Jim,

I would not cut back beyond the green for now since the tree is
weak. I
have found that if I keep the foliage at the ends pinched back
fairly well
that buds will pop along the branch - often on rather old wood.
Removing
the green is apt to cut off the supply water and nutrients from
the roots
and result in death of the branch. My method is a little
slower perhaps,
but far safer.

Good. I suspected that, and I'll follow your advice.


Of course getting them into a proper winter might also help -
heck,
Tallahassee is not that much different from inside the house as
far as a
juniper is concerned big grin.

Now, now . . . it gets chilly enough to freeze pots here. ;-)


In addition, junipers like to be a little on the alkaline
side - some
dolomitic lime worked into the soil and avoid the acid
fertilizers seems to
help. Dolomitic lime is a mixture of both magnesium and
calcium carbonate
rather than straight lime which is mostly calcium carbonate.
Most plants
seem to like some additional magnesium - Epsom salts (magnesium
sulfate) is
also used for this purpose, particularly for those that like
acidic soil.

The tree is planted in almost 100% Turface, which I suspect is
slightly alkaline. I'll test pH.

Thanks for the info.

Jim Lewis - - Tallahassee, FL - Our life is
frittered away by detail . . . . Simplify! Simplify. -- Henry
David Thoreau - Walden

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