What's the recommended way to increase juniper pad density?

[Hack Yeah!]

You guys should meet up and arm wrestle to choose a winner, Over the Top!

 

[M. Frary]

We ought to start the JPAA; The Juniper Pinchers Anonymous Association. There is a way to pinch without doing the kind of damage some are saying that pinching does, if anyone is interested.

I would say I'm interested. But as you know I already know how.
I'll bet others do it too but won't admit it.

 

[Paradox]

Haven't we been through this arguement/discussion at least 5 times before?

After much arguing back and forth and some persuasion, Vance described his techniques in detail. Adair and/or BVF commented.

IF I recall correctly, it was a matter of simantics. That what Vance calls pinching was not exactly the same as what Adair and BVF call pinching (?)

 

[JudyB]

Haven't we been through this arguement/discussion at least 5 times before?

Hey at least it's a momentary respite from the turface wars...

 

[0soyoung]

Hey at least it's a momentary respite from the turface wars...

Yah.
Thanks for nipping that in the bud

 

[chicago1980]

Most of my club Juniperistas are repotting from now through November.

I'm ready to do a fairly large one (species unknown) and the pads are a bit sparsish.
They're healthy but just not "filled out" yet.

I'm not going to mess much with roots but will put in the new pot with a bit of ....er....akadama ... this year.

I've been pinching a lot of uppy and downy growth but not completely sure if I'm doing enough.

Any "tricks" I should know?

What species of juniper?

 

[coh]

Hey at least it's a momentary respite from the turface wars...

I only pinch junipers that are growing in turface.

 

[MichaelS]

Another pincher! Excellent!
My name is Mike Frary and I also am a pincher.

Hi Mike! Every one say hi to Mike!
I used to be a closet pincher but now I'm out and proud.

 

[Velodog2]

Imma forming a new religion that states as it’s only belief that the path to heaven is open only to those who refrain from pinching their junipers. All others are unclean heathens who must be killed for their own good and to prevent the contamination of the righteous. We will elect enough legislators to enact laws imposing our will upon all thereby making this a pure and holy country so that we can win wars with God’s support, and further impose our beliefs on more and more people. Did I get that right?

 

[Victorim]

You guys.. see now I'm going to have to pinch one side, and cut the other.. and shear the back as a control..

 

[Lazylightningny]

My recommendation is:

Wait until it has started pushing growth next spring (March-ish), then mow the foliage. After that, let it grow. Sometime after the summer solstice (aka Father's Day) it should have several long runners - cut them and only them. Maybe you have another bunch of long runners by September - cut them and only them then as well. Finally leave the foliage alone; maybe repeat this whole process in the following year(s). When you've got the pad density close to you want, there will be no more spring mowing, only cutting long runners in the summer.

When you say, "mow" the foliage, what exactly do you mean?

 

[MichaelS]

Imma forming a new religion that states as it’s only belief that the path to heaven is open only to those who refrain from pinching their junipers. All others are unclean heathens who must be killed for their own good and to prevent the contamination of the righteous. We will elect enough legislators to enact laws imposing our will upon all thereby making this a pure and holy country so that we can win wars with God’s support, and further impose our beliefs on more and more people. Did I get that right?

You sound like David Suzuki, Al Gore and other high priests of the Church for Repenting Anthropomorphic Problems ( CRAP for short)

 

[0soyoung]

When you say, "mow" the foliage, what exactly do you mean?

I mean wide-spread (massive?) removal of foliage tips. With procumbens it can be very much like literally mowing the grass - cutting all the tips off. With other varieties, maybe not so much.

Ramification will not occur without decapitating some apical meristems, just like omelets cannot be made without breaking a few eggs.

 

[M. Frary]

Hi Mike! Every one say hi to Mike!
I used to be a closet pincher but now I'm out and proud.
View attachment 167353

I'm trying to figure which one you are in the picture.
Wait a minute. You took the picture.

 

[Lazylightningny]

I mean wide-spread (massive?) removal of foliage tips. With procumbens it can be very much like literally mowing the grass - cutting all the tips off. With other varieties, maybe not so much.

Ramification will not occur without decapitating some apical meristems, just like omelets cannot be made without breaking a few eggs.

Are you talking about shearing it, like Walter Pall using garden shears?

 

[0soyoung]

Are you talking about shearing it, like Walter Pall using garden shears?

Not necessarily, but it could be if you have a large juniper in mind. I use pruning scissors for the most part, but the 'mowing' idea is the same.

 

[Paulpash]

 

[music~maker]

I mean wide-spread (massive?) removal of foliage tips. With procumbens it can be very much like literally mowing the grass - cutting all the tips off. With other varieties, maybe not so much.

Ramification will not occur without decapitating some apical meristems, just like omelets cannot be made without breaking a few eggs.

Uh ... that's not entirely true.

Procumbens naturally grow like fractals, and they back-bud like crazy. If you let them grow strongly, then prune back the strongly growing branch back to a node, they will pop new buds below that, and those buds will extend into branches if you let them grow. Mowing is not required.

Like everything in bonsai, there is more than one way to skin a cat.

I have one I have been growing since 2010 from a very early stage, and I hardly pruned it at all along the way. Every so often, I'd just shorten whatever was the most dominant branch that didn't suit my purposes for the design, then I'd just let everything keep growing again. It took a while, but it's a very full little tree now, and I definitely have ramified branches.

Now to be fair, I was focused on trunk/major branch development, and I may adjust my strategy a bit now that I'm getting to a more detailed phase of the project. But the point is, it's not quite as black & white as it's often made out to be. Just different tools in the toolbox.

 

[M. Frary]

A whole bunch of pincers there. I bet no one tells them it's wrong to pinch.

 

[Ry2Tree2]

You guys.. see now I'm going to have to pinch one side, and cut the other.. and shear the back as a control..

I would love to see this. Only be sure the 3 areas are equivalent in branch position, size, and light availability. If i were you, I would also add a negative control with no work done on it.