Daniel, get yourself a good hand pruners if you haven't one already, and use that to cut individual "branches"-back to anywhere you'd like, of each plant, mostly, though not necessarily, during the growing season. Junipers managed in this manner really can be held to a certain size-or nearly so-almost indefinitely. What's more, if you're a plant geek like I am, you may get to the place where this task is somewhat pleasant and therapeutic, lol. Just saying, sure you can prune these things back. It won't hurt them, they can make new buds anywhere along the individual stems, and this way you will be getting the maximum use out of them in your landscape.

In time, you will have done this so many times that it may seem you must cut back further in than you did in prior years. Well, once again, junipers can take this treatment, so prune away! sure, maybe another plant could do a better job there in some aspects, but these are already there, they're growing well, and you've got the means to keep them in bounds.

+oM

They do have some that stay small.

You should check out the Angelica Blue juniper.

I dont know what cultivar those are, but you can prune them back every year if you'd like.

I know I should have stated the cultivar. I have the tag around somewhere but it wasn't handy -- I'll try to find it. My landscape guy said they wouldn't get too large, but like I say they are nearly already there. If I just trim away, will they grow out from near the cut branch so they don't have that "chopped off" look? I like the long pointed branches that radiate out.

Many years ago we had blue junipers on this property surrounding a large yellow poplar. They became enormous and even when chopped back to ground level they came back.

i told you to track back.. to a fork in the road .. cutting out the longest piece ...

and i add now.. do not leave stubs... neatly prune off one fork ... the longer one..

the remaining will then take dominance .. and in two years.. you will have to cut that one back ... to a different fork in the branch ...

i just cant come up with better descriptive words .. lol

i prefer felco pruners .. its worth the investment ...

ken

BTW... every year.. J bark changes color ... you can go out there.. and see this years green growth ... last year tannish bark .. and the year befores browning bark ... this will clearly tell you .. the min ANNUAL GROWTH RATE ... and if it grew a foot last year ... it will do at least one foot this year.. and maybe more.. since its one more year established .. when you see/figure out ... that potential.. you ought to think hard about getting rid of them ....

Thanks again for the suggestions. Wow those felco pruners are not cheap! If they're worth it, though, it's a small investment.

Not to over analyze the point, but it seems like it is hard to screw up a juniper. I learned about cutting back candles on small blue spruces, and it seems you have to be a little careful about what you are doing there. I've attached a pic of the juniper. Branches 1,2 and 3 come together at a 3 way junction. I can trim away branch 1 and leave either of 2 or 3 or both, and this would be the right way to do it? That's what I'm taking away from this.

You needn't concern yourself with candles when pruning junipers. You can literally cut them anywhere along any stem (that's alive!) and regrowth will occur via existing or dormant buds. Very nearly fool-proof. Like I said above, your only issue-and this is in the future, not right now-is that you're going to find it necessary at some point to cut back into areas you've already pruned in earlier rounds of pruning. It gets a little weird but even this, the plants can easily handle. So, if you'd like the all of the plants' growth to not hang over the concrete, you would cut back-many individual cuts-before it gets to that point. Then next year do the same. This really and truly can go on almost indefinitely, kind of like Willy Wonka's Everlasting Gobstoppers, wherein a "few more tests" are needed to determine if they really do last "forever".

+oM

Did somebody just call me an Umpaloompa? :)

Hah! Don't mess with the Umpaloompas!

+oM

great pic ...

first.. see where the bark changes to brown ... that is how much it grew last year ... at least as much as your hand.. tip to wrist ... branch one.. right at the bark color change.. is where it was last spring ...

as i said.. it will never grow less than that.. FOREVER ... if you wrap your noodle around that ... you will understand how often your are going to be pruning this thing .. in that location ...

right where 1,2, and 3 meet.. is the fork in the road i was talking about.. snip ot the leader ... 1 ... and 2 or 3 will take over ... NOT just part way down one ... you are hiding the pruning cut back there ... else you will have an ugly stump cut .. and in a few years.. 50 or 100 of them... will be ugly ...

you can go further into the plant... and be more aggressive.. always leaving a new leader.. to take over ...

lastly ... when the new growth hardens off ... they can irritate the skin ... making fine cuts.. which sweat it make sting ... trust me on that.. lol .. ridding mower at speed ... august heat ..... bad decision making.. lol ...

you might want to wear some gloves.. while messin around in there ... its an irritation.. not an allergic reaction ....

if you have any dreams of gardening.. the felcos will be with your forever ... if you dont use them .. mine are currently 35 years old .. treasured ... used to buy the cheap ones.. and had to replace them every year... they paid themselves off about 30 years ago ...

and.. like any cutting tool.. they can be taken apart.. and the blade sharpened ... we want to cut things off.. not crush limbs with carp tools ...

go for the pruning ... the worse you do.. is screw them up ... [which i doubt] .. so bad.. that you will get rid of them ... as someone above suggests.. cant remember who .. lol ...

ken

Thanks for the Felco recommendation, Ken. I'll get a pair. I'm glad to hear there is hope, at least for some years to come, that the junipers will be manageable. Like you say, it'll be no big deal to replace them eventually. Oh, I have nightmares from my youth when messing in/around junipers. The ones we used to have were well over 10 ft tall. I pruned them down to about 3 ft and had plenty of red puffy forearms to prove it!