brooklyn1 wrote:

I have blue rug junipers in my shrubery beds in front of my house. When I
first planted them they looked very puny, they were in 6"
pots. I planted six on each side. After four years they completly
covered the ground so that no weeds grow through. They began to get
lichens growing on the branches so I pruned away those parts. The
Junipers grew back so that it's time to prune again before the
lichens return.

Why is lichen bad? I don't know anything about these prostrate junipers but
in these parts nobody worries about lichen on trees, it is taken as a sign
the air is not polluted and generally left alone. I haven't seen any
indication that it harms trees.

David