Wulfskaar's Junipers (procumbens 'Nana')

[Wulfskaar]

Having some fun today with my second procumbens nana. These were about $10 each from Lowes.

The trunk swooped down hard and it was scary twisting it upwards, but it's done. May have cracked the trunk in a couple spots though. We'll see what happens.

There's an awkward junction where it looks like 4 branches coming out of one spot. Not yet sure which one(s) to remove. I was trying to achieve the triangular shape of the tree, so I don't want to undo that. Advice is always welcome and appreciated.

I left a lot of foliage. Should I take off more or let it recover?

This is the one on the left.

 

[Wulfskaar]

I did this one last weekend.

 

[Esolin]

Nanas are always fun to torture. I would remove one of the two thicker side branches on that junction, but if you think you cracked the trunk, I'd wait and make sure it recovers. They tend to bounce back pretty fast from damage at this age. I remember cracking a branch or two playing with similar stock, and they calloused up nicely in the Spring.

 

[Wulfskaar]

Nanas are always fun to torture. I would remove one of the two thicker side branches on that junction, but if you think you cracked the trunk, I'd wait and make sure it recovers. They tend to bounce back pretty fast from damage at this age. I remember cracking a branch or two playing with similar stock, and they calloused up nicely in the Spring.

That's reassuring because the result turned out better than I thought.

Every time I looked at this tree, I had a really hard time with what I wanted to do. Last night I watched this video and it kinda clicked, so I went for it today.

I really tried to wire using the slingshot method, but there's one spot where it's totally wrong.



The soil is smaller and has more organic than the other one. I think the soil for the smaller one seems way too large-grained.

There's a big branch hanging in the back. It's mostly hidden, but if I cut it off, it will be very 2-dimensional and flat when viewed from the sides.

I'm open to any advice.

 

[Wulfskaar]

Do you guys have any advice on finer pruning?

I took off a lot of foliage, so I tried to leave as much as possible. Is it a bad idea to prune more now, or should I allow it time to recover before the next big pruning session?

 

[coachspinks]

I'd let it recover. Probably until late fall or winter. As tough as they are, this one has had a fair amount of foliage removed and had its roots messed with. Looks great though!

 

[Wulfskaar]

I'd let it recover. Probably until late fall or winter. As tough as they are, this one has had a fair amount of foliage removed and had its roots messed with. Looks great though!

I appreciate the input. I may snip a little out of the crotches and stuff, but I'll leave the bulk of it for another time. Thanks coach!

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

If it bounces back in force, you can always remove the growing tips on all branch ends (and branch ends only!) that should give you nice pads within two years.
If the force is not there, let them run!

 

[Wulfskaar]

The last couple days, the larger one has had some small side shoots turn yellow. I pulled off the really dry ones.

I'm hoping it's due to the man-handling it received a few weeks ago and not because the tree is dying.

Some parts of the tree still look good though. It's mainly around spots that were wired and manipulated severely.

Is it doomed, or just beaten up?

 

[Esolin]

Just looks beaten up to me. If ALL the green on a branch started turning brown or crisping, then I'd worry. In general, they also tend to discard old or weak growth in the fall/winter in prep for new spring growth. Don't panic yet.

 

[Wulfskaar]

Just looks beaten up to me. If ALL the green on a branch started turning brown or crisping, then I'd worry. In general, they also tend to discard old or weak growth in the fall/winter in prep for new spring growth. Don't panic yet.

Thanks for the encouragement! They don't look too bad overall, I guess. Just snapped a couple pics of them as a whole to better judge the damage.

 

[Esolin]

Yeah, they're a nice healthy green. The interior growth that died off will almost certainly back bud in future seasons. Mine do this all the time. It's one of the things I love about nanas. Makes it easy to renew pads and keep them close to the trunk.

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

I see some missing tips on the yellow stuff. That's what procumbens does when pruned outside the growing season; they drop the entire twig.
I usually wait until there's a fork behind it, before I remove a tip.

But they'll bounce back, probably!

 

[Brain Treez]

That's reassuring because the result turned out better than I thought.

Every time I looked at this tree, I had a really hard time with what I wanted to do. Last night I watched this video and it kinda clicked, so I went for it today.

I really tried to wire using the slingshot method, but there's one spot where it's totally wrong.



The soil is smaller and has more organic than the other one. I think the soil for the smaller one seems way too large-grained.

There's a big branch hanging in the back. It's mostly hidden, but if I cut it off, it will be very 2-dimensional and flat when viewed from the sides.

I'm open to any advice.

Nicely done. I hadn't seen that video before either, it's pretty good.