A Formal Upright Juniper Progression and a Few What Not To Do's

Saddler

Chumono
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April 16 2014
A friend was moving out of his condo and wanted to get rid of this juniper, The pot it was in was HUGE! It almost killed me getting it out of the car alone and repotting it.


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I sort of trimmed it a couple weeks later, mistake 1: sort of trimming it. I should have cut it back hard one every branch, not just the bottom three of four.
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I didn't have wire so ratchet straps are the next best thing. lol.
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May of 2016, Mistake 2: After putting it in the back of the yard and neglecting it to let it grow out, it grew out, horribly. All the straight long branches. If only I had known to prune it even once when it had foliage closer in, I would so much further ahead.
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What it looks like today. I have the foliage where I want it on the left side and now I am working on bringing in the right side. I have left the second from bottom branch on the left side as a precaution to not kill the live wood between it and the two cuts right under it. Those two I spread out over a year to keep it alive between them. Are they alive you ask, I am afraid to look lol. Schrodingers Cat and all that.

Probably the front
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The branch on the bottom right is my next target to get back budding on. I cut back everywhere else hard and left that branch alone. I will give all year to back bud on its own and cut it late spring next year once it is in full growth if it hasn't thrown a bud yet. The branch above it will be set up for the same thing to happen after this one and Ill cut the opposing branch off then too.
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The back is nicer but it has a couple eye pokers I need to fill in the back or it will be one flat tree.
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defra

Masterpiece
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Thnx for sharing
If it doesnt work out you could always go for the smallest tree in there
Like this

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