I purchased several Spartan Junipers. They are currently about 4' tall. The I.D. tag stated the plant will grow to appx. 15' tall. However, after getting them home and planting them, I noticed that they have been topped (the main trunk has been cut off at the top). Is this a normal nursery practice and will it affect the mature height of the plant? Thank you
Maybe they started out as "bonsai" specimens that were not kept pruned by the retailer. Replacement tops are likely to be produced unless they were cut back too far into old wood.
Thanks for the prompt reply. The specimens are about 48" tall and have only had the top cut. New growth is already "clumping" around the top. I'm hoping a new branch will assume the role of the main trunk. My further question is; is this type of pruning typical from a nursery? Why would a nursery have done this? Is there a reason to top one of these plants and will it eventually reach full height at maturity?
Being comparatively small when cut back they will probably look normal later. Somebody at the nursery probably thought they would fill out and become more attractive to customers if topped, or they were trying to keep them controlled. Ignorant/careless practices abound. They may have outgrown the pots, with the tops being cut to try and deal with this. Did you look at the roots when planting? Potbound stock is pandemic in my market.
Hi Ron, Thanks again. I was hoping to get in touch with someone knowledgeable and it sounds like I hit paydirt. When I planted them, there were lots of the small red fibrous roots wrapping themselves around the inside of the container. There weren't many of the thick, tan, woody roots so I left them intact hoping for the best. I was afraid of shocking the plant if I disturbed them too much. I was mostly interested in obtaining information as to the practice of topping the Juniper and whether it was a common, accepted nursery practice and normal for the species or whether it was something done by someone in ignorance and whether I should request a partial refund from the store for selling "damaged goods."
I see outlets here being stuck with topped/sheared stock of various trees and shrubs coming that way from the growers. Maybe that happened in this case also. Especially if their buyer had trouble getting a particular item in the first place a retail nursery may be reluctant to even gripe at the supplier, let alone reject the stock. There is a whole bunch of nurseries all growing the same items, with a much smaller number providing less easily found kinds. When pointing out mislabeling at one retail nursery here that has long promoted itself as carrying the less usual, the reply was that they were not going to say anything about it to the grower as they might be offended and cut them off! Key term: seller's market. You do want to open up and correct roots of trees and shrubs at planting time so they do not girdle themselves years later. Better to have a little wilting or even defoliation (of deciduous species) at planting time than to plant specimens with time bombs built in that may kill them later. Rootbound fast-growing, large trees may even be potential hazards, shooting up and then toppling after growing tall and heavy.
