Do juniper branches have life after death?

[Mike Corazzi]

I'm TRYING to train a juniper (species unknown) into a dead looking image of a "hard life" tree.

I've lashed the branches down to look drooped and old and ONE branch is COMPLETELY jinned since last summer.
I mean NO bark.
And suddenly I notice that the branch that has had NOTHING for almost a year had GONE BACK UPWARDS!

So I tied it back down, bark still off and all but wonder if this is common for a branch to decide on its own to defy my abuses and show me what it wants to be.

Here's an early pic of both the model tree and the one I started on (it's MUCH fuller this year)

 

[drew33998]

Might have something to do with the sap drying out and causing the wood to rise up. Yep I said it.

 

[Vin]

If you're still able to "tie it back down" then the branch still has sap in it. How much movement was required to get it back to the position it was in last year?

 

[GrimLore]

I'm TRYING to train a juniper

If that is a Eastern Red Cedar it will continue to try to grow upwards but you can stop it over time... @Adair M has some diagrams that show how to notch and dress the branch where it comes in contact with the trunk. First bend go easy, out straight and give it a year to heal. let the branch grow out giving it weight and thickness. Repeat next year with more of a bend while continuing to let the branch thicken and lengthen. It may takes more seasons but eventually you will be able to cut off the ends without the branches springing upwards.

Grimmy

 

[rockm]

The wood on dead branches has "memory" in the way the wood was grown. It tends to "want" to be in that original position. Live branches don't have that problem, because they get a new wood that sets a new growth direction.

To permanently reposition a jinned branch, you can apply the same techniques used to bend wood for furniture--apply wet heat. Wire the branch "as is," then wrap a hot steaming towel around it and let it sit for a few minutes (making sure the towel isn't in contact with living tissue). Remove, bend into desired position. The steaming effect will allow the fibers in the wood to soften, then harden into a new position.

Same deal as this--without the extreme heat: