Species originating from China and Japan, belonging to the family Cupressaceae.
Although practically all species can be transformed into Bonsai, most cannot "compact" after formative pruning. The Juniperus Itoigawa, besides compacting very well, is highly appreciated for the light green color of its needles and the hardness of its wood, ideal for deadwood (Jin and Shari).
The Juniperus Itoigawa Bonsai is an outdoor plant.
Common Name: Juniperus
Scientific Name: Juniperus Chinensis
Characterization: Originating from China and Japan, it belongs to the Cupressaceae family.
Although practically all species can be turned into Bonsai, most cannot "compact" after formative pruning.
The best for Bonsai are the Japanese varieties, "Juniperus Sargentii" highly appreciated for its lush green, and "Juniperus "Itoigawa" for the hardness of its wood to make deadwood (Jin and Shari).
Also highly appreciated is Juniperus Sabina, which is quite common in the Iberian Peninsula.
Juniperus Rigida, with similar maintenance care, is also quite admired because its leaves are needles instead of "scales", and due to this characteristic they compact easily responding well to severe pruning. The downside is that it "pricks" the fingers a lot when working with it.
Location: Outdoors, where it receives 3 to 4 hours of direct sun per day (ideally in the morning or late afternoon), protected from strong winds and frosts. It is very resistant to both cold and heat.
Watering: Water the soil abundantly until plenty of water comes out of the drainage holes, to evenly moisten the soil, always from above never by immersion, using a watering can with fine holes.
Tips about watering, consult the watering technical sheet.
Let the surface layer of the soil dry slightly between each watering (to confirm if the plant needs water, touch the soil with your fingers).
If you have a tray under the Bonsai, never leave any water in it (to prevent root rot).
It has a high water consumption, especially in summer, and likes to have its leaves sprayed at the time of watering, which will prevent the appearance of red spider mites, but it should be dry at night to avoid fungi.
Nutrition: From February to October/November, with a basic plan composed of a complete fertilizer (Fertil Bonsai Humic, or Green & Gold Bonsai Organic or Biogold), and a biostimulant (Bio Bonsai Activ), which can also be combined with other products from our range.
Detailed information on how to combine these products with others from our range, or for a more specific nutrition plan, consult the complete nutrition plan technical sheet.
Pruning: Its leaves are scales and should be maintenance pruned by pinching them with the fingers; if scissors are used, the cut areas dry out.
Formative pruning should be done using scissors and pliers, always trying to cut so as to replace with a new scale shoot.
Maintenance pruning is done all year round, while formative pruning is usually done post-winter or post-summer, so that there is still autumnal growth that compacts the plant.
Most varieties tend not to compact after formative pruning; this is due to the plant's natural defense mechanism that, when heavily pruned, it temporarily stops producing scales and starts producing needles (in nature this mechanism causes plants or parts heavily browsed to be temporarily protected because animals get pricked).
This defense process makes the good aesthetic result impossible for many varieties because we can never have them with beautiful scales close to the branches; only when we let them "grow away" from the crown do they stop producing needles and start producing scales again, but by then the Bonsai "design" is already lost.
Pruning tips, consult the pruning and defoliation technical sheet.
Repotting: With Conifer Bonsai Soil in February/March, when bud break starts.
For specimens in small pots or grown in very hot areas, a solution to keep soil hydration given the high water consumption in summer months is to make a mixture of 50% Conifer Bonsai Soil, plus 50% of Deciduous Bonsai Soil or Akadama.
Details about repotting, post-repotting, and specific fortifying products you can use, consult the repotting technical sheet.
Wiring: Ideally from late winter to early spring, but it can be done all year. Normally we take the opportunity to also do a cleaning pruning.
Guidelines about wiring, consult the wiring technical sheet.
