>>2386878>>2386911>>2386912>>2386913>>2386917>>2386920Pollard the worst parts off, the dead stuff has to go and the branches that are too far out and weighing it down needs to go. It will only help it. Don't go overkill on the live stuff, junipers don't respond too well to heavy pollarding like other trees and you might have to take a couple years to properly cut it back. Stay further away from the crowns except to trim lower branches and new growth. Also look for crossed branches, think of them like crossed wires that are short circuiting the plant into growing into and killing itself. Shake the dead needles out too, it makes it stuffy and burns the plant. Don't use a hedger, use proper pruning shears and cut close to the main branch so it can sap and heal itself easier and prevent disease. The stuff already cut in the picture should be trimmed back again to the main growth/trunk.
A properly pruned bush in the end should still look full but you should still be able to see light through it, have it's crown clear and neat, and the center of balance should obviously be the crown (with a few exceptions like creeping juniper). You shouldn't even be able to tell it's been pruned at a distance either unless it's something like an ornamental grass or a rose/hydrangea where you do cut at the stalks.
