Chris, I also don't get brown tips on my junipers. (well maybe an oddball one or two if I got lazy after a two hour session) I'm not sure of Vance's method, but I twist between the finger and thumb applying pressure at the same time. Works like a charm. Your right that a crotch shoot maybe better someday than what you have now but your talking a long, long time and then again it might not be as good as what you have. So in my opinion that option might be a bit counter productive when the big picture is looked at.
Tom, I am talking about rebuilding a tree that is too leggy. In order to force the growth back, you will be using some of those strong bits that come up in the crotch. Once you remove most of what is beyond that, you can remake the branch fairly quickly, but of course you would not do this on a tree you want to show.
And if your juniper is growing properly, it's not a long, long, time to remake a branch. Perhaps 2-4 years if you are rebuilding the entire branch. Plus, if you know what you are doing, it will have to be better than what you have, if you need to replace the branch anyway. Of course, I am not talking about replacing a major structural branch with deadwood, etc., just the foliage bearing parts. If you have a branch like that, of course you will want to graft.
