When it comes to juniper bonsai, spring is great for watering, fertilizing and letting new shoots grow freely. It’s also a good time to remove newly formed berries. Chinese juniper grafted on California juniper – 17″ Chinese junipers, or shimpaku, can produce both male and female flowers on the same plant. The male flowers, which […]
juniper
Distinguishing old growth from new growth on junipers
A recent hot spell left its mark on a number of trees in my garden. On the day temperatures peaked, brown needles appeared on some Sierra junipers. Brown needles on Sierra juniper While brown needles can be scary, it really depends on which needles turn brown. If the old needles turn brown, it’s good to […]
Junipers of Bonsai Mirai
Ryan Neil is well known for his work on collected junipers. His garden reflects this – among the many outstanding specimens at Bonsai Mirai, it’s the junipers that shine brightest. Part of this is due to the natural characters of junipers, some of the more sinuous varieties grown for bonsai. Much of this is due to Ryan’s […]
Signs of health
A friend brought a healthy California juniper to a Bay Island Bonsai workshop last weekend. I don’t think I’d ever seen such a healthy specimen. Healthy California juniper Junipers tell you when they’re ready for wiring and cutback – the shoots at the ends of branches elongate. The most vigorous shoot Although I’ve seen plenty […]
An old procumbens juniper
One of the trees that caught my attention at Yamato’s 42nd annual exhibit was an old procumbens juniper. Procumbens juniper I haven’t seen a lot of other trees like it. The trunk is mostly straight and the branches are long. The apex is rounded, and the density of foliage is very even. It’s a striking […]