How to prune a Chinese juniper bonsai? A detailed guide to the latest pruning methods

Pruning methods

The Chinese juniper is the most suitable material for making bonsai; it stays green all year round, its branches and trunk are fairly dense, and its leaves are relatively small, making it suitable for viewing all year round.

In fact, the Chinese juniper does not need repeated pruning, and it is not tolerant of pruning either. When you do prune it, you can pinch off its topmost part, which allows the side branches to grow better.

In spring, when new branches and leaves emerge, prune them in time; do not let the branches and leaves grow freely and ruin its compact tree shape. When pruning, focus on shortening.

Points to note

1. When pruning new shoots, try not to use scissors to cut them off; you can pinch them off directly with your hands. This prevents the wounds cut with scissors from turning brown, which would greatly reduce their ornamental value.

2. If you want to prune larger branches, you should choose to do it when they have entered a dormant state.

In Taiwan, China and Japan, many plant styling masters like to have some rather dried-out branches on their bonsai shapes; they call these dried-out branches "jin" (sharigan). "Jin" is also a very popular practice in Taiwan, China and Japan. They created the "jin" based on phenomena in nature such as trees partially drying out or breaking for some reason. A bonsai with "jin" produces a peculiar ornamental effect.

Below let us enjoy several master-level Chinese juniper works.