Varieties of Juniper and their Foliage.

W3rk

W3rk

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It's pretty amazing how many different varieties of Juniper there are and how much the foliage can vary from one variety to the next. Some days I start to feel a bit weary with the look of Procumbens Nana. As a beginner they were among my first Junipers.

I really like the deeper lusher greens of Shimpaku, and I see why they are so common and popular. I also really like the needle foliage and blues of my Pacific Shore and a variety of Common Juniper that I have. I don't think I've seen much use of the Common Juniper.

So what varieties of Juniper do you prefer, what is it about the characteristics of their foliage? I'd love to see pictures that highlight the foliage.
 
Depends what you mean by common juniper. I like good old juniperus chinensis because it is native to where I live at the moment and it is one tough tree. Juniperus rigida is also cool but more touchy and it has a deeper colour. Then there is Shimpaku which is a good all rounder but slow grower20191118_151433.jpg
 
BunjaeKorea said:
Depends what you mean by common juniper. I like good old juniperus chinensis because it is native to where I live at the moment and it is one tough tree. Juniperus rigida is also cool but more touchy and it has a deeper colour. Then there is Shimpaku which is a good all rounder but slow growerView attachment 271650
Click to expand...
Sorry, thanks for pointing that out, I meant specifically: Juniperus communis
The fact that we have multiple names to refer to everything doesn't help, then when you add in various cultivars...
But that's a nice looking tree.
 
@Brian Van Fleet has a nice little comparison of Shimpaku, Itoigawa and Kishu on his blog page. Maybe he can pop those pictures up on here too.
 
Hi,
I am confused as I think the OP wanted to see foliage of Junipers, then someone posts Juniper chinensis, and that was wrong? As now he only wants Juniper communis.
Shimpaku and others are Juniper chinensis, so hmmm, where to OP?
Charles
 
I think the chinensis blaauw cultivar out competes the shimpaku junipers (both itoigawa and kishu) because it doesn't turn golden brown during the winter.
Unfortunately, it has a bad name due to the 'principles of bonsai design' book mislabelling them as needled junipers.
 
KiwiPlantGuy said:
Hi,
I am confused as I think the OP wanted to see foliage of Junipers, then someone posts Juniper chinensis, and that was wrong?
Click to expand...
I think he was just clarifying what he meant by "Common Juniper" in his OP, because BunjaeKorea had sort of asked. He was saying that species is what he was referring to.
 
Juniperus communis "green carpet" or "repanda" are the most common in nurserys, both are pretty good for bonsai. I also like Juniperus chinensis "stricta" and, procumbens nana, I know the needle junipers are not very popular now but I love them

Green carpet
Juniperus-communis-Green-Carpet.jpg


Repanda
71be6lT8FFL._SX679_.jpg


Stricta
4A3A8A5C0364E2091E6D5E0578D3DAB3.jpg
 
271686271687
Blaauw cultivar (blauw translates to blue).

271688
Itoigawa.

Remarkable difference between the two.

I'm not a fan of needled junipers, but I have communis repanda as well as stricta. I like the juniperus phoenicea as well, which is closer to scopulorum which I also like.

I might have a juniper addiction though.. communis, virginia, media/pfizer, chinensis, itoigawa, scopulorum, osteospermum, chinensis stricta, chinensis blaauw, phoenicea var turbinata, phoenicea var phoenicea are the ones I have right now, and I'm probably forgetting a few. I still want some kishu, just to see if they're really that different.
 
PABonsai said:
I think he was just clarifying what he meant by "Common Juniper" in his OP, because BunjaeKorea had sort of asked. He was saying that species is what he was referring to.
Click to expand...
Yup, thanks for clarifying that. I'm interested in all of the varieties that we see in Juniper foliage. And I was simply pointing out and then clarifying that Juniperus communis hasn't been a variety that I've seen a lot of bonsai done with.

Nice to see all the different Juniper photos.

For reference here's a common Juniper that I have, var. "Berkshire" - it's very small and a slow grower but I really dig the needle foliage on this and the way the colors really shift to blue in the winter.
271821
 
W3rk said:
Yup, thanks for clarifying that. I'm interested in all of the varieties that we see in Juniper foliage. And I was simply pointing out and then clarifying that Juniperus communis hasn't been a variety that I've seen a lot of bonsai done with.

Nice to see all the different Juniper photos.

For reference here's a common Juniper that I have, var. "Berkshire" - it's very small and a slow grower but I really dig the needle foliage on this and the way the colors really shift to blue in the winter.
View attachment 271821
Click to expand...
I like it. My problem with some cultivars is that they lack vigor and sometimes aren't as healthy. Was wondering about this specific cultivar. How do you find it other than being a slow grower
 
I only use 2.
Procumbens nana and shimpaku.
The scale foliage on shimpaku is great.
The scale foliage on the procumbens is even better once it develops.
Most others besides needle junipers is just too long and lanky.
 
Any Softer Needle Types?
Is there any needle junipers that are softer? I like the visual of many needles, but cant stand working in gloves, and am less than thrilled puffing up from thousands of stab wounds.
Bonus points for blue
 
Procumbens nana has some of the softest needles I know of. All the rest is stabby by default.
Then again, junipers needles are meant to act as a deterrent.. If you really want to have a needle juniper, it might be good to just endure the glove wearing for a couple days a year. In all honesty, most needle junipers require handling about 3 times a year if you plan your actions right.

Yews can have all the traits a needle juniper can have. Their needles are pretty soft. Might be worth considering.
 
If i was not asking for that particular project, i would be more likely to work with atlas cedars, larch or mountain hemlock because of how much i like their needles, but this is 100% a juniper project for obvious reasons
 
I just stumbled on a fairly interesting video. A gardener talking about juniper ground covers, which was the boring part, but thr second half of the video has 6 or 7 varieties of low spreading junipers sitting next to each other in #3 pots and he talks about them. Sadly not enough close ups and he uses common names, but the comparison is wild. Gave me a lot to think about.
 
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