Sad blue juniper; neglected yet still alive what should i do

i have a sad blue juniper....wasn't taken care of one winter...thought was dead but is still alive.....; 5 ft tall spiral cut....; i trim it and it puts back green shoots all over the tree....but the underneath part that i haven't trimmed down too is still yellow....should i just prune the dang thing all the way to its trunk and start all over so it doesn't look so sad??

this is a picture of a 'leaf' or what ever they are called....producing green on the end

this is a picture of the whole tree....i just trimmed it so it is more yellow than it normally is.....but even when grown out it is still looking bad cause of the yellow under growth

tree #2 this is the only portion of the tree not doing well....and it is not responding to anything.....

You might need to settle for a helix on top of a clear trunk. Or better yet: transplant it out into the yard, and permit it to escape that tortured form and live free!

Boooorrrrn freeeee, as freeee as the wind blows . . .

Guy S.

It is a bit too close to your house...

Sticks, i pull stuff out of the trash all the time, so I know what you would do here... You need to put on a pair of great gloves and go through the entire conifer and cut out all and any dying/dead needles. They will never return once they have browned. If a stem is green at the bottom and brown at the end, cut off the brown and leave the green. Yes it may look very sparse, but it will green up only where the sun hits it and it certainly needs more water then it has been getting. Use water polymers in your potted soil to absorb water and if you are in a terra cotta pots, line the pot with a larger plastic trash bag, with hole for drainage and cut bag to just beneath egde of soil fill line to hide. Then, spray with messenger and feed the plant and you will have the best comeback you can have.

The two poodle junipers in the pots were pulled from a dumpster last year and they are still putting on new growth at which point I will give them a better shape.. The messenger really works too!


Good Luck!!

Susan

This message was edited Jun 11, 2006 9:00 PM

hey susan...thanks for your reply....i need to clarify your answer...

i have green on the ends.....not brown on the ends...so do i cut off all the brown stuff?? and will green grow back where the brown was??

and you go girl for finding stuff like that in the trash....these puppies set me back 150.00 each...

No... green on ends-don't cut- just brush off the browned needles and let the green part grow. Hopefully, it will resprout on the same branch and you will have green growth. You see in my picture where the stems are long and there is green on the ends?... there use to be brown dead stuff there and it's gone to make way for new growth. :)

Yes, I am the Dumpster Diving Diva!!

Good Luck!!

Susan

This message was edited Jun 11, 2006 8:59 PM

I'm with you, Susan, and I know a couple of others here on the forum who do the same thing. Some call me the Duke of Dumpsters . . . others call me the Gangster of Garbage. Call me what you will, but never try to dump a live plant (or good empty pots, etc.) while I'm in town!

Guy S.

thanks yall.....i just went back and and put on my garden gloves that have rubber ends.....i basically brushed very softly all the gunk on all the leaves...lots of yellow gunk fell....its too dark to take a pic of the results but it is amazing....i fertilized and will get messenger in the next couple of days.....i think it is a pot change time ....sadly they haven't been repotted for a year or 2 :( ...that in itself should give that baby some new life....i know they would probably be better in the ground...but i have places that need that 'look' where there is no soil.....will post pics soon; thank you for your help!!!!

Good for you Guy!! I have my favorite trash cans and dumpsters!! :)

Sticks, yes I thought of that too.. even if you water frequently, it still may not be enough if they are outgrowing to pots they are in. Give them great potting soil.. check to see if anyone local sells broken bags for less then full price and if you use the water polymers (they really help!) use as directed.. I pot up lots so i buy it in bulk from http://www.watersorb.com/index.htm

:)

Susan

here is the tree after gentley rubbing hands (gloved) thru each branch getting all the dead needles of that would come off....alot of difference....thanks for the help!!!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/39654735@N00/167208964/

This message was edited Jun 14, 2006 4:13 PM

here is another pic:)

Wow! it looks much better already!! keep it watered and give it room to grow :)

Susan

Looking at both photos, the thing it really might be missing the most is sunlight. They need a LOT of sun or they start looking ratty like that. Your photos all show it in shade.

Guy S.

guy thanks for that....these are rotated; so they do get sun...maybe not as much as it should...thank you:)