Without restarting the pinch or not to pinch debate may I ask a question?...

[Alain]

Hi there,
As said in my title I don't want to restart the debate pro-pinch or an anti-pinch technique but I have 2 questions:

- When do you do this pruning of the longest growths from the last season on a juniper?
At the start of the growing season (i.e. now) to promote new buds during the season?
Or do you wait later during the season.

- And: I have 2 collected junipers from last end of summer (Labor day week end), I know I can't do hard work on them during 2 years but could/should I still do this soft pruning of the new and too long shoots?

Thanks

 

[sorce]

I wouldn't.

I mean....I would....but the tree would die!

Sorce

 

[Adair M]

I would wait until later in the season.

Remember, new growing tips produce auxin. Auxin stimulates roots to grow. Remove the growing tips reduces the root growth. Which we want.

Waiting allows the roots to grow. Then, later in the season, cut back. You would still have your strong roots. Cutting back too soon might compromise your roots. Good roots = good tree.

 

[sorce]

Alain....

https://chicago.craigslist.org/nch/zip/5589162600.html

Sorce

 

[Vance Wood]

Pictures would go a long way toward receiving accurate input.

 

[Alain]

Pictures would go a long way toward receiving accurate input.

I know but I suck (well my camera does at least) at taking zoomed pictures and the new growths I am speaking about are small....
Typically it would be these kind of growths (on the left picture, the tip that is removed, picture from @Brian Van Fleet ):


I'll try to take my own picture tonight again

I would wait until later in the season.

Remember, new growing tips produce auxin. Auxin stimulates roots to grow. Remove the growing tips reduces the root growth. Which we want.

Waiting allows the roots to grow. Then, later in the season, cut back. You would still have your strong roots. Cutting back too soon might compromise your roots. Good roots = good tree.

Ok then! Thanks for the precision!
And could I (do I have to?) do it on the junipers that were collected last Labor day week-end or will it kill my tree as @sorce says?
There are not a lot of them and I won't do any further work.

 

[sorce]

I know but I suck (well my camera does at least) at taking zoomed pictures and the new growths I am speaking about are small....
Typically it would be these kind of growths (on the left picture, the tip that is removed, picture from @Brian Van Fleet ):
View attachment 105357

I'll try to take my own picture tonight again



Ok then! Thanks for the precision!
And could I (do I have to?) do it on the junipers that were collected last Labor day week-end or will it kill my tree as @sorce says?
There are not a lot of them and I won't do any further work.

It Probly won't kill yours...

Just mine!

Sorce

 

[Alain]

It Probly won't kill yours...

Just mine!

Sorce

Well, I am actually pretty good at killing junipers too

 

[Adair M]

I know but I suck (well my camera does at least) at taking zoomed pictures and the new growths I am speaking about are small....
Typically it would be these kind of growths (on the left picture, the tip that is removed, picture from @Brian Van Fleet ):
View attachment 105357

I'll try to take my own picture tonight again



Ok then! Thanks for the precision!
And could I (do I have to?) do it on the junipers that were collected last Labor day week-end or will it kill my tree as @sorce says?
There are not a lot of them and I won't do any further work.

Look at the BVF pictures. He cut off the runner. He went back, an cut it off right at a joint where there was a little side branch. Now that little side branch is the new terminal tip. That's the correct way to do it. It's not hard to do.

The little side branch ( now new leader ) still has all its growing tips. Leave them be.

 

[Adair M]

Here is a juniper that Boon recently posted on Facebook that he worked on in 2014.

before:



After:



When he removed the runners, he used scissors and went inside the pad a bit and found a place where there was a side branch, and cut off the runner, leaving the side branch.

He did not remove any of the growing tips on the circumference of the pads. Any thing protruding outside the desired profile, he cut it off at an interior joint.

 

[Alain]

Here is a juniper that Boon recently posted on Facebook that he worked on in 2014.

before:

View attachment 105376

After:

View attachment 105377

When he removed the runners, he used scissors and went inside the pad a bit and found a place where there was a side branch, and cut off the runner, leaving the side branch.

He did not remove any of the growing tips on the circumference of the pads. Any thing protruding outside the desired profile, he cut it off at an interior joint.

Well, my own junipers are at light-years of this one but it was basically the idea
My question was regarding what you call the 'runners' (and the good thing is that now I know the name ), not the growing tips on the circumference of the pads.

And what do you think about the timing for the collected junipers? Yeah or neah on the possibility of doing that this year?
Doesn't seem too much of a stress for the tree (well, that's my thinking, I may be totally wrong on this one) that's why I was wondering if it was ok to do it even before the 2 years wait after collection.

 

[Adair M]

Wait until next year for the collected tree.

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Typically it would be these kind of growths (on the left picture, the tip that is removed, picture from @Brian Van Fleet ):
View attachment 105357
.

Yep...that's how it's done.

 

[JoeR]

I would wait until later in the season.

Remember, new growing tips produce auxin. Auxin stimulates roots to grow. Remove the growing tips reduces the root growth. Which we want.

Waiting allows the roots to grow. Then, later in the season, cut back. You would still have your strong roots. Cutting back too soon might compromise your roots. Good roots = good tree.

This makes sense.

 

[Alain]

@Brian Van Fleet , @Adair M , @Vance Wood :
Thanks a lot everyone (plus all the other ones) on all these information and advises!

PS: Btw my trees have been collected Labor day 2015 (hence end of a growing season) so when you say next year before working on them is it growing season 2017 or 2018?

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

If they grow well this year, you could start work on the, in spring '17...especially if you're not repotting.
I have collected four RMJ in 5/13, and repotted 2 last year, 2 this year, and may start working on them in spring '17.

 

[sorce]

The one in the Yamadori thread?

Pic?

The more you wait...
The more fun it will be!

Sorce

 

[Alain]

The one in the Yamadori thread?

Pic?

The more you wait...
The more fun it will be!

Sorce

The one on the yamadori thread I actually worked on it the day of the collection because at this time I didn't know you have to wait...
But apparently it is still alive so, so far so not too bad

One died even if I didn't do anything with it. But it was the one with the most abundant foliage, I am wondering if there wasn't too much foliage for the amount of roots remaining after collection. Well, it's dead anyway.
The 2 other ones seem perfectly healthy and hopefully will stay so.
I'll post pics this evening.

 

[Alain]

@sorce here they are:

The dead one:

As you can see the foliage on this one was huge.
May be too much.
Anyway.
It helps me to discover a rule concerning junipers or my association with junipers: they show they are dead in spring.
This one looked perfectly alive all winter and started to show it was dead in spring, all my junipers that died did the same.
But may be it's just with me

So here are the 2 alive:

This one I call it my crossed arms juniper:


It may not be obvious on the picture but the 2 main branches supporting the 2 pads are crossed.
Some serious branched bending will be required there
It is budding and that those 'runners' I wanted to know if I could remove, not yet then


The second tree has no name...
And a kind of 'some major job to do' trunk

May be my next order to Kaneshin cutlery will be a trunk splitter, good thing I've got one more year of saving (or 1 more birthday)

Alain

 

[sorce]

Nice!

I wouldn't cut anything yet for a while...

Those could be interesting.

Half my nursery Junipers died in the same manner....
"Hey look at me, spring!, I'm gonna push some growth....urrrnt....no, Fuck you buddy I'm dead!"

Thank you...son of a Bitch juniper!

Sorce