Dealing with coarse primary branching on Foemina Juniper

[zeejet]

I have a young foemina juniper with really coarse lower branches with no interior foliage. Since you can’t cut all the way back past the last piece of foliage, are there any strategies for salvaging these branches? Would I be able to graft foliage to the bare sections of these branches?

The trunk is quite thin while the lower branches are too thick and have no interior growth. Some thinning in late spring was able to stimulate some back buds in the interior of secondary and tertiary branche structures, but I’m starting to doubt that I can get buds on the interior for the lower branches. If I cut back for more tapered primary branching, it would certainly be past the last of the foliage and kill the branch.

Are there ways around this? For example, is it possible to cut back progressively and get back budding further and further back each time? Or is grafting my only option?

Additional critique and suggestions on other aspects of this tree are also welcome. I know the trunk is under developed, but I don't think I have much of an option for thickening at this point. I'm basically using the tree as a learning tool for developing foliage and branching - I don't see how I can thicken the trunk without putting it in the ground (which I cannot do due to not having a yard). I also don't know if I should address bar branches towards the top - might be too sparse if I aim for alternating arrangement via branch removal.

 

[Shibui]

It's a long, tall trunk. What is your plan for this one?
Reason for asking is that I see you have wired branches quite a long way up the trunk. I'd probably be looking at a trunk chop reasonably low and regrow the apex from one of those lower branches rather than trying to make them all branches on a skinny trunk.

Apical dominance means that while you are allowing the tall tip to grow, lower branches will be reluctant to back bud. I'd be trying progressive cut back to stimulate back buds. Grafting is the ultimate option after all other avenues have failed.

 

[pandacular]

Grafting is the ultimate option after all other avenues have failed.

This is true, but the part in bold I think I disagree with. Grafting is the best solution to the specific problem, and doesn’t deserve to be relegated to last resort. Since this material is young, progressive cutbacks are likely needed anyway, but grafting is a simple and effective approach that gets exactly the foliage you want in exactly the right location.

 

[zeejet]

It's a long, tall trunk. What is your plan for this one?
Reason for asking is that I see you have wired branches quite a long way up the trunk. I'd probably be looking at a trunk chop reasonably low and regrow the apex from one of those lower branches rather than trying to make them all branches on a skinny trunk.

Apical dominance means that while you are allowing the tall tip to grow, lower branches will be reluctant to back bud. I'd be trying progressive cut back to stimulate back buds. Grafting is the ultimate option after all other avenues have failed.

My plan? I'm trying to figure that out at this point - I got this as part of a specimen workshop this spring when I was only a few months into the hobby and was upsold on the idea that this tree was ready for branch and foliage development (or at least that the trunk would thicken reasonably over time with just maintenance).

At this point, it's evident that it will not thicken appreciably in a container while pruning each season. I am tempted to continue down this path without major cutback except maybe cutting back or thinning the upper portion every other season in order to push growth back towards the lower branches. I would essentially be giving up on this tree and only using it as a way to practice refinement work on a needle juniper without any hope of it becoming a quality tree.

I don't have a yard so I cannot put this into the ground - from what I can tell, junipers do not really thicken in containers. I'm also not looking for aggressive taper or movement and looking to develop this into a larger upright (most older foemina I've seen are styled as tall uprights).