Species · Conifers like juniper and pine
Chinese juniper
Juniperus chinensis · also Shimpaku
Chinese juniper is the workhorse conifer of bonsai, prized for scale-like foliage that reads densely from a distance and for a trunk that carries deadwood — jin and shari — better than almost any other species. The cultivar 'Itoigawa' is the standard for fine, tight foliage pads. It tolerates hard wiring and heavy deadwork year-round, which is why so many exhibition-grade junipers are this species under a different cultivar name.
Care at a glance
- Watering
- Check daily, water when the top centimetre is dry. Roughly every 2 days in spring, 2 in summer, 3 in autumn and 7 in winter.
- Light
- Full sun, six hours or more.
- Winter
- Below that, an unheated shelter. Protect it when the forecast drops below -8 °C.
- Feeding
- Every 14 days, Apr to Oct, paused in the hottest weeks.
- Repotting
- Every 3 to 4 years, as buds swell, in Mar.
- Growth
- Moderate growth. Hardy in zones 4 to 9.
The work calendar
| Work | JJan | FFeb | MMar | AApr | MMay | JJun | JJul | AAug | SSep | OOct | NNov | DDec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prune | Mar | Apr | Sep | Oct | ||||||||
| Wire | Jan | Feb | Mar | Oct | Nov | Dec | ||||||
| Pinch | May | Jun | Jul | Aug |
Styles that suit it
MoyogiShakanKengaiBunjinChokkan