Species · Conifers like juniper and pine
Japanese garden juniper
Juniperus procumbens · also Procumbens Nana
A low, spreading juniper that naturally hugs the ground, which makes it a natural fit for cascade and semi-cascade styling without fighting its own growth habit. The blue-green scale foliage is fine and dense, and the trunk thickens slowly, so most trees in training are grown from older nursery or collected stock rather than raised from cuttings.
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
MoyogiKengaiHan-kengaiFukinagashi