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Juniper bonsai has gained popularity recently. However, not everyone knows that you can grow it yourself. To do this, you just need to choose the right plant variety, container and learn the intricacies of caring for juniper.
How to make a juniper bonsai
You can grow juniper bonsai in a natural environment or at home. However, a miniature tree must be accustomed to its living conditions from an early age.
In order for the plant to feel good, young juniper seedlings are chosen to form bonsai at home. They lend themselves best to pruning and quickly take root in the room. Fresh cuttings of the plant from which the tree is grown are also suitable.
For garden bonsai, young seedlings are selected, no older than 2-3 years.They can be obtained by tapping from an adult bush to ensure that all the maternal qualities of the plant are preserved.
Once planted, juniper grows quickly. The natural form of the plant is columnar or bushy. It will take 2-3 years to create a bonsai. During this time, the tree will survive more than one pruning:
- First, they set the shape of the trunk based on their own desires and characteristics of the seedling. The lower branches are removed and the trunk is wrapped with copper wire.
- The crown and skeletal branches are formed before the plant becomes an adult. So, it will more easily endure all procedures. The shoots are fixed with wire or twine.
- Secondary shoots are formed last. Their direction can always be adjusted. The leaves should face in different directions to give volume to the tree.
Creating a bonsai from juniper is easy. There are many options that are easy to implement. The shoots of the plant bend easily; setting them in the desired direction is not a problem.
To make the work of creating a bonsai easier, craftsmen use soft and hard wire, which they use to secure the trunk and shoots for a while.
Caring for Juniper Bonsai
To grow a juniper bonsai, as in the photo, you need to choose the right container for planting the plant, soil and create suitable conditions. Caring for a miniature tree will be different indoors and outdoors.
Caring for juniper bonsai at home
To grow a bonsai-style tree from juniper at home, the seedling is placed in a special bowl or low container. It must contain drainage holes for water drainage.The bowl can be placed on a tray with expanded clay or moss, which will help control the level of air humidity.
Substrates that are not very nutritious are chosen as soil for the tree; it is desirable that the organic content in them be minimal. The majority should be sand, peat, brick chips, and bark. You can use commercial soil for cacti and succulent plants.
Place the bonsai pot in a well-lit place, as juniper prefers light. However, direct sunlight is not allowed. In winter, the plant is removed away from central heating. Dry air and heat will only harm the crown.
The room temperature must be stable. During the period of active growth - up to +22°C, in winter - no higher than +7 ... +10°C. In spring and autumn, the plant can be taken out into the fresh air, but in hot weather it is better to keep it cool.
Watering a miniature tree should be regular. In spring and summer - at least 3 times a week. In winter, the frequency can be reduced to 1 time in 15 days. Spraying the crown, which is done 2 times a day throughout the summer, brings great benefits to juniper.
The young plant is replanted annually as it grows. An adult juniper bonsai is replanted every 4 years.
Caring for an outdoor juniper bonsai
To plant a garden juniper seedling and further form it in the bonsai style, choose a place with good lighting, but shaded at midday. It is better to place the plant along a wall or fence so that it does not suffer from drying winds in winter, and the needles do not get burned in spring.Garden bonsai overwinters well, however, it is better to additionally insulate the trunk circle of a young plant.
Water the garden tree abundantly, especially during the period of active growth. At the end of summer, watering is stopped so that the wood has time to ripen before the onset of frost. In extreme heat, it is useful to spray the crown in the morning and evening.
What species are suitable for creating juniper bonsai?
Not all varieties of juniper take root equally well outdoors and at home. There are shrubs that are not intended for indoor growing. You need to know about these features of the species in advance.
Cossack juniper bonsai
This type of juniper is quite unpretentious. The shrub has a creeping form, its height does not exceed 1.5 m. Cossack juniper is the most suitable plant for creating bonsai with your own hands. Both beginners and professionals can work with it.
To create a bonsai in the garden, the branches are arranged in tiers. The crown is thinned out, and to prevent the shoots from intertwining, they are secured with a bamboo spacer and twine.
Juniperus squamosus bonsai
The Meieri juniper bonsai, grown with your own hands, looks spectacular in the garden. From early spring to summer, the shrub grows actively, the tips of its shoots acquire a silver-blue hue. Later, berries appear, colored dark blue, covered with a waxy coating.
Common juniper bonsai
Common juniper is well suited for growing bonsai with your own hands.The shrub can grow in the shade, does not require special care, and is frost resistant. The annual growth is small; even a beginner can form a bonsai.
Rock juniper bonsai
Creeping rock juniper allows you to create a bonsai without much effort on the part of a person. The shrub is compact, the crown does not need major changes.
Juniper virginiana bonsai
At your dacha in the southern part of Russia you can grow a bonsai from Virginia juniper with your own hands. The shrub tolerates drought well, its needles do not fall off or turn yellow. However, during periods of extreme heat, the plant must be sprayed using the sprinkling method, and the soil must be kept moist.
Tips from experts on decorating juniper bonsai
The favorable time for pruning juniper bonsai is spring and early summer. To form a beautiful tree, you need to adhere to certain rules:
- Shoots that are not needed for formation are cut out when their length reaches 2 cm.
- Do not remove more than 40% of the crown at a time. Growing foliage gives strength to the tree.
- Inner foliage that is no longer growing is removed periodically to continue the formation of the bonsai.
- The shoots are pruned so that there is a replacement bud nearby, otherwise their growth will stop.
The trunk and shoots need to be shaped using wire from October to March. At this time, the structure of the bush, its bends, and strong branches are clearly visible. To grow bonsai, you need to choose only a healthy plant so that it recovers faster after the procedures.
Indoor bonsai requires mandatory wintering. It should be kept in a cool room, preferably on a glass loggia or in a winter garden.A tree will not survive in a warm place all winter; it will definitely get sick.
Diseases and pests of juniper bonsai
The shrub rarely gets sick, but no matter how well it is cared for, the risk still remains. When caring for a container plant, special attention should be paid to its foliage.
The most dangerous pests for bonsai are:
- thrips;
- aphid;
- scale insects;
- spider mite;
- mealybug.
At the first signs of damage, the roots are cleaned and sprayed with special protective agents. If there are few pests, then you can fight them with folk remedies, for example, washing the pine needles with a soap solution. However, a one-time procedure will not give anything; you will have to repeat it every 7 days until the pests completely disappear.
Chemical remedies can also be used, but you need to accurately calculate the dosage. If you increase it, then crown burns cannot be avoided. Insecticides should be sprayed at a distance of 40 cm.
In addition, bonsai can hurt. Most often, the cause is errors in care, such as overwatering the plant. The roots of the bush suffer from this; they are affected by powdery mildew or gray rot. To combat diseases, antifungal drugs are used and the watering regime must be adjusted.
Conclusion
Juniper bonsai does not require special attention. Anyone can grow it, the main thing is to study the principles of formation and properly care for the bush. A miniature tree will decorate any home or garden.
