Can You Prune An Overgrown Juniper - Tips For Overgrown Juniper Pruning

While overgrown juniper pruning has its limits, it is possible to trim your plant down to a more manageable shape. One good place to start is the removal of any dead or leafless branches – these can be cut off at the trunk. You can also remove any branches that are overlapping or sticking out too far.

How do you trim an overgrown juniper?

If the juniper is severely overgrown, it may be preferable to replace it.

Examine the plant for long branches that originate under other branches and can be removed without leaving a bare spot. ...
Cut the remaining branches back to a junction with another green branch. ...
Cut dead growth back to the trunk.

How far back can you cut junipers?

Damaged or diseased branches should be cut back to a point beyond the break or disease. Make your cut 1 inch beyond a bud or healthy leaf. If you have to cut past where there is no needle growth you might as well remove the entire branch because it will not produce new growth.

How do you prune overgrown evergreens?

1 Use loppers to remove one-third of the older stems, so sunlight can penetrate the hedge's interior. 2 Find long stems that grow out of hedge, and snip them close to the ground. 3 Where one stem branches into two, cut just above the Y-shaped split. 4 Continue cutting older stems, but leave new growth.

What can I do with overgrown junipers?

While overgrown juniper pruning has its limits, it is possible to trim your plant down to a more manageable shape. One good place to start is the removal of any dead or leafless branches – these can be cut off at the trunk. You can also remove any branches that are overlapping or sticking out too far.

How do you shape a juniper?

Thin out creeping junipers by removing center branches.

Use a pair of pruners or loppers to cut 30% of the central limbs out of the tree, opting for the most mature branches. Cut these branches into the dead zone to prevent them from growing back.

Can you cut the top off of a juniper tree?

All junipers have dead zones at their center so severe pruning, including topping, is never a good idea. Instead, prune lightly and regularly, just before new growth begins in spring. The key to pruning juniper is to leave areas with dormant bud on each branch you trim.

Will junipers grow back?

Junipers (Juniperus spp.) can be used in nearly every part of your landscape. The long-lived evergreens can become scraggly and overgrown, however. ... Although a juniper won't grow back from a branch that has no green growth, careful pruning can revive the shrub.

When should junipers be pruned?

The best time to prune junipers is late winter and early spring just before growth begins. However, because junipers are usually very vigorous, they can be pruned almost any time.

How do you prune an overgrown plant?

When pruning mature, overgrown shrubs, remove the thickest branches first. Cut them back to the base of the shrub to promote new growth. Hand pruners are useful for smaller branches. Some can handle diameters up to an inch, but long-handled loppers give you leverage to cut branches 1 to 2 inches in diameter.

When should overgrown bushes be trimmed?

Badly overgrown shrubs respond well to pruning in late winter/early spring, just before new leaves appear. Managing large shrubs isn't done overnight. Instead, prune neglected, overgrown shrubs over three years. Each year, take out a third of the heaviest stems to start new growth developing.

Can you cut the bottom branches of a spruce tree?

Answer: Generally, it is acceptable to remove dead branches on pine trees as they won't grow back. On spruce trees, it can be helpful for the tree to remove dead branch sections so that healthy branches can replace them, since spruces will regrow along the healthy branches that have buds.

What can I substitute for juniper bushes?

Once the junipers are removed, what should you replace them with? Herbaceous plants, such as lawn, annual and perennial flowers and bulbs, that are kept green during fire season via irrigation. Deciduous shrubs, preferably less than two feet in height and under irrigation.

How do you keep junipers small?

You'll need to start selectively pruning a juniper bush by trimming back each branch's terminal tip. This will reduce the length and weight of the branch, making it less likely to pull out from the trunk. You can also use an arbor tie to attach sagging branches to the central trunk.

How long do juniper bushes live?

Junipers typically live from 350 to 700 years, with some even passing the millennium mark. Despite their longevity, junipers rarely exceed 30 feet in height or three feet in diameter.

Do juniper bushes have deep roots?

The root system of a Juniper tree might grow 2 to 3 feet deep but the majority of the feeder roots responsible for absorbing nutrients are in the top 12 to 18 inches of soil.

What causes junipers to turn brown?

If you see brown, red, green or yellow eight-legged insects, your juniper has spider mites. ... Entire branches dying back especially on larger shrubs or juniper trees may be due to twig blight. This is caused by cankers. This disease can also cause foliage on infected branches to turn yellow or brown and wilt.

What will kill juniper bush?

Ashe junipers of any size can be killed by cutting at or slightly above the soil surface with an ax, chain saw, or hand-pruning shears. Redberry juniper seedlings and saplings can also be killed if cut at the soil surface, as long as the “bud zone” (a swollen “bulb” on the basal stem) is still above the soil surface.

Can you trim a blue point juniper?

"Blue Point" is listed as growing to 7 to 8 feet but does indeed grow larger as you have discovered. Junipers can certainly be pruned, but unfortunately there is no way to discourage new growth by pruning. They are vigorous plants! Cutting the leader will encourage additional leaders to form.

How big do juniper shrubs get?

With shapes ranging from ground-hugging juniper bushes just 6 inches high to towering juniper trees 130 feet tall, and colors from steely blue to shimmering gold, there's a juniper that suits nearly every landscape need.

How do you trim a juniper tree?

"Do-It-Yourself" Juniper Tree Removal

The most effective method is to cut down the tree with a chain saw and use a portable tree shredder to process the wood into chips to be used as mulch.