when to pinch juniper ( how to pinch prune)

[Paulneill]

I want go plant my juniper in the ground let it grow and thicken the trunk . so should i wait or can i pinch to build bushy foliage as it grows. or will that slow growth . when should i begin to pinch?. also i was wondering exactly (where) on the tree to pinch to build ramification I know you pinch out new growth but does that mean from any were on the tree or just on the ends of branches? also can i trunk chop ?

[Damian Bee]

If you were wanting to thicken the trunk, just let it rip for a couple of years in the ground. I am new to Junipers so I can't answer the question about pinching but I would hazard a guess that you need not worry too much for a while unless you wanted to have a practice branch. Have fun

[Heshian]

Hi Paul,

If you want your tree to just thicken up then just put it in the ground as you planned. I wouldn't recommend trunk chop on junis as it will not react in the same way as most deciduous trees. You can do it however if you chop to the lowest growth for example, but on a gradual basis and not in one go as it will weaken the tree. As far as pinching, I wouldn't do it now as were heading into winter. Best to trim/pinch during spring, summer and perhaps early autumn where the tree can react after trimming.

Hope this helps. Good luck.

[Scott Roxburgh]

I agree, now would not be the time IF you wanted to pinch.

I believe it is best not to pinch junipers, you are far better off pruning them. This technique was taught to me by Boon, the best part is that you do not get the 'pads' or 'poodle juniper look', most juniper bonsai have.

First, you have to create scaffold branches. These are then headed back (pinched/trimmed with sharp fine shears) to maintain the outline. The 'structure' is generated this way. The problem with pinching is that it is an indiscriminate process. What you get is an eternally rising pad of foliage that soon creates an area dark dead undergrowth. You might get an OK 'pad' every few years, but you then spend the rest of the years undoing what you just did to lower the pad.

The above mentioned technique is to treat the foliage areas more like the ramification of deciduous foliage areas. That is, the deliberate structuring of secondary and tertiary branches and twigs all the way out to the final leaf. Have you ever seen a well ramified Trident maple? They are breath taking. Even when in foliage you can see the entire structure of the foliage area. It seems an almost endless forking of tiny branches finishing in a flurry of minuscule leaves. In junipers you accomplish this not by pinching, but by deliberately selecting each green shoot using sharp fine shears, either keeping or removing the shoot by cutting it off at its base. No pinching except perhaps in the scaffolding stage where you are just selecting places for secondary branching.

Now this may seem like a daunting task, and in fact it is. You start at the primary branching and follow out to the secondary branching where you begin to encounter green shoots. Most of the time the small green shoots in the axils of the branches is removed to maintain the fork. As you get to green shoots and wood that has just lignified (browned), you begin the process, left-right-left-right- up, left-right-left-right-up, or whatever pattern works for you. This is repeated for every foliage of the tree. Rather than indiscriminate pinching that is mindless and leaves a cushion, you get a structure that you can see through that is light, delicate, and probably most important- maintainable. Foliage area extension can be controlled by simply pruning harder to head back to secondary branching and thus shortening the branch with almost no adverse consequences. Trees treated this way can be shown every year, once at the tertiary branch stage.

An example of a well maintained juniper:

boon juni1.jpg

An example of a poorly maintained (pinched) juniper:

juniper pinched.jpg

[Tony Bebb]

Hi Paul

Planting in the ground is the best way to fatten Juniper. You should just let them grow freely, but give a good prune once a year or so to keep the development of back branching so the branches remain along the length of the trunk so it will fatten with taper. These branches will generate a shoot at their base that would be used as the branches in the final design. If you just let the trunk grow long it will fatten with little taper. You will not need to pinch prune untill you start to develop the branck structure after the trunk has thickened.

Tony

[Tony Bebb]

Great explanation of how to develop and maintain Juniper Scott.

Fatten the trunk first, then grow the main branches, then follow that development process Paul. Start the branches when the trunk is a thick as you want it.

Tony

[Tonapahal]

Hi Scott,
When you say create the "scaffold", do you mean the basic shape or framework? After that do you then prune the interior shoots to keep the shape desired?
Tona

[Jamie]

gday crew

as tony said great explaination Scott

one thing that must be remembered with junipers and pinching is that pinching will increase density at the tips, not back budding. as Scott has said to develop branching the trees must be pruned selectivly.

so pinch a "finished" tree to create density at the tips, after the main structure of the tree has been developed via proper pruning.

jamie

[Paulneill]

The penny just dropped after reading an article on the net . It said never to pinch a juniper as this just weakens the tree instead just let spring growth extend harden off and then prune back do desired outline. Simple.
There has been lots of confusion with this subject with articles giving people the wrong information.

I also watched a video with Ryan Neil working on a yew. he said the best time of year to hard prune a yew to get backbudding was late autum .
He also agreed its a strange time to do this having the tree go through winter with less foliage . And listed a few other trees that also fall in this category . Anyone tried this ? Is a needle juniper similar to a yew ?

[Scott Roxburgh]

http://crataegus.com/2012/08/26/how-to-pinch-junipers/
http://www.bonsaiboon.com/pages/shoppin ... etail.html < I think I have one left!

[GavinG]

It's quite different territory, but I had to prune a Baeckea back hard in autumn, and it back-budded quite a long way on bare wood. I'm wondering whether it might also be a useful technique for Leptos.

Gavin

[Qitianlong]

this post is a little scary, and I think I'm heading the way of making the lesser example Scott cited with my juni here:

viewtopic.php?f=104&t=14189

is there a tutorial on here somewhere that outlines a little more about what Scott mentions here? ie scaffold branches etc?