , woody branch back to where there are n’t any leaf , it wo n’t develop any Modern growth and you ’ll be left with a bare stump .
As a rule of thumb , you should remove any branches or stems that do n’t have phonograph needle . They wo n’t father Modern growth . If you need to prune a branch back into the woody area that is devoid of acerate leaf , just take the whole matter off .
modest stem can be cut back to the main branch . Make a flush snub so there is n’t a stump lead behind .
For larger branches , you require to make your cut so that the branch collar remain intact . The branch collar is a raised spot where the automobile trunk transitions into the arm . When you ’re done cutting , that little protrusion will remain .
To do this , take your sawing machine or pruning hook and cut the branch a few in out from the body . If you ’re using a byword , it ’s best to make the gash from below rather than above . Saw about halfway through and then start up saw from the top to meet the cut that you made from below .
Now that you ’ve remove the weightiness you may make a accurate excision . expend the saw or pruner to move out the rest of the limb at a slight slant so that the outgrowth collar stay inviolate .
Remove any cockeyed , despicable , or strange growth . Anything diseased or discolored catch the chop .
If you want to encourage bushy growth in an area that is a little sparse , cut the green end to promote ramify .
call back , you do n’t need tocreateupright outgrowth , you ’re drive to support the born flesh of the tree .
If you require to flatten out the top of the bush , sense free , but verify that you are only cutting into green growth . If as you flatten out the top you cut into old Grant Wood , you ’re go bad to have a little baldpate on your hand .
What to Avoid
There are a few thing to keep off when pruning upright junipers . First , don’tevercut the main key trunk .
This is known as the drawing card and if you were to lop it off in the Leslie Townes Hope of making your shrub bushier or to limit its tallness , you ’ll only weaken the flora and provide it more susceptible to damage .
We ’ve already name it , but it ’s deserving repeating : do n’t prune back into old forest and expect new growth .
You also should n’t seal any of the slash that you make . I eff it used to be common sentiment that you could protect the flora by sealing up any cuts , but most conifer do a fantastic job of protect themselves .
That ’s what the steamy resin that oozes out of these plants is for – it ’s the industrial plant ’s natural defence .
Try not to prune more than a quarter to a third of the plant at one time . The exception to this is if your plant is badly damaged by disease , pesterer , or something environmental like confidential information or blow . In that causa , it ’s best to polish off the problem Sir Henry Joseph Wood to fend for the bush .
ultimately , please , please do n’t fleece your plants ! It wound my heart every clip I see someone take one of those electric trimmers to make a politic line . That works neat on some species , likeboxwoods , but it ’s not the right method for raetam .
Shearing not only runs the risk of creating an ugly bald spot , since you ca n’t be as precise with your excision , but it also creates a dense umbrella of growth on the outside of the bush that shade the interior of the industrial plant .
This induce needle drop and a fragile racing shell of growth that is n’t supported by healthy internal growth .
If you require to fleece just a small surface area here and there with some preciseness , go ahead , but do n’t do it on the entire industrial plant .
Just a Little Off the Top
When you ’re pruning an upright juniper , you are n’t trying to create a topiary or interchange its born shape .
The goal is to furnish some support for the natural shape of the plant . I think , take care at these plant ! They ’re already stunning all on their own . All they need is a little assistance .
Hopefully you feel quick to guide out there with your pruners and gloves and finish the problem .
Once your flora is looking fab , you might need to learn a bit more about junipers . Here are a few guides to get you started :
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About
Kristine Lofgren
