I just wanted to say THANK YOU soooooooooo much for this video!!!!!!!!!!!!! We have a bunch of these and I love them for the natural look. I absolutely hate the uniform square/circle shapes and knew there had to be a way to reduce size while maintaining the natural look. ❤
Hi Lauren, you are SO welcome, and I'm glad to help! And I'm also happy you agree that these shrubs look best when they can grow naturally, instead of in squares and circles. 😃
Thanks Doleen! 😊 They are beautiful shrubs! I just pruned the two smaller ones I have in my front yard, and those always have pretty blue berries on them in Spring that become almost pale aqua berries over time. 🩵💙
I had to laugh about the farmer’s tan, Laura, bc I have one already! 🤣🤣🤣 My hands r much lighter than my arms bc I wear gloves religiously as well and Tx has already had some HOT sunny days!
Too true about the sizing on all the growing guides and labels! Despite all my planning and measuring, plus adding add'l space around them, my 5 yr old sea greens are already over 9'w and 4.5' t. (Label = 6'w x 3'h after 10 yrs). And that's without ANY ferts or compost. Gorgeous, gorgeous arching shape but oh no. Anyway, thank you so very much for this video. Have my work cut out for me but at least I know it's do-able. 😂
Oh wow! You beat me on the width! Yes it IS do-able, that’s the good thing. Just be patient! ❤️ I’m doing a good job keeping the ones I have in the front yard to a smaller size, but I still think they will become giant overnight someday. 🫣😀
I’m brand new the world of gardening and am so happy to have found your channel. I’m learning new things every time I watch your videos . I have horribly overgrown grey owl junipers. Would I use this same technique to prune those?
Hi Paula -- I'm happy you found my channel too! 😊 Yes, this is the same idea for your Grey Owl Junipers -- which are really lovely! It may take more than one try at getting them back to a more manageable size. In other words, you might prune them back like I did in the video...and then next year be able to prune them back even a bit more. That's my plan, as if you try and do too much at once, you end up removing that really nice natural new growth on the ends of each stem. I hope this helps you! Let me know how it goes! 😀
Nice! I have a shorter blue version by my mailbox that keeps getting run over by cars and hit with road salt. Tough guy keeps coming back. Currently, it has dozens of clematis blooms winding their way through. People think a mailbox is a good place for clematis, but it doesn’t really work well. Be careful where the Rheingold meets the juniper. I have some older evergreens that mingle like that and both have dead spots there. It’s too late for me to fix that. 😢
Junipers are tough plants indeed! 🌱🚙🚗 Sounds like the Clematis is happier with the Juniper! Yes, I think there will be some interesting pruning that will need to happen with the Rheingold. Especially as we think there might be a leak in the sprinkler system underneath the shrub. Once I finally tackle it, I already know it will look wonky. At least with Rheingolds they do grow back and fill in the dead spots over some time if there’s natural or “woman-made” dead spots. Ask me how I know. 🤣
Yes they do! Many types of birds will eat juniper berries, so having a juniper shrub or groundcover in your garden is a nice way to naturally feed the birds!
Could you do this in winter to use those trimmings for holiday decorations? Or is it less stressful for the plant to be trimmed in spring when it's actively growing?
That's a great question Annaka! Yes, you can definitely take trimmings for holiday decorations. Doing so will not harm the shrub. However, it's when you are pruning (and removing) a lot of growth all at once that it might not be great for the shrub at that time. But yes -- all of those trimmings that I removed would have made for wonderful holiday greenery! 🌲💚
Glad this was helpful Kimmi! I fertilize everything in my garden in the Spring, with an organic slow-release fertilizer. I like to use Espoma products, and they have several different fertilizer formulations depending upon the shrubs or plants you have in your garden. You want a fertilizer that is low in nitrogen. Too much nitrogen will result in more leaves than flowers. And yes, I always water the fertilizer into the soil, unless I know it's going to rain and Mother Nature will do the watering into the soil for me! Since it is the Fall now -- apologies for my delay in responding -- I'd wait until Spring to do your fertilizing. 🙂💛
Thank you for this detailed pruning. I have a shrub like that, not sure what species but I would like to open it a bit too (like bonsai) because i need to be able to see my parked car through it for security reasons. What do you suggest? Is that possible?
Hmmm.... not knowing what type of shrub it is, and if it would be amenable to bonsai-style pruning, this is a bit difficult to answer. However, if it was me and I wanted to do something for security reasons -- which is a smart thing to do -- I would first try to do what I suggested in the video as a first step, "shrinking" the top and sides and bottom somewhat. This way you have a good starting point for what you want to do further. Then I would selectively choose stems that go all the way to the main stem inside the shrub. (The main stem is the one that all other stems come from -- however -- some shrubs can have more than one of these, so take some time to figure out what your shrub has before beginning to cut.) Take a long or thick stem that comes out from the main stem, and prune it almost all the way up to the main stem. You don't want to injure the main stem with your pruners, so that's why I suggest pruning just out an inch from the main stem. Remove that stem and see what that gives you visually. Options: You may want to do this all over the shrub to see if that makes it more see-through. Or, depending on "how" the shrub is located -- i.e. are you looking down at it from a balcony above, or are you looking at it straight ahead from your home, or is it that you want it to be more open when you're sitting in your car so you can see your home and that nobody is hiding behind it? Whichever way you want to best look "through" the shrub is the exact way you want to prune it. So if you want it more open when you arrive home in your car, you want to periodically stop pruning and go sit in your car and see what it looks like from there. Does that make sense? 🤞 You can also "limb it up" which means that you remove all of the stems from the very bottom and go up the main stem a bit -- almost like you are making a small tree with the trunk exposed. 👍Most importantly, if this is for security reasons, prune it now! I know I say wait until Spring, but I wouldn't hesitate to prune if safety was a concern. That's more important than anything. 💛
@@GardenSanity Thank you, I am not sure what type of shrub it is either. I think it is a a sea green juniper, a very lopsided large one from previous "professional" gardener attempts to prune it. It is getting taller and very full on one side, while the other side has been pruned to the trunk mostly, so it looks like an umbrella there. I hope I can save it and still feel secure about my parked car on the other side of it. Thank you for your advice.
@@mondaR-1 You're very welcome! That's won't be fun correcting a lopsided pruning job, but I know you'll do your best. 💚🙂 Keep me posted on how it goes.
Very detailed and helpful video, thank you. I am new to pruning, so not sure what comprises of a "thinning cut". It seems that a "re-leadering" cut is different than a thinning cut? It is mentioned in this video (cut #2 and #3). ua-cam.com/video/YLYolsTjmKs/v-deo.html
Hi Lou -- and pardon my delay in responding, I've been trying to keep up with comments as best I can! 😀That's an excellent video you shared -- I've seen it before, it's well done. 👍The examples he is giving are for deciduous shrubs and trees -- those that lose their leaves in the Fall and go dormant in Winter. All you need to worry about if your evergreen shrub has become overgrown like mine was, are the thinning cuts. And I go over the different ways you can use thinning cuts on your evergreen shrub at the two-minute mark in the video above. Perhaps you can re-watch it with the playback speed set to a slower speed -- or -- hit pause so you can take a minute to look at all of the different examples that I show on screen from the yellow lines that show where to make the cut, to the circles showing what part of the shrub that cut removes. I have several videos here on my channel specifically for pruning and deadheading shrubs and evergreens -- including a Limelight Hydrangea Tree. Here's the link, as some of those videos may help you begin to feel more comfortable with what to prune and where to make your cuts: ua-cam.com/play/PLenOueHl62OxDJllsjh7eA2_hQ6-No24M.html&si=d9oFW3WJ6BYu9Oad I hope all of this helps!
Thank you so much! I was feeling really overwhelmed but you're video was so helpful. Beautiful yard too!
Thanks Kelsey! 😊 I hope the pruning wasn’t too overwhelming, and that you’re happier with the shrub now that the pruning is finished! 🤞❤️
Hi Laura - love your style of video's and the props are so good that I remember what your teaching. Amazing-thank you!
You’re most welcome, and thanks for your feedback too! 😊 So glad the videos are helpful, as that is always my main goal. ❤️
I just wanted to say THANK YOU soooooooooo much for this video!!!!!!!!!!!!! We have a bunch of these and I love them for the natural look. I absolutely hate the uniform square/circle shapes and knew there had to be a way to reduce size while maintaining the natural look. ❤
Hi Lauren, you are SO welcome, and I'm glad to help! And I'm also happy you agree that these shrubs look best when they can grow naturally, instead of in squares and circles. 😃
Another great pruning video, Laura! Wow, do I ever want a sea green juniper!!!
Thanks Doleen! 😊 They are beautiful shrubs! I just pruned the two smaller ones I have in my front yard, and those always have pretty blue berries on them in Spring that become almost pale aqua berries over time. 🩵💙
I had to laugh about the farmer’s tan, Laura, bc I have one already! 🤣🤣🤣 My hands r much lighter than my arms bc I wear gloves religiously as well and Tx has already had some HOT sunny days!
Oh good Lori, because now I’m not the only one with the farmer’s tan! 😂🤣 I look like someone who uses self-tanner and forgot to put it on my hands! 🤣😂
SO VERY HELPFUL! Your videos are the best! Thanks....
Thank you very much! I'm so glad to help!
Thank you for the detailed video, this was very helpful!!
My pleasure Mary! I’m so glad the video was helpful! ❤️
beautiful work!
Thank you so much!
Too true about the sizing on all the growing guides and labels! Despite all my planning and measuring, plus adding add'l space around them, my 5 yr old sea greens are already over 9'w and 4.5' t. (Label = 6'w x 3'h after 10 yrs). And that's without ANY ferts or compost. Gorgeous, gorgeous arching shape but oh no. Anyway, thank you so very much for this video. Have my work cut out for me but at least I know it's do-able. 😂
Oh wow! You beat me on the width! Yes it IS do-able, that’s the good thing. Just be patient! ❤️ I’m doing a good job keeping the ones I have in the front yard to a smaller size, but I still think they will become giant overnight someday. 🫣😀
I’m brand new the world of gardening and am so happy to have found your channel. I’m learning new things every time I watch your videos . I have horribly overgrown grey owl junipers. Would I use this same technique to prune those?
Hi Paula -- I'm happy you found my channel too! 😊 Yes, this is the same idea for your Grey Owl Junipers -- which are really lovely! It may take more than one try at getting them back to a more manageable size. In other words, you might prune them back like I did in the video...and then next year be able to prune them back even a bit more. That's my plan, as if you try and do too much at once, you end up removing that really nice natural new growth on the ends of each stem. I hope this helps you! Let me know how it goes! 😀
Maam sorry it took way too long to get to your point ! Beautiful Juniper tthough !
Nice! I have a shorter blue version by my mailbox that keeps getting run over by cars and hit with road salt. Tough guy keeps coming back. Currently, it has dozens of clematis blooms winding their way through. People think a mailbox is a good place for clematis, but it doesn’t really work well. Be careful where the Rheingold meets the juniper. I have some older evergreens that mingle like that and both have dead spots there. It’s too late for me to fix that. 😢
Junipers are tough plants indeed! 🌱🚙🚗 Sounds like the Clematis is happier with the Juniper! Yes, I think there will be some interesting pruning that will need to happen with the Rheingold. Especially as we think there might be a leak in the sprinkler system underneath the shrub. Once I finally tackle it, I already know it will look wonky. At least with Rheingolds they do grow back and fill in the dead spots over some time if there’s natural or “woman-made” dead spots. Ask me how I know. 🤣
do birds like this type of juniper?
Yes they do! Many types of birds will eat juniper berries, so having a juniper shrub or groundcover in your garden is a nice way to naturally feed the birds!
Thank you
You're welcome Todd!
Could you do this in winter to use those trimmings for holiday decorations? Or is it less stressful for the plant to be trimmed in spring when it's actively growing?
That's a great question Annaka! Yes, you can definitely take trimmings for holiday decorations. Doing so will not harm the shrub. However, it's when you are pruning (and removing) a lot of growth all at once that it might not be great for the shrub at that time. But yes -- all of those trimmings that I removed would have made for wonderful holiday greenery! 🌲💚
Great information. I have an overgrown honeysuckle shrub I must do this to. Do you water and fertilized afterwards?
Glad this was helpful Kimmi! I fertilize everything in my garden in the Spring, with an organic slow-release fertilizer. I like to use Espoma products, and they have several different fertilizer formulations depending upon the shrubs or plants you have in your garden. You want a fertilizer that is low in nitrogen. Too much nitrogen will result in more leaves than flowers. And yes, I always water the fertilizer into the soil, unless I know it's going to rain and Mother Nature will do the watering into the soil for me! Since it is the Fall now -- apologies for my delay in responding -- I'd wait until Spring to do your fertilizing. 🙂💛
I think it looks just fine even with the cuts showing.
Thanks Janet! I tried my best to keep as many natural tips as possible. 😀
Thank you for this detailed pruning. I have a shrub like that, not sure what species but I would like to open it a bit too (like bonsai) because i need to be able to see my parked car through it for security reasons. What do you suggest? Is that possible?
Hmmm.... not knowing what type of shrub it is, and if it would be amenable to bonsai-style pruning, this is a bit difficult to answer. However, if it was me and I wanted to do something for security reasons -- which is a smart thing to do -- I would first try to do what I suggested in the video as a first step, "shrinking" the top and sides and bottom somewhat. This way you have a good starting point for what you want to do further. Then I would selectively choose stems that go all the way to the main stem inside the shrub. (The main stem is the one that all other stems come from -- however -- some shrubs can have more than one of these, so take some time to figure out what your shrub has before beginning to cut.) Take a long or thick stem that comes out from the main stem, and prune it almost all the way up to the main stem. You don't want to injure the main stem with your pruners, so that's why I suggest pruning just out an inch from the main stem. Remove that stem and see what that gives you visually.
Options: You may want to do this all over the shrub to see if that makes it more see-through. Or, depending on "how" the shrub is located -- i.e. are you looking down at it from a balcony above, or are you looking at it straight ahead from your home, or is it that you want it to be more open when you're sitting in your car so you can see your home and that nobody is hiding behind it? Whichever way you want to best look "through" the shrub is the exact way you want to prune it. So if you want it more open when you arrive home in your car, you want to periodically stop pruning and go sit in your car and see what it looks like from there. Does that make sense? 🤞 You can also "limb it up" which means that you remove all of the stems from the very bottom and go up the main stem a bit -- almost like you are making a small tree with the trunk exposed. 👍Most importantly, if this is for security reasons, prune it now! I know I say wait until Spring, but I wouldn't hesitate to prune if safety was a concern. That's more important than anything. 💛
@@GardenSanity Thank you, I am not sure what type of shrub it is either. I think it is a a sea green juniper, a very lopsided large one from previous "professional" gardener attempts to prune it. It is getting taller and very full on one side, while the other side has been pruned to the trunk mostly, so it looks like an umbrella there. I hope I can save it and still feel secure about my parked car on the other side of it. Thank you for your advice.
@@mondaR-1 You're very welcome! That's won't be fun correcting a lopsided pruning job, but I know you'll do your best. 💚🙂 Keep me posted on how it goes.
Very detailed and helpful video, thank you. I am new to pruning, so not sure what comprises of a "thinning cut". It seems that a "re-leadering" cut is different than a thinning cut? It is mentioned in this video (cut #2 and #3).
ua-cam.com/video/YLYolsTjmKs/v-deo.html
Hi Lou -- and pardon my delay in responding, I've been trying to keep up with comments as best I can! 😀That's an excellent video you shared -- I've seen it before, it's well done. 👍The examples he is giving are for deciduous shrubs and trees -- those that lose their leaves in the Fall and go dormant in Winter. All you need to worry about if your evergreen shrub has become overgrown like mine was, are the thinning cuts. And I go over the different ways you can use thinning cuts on your evergreen shrub at the two-minute mark in the video above. Perhaps you can re-watch it with the playback speed set to a slower speed -- or -- hit pause so you can take a minute to look at all of the different examples that I show on screen from the yellow lines that show where to make the cut, to the circles showing what part of the shrub that cut removes. I have several videos here on my channel specifically for pruning and deadheading shrubs and evergreens -- including a Limelight Hydrangea Tree. Here's the link, as some of those videos may help you begin to feel more comfortable with what to prune and where to make your cuts: ua-cam.com/play/PLenOueHl62OxDJllsjh7eA2_hQ6-No24M.html&si=d9oFW3WJ6BYu9Oad I hope all of this helps!