I could really use some styling advice for my Juniper procumbens 'Nana' cascade to-be.

raenstorming

Seedling
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First off, I’m sorry these photos suck. I hope they’re okay enough to be useful.

There’s an interesting branch (top of the trunk’s curve) that I plan on making the apex; I have it wired upwards into an S-shape already. Besides that, I’m stumped with what to do with the upper half of the tree’s branches. I can’t envision the creation of pads with the branches I’ve got and would really appreciate some guidance.

I’m struggling to select which of the three cascading branches to keep. Probably not keeping the middle one. I initially preferred #3 but am leaning towards #1 now due to how stiff the branches have become. #2 and #3 come from below #1, so I’ll be left with an interesting upper scar if I choose to keep #1. #1 and #3 both bifurcate (hard to see for #1 in the pics). In the fall I plan to pull the selected branch around to the front; I don’t know how much movement I’ll be able to get in the branch though.

I’ve been very indecisive in the two years I’ve had it, and it has lost a lot of upper foliage to shading out. Given that the bulk of the foliage is concentrated on the cascading branches, how long should I space out the pruning steps when the time comes? I know I need to avoid removing too much at once and allow enough time in between removal steps for it to regain strength. One branch this year and another a year later? Partial branch this year then the rest next year? IMG_1949.jpegIMG_1948.jpegIMG_1950.jpegIMG_1952.jpegIMG_1954.jpegIMG_1953.jpegIMG_1955.jpeg
 
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Nice and bushy material!

Choose one long cascading tail with the most movement as your cascade trunk. Currently you have multiple. Prune off remaining trunks/tails. Leave a cluster of branching with foliage at the top of your cascade so you can create an eventual triangle apex resting on top of the cascade.

Example below (a current work in progress):

The tail on the right will be removed today so that only the one on the left remains as the cascade trunk.
IMG_4490.jpeg

Alternating left to right side branching will occur along the cascade as it descends downward, creating fluffy pads left, right, left, right etc. until last pad at cascade tip.
 
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