13 Tips for Juniper Bonsai Styling and Care

Source material: May 19, 2024

            This week I have another post with species-specific tips - this time for juniper bonsai! These are tips from my experience working with and digging this genus, although my experience is still limited. Therefore, as with the last post on Alberta spruce, I also am incorporating here a few tips from online sources, discussions, and club presentations from other knowledgeable folks such as Kevin Faris, Hugo Zamora, Jonas Dupuich, Eric Schrader, and Julian Tsai. Check out their work if you are hungry for more juniper bonsai information! After the 13 tips, I also share a few sample juniper bonsai that Kevin and I have styled and explain how the tips we are using relate to the styling actions taken on these trees. This quick baker's dozen worth of tips is NOT meant to be exhaustive but still I hope this article gets you thinking about this unique and popular bonsai type and hopefully improves your care and styling outcomes no matter your starting point. And for those of you who consider yourself advanced in the realm of juniper bonsai, I challenge you to think of your own tips that I missed and add them to the comments! Maybe I'll revisit the subject and cite those other suggestions someday.

Sections:

1. Tips for Healthy Juniper Bonsai
1. Sunlight, Growing Environment, Yamadori/Digging Aftercare
2. Pruning, Styling
3. Tips for Juniper Aesthetics
2. Juniper Styling Examples - Tips in Action
1. Kevin's Juniperus chinensis 'shimpaku' styled during Hugo Zamora workshop
2. My Juniper procumbens Before and After also styled at the May CBS Hugo Zamora Workshop
3. Shimpaku Juniper Styled by Hugo Zamora
3. Remaining J. procumbens available for 6/29/24 workshop. Only 1 spot left!
1. Intermediate Juniper Styling Workshop Material
2. Beginner Yew Styling Workshop Material

In Vivo Bonsai / Columbus Bonsai Announcements

1. My next workshop is Saturday 6/29, Kevin Faris and I will be teaching beginner-intermediate bonsai styling and care for junipers and yews. For the intermediate level, the junipers we have are unique, aged material (20 years old+), meanwhile for the beginner level we have some nursery stock yews which are flexible to a variety of styles. Sign up and see pictures and full details here and contact me with any questions! There are only 1 spot left and observers are welcome.
2. See my yews, boxwoods, barberries, and consignment trees available in Columbus or with potential delivery to nearby states' bonsai events. Or, contact me to make an appointment at my nursery sometime and see the full and ever-changing selection of seed-grown prebonsai and local yamadori/collected material.
3. The Columbus Bonsai Society's next meeting is 7/20-7/21, our 52nd Annual Show. This year it will be held at a new venue - Chadwick Arboretum at Ohio State University near downtown Columbus. More info will be coming this week and can be found here.

A shimpaku juniper styled by Hugo Zamora in May, 2024 as a demonstration for the Columbus Bonsai Society. Read on for juniper bonsai care and styling tips!

The Unsung Merits of Phoenix Graft/Tanuki Bonsai - A Japanese Larch Example.

             Tanuki, also known as Phoenix Graft, gets a bad wrap in bonsai. Although this technique to make a young tree appear older by planting it alongside the deadwood of another tree is commonly considered "cheating" and looked down upon in some bonsai circles, it can produce beautiful and convincing bonsai. The accusation of cheating comes about as this process accelerates the appearance of age, however, even so, Tanuki is not instant bonsai. As I'll discuss next week in greater depth on the principles behind the successful execution of this technique, there is no substitute for the compelling quality of "age as bonsai" even in the case of phoenix grafted trees. So if we accept that tanuki still requires sound bonsai practice over a period of years and an artistic eye to make them well, what other merits are there to this style? One unsung merit is that tanuki hinges on respect for the deadwood. Bonsai artists are often enamored with beautiful pieces of deadwood which are often included within our living trees or within our bonsai displays as slab/"jita" or in our bonsai stands/formal displays. The act of selecting a piece of deadwood that is attractive enough to be worth preserving alongside a living tree for a phoenix graft is an extension of our innate deadwood appreciation. Additional beneficial qualities of tanuki/phoenix graft bonsai when using a dead tree which we used to work on is it can teach humility and remind us of the lessons we have learned in our bonsai journey. In my case, this Japanese Larch is one of the few trees I got from my teacher Dan Robinson which I brought with me to Ohio when I moved across the country. I worked on this tree for about 5 years before it passed away due to my own underestimation of Ohio winters. Even experienced bonsai artists lose trees - there's always more to learn. So out of respect for the tree, I resurrected it. Also out of humility, it will be a living reminder for me to prepare rigorous winter protection in Ohio even for cold-hardy trees. Read on to see the progression this tree has taken with me from raw stock to its most recent tanuki styling.

Sections:

1. The Unsung Merits of Phoenix Graft/Tanuki Bonsai - A Japanese Larch Example. (this time)
1. RIP Larch - Progression Over the Years (2018-2022)
2. Rising from the Ashes - Phoenix Graft/Tanuki Time (2023)
2. Essential Principles for Convincing Tanuki/Phoenix Graft Bonsai (next time)
3. Announcements
1. I officially applied with the state of Ohio to start a nursery. Contact me to enroll in my first workshop on Tanuki! See details here. The dates planned are 4/1/23 and 4/23/23 from 12pm-3pm. Contact me if you would like to request an additional date.
2. 4/15/23 - 2nd Annual Invasive Honeysuckle Wild Bonsai Dig with CBS and Columbus Recreation & Parks @ Castro Park. This is a free event. Sign up here.
3. 4/16/223 - Columbus Bonsai Society Meeting - I will be presenting on the ins and outs of digging Yardadori/Yamadori/Wild Bonsai. All are welcome. See event details at www.columbusbonsai.org.
4. Seeds are available here.

Tanuki Japanese larch, 1st year in training. 2023.