Juniper shrubs.

[hillsdown]

I have 4 juniper shrubs/plants around my house and they are growing out of control and getting huge. Does anyone know if they can be pruned without killing them and if so how do you do it ?


Thanks

 

[3waycross]

I have 4 juniper shrubs/plants around my house and they are growing out of control and getting huge. Does anyone know if they can be pruned without killing them and if so how do you do it ?


Thanks

Yes they can be pruned. I don't think I would do it now though. Wait till winter when the sap is down and they won't stress as much.

 

[hillsdown]

Thank you 3way, the one shrub on the west side is so large that I'll need to use the chain saw to prune it. 7 years ago when we moved here they were teeny tiny ,those buggers grow really fast. :lol2:

 

[1982vett]

Thank you 3way, the one shrub on the west side is so large that I'll need to use the chain saw to prune it. 7 years ago when we moved here they were teeny tiny ,those buggers grow really fast. :lol2:

You mean those little bonsai trees got out of hand? :lol:

I sort of thing as a rule of thumb in landscaping: plant a plant to grow to fit a space. Don't plant a plant that needs to be trimmed and pruned to keep it in its space. I suppose some junipers would trim up ok. Sort of think it might depend on the juniper species as to what the plant will look like after it is trimmed.

Maybe eventually a different species would be a better fit.

 

[hillsdown]

Vett i didn't plant them , believe me if I had they wouldn't be ornamental, they would be the ones with the berries to make Genevra. ;-) :lol2:

 

[upfrombottom]

Junipers make great ornamental shrubs, don't trim them from the top down, but instead from the bottom up, The disfigured trunks of the juniper are way cool in my opinion and trimming them in this manor does not harm the plant. Unless junipers are very happy where the are, it takes many years to get them to grow to a size big enough to trim into an ornamental shrub which is why if you see one in a nursery that has been "poodled" , it is rather expensive. Just take your time while trimming it, I've taken as much as a week to trim one shrub, only working a few minutes a day and coming back the next day or so and trim a little more. Doing it this way, it will give you plenty of time to decide the shape that it needs to be to have the best eye appeal.