How To Wire A Chinese Juniper Bonsai Tree

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A guide to wiring using a Chinese Juniper bonsai tree.

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The Best Tips for Growing Your Juniper Bonsai Tree – Part II

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In the previous article we touched on the bonsai care subjects of watering, fertilizing, and the appropriate levels of humidity and sunlight essential to keep your juniper vibrant. In this Part II we will go over the matters of re-potting, pruning, caring for your juniper through the winter, and bug control.

Pruning Your Juniper Bonsai

Always in the springtime, and then perhaps once again in the fall, buds (brand new growth) will form on the tips of the juniper bonsai tree branches. When you observe this new growth you must get rid of the buds by pinching them off. If left on, the branches on the tree will develop fast growing shoots and the tree is going to look disheveled. You shouldn’t begin the process of pinching the buds until at least four weeks after the new growth very first appears in late spring. Older more mature foliage also needs to be taken off in the spring. This will reduce the amount of inner growth and allow the sun to pass through without difficulty and more air to circulate. Whenever you notice fresh growth in the course of the usual growing season of summer you should also pinch it off. This will always keep the plant looking tidy and will help to maintain it’s proper shape.

Your juniper bonsai won’t be hurt, at all, from this pinching of new growth. Pinching is, in reality, the way by which you are going to miniaturize and shape your juniper to become and stay a bonsai.

Re-potting Your Juniper Bonsai

Young junipers, those less than five years old, will really benefit from being re-potted every second year. And once they get to 5 to 6 years of age they should then only be re-potted every 3rd year. A free-draining soil mixture must be used. The best times for repotting junipers are in the early spring and autumn. If you see that your juniper is suffering from root rot while you are repotting you’ll need to cut off all of the impacted roots, then re-pot using only sphagnum moss as opposed to soil. Let it grow in the moss for a full year after which re-pot into good, free-draining soil. When you’ve completed re-potting your plant you need to water it very thoroughly. Then keep the tree in a shady location until the roots have recovered.

Root Pruning

Dependant upon how old your juniper bonsai is you will need to re-pot it every 2-5 years. This is actually the very best time for you to prune the plants roots and keeping it from being root-bound. Very carefully remove the tree from it’s pot, and after that clear away some of the soil from around the rootball. It will be safe to trim off about 1/3 of the juniper’s roots. Immediately after pruning the roots, put the plant back in it’s pot in a mixture of potting soil and sand in a 3:1 proportion. Let it soak in a solution of transplant shock supplement, and spray with water a couple of times daily for 2 weeks.

Keeping Pests Under Control

Spider mites can cause substantial harm to junipers, and are notably bad indoors (which is yet another valid reason to keep them outdoors). Develop a regimen to spray for pesky insects no less than once per month with any kind of insecticide suitable for your household plants and designed to kill spider mites. Be sure you spray other close-by plants at the same time that might also be home to the spider mites.

How to Care for Your Juniper in Winter

Your juniper tree will need a rest period during winter so as to continue to be healthy, and for that reason it should be kept in a location where the temperature will not exceed 60F degrees throughout the winter. If you keep your juniper outside the house ensure that you guard it from severe drying winds. This can be accomplished by working with cold frames, window wells, enclosed unheated rooms, or mulch beds.

Your juniper bonsai tree does best when it has a “winter” in order to complete it’s natural cycle. Place it in a cool place in the winter, the colder the better. A freeze followed by an abrupt and quick rise in temperature will hurt your bonsai. Which means you could well be doing your plant much more harm than good by bringing it inside soon after it’s been subjected to freezing temperatures. The freeze alone won’t cause harm to your juniper. When the temperature remains below 50F during the wintertime your juniper bonsai will only need indirect light. And, if the temperatures stay below 50F degrees over the winter then the plant will not require much water.

If you don’t have a shed or a basement or another cold location to reproduce winter, and so you have to keep your juniper in the house, attempt to keep it somewhere where it is out of direct sunlight. During winter, continuing to keep your juniper’s foliage moist is very important should you be growing it indoors. It should be sprayed with a mister once or twice per day.

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How to Grow an Amazing Juniper Bonsai Tree – Part II

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Previously in Part I we discussed the best way to properly water, fertilize, and give your bonsai plant ample measures of sunlight and humidity. In the following paragraphs we are going to talk about some additional, crucial juniper bonsai care recommendations covering subject areas such as re-potting your juniper bonsai, the best time to prune your juniper, getting rid of unwanted pests, and taking good care of your juniper during the winter.

About Pruning Your Juniper Bonsai

New growth will usually show up on the tips of your juniper bonsai tree branches in the springtime, and occasionally you will see more new growth in the autumn. In the course of these cycles of new growth you will want to nip off these new buds to prevent the branches from developing fast growing shoots and causing your tree to look slightly untamed. You should not start pinching the buds until around four weeks after new growth very first appears in late spring. Older more mature foliage must also be got rid off in the spring which will help reduce the amount of inner growth, and permit the sun’s rays to pass through without difficulty and much more air to circulate. The juniper bonsai will carry on growing through the summer months, producing new buds. Keep pinching these off in order to keep the shoots from growing which will make the tree appear untidy.

Pinching off new growth isn’t going to harm the plant. This is most likely the procedure that you’ll make use of more than any other to miniaturize your juniper for bonsai and to shape it into the style you have picked for it.

Repotting Your Juniper Bonsai

Junipers plants need to be repotted about every two years when they’re juveniles (fewer than five or six years of age) and after that only every three to five years once they reach maturity. A free-draining soil mixture should be used. The spring as well as the fall are the very best times of year to re-pot your juniper bonsai. Junipers are vulnerable to root rot. If you see root rot when you are re-potting, you should cut away all of the affected roots after which you can re-pot working with only sphagnum moss. Ensure that it stays in the moss for a full year or so to give the roots time to recover. Sphagnum moss is bacteria and decay resilient and also is really water absorbent. Right after repotting your juniper be certain to water it completely and then keep the plant in a shady place until the roots have recovered.

What You Need to Know About Pruning Your Juniper’s Roots

You can actually re-pot your juniper plant in either the spring or the fall. And when you do you ought to look to see if the plant is starting to become root-bound. After you have removed the tree from it’s container, with care remove some of the soil from the rootball. Cut away around one-third of the plant’s roots. Return the plant to it’s pot, putting it in a mixture of 3-parts planting medium with 1 part sand to replace the lost soil. Your juniper might be in a little bit of shock right after having it’s roots pruned and being re-potted. To help it recover faster you can include just a little transplant shock supplement to the water can and water completely. Keep the foliage moist by spraying 2-3 times per day for 2 weeks.

Pest Control

Should you be growing your juniper bonsai inside you’ve got to be particularly aware and on the lookout for spider mites. They could cause real damage to your juniper. Incorporate a regularly planned once a month spraying of your junipers using an insecticide designed for household plants. Indoors or out, make sure to spray all your other nearby plants which could also have the spider mites.

Winter Care for Your Juniper Bonsai

To maintain good health, your juniper bonsai tree really should be kept in a cool (under 60 degrees F) throughout the winter months for them to experience a dormancy or rest period. If you keep your juniper outdoors ensure that you safeguard it from harsh drying winds.

Your juniper bonsai tree does best when it has a “Winter” to complete it’s natural cycle. Place it in a cold space in the winter, the chillier the better. A freeze followed by a sudden and quick rise in temperature will damage your bonsai. Which means you would be doing your plant much more harm than good by bringing it inside soon after it’s been subjected to freezing temps. The freeze itself is not going to lead to harm to your juniper. If the temperature remains below 50F in the winter your juniper bonsai will only require indirect light. If the temps remain below 50F degrees during the winter then the plant isn’t going to require much water.

If you can’t simulate winter with a cold room or basement or shed, then try, at least, to keep your bonsai plant away from getting direct sunlight. Whenever your bonsai is kept inside your home at room temperature, make sure you humidify it by misting it maybe once or twice per day.

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Tips on Caring for Your Juniper Bonsai Tree

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Coniferous trees can be used to make lovely bonsai specimens, and among the most popular of conifers for bonsai is the juniper. The hugely popular juniper tree has over 50 varieties that can be found all over the world. Juniper are also one of the easiest bonsai trees to take care of, hence their popularity, particularly among novice bonsai growers. The juniper bonsai tree can be grown both indoors and outdoors, nonetheless, poor humidity, lack of decent light, and lack of a dormant period will ultimately kill them. A Juniper bonsai tree will tolerate short periods of being inside but if you really want it to thrive then keep it outside.

Juniper trees have two distinctive types of foliage that they display at different stages of their life. Young juniper trees have foliage that is like needles, and when they mature the foliage is more scale-like. Foliage will range in color from blue-greens to light-greens, even showing silver or gold hues on occassion.

A traditional juniper for bonsai is at times referred to as a Chinese Juniper. Another very popular species for bonsai is the Needle Juniper. The Needle Juniper gets it name from it’s very sharply pointed needles.

Watering Your Juniper

With most bonsai trees it would not be a good idea to let them dry out between waterings – not true with the juniper, it likes to dry out. Test the soil everyday to determine when it is time to water your juniper tree. If the soil in the pot looks and feels dry on the surface it is time to water it again. Put your finger into the soil to a depth of about one half to one inch. If the soil feels dry then you have to water your bonsai. Never allow your bonsai to go completely dry or it may suffer damage and die. Set your bonsai in the sink or in a container of water, practically up to the rim, for 15-30 minutes or until all the air bubbles stop rising and the soil is saturated. After watering using this suggestion you want to make certain that you allow it to drain completely because junipers are vulnerable to root rot if the roots sit in water. If you can’t soak your plants using this method then water thoroughly from the top, wait a few minutes, and then water again. You may need to do this a few times until the soil has been thoroughly soaked. A complete water cycle will go from the soil being completely soaked to being sort of dry.

A frequent spraying of your juniper bonsai’s foliage will help keep them free of dust and help them to breathe. This is particularly important for trees that have recently been repotted. Your bonsai is at risk of becoming dehydratred until the roots have recovered from the repotting and can bring water to the whole tree. A good spraying will also cut excess transpiration from the juniper’s foliage.

Make Sure Your Juniper Gets the Right Amount of Sunlight

Outdoors are where most Juniper bonsai trees are typically grown. A juniper bonsai tree will tolerate full sun, but the ideal circumstance would be to allow it to get low strength morning sunlight with afternoon shade. Alternatively, filtered or shaded sunlight all day would be fine.

Humidity

Almost all trees and plants love humid growing conditions. You can use a humidity tray beneath your potted juniper bonsai to maintain a higher level of humidity. Place your bonsai pot on top of the stones in the tray. After you’ve given your bonsai a good watering from the top the tray can also serve as a collection area for excess water. Again, a good spraying should be done in between waterings.

Fertilizing

Use a high nitrogen fertilizer in the spring and fertilize every three weeks, then use a more balanced fertilizer during the summer months, and then reduce the nitrogen for fall fertilizing. A diluted, half strength fertilizer will keep your roots from being damaged if you are using a chemical fertilizer.

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Bonsai Demonstration – A garden juniper becomes a bonsai tree – Part 2/2

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Graham Potter styles a garden juniper for the first time, continued.

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Bonsai Demonstration – A garden juniper becomes a bonsai tree – Part 1

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Graham Potter styles a garden juniper for the first time.

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bonsai display and garden at como zoo in minnesota bonsai trees tree juniper fiscus pine

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this is just a bunch of my pictures strung together but they are all really nice trees all the trees are over 25 years old

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Bonsai Tree Juniper XIV

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Product Description
This is a beautiful 19 year old Juniper Bonsai tree. Like all of our Decade trees, this tree has excellent balance, proportion and realism. They have depth and definition and look like a million bucks. They also look great from far away because of their great silhouettes. This tree stands 11 inches high and has a spread of 18 inches – an excellent value. It’s a bit difficult to get a sense of the actual size of this Bonsai tree from the picture, but if you look … More >>

Bonsai Tree Juniper XIV

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The Juniper Bonsai Tree

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As you know, there are many different types, varieties and species of bonsai trees. One of the most beautiful bonsai varieties is the juniper bonsai tree. Juniper can be found in all corners of the world. It would surprise you to realise how many times you’ve actually seen one in your neighbourhood without even realizing it.

There are different varieties of juniper trees but two are probably the most popular types.

The first type is known as flaky. The flaky bonsai tree is small and will rarely reach over 30 feet high. As bonsai trees grow in the wild, they do tend to be much bigger than what you see at homes and private gardens. The leaves on the flaky plant are broad needles and take on a blue-green hue. This type is native to China and the Himalayas but can be found all the way from Afghanistan to southwest China.

Another very popular variety of bonsai would be the Eastern. This bonsai tree is known for it’s dense foliage that refuses to grow when planted in poor soil. While it is possible for this tree to grow in poor soil, it will end up being little more than a small bush. When grown in good soil, this tree climb all the way up to 15 feet tall. Soil is one of the most important considerations when growing a bonsai tree, especially with watering (above). The soil needs to be well drained, and suitable for your area; in any case, it should be coarse. There are many different mediums relating to soil and content, and bonsai experts (or seasoned veterans) can provide information about using the different types of material together. Because of the different types of material, your “soil” might be anything but soil. This is why fertilizer knowledge is important. This bonsai type is native to North America, and can be found in mostly south-eastern Canada to all the way down by the Gulf of Mexico.

The Eastern variety has dark red bark that will strip off in neat, narrow strips and two different types of leaves. The first types is adult leaf, which look much more like scales and are less than half an inch long. The second type of leaves are the sharp and spreading needles that are usually around half an inch long.

Once you start to make your way to the western half of the continent, the Eastern juniper bonsai tree gets replaced with the Rocky Mountain juniper bonsai tree or the Ashe juniper bonsai tree. The Eastern juniper bonsai tree were actually placed on the IUCN’s list of threatened species back in 1996. While it only holds the category of Least concern (LR/lc), it still is a species of tree that is being watched for future decrease and need for repopulation within the United States and Canada.

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Starter Bonsai Tree Juniper | Six Pack

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Product Description
Six Pack o’ Bonsai trees! Our “starter trees” are petite 2-3 year old Japanese Junipers. Though small, they are fully established and healthy – not to mention economical. Potted as pictured, in a low profile Bonsai pot, these starter trees are not individually photographed but, the trees pictured are representative of the overall size and shape. Care instructions included. Satisfaction is guaranteed. Buy a two, three or six pack and save! These trees are an inexpens… More >>

Starter Bonsai Tree Juniper | Six Pack

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