Varieties of Juniper and their Foliage.

[Rivka]

I think im going to need to go find a few
Juniperus virginiana 'Grey Owl' and some Juniperus conferta 'Blue Pacific' to add to my bench and play with, both types and cultivars really perk my interest in similar and different ways.

 

[Brain Treez]

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.

Did you end up taking the 'Berkshire' to further stages of development, @W3rk? I have several 'Berkshire Sparkler' cultivar specimens that appear to have the same foliage, but they're not a dwarf and grow much larger. I love the purple needles in the winter!

 

[Tahoebonsai]

I have this Chinese juniper variety Montana moss and it has like a really nice teal blue green color

 

[Javaman4373]

I have two trees I purchased from Home Depot for under $15 each that have turned out well, at least for my standards. The first is Juniperus chiensis, aka Juniper Plumosa Aurea. Its yellow needles are rather different. The second is Juniperus squamata espansa.

 

[W3rk]

Did you end up taking the 'Berkshire' to further stages of development, @W3rk? I have several 'Berkshire Sparkler' cultivar specimens that appear to have the same foliage, but they're not a dwarf and grow much larger. I love the purple needles in the winter!

View attachment 571753

Sadly it died.

 

[Brain Treez]

Sadly it died.

Bummer. The lack of success stories with J. communis is discouraging to say the least.

 

[Adamski77]

little bit old thread but let me try here… anybody can help me with identifying this variety please. Hope photos good enough… but please let me know if better needed.

 

[Tahoebonsai]

little bit old thread but let me try here… anybody can help me with identifying this variety please. Hope photos good enough… but please let me know if better needed.

Maybe San Jose it’s hard to tell

 

[RozendaalArts]

Is there an article somewhere that compares J. communis to the similar looking chinensis cultivars like procumbens and stricta? How would you tell those apart? I have one that I think is a Communis but given its reputation in bonsai I'd prefer it to turn out to be a chinensis variety with needle foliage

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

Is there an article somewhere that compares J. communis to the similar looking chinensis cultivars like procumbens and stricta? How would you tell those apart? I have one that I think is a Communis but given its reputation in bonsai I'd prefer it to turn out to be a chinensis variety with needle foliage

No, but communis has spaced apart needles that often contain a white stripe like rigida does.
Stricta is more openly spaced, but the bases of the needles tend to touch, procumbens (it's in the name) has overlaid and touching needles.
Rigida starts out as green in new growth, communis almost always looks woody brown.
Communis also has a very woody look to the bark, even when cleaned, whereas chinensis looks shiny oily and so does procumbens.
If you bent it and it snaps instead of tearing, it's communis.
If there are internodes made out of wood in between the leaf sets, it's communis.
If it dies after a soft and easy repot, it's communis.