How to pinch scale junipers!

MichaelS

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There still seems to be confusion regarding pinching these plants.

Let me quote from K Murata first.

''Nipping......The new buds of shimpaku are three pronged and appear in spring and autumn (and summer?)
Nip the central bud before it hardens. A day or two later (more like a week for me) , nip the two buds that remain on either side. If you nip the buds like this - as soon as they have appeared, secondary buds will appear in four or five days........the secondary buds should be nipped the same way too.
....thus in the case of shimpaku, it is necessary to repeat the process all through the growing season.
This is the secret of increasing the number of branches and of making the bud tips fine, dense and beautiful''

So, ''pinching'' (actually not pinching but more plucking or pulling) the tender new growth tips is done to make the foliage dense and ''cloud like'' This is the very essence of shimpaku'' and IMO should be done at least during the year prior to exhibiting the tree.

Murata continues....

''If the bud-tips of shimpaku become too dense, the lower and middle branches will be impeded in their development resulting in a top-heavy appearance. To avoid this, nip the branches at least once a year. The best time to trim is in spring before the buds come out........make sure there is a small branch beneath the one you are about to cut off.......''

Well I think that is pretty straight forward right?


Well apparently not to some folks who believe the recommendation for pinching requires you to grab a handful of foliage and rip it off! The tender new growth comes of as easily as a dandelion flower and if you find you need to use any force at all it's already to late to use fingers.

The auxin myth.

Auxin is produced at every growth tip (besides other places) and NOT only the ones you see extending beyond the foliage profile. If there is a lighter colour in the tips of the needles (which in spring is every single tip) they are actively producing auxin and to remove a few here and there makes absolutely no difference to the tree's vigour.

Browning of foliage.

This only occurs if you happen to leave a portion of the new tip behind when you pinch it off. If done correctly, you will either remove the entire tip and leave nothing behind or at most there may be two scales left at the base of the removed tip which remain and brown off. Either way this is of no consequence.

I'm in the middle of the growing season here so let's have a look....

Before pinching...


P1110679.JPG



After pinching.
As you can see there are two scales left at he base of the pinched shoot. These will brown off and soon get swallowed up by the new growth as the season goes on. If you worry about this sort of thing you worry too much!


P1110680.JPG


Another one.
Before

P1110684.JPG


After

P1110685.JPG




And one more for luck..
Look at the centre of the pic.......before


P1110699.JPG


After...


P1110700.JPG





Just to repeat.
Pinching is what is used to create density and beauty in the plant.
Trimming and pruning is also necessary but it is used for thinning out and maintenance.

Note... we should not forget the fact that any weak material should not be pinched or trimmed until it's strength is restored. After that we can shorted the longest strongest areas by trimming with scissors. The pinching part comes into the picture after we have a healthy tree in a display pot and we are ready to improve it's density and beauty


 

M. Frary

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This is exactly what I've done for a long time. It was something I learned out of the one book at our county library
Like 29 years ago.
 
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There still seems to be confusion regarding pinching these plants.

Let me quote from K Murata first.

''Nipping......The new buds of shimpaku are three pronged and appear in spring and autumn (and summer?)
Nip the central bud before it hardens. A day or two later (more like a week for me) , nip the two buds that remain on either side. If you nip the buds like this - as soon as they have appeared, secondary buds will appear in four or five days........the secondary buds should be nipped the same way too.
....thus in the case of shimpaku, it is necessary to repeat the process all through the growing season.
This is the secret of increasing the number of branches and of making the bud tips fine, dense and beautiful''

So, ''pinching'' (actually not pinching but more plucking or pulling) the tender new growth tips is done to make the foliage dense and ''cloud like'' This is the very essence of shimpaku'' and IMO should be done at least during the year prior to exhibiting the tree.

Murata continues....

''If the bud-tips of shimpaku become too dense, the lower and middle branches will be impeded in their development resulting in a top-heavy appearance. To avoid this, nip the branches at least once a year. The best time to trim is in spring before the buds come out........make sure there is a small branch beneath the one you are about to cut off.......''

Well I think that is pretty straight forward right?


Well apparently not to some folks who believe the recommendation for pinching requires you to grab a handful of foliage and rip it off! The tender new growth comes of as easily as a dandelion flower and if you find you need to use any force at all it's already to late to use fingers.

The auxin myth.

Auxin is produced at every growth tip (besides other places) and NOT only the ones you see extending beyond the foliage profile. If there is a lighter colour in the tips of the needles (which in spring is every single tip) they are actively producing auxin and to remove a few here and there makes absolutely no difference to the tree's vigour.

Browning of foliage.

This only occurs if you happen to leave a portion of the new tip behind when you pinch it off. If done correctly, you will either remove the entire tip and leave nothing behind or at most there may be two scales left at the base of the removed tip which remain and brown off. Either way this is of no consequence.

I'm in the middle of the growing season here so let's have a look....

Before pinching...


View attachment 167731



After pinching.
As you can see there are two scales left at he base of the pinched shoot. These will brown off and soon get swallowed up by the new growth as the season goes on. If you worry about this sort of thing you worry too much!


View attachment 167732


Another one.
Before

View attachment 167733


After

View attachment 167734




And one more for luck..
Look at the centre of the pic.......before


View attachment 167735


After...


View attachment 167736





Just to repeat.
Pinching is what is used to create density and beauty in the plant.
Trimming and pruning is also necessary but it is used for thinning out and maintenance.

Note... we should not forget the fact that any weak material should not be pinched or trimmed until it's strength is restored. After that we can shorted the longest strongest areas by trimming with scissors. The pinching part comes into the picture after we have a healthy tree in a display pot and we are ready to improve it's density and beauty

Hi MichaelS,
is this what u mean?
20171120_132516.jpg
 

MichaelS

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Hi MichaelS,
is this what u mean?
View attachment 167752
Yep. If you look closely at say the first pic, you will see a difference in colour between the new and the old growth. The new is brighter yellow-green and the old is darker blue-green



This not a shimpaku but it's about the limit of pinching...

P1110681.JPG

P1110682.JPG



The often quoted ''never pinch junipers'' is absolute bunkum.
 
Last edited:

petegreg

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Michael, this looks right like what neverPinchers recommend. Using fingers or scissors or tweezers...doesn't matter. It's still removing some growth up to branching lower down entirely.
 
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I'm new on this and trying to sort some clarification. So, the theory is by pinching (better word ' remove ')the active grow(selected only and not all, where bout the theory of pinching has a bad reputation cause of that as it kill/weaken alot of juniper) bud full of auxin/young (by stages). Am i right? With the correct pinch,(clean cut pinch where the side 'star' of the scale that still intact ( correct me if im wrong) new set of multiple bud(denser foliage) will emerge from that pinch area(i wonder if temperature or full sun/heat had some role in this ,avoiding the pinch tip to burn and block it from emerging new growth) as the respon of active auxin to promote new growth.
That is all i understand from all this pinch and none pinch thingy.
So,The 'key' is to pinch at the correct time,selected bud (not all outerlayer bud because its fun) and in stages is what the original description meant by pinching(perhaps..who knows)
Correct me if my understanding is wrong. Im not a pincher. Not yet that is(till i have clear cut on some info) Just making it clear and trying to understand.
I wonder what type of shimpaku is mine anyway. Cheer.Screenshot_20171120-172719.png
 

petegreg

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Hi MichaelS,
is this what u mean?
View attachment 167752
Nope, once you remove a growing tip, it's gone. Side tips left there will take over plus some back budding from crotches. You of course remove the leader at a crotch so it may or may not produce buds and growth from there. At least I can see it this way.
 
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Nope, once you remove a growing tip, it's gone. Side tips left there will take over plus some back budding from crotches. You of course remove the leader at a crotch so it may or may not produce buds and growth from there. At least I can see it this way.
Ah i see.
Thanks petegreg for the explaination.
Cheers
 

Adair M

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The key when “Pinching” is to remove whatever you’re removing back to a crotch. Don’t leave a needle cut (or pinched) back 1/2 it’s length. Take the whole thing.
 

MichaelS

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The key when “Pinching” is to remove whatever you’re removing back to a crotch. Don’t leave a needle cut (or pinched) back 1/2 it’s length. Take the whole thing.

Correct!
Advice on pinching from Adair! Well I never...
 
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pinchjun.JPG
Cut to the crotch as in the orange arrow not in the red line ( half way - as mention in previous comment, selected and by stages only to ensure the tree health in tip top)
Seems like the 2 world are getting along and come to an agreement from small crucial information that separate the understanding of true pinching.
Perhaps.
Cheers. Peace.
 

MichaelS

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View attachment 168130
Cut to the crotch as in the orange arrow not in the red line ( half way - as mention in previous comment, selected and by stages only to ensure the tree health in tip top)
Seems like the 2 world are getting along and come to an agreement from small crucial information that separate the understanding of true pinching.
Perhaps.
Cheers. Peace.
Yes the orange line. I should have been more accurate with my ''sketch''
 

M. Frary

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The key when “Pinching” is to remove whatever you’re removing back to a crotch. Don’t leave a needle cut (or pinched) back 1/2 it’s length. Take the whole thing.
Correct!
Advice on pinching from Adair! Well I never...
He's been around too long not to know how.
He's a closet pincher.
 
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