Icee Blue Juniper | Rags To Riches

Last fall, while doing some rejuvenation pruning on a group of overgrown Golden Ninebark shrubs, I encountered girdling damage on an Icee Blue Juniper. I initially thought it was minimal and removed a small cluster of stems that would surely be dead from the damaged tissue next spring.

The following season, to my surprise, the girdling damage turned out to be more extensive than I had initially thought. It took me over a month to weigh my options and decide if I should remove the entire plant or if it would be worth trying to save any live growth. One idea led to another, and I experimented on how to make this whole area look brand new.

This video takes a look at the entire process.

The creeping Junipers can develop a lot of stems, so it can take some time to prune out dead growth like this, since they're nested together and intertwined. I carefully traced the stem back to the main trunk to prevent cutting healthy ones untouched by girdling.

I had a little fun and added a large boulder under the healthiest branches. It was an expanded idea from a separate project, where I had gotten creative adding a rock under a weeping larch branch after removing dead stems. That’s a separate video you can view here.

A power blower quickly removed most of the dead needles that had fallen over the years. After cleaning up the rock I top-dressed the entire area with fresh mulch. I love how new mulch makes a bed look brand new. I sure wish it held that golden color longer though. Be careful to keep your mulch depth in that 2-3 inch range as greater depths can have negative consequences where impenetrable layers can develop, that will shed water off the surface, not allowing it to reach the soil and roots.

While not a standard landscaping technique, one of the project’s primary goals (experiments) was to cover up and hide those exposed stems with smaller rocks.

As we progress through the seasons, I plan on trimming any new growth to highlight the arched branch over the new rock.

I’m glad I made the effort to salvage this Icee Blue Juniper rather than tearing it out and starting over. I’m very happy with how this turned out.

I have Icee Blue growing in several other areas of our landscape. I think it is one of the best carpet junipers if you are looking for that blue color. Notice the change in winter color in the last photo, which can range from silvery blue to plum purple, depending on how cold your winters are.

Thanks for stopping by Garden Hike.

Kevin

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