My Juniper is too big - help!

I have a dwarf Juniper with a flat topped habit which is far too big for its position and is now overhanging my pond too much. It's about 6ft tall and 10ft wide and the trunk is around 1ft in diameter. Can I prune it? and if so, how? Last year I took some of the top growth away (which was growing vertically) but I want to get rid of some of the width and I'm afraid I'm going to ruin its overall shape.

Any suggestions please?

Click image to enlarge

Best of Luck!

Reply from Andrew Coggins

Hi Susie.
If my eyes aren't mistaken your 'dwarf' conifer is beyond redemption, if you don't want to ruin its shape.
Few conifers take kindly to pruning and even fewer to severe pruning. Removing branches may solve the space problem temporarily, although even if you are lucky to be able to carefully remove a branch without destroying the shape or exposing the internal 'dead' areas, a plant of this size is likely to have produced branches of equal or greater size by the end of next year.
I would suggest sooner rather than later removing the plant completely and replanting.
Conifers are much maligned plants, however if you balance up their good points: evergreen foliage & generally easy to grow with the fact that unless you have a large estate they usually outgrow their positions, they are well worth having. You just need to be brave and remove them when they become too big! I just wish that the industry didn't call them dwarf, there are few that should be called this, as they all keep growing, slow growing would be better although even some of the dwarf conifers can hardly be called slow growing!
Best Wishes Andrew Pantiles Nurseries.