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Major Trunk Directional Change 2 years 2 months ago #74480

  • MichaelR
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Hello.

I have a large Juniper that stands about 48" tall with a trunk at base of 3"+. I have been saving this tree to turn into a literati style.
The growth is good and healthy.

What is the best time of year to perform major trunk changes on a Juniper? I want to take a wedge out and bend it down close to the base,
and then again further up in the opposite direction. I plan on doing one at a time.

Should it be done during dormancy or when the sap is flowing to promote healing? After I complete the "surgery", I will wrap with raffia and wire
down to keep movement to nil.

I watched Ryan Neil do this in a video several years back but the video had horrible sound and not much was talked about the details.

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Major Trunk Directional Change 2 years 2 months ago #74483

  • leatherback
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I think you will find that the tree he worked on subsequently died.

This is NOT a technique that works in general, and I would not do this on an old juniper (In fact, I would not use it at all).

There are techniques for bending big trunks that do not pose a huge risk of the tree dying, and this is not one of them. A gentle hollowing of the trunk at the spot of bending is probably the safer way. Make sure you leave a good amount of wood near the bark in areas where the bark is still alive. Best would be to do this sort of work together with someone who knows how to do this. Bending a 8cm thick trunk is not a self-evident process.

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