HELP - spartan juniper questions

HELP, we have a tree line in our back yard of 10-foot tall Spartan Junipers. Following are a couple of close-up pictures of one section of the tree line:

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pictures were taken right after a heavy rain. As you can see, the tree in the middle of this section of the tree line appears to be "splitting", where one half of the top branches are hanging to one side, and theo other half to the other.

Is this normal, or does this signify a problem which needs treatment, for these kinds of trees? We have frequent high winds, rain, and sometimes ice storms here in central North Carolina. This tree line has been there for about 5 years since we moved in this house. We fertilize and water them regularly with a "soaker hose" buried along the tree line running past the trunks of all the trees, when they don't get good rain.

She thinks that every time one of these trees shows a section of the branches near the top hanging out significantly like that after a rain, that means we need to go out with a ladder and climb up and use coathanger-type rubber-coated wire to "tie together " the top branches that are hanging out so they "look regular". She's worried that if they're left untied, and the branches start sagging out like that after a rain, that they might not "go back together" when they dry, and could split the tree, and kill the tree, if all sagging branches aren't immediately tied up with wire after every rain.

Questions:

  1. Is there any basis to the idea that not "wiring up" sagging Spartan Juniper branches after rains can cause the trees to split and die? (It hasn't happened yet and we've had these 5 years)

  1. Is there any treatment needed for the condition of the trees sagging and appearing to "split" at the tops after a heavy rain?

  2. If this behavior is normal for this kind of tree, how would I explain to someone that I Don't need to run out and tie these trees up every time they look like that?

thanks,

- Bobby

Reply to
Good Music
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Spartan Junipers.

the tree line:

see, the

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one side, and

treatment, for

sometimes ice

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water them

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It's normal for the weight of the water to pull the branches out a bit. Tying the tree would be the worst thing you could do in my opinion. As the water dries, the branches will go back to their normal position without assistance. If one were to continually tie the branches together, the branches would never strengthen properly and your tree would be in very real danger of splitting at a later time under the weight of snow or ice or the force of winds. The joints where branches meet are strengthened at the cellular level by the compaction that occurs when branches bend under weight or wind. Tying the branches prevents the movement and therefore the strengthening. As an additional note of encouragement, if the branches were to develop a gap, it would be filled in by the acceleration of new growth in the area newly exposed to sunlight. The Spartan juniper has a pyramidal shape quite naturally. No worries I say. Hope this helps,

Reply to
Elizabeth

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