Visual differences between Blaauws and Kishu junipers

[Sputnik 184]

I have limited experience with junipers but over the last few years I have taken several juniper cuttings and failed to label them. ID of most of them is fairly easy but I am having difficulty identifying Kishu from Blaauws. Both have compact and quite similar foliage. Can anyone help me with any visual differences please?

 

[TomB]

Blaauws will have more of a bluish tinge than Kishu, if that helps at all.

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

Kishu in my experience is close to chinensis wildtype: green in summer, foliage strands are fat, blaauw is compact and puffy and glaucous blue. Blaauw will puff up every little branchlet, kishu will puff up as a whole branch.

kishu on the left, blaauw on the right.

 

[Sputnik 184]

Thanks Tom. I presume on that basis the first image is Blaauws and the second Kifu.

 

[TomB]

Thanks Tom. I presume on that basis the first image is Blaauws and the second Kifu.

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I'd say so.

 

[Sputnik 184]

Thanks Tom. I presume on that basis the first image is Blaauws and the second Kifu.

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Kishu in my experience is close to chinensis wildtype: green in summer, foliage strands are fat, blaauw is compact and puffy and glaucous blue. Blaauw will puff up every little branchlet, kishu will puff up as a whole branch.
View attachment 618606
kishu on the left, blaauw on the right.

Thanks. I was wondering if there was more than colour to differentiate them.

 

[pmalelis]

Thanks. I was wondering if there was more than colour to differentiate them.

Not initially as with most plants, some traits appear as they get older, really its growth habit. In general , growth habit on Blaauw will be much faster than Kishu and get larger quicker if allowed to, tendency to stay bluer, tendency to want to maintain an upright vase shape . Kishu will be slower growing , be much less inclined to keep a vase shape, will be more irregular , and will be greener especially given enough sunlight

 

[Sputnik 184]

Not initially as with most plants, some traits appear as they get older, really its growth habit. In general , growth habit on Blaauw will be much faster than Kishu and get larger quicker if allowed to, tendency to stay bluer, tendency to want to maintain an upright vase shape . Kishu will be slower growing , be much less inclined to keep a vase shape, will be more irregular , and will be greener especially given enough sunlight

Thanks. This is all really useful information.

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

Blaauw will be much faster than Kishu and get larger quicker if allowed to

I'm reporting exactly the opposite. Blaauw is painstakingly slow and kishu seems to behave almost like itoigawa. Might be a climate thing though!
But in all honesty, if I do work on a blaauw, it takes four years to recover. On a kishu it takes 6 months. Similar amount of work, similar location, similar treatment.

 

[Sputnik 184]

Not initially as with most plants, some traits appear as they get older, really its growth habit. In general , growth habit on Blaauw will be much faster than Kishu and get larger quicker if allowed to, tendency to stay bluer, tendency to want to maintain an upright vase shape . Kishu will be slower growing , be much less inclined to keep a vase shape, will be more irregular , and will be greener especially given enough sunlight

Even as young plants my Blaauws are much stiffer and more upright. Not old enough to notice speed of growth yet.