Best book - Juniperus chinensis and cultivars

[Woody Carverton]

My neighbor from 2 doors down stopped by on Friday on his daily walk while we were unloading a Shimpaku specimen we just received from Japan. He's older, retired, and has a hard time moving around too much. His doctor always tells him he needs a good hobby to stay active. He asked a bunch of questions about the tree that day and i guess had his grandkids do "the internet thing" about them over the weekend. His wife has a LARGE and beautiful flower garden, so half the house is already horticulturaly active. Today he stopped by and asked how much to buy one of "the little ones" referring to our 2-3 year old shimpaku's. Being the practical man that i am, and knowing he is a book worm, i told him, "I'll get you a few books about taking care of them, and once you read them, return them to me, and I'll give you a little one for free". His face darn near glowed with excitement as he loves to read and seems almost oddly drawn to bonsai (you would have to know him to know why it's odd).

None the less, it would be good for him to pick up a hobby before he just sits in his chairs and withers away into an early grave, and i would like to help.


So, anyone know of any books specifically about the Juniperus chinesis and its various cultivars such as shimpaku, kishu, or itoigawa? If so, which are the best reads. I want to start him out with keeping one alive before i take him too much into wiring and such. I tried to talk him into starting with something easier but he really, really wants to have a juniper cultivar to start with.

Thanks !


Edit: i should add i already sent him with a copy of "Junipers" from stone lantern. I'm looking for things in addition to that with more focus on chinese junipers.

 

[Txhorticulture]

"Conifers: the illustrated encyclopedia" is a very nice two volume set. It is mostly a photo book of cultivated forms but has some info of each species. It includes all conifers though not just junipers. But every plant lover should own it. If he is the academic type the world's expert on the genus is a professor at Baylor. Scholarly articles are almost all on line. I'll see if I can find a link.