7 Best Juniper Trees for Bonsai
Hearing the name Juniper tree, we immediately think of a large tree with evergreen needles. However, not all juniper trees have a large stature and evergreen leaves. Some of them have creeping growth and bright autumn leaves.
Juniperus belongs to the Cupressaceae family, that is, conifers that are widespread throughout the world. There are 27 to 30 genera (17 monotypic), including junipers and redwoods, with about 130 species.
Most of the juniper trees are distributed in the Northern Hemisphere, from the Arctic to tropical Africa, then in the mountains of Central America, Pakistan and Ziarat.
The highest known juniper forest is at 4,900 m asl, in southeastern Tibet and north of the Himalayas, making it the tree with the highest growing habitat on earth.
Juniper trees are generally long-lived and relatively resistant to extreme environments. Because of this, juniper trees have often been used as bonsai and penjing subjects since ancient times.
Asian (especially Chinese and Japanese) bonsai artists often use juniper trees as their bonsai. It cannot be denied that the beauty of a dwarf juniper tree is indeed very charming and can be said to have high aesthetic value.
So, what types of juniper trees are often used by bonsai artists? Here’s the list:
1. Chinese Juniper
Chinese Juniper (Juniperus chinensis) is the juniper tree most commonly used by bonsai artists around the world. This tree is of medium growth with often curved trunks, and soft green leaves.
Juniperus chinensis is native to eastern Asia, including China, Mongolia, Japan, Korea and southeastern Russia. It grows in very varied forms, ranging from 1 to 20 meters.
Besides its use in bonsai, the Chinese Juniper Tree is also used as this popular ornamental tree in gardens or parks because it can grow in a wide variety of soils and hot sun. There have been more than 100 recorded cultivars of Juniperus chinensis.
In China it is called 圆柏 or 桧柏, in Japan it is イブキ, and in English-speaking countries it is known as Chinese Juniper.
2. Temple Juniper
Temple Juniper or Needle Juniper (Juniperus rigida) is a conifer tree native to northern China, Mongolia, Korea, Japan, and Russia’s far southeast. This tree is also widely used by bonsai artists.
Temple Juniper has been naturalized in the United States, especially in California and Alabama. It is closely related to the Common Juniper (Juniperus communis) and Shore Juniper (Juniperus conferta), the latter sometimes treated as a variety or subspecies of Juniperus rigida.
It is a shrub or small tree growing to a height of 6-10 meters and a trunk diameter of up to 50 cm. The leaves are evergreen, needle-like, in three whorls, bright green to yellowish-green, 10–23 mm long and 1–1.3 mm broad, with a single white stomata band on the inside.
Temple Juniper is often grown as an ornamental tree and on temple grounds in Japan.
In China people call it 杜松, Japanese people know it as ネズミサシ, and Koreans call it 노간주나무.
3. Common Juniper
The Common Juniper (Juniperus communis) is a species of sharp, small-leaved Juniper that is more tender than the Temple Juniper (Juniperus rigida). This species is protected and should not be taken from the wild, but nurseries have many cultivars for sale.
Common Juniper varies greatly in form, between 1 and 10 meters tall, but usually grows as a lower shrub in open locations. This tree has needle-like leaves in three whorls, the leaves are green, with a single band of white stomata on the inner surface. It never reaches mature foliage like the scales of other members of the genus.
This species has the widest geographic range of all woody plants, with a circumpolar distribution throughout the mild Northern Hemisphere from the arctic south in the mountains to latitudes around 30° N in North America, Europe, and Asia.
Known globally as Common Juniper or Dwarf Juniper. In China it is called 欧刺柏 and in Korea it is called 주니퍼베리.
4. Himalayan Juniper
The Himalayan Juniper or Flaky Juniper (Juniperus squamata) is a species of Juniper native to the Himalayas and China.
This tree can grow at an altitude of 1,500 to 4,500 m above sea level. Himalayan juniper is widely grown as an ornamental plant in Europe and North America. The tree is highly valued for its bluish leaves, as well as its rarity.
In its place of origin, this tree can reach a height of 10 meters (rarely 15 meters), but is usually lower than 5 meters in other places. The bark is brown, scaly, and the crown is irregularly conical. The leaves are wide, needle-like, 3-9 mm, arranged in six tiers in alternating whorls of three, and often have a blue-green color.
There are three recorded varieties of Juniperus squamata, including:
- Juniperus squamata var. squamata
- Juniperus squamata var. fargesii
- Juniperus squamata var. hongxiensis
- Juniperus squamata var. parviflora
The following cultivars have been awarded the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit:
- Juniperus squamata ‘Blue Carpet’
- Juniperus squamata ‘Blue Star’
- Juniperus squamata ‘Holger’
In Japan, this tree is called ニイタカビャクシン, and in China it is known as 高山柏.
5. Japanese Juniper
Japanese Juniper or Japanese Garden Juniper (Juniperus procumbens) is a Juniper tree native to southern Japan. Its status as a wild plant is still debated, with some authorities treating it as endemic to the mountains of Kyushu and several other islands in southern Japan. While others consider it native to the south coast of Japan (north of Chiba Prefecture) as well as the south and west coasts of Korea.
Japanese Juniper is closely related to the Chinese Juniper (Juniperus chinensis), and is sometimes treated as a variety, such as Juniperus chinensis var. procumbens.
Several cultivars of Juniperus procumbens have been selected for cultivation, the most widely grown being ‘Nana’, which is smaller and slower growing.
In England, several varieties have been awarded the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit, among others:
- Juniperus procumbens ‘Nana’
- Juniperus procumbens ‘Bonin Isles’
- Juniperus procumbens ‘Green Mound’
In Japan it is known as ハイビャクシン, and in China 铺地柏.
6. Savin Juniper
The Savin Juniper or Savin (Juniperus sabina) is a species of juniper native to the mountains of central and southern Europe, and western and central Asia, from Spain to eastern Siberia, usually growing at altitudes of 1,000 to 3,300 m asl.
Savin Juniper grows as a shrub that is between 1-4 meters tall. The leaves are of two forms, juvenile needle-like leaves 5-10 mm long, and mature leaves 1-2 mm long on slender shoots 0.8-1 mm thick. Juvenile leaves are found mainly on seedlings but mature shrubs occasionally continue to shed some juvenile leaves as well as mature leaves, especially on the shady shoots at the bottom of the crown.
All parts of Juniperus sabina are toxic due to several toxic compounds.
Savin Juniper is a popular ornamental shrub in garden gardens, and bonsai goes by many cultivar names to choose from.
It is known as 叉子圆柏 by Chinese people, and Japanese people call it サビナビャクシン.
7. Creeping Juniper
The Creeping Juniper or Creeping Cedar (Juniperus horizontalis) is a tree native to North America, mainly in Canada, from the eastern Yukon to Newfoundland and Alaska. This tree can only grow as high as 30 cm from the ground but extends to several meters.
Creeping Juniper is widely planted as an ornamental tree in yards, gardens, and some bonsai artists use it as a bonsai subject.
More than 100 different cultivars of Juniperus horizontalis have been selected for use as ornamentals, its very low growth habit valued for ground cover.
Some of its well-known cultivars include:
- Juniperus horizontalis ‘Bar Harbor’
- Juniperus horizontalis ‘Blue Acres’
- Juniperus horizontalis ‘Emerald Spreader’
- Juniperus horizontalis ‘Green Acres’
- Juniperus horizontalis ‘Wiltonii’
Many cultivars have very cloudy foliage, while others are bright green, yellowish or variegated.
In Japan this tree is known as アメリカハイネズ, in Indonesia it is called Cemara Buaya.
Although almost all types of junipers can be bonsaid, not all are of interest to bonsai artists and enthusiasts. Many factors keep other junipers from being included in this list, for example the tree is endangered and rare on the market, and another reason is the difficult way to care for the tree.
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