Tools to Use to Prune Juniper Bushes

Tools

• Use loppers or a pruning saw to prune juniper bushes. Lopping shears have a long handle and a small metal head at the top for cutting. It is best used to cut branches that are ¾ inch to 1½ inches in diameter. A pruning saw has a handle similar to a large knife and a curved blade with coarse teeth. It is designed to cut branches larger than 1½ inches in diameter.

Care of Tools

• For smooth, clean cuts, keep tools sharp. Pass the tool over an oil stone several times to maintain the blade. Disinfect tools after pruning any diseased or decayed branches to avoid contaminating other plants or spreading the disease to another part of the same shrub. Wipe the blade with denatured alcohol, then discard the cloth.

When to Prune

• Because junipers grow continuously throughout the growing season, prune them any time through midsummer. Plant pathologist Bruce Fraedrich points out notes that junipers respond best to pruning just before bud break in early spring. Prune at this time for easier removal of winter-injured and broken branches. It is also more conducive to allow the plant to fill in faster.

Best Pruning Method

• There are two methods for trimming: thinning and heading. With heading, branches are cut back to healthy buds. With thinning, no prominent stub remains; a branch or shoot is removed back to another trunk or main branch, or a branch is removed to ground level. According to Fraedrich, thinning is the best method for pruning junipers.