THIS is why you shouldn't pinch junipers!

B.uneasy

Chumono
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This is what happens when you do pinch correctly. Is this a masterpiece? No, of course not! but it is not the disaster some in the "do not pinch camp" seem to suggest. This tree has been treated in the same way for many years and it's still alive. In fact it won the first place award for the Master's category at the Four Seasons show 2014. Local show to be sure but there are some pretty good bonsai growers that frequent this club and show their work yearly. This tree as many of you know is not Yamadori, it was developed from a 3 gallon nursery tree started in 1997-98. It has been restyled at least three times.

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Love this
 

Vance Wood

Lord Mugo
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It has been pinched but I suspect the problem is in the definition and execution of the technique, not the choice of technique.
 

Drewski

Mame
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@Adair M, just finished reading this thread and was wondering how this juniper is doing now.
 

Adair M

Pinus Envy
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It’s doing well. I’ll take a picture tomorrow. It probably needs some work.
Pictures:

Before:

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EA217B4B-00D4-43AC-AB4C-2DAF882D4D84.jpeg

After a little work:


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BF28C4CB-80EB-47D8-9462-2C177EA18BDA.jpeg

It’s not wired. It needs some. It’s backbudding in the interior. Mostly juvenile foliage which is to be expected. I think the canopy is too wide, so I will be cutting back to those backbuds. I cleaned the foliage, and thinned a bit to allow more sun into the interior. Next spring, I will remove about half the existing branches, probably arbitarily. This will make the tree grow those backbuds more. And once they get strong, I’ll remove the other half of the old foliage. This will shrink the canopy by about half it’s width. And we’ll start over building branches. The existing branches are just way too leggy!
 

Drewski

Mame
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Thanks for the update. I’ve picked up some really useful information from this thread, and am looking forward to seeing how you progress with this tree. 👍
 

ThePecha7

Seedling
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Any updates? Would love to see a comparison side by side of how it started and what it looks like now.
 
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