Junipers, with their many shapes, colors and sizes, are prized in the landscape for a variety of purposes including privacy screens, accents and groundcovers. With heights upwards of 30 feet and colors ranging from blues to grays and greens to yellows, it's no wonder you can find a juniper in almost any landscape design. Because of their dense foliage, junipers require little pruning to maintain their shape. However, if you feel you must prune, there are a few delicate rules to follow. Not pruning a juniper the correct way can lead to bare spots, uneven shape and disease.
Look at your juniper for pruning needs in early spring just before the new growth begins; early spring is the best time to prune junipers. Start pruning and shaping while the tree is young and do a small amount each year.
Identify areas you would like to prune back and mark with ribbon individual branches to be cut.
Identify the "dead zone" of your juniper -- the inside of the plant that is full of bare branches and wood. Never cut back to this dead zone or wood that has no needles on it, as junipers will not produce new growth on this type of wood.
Cut individual branches back to a side shoot or leaf of an upward-growing branch, using pruning shears. Cutting to this type of shoot will make the tree look younger and healthier while maintaining a pleasant shape.
Cut any completely dead or broken branches back to the main trunk using loppers, as the juniper is wasting energy on these branches that could be better used to promote new growth and keep the remaining branches healthy.
Avoid cutting your bottom branches shorter than those above them, as tapering in towards the bottom creates too much shade and thus will kill off the bottom. Make sure the base of the juniper is wider than the top.
Things You Will Need
- Pruning shears
- If your juniper is severely overgrown and you would like to adjust the height or width, consider replacing the tree with a smaller cultivar that only reaches the size you want. Because of the "dead zone" and pruning requirements to keep junipers looking healthy and full, severely adjusting the size may create bare spots.
- Pruning young junipers a little every year can help keep the shape you want without the risk of severely damaging the evergreen. This method does take considerably more time than using hedge shears, but hedge shears promote dense growth on the outside of the tree while killing off the leaves on the inside.
- Brand X Pictures/Brand X Pictures/Getty Images