Hi. I inherited what looks like a spiral juniper tree. Unfortunately the previous home owner did not maintain the topiary look and now it is quite ugly. I had an arborist in last summer and he went at it with an electric hedge trimmer. It looks even worse this spring. How can I improve on the shape? Any advice would be helpful!
Take some hand clippers and trim it. That the only advice for you if you still want the spiral. If not what kind of shape do you want? Junipers are tough, and other than a shape you dislike, it looks healthy. You can shape it anyway you want.
To shear should I use hand shears or a hedge trimmer like the arborist did last year? How do I make it look even? I fear that I will have a jagged looking tree. Is there a trick?
Power shears need to be re-sharpened with use, same as hand shears. If the plant is too big to do it all by hand do the bulk first with a power shear and then go back over it to finish it with a hand shear, making tidying cuts here and there.
