Pom pom juniper anyone?

[Alain]

This year there are tons of pom pom junipers in 10 gal pots for sale.
For the moment they are too expensive for me but soon they'll be at 75% off and will become very affordable.

Their trunks are of decent sizes (a couple of inches) and I really love their bark.
I am pretty sure I will be tempted however I would like to know if they are workable. In particular if one could get rid of the pom pom part and also if their trunks are bendable because they seem really dry and brittle.

The idea I have in mind - if such thing is feasible on this material - would be something like that (picture from the web, I wish I had that in my yard...):



Well, not exactly, but you get the idea: bend the trunk(s) in cascade and use one pom of the pom pom to create the triangle of the canopy.

Is that even possible with those trees?

 

[sorce]

Someone here used one to create a couple nice trees.

Tough going though.

I wish I could remember the thread.

Sorce

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Simply put, yes you can bend large juniper branches. Best done in spring as they're just starting to wake up. Procumbens are more likely to split at the crotches than shimpakus, so do be cautious.
See the upright leader below, we are planning to use a small shoot about halfway up the trunk as the new leader, and some of the higher growth as foliage on the left side of the tree. Start with carving a channel on the inside of the bend, removing 30-50% of the branch, making it thinner along the bend:

Shot of the interior of the bend:

We used a copper wire spine to add a bit of pliable support in the carved away area, and wrapped it with wet raffia:

Heavy copper wire served as anchor points for guy-wires. Gradually move the branch, and take up slack with the guy-wire, repeat carefully and even let it rest for a few days between if you're concerned about breaking:

More details on this particular tree in a couple years.