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How to Make a Chinese Juniper Bonsai: Shaping and Care Tips

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Creeping juniper, also called prostrate juniper or creeping ground juniper. Because of its short stature it has become a main variety for bonsai. So how do you make a creeping juniper bonsai?

Creeping juniper, also called prostrate juniper or creeping ground juniper. Because of its short stature it has become a main variety for bonsai. So how do you make a creeping juniper bonsai? Below, let's take a look with the Huinong website editor at the methods for making and caring for a creeping juniper bonsai.

1. Material selection

There are mainly 2 ways to obtain the materials for making a creeping juniper bonsai:

(1) Artificial propagation

Layering, cuttings or grafting can be used, with cuttings being the main method.

(2) Buying from the flower and bonsai market

Buy seedlings 2-3 years old, or buy potted creeping junipers that are many years old and already have some attractive form, then process and shape them according to your design concept.

2. Bonsai shaping

Creeping juniper is suitable for making into cascade style, slanting trunk style, curved trunk style, lying trunk style, etc. Generally, creeping juniper requires about 2 years of wiring before it sets into shape. If the binding material is removed too early, the branches will spring back and return to their original state; if removed too late, it will cut into the branches, affecting growth, leaving marks, and also being unsightly.

3. Bonsai care

(1) Light

In spring and late autumn when the sunlight is not too strong, the creeping juniper bonsai can be kept in a bright, moist place. In summer and early autumn, when the sunlight is relatively strong and the temperature is high, the creeping juniper bonsai should be placed under a half-shade, half-sun shade awning. In the Beijing area, it should be moved into a low-temperature indoor space for the winter. In the south, in early winter, water it thoroughly and bury the whole pot in a wind-sheltered, sunny spot and it will overwinter safely. Jishan Huayao

(2) Watering

Creeping juniper likes moisture. During the growing season, water the pot frequently, but the pot must not have standing water. In hot weather, besides watering the pot, you should also frequently sprinkle water on the ground and spray water on the branches and leaves, so that the local microclimate has a certain humidity. In winter, water less.

(3) Fertilizing

During the growing season (except the hot summer), apply a dilute, well-rotted organic liquid fertilizer about once every 30 days. Do not fertilize in winter.

The above is what the Huinong website editor has compiled about the methods for making and caring for a creeping juniper bonsai. Have you all learned it?

Care methods for creeping juniper bonsai


    Creeping juniper, also called prostrate juniper, belongs to the Cupressaceae family, genus Juniperus, an evergreen shrub with densely growing branchlets. The leaves are awl-shaped, arranged in alternating whorls of three. When young, the trunk is relatively smooth; as the tree ages, the trunk bark becomes rough.

    I. Material collection and cultivation

    1. The main sources of materials for making creeping juniper bonsai are cutting propagation and market purchase.

    (1) Cuttings: In spring, from March to April, select 1-year-old robust side-branch tips about 12 cm long as cuttings, cut off the lower small branches, insert about 1/2 of them into plain sandy soil, keep the soil moist, and they will root in about 3 months. One round of cuttings can yield many seedlings, but most are small and thin, and need many years of cultivation before they can be potted and shaped.

    (2) Purchase: In order to obtain tree material with a trunk of a certain thickness as quickly as possible, you can go to the flower market and buy potted creeping junipers that are more than 10 years old.

    2. Cultivation: Split the rooted small seedlings into pots in the spring of the second year. After about 3 years of cultivation they can be used for miniature bonsai, and after about 5 years of cultivation they can be used for small bonsai. According to the shape of the young tree, preliminary shaping should be done during cultivation. If you buy a potted creeping juniper more than 10 years old, observe the tree, then conceive the design and composition, cut off the branches not needed for the shape, plant it in relatively fertile cultivation soil, and carry out preliminary wiring and shaping while cultivating. Generally, after 2 to 3 years of cultivation it can be made into a medium-to-large bonsai.

    II. Potting and shaping

    1. The creeping juniper bonsai work "Blue Dragon Exploring the Sea" (see Figure 1) has a curved trunk 23 cm long, a trunk thickness of 2 cm, and a hanging branch 58 cm long. It was potted and shaped after a creeping juniper seedling was cultivated on a balcony for more than 10 years. The creeping juniper has lush branches and leaves, and the hanging branch is relatively long, making the trunk look too thin and not attractive enough, so a beautifully shaped mountain stone of a certain height was placed behind the trunk. This mountain stone not only makes up for the defect of the relatively thin trunk, but also makes people feel that the creeping juniper seems to grow on a steep cliff, fearing no danger, displaying the momentum of a "rock flying waterfall."

    2. The creeping juniper bonsai work "Spring Herding" (see Figure 2) was obtained by transforming the above "Blue Dragon Exploring the Sea" bonsai. Half the length of the hanging cascade branch of the "Blue Dragon Exploring the Sea" bonsai was cut off, then all the small branches on that branch were cut off, and a knife was used to remove the bark to expose the xylem, making it a deadwood branch. According to the new design concept, the creeping juniper was transplanted into a relatively shallow rectangular purple clay pot, and the remaining small branches on the creeping juniper were pruned and wired. After another 2 years of cultivation, it became a curved-trunk-style bonsai 39 cm tall with a deadwood branch. In the transformed bonsai, most of the branches are newly grown, tender green in color, giving people a feeling of thriving vitality. In order to add interest to the appreciation of the bonsai, a suitably sized cow-riding shepherd boy was placed on the left side of the pot surface, making the scene richer in content and more poetic, raising the appreciation value of this work.

    III. Care and management

    In spring and autumn when the sunlight is not yet too strong, place the creeping juniper bonsai in the sun for care. In summer when the weather is hot and the temperature is high, the creeping juniper bonsai should be placed in a semi-shaded spot or in a shade shed. In winter, it can overwinter safely at a room temperature of about 5°C.

    Creeping juniper likes moisture, but the pot must not have standing water. Besides watering the pot, you should also appropriately sprinkle water on the care area, and water less in winter. A creeping juniper bonsai that has already taken shape should not be fertilized too much; applying a dilute, well-rotted organic liquid fertilizer once a month during the growing season is enough. (Reporter Ma Wenqi)

Care of creeping juniper bonsai

Creeping juniper, also known as prostrate juniper or creeping ground juniper, is an evergreen shrub of the Cupressaceae family, genus Juniperus. The plant is low-growing, with no upright main trunk; the branches grow prostrate, parallel and slanting upward or close to the ground. The trunk surface is smooth when young, and becomes relatively rough after growing for some time. Its branchlets grow densely, the leaves are awl-shaped with pointed tips, the leaves are about 0.8 cm long, and three grow in alternating whorls. Making bonsai from it has the characteristics of dense branches and leaves, emerald green color, evergreen through all four seasons, distinct layers, and an elegant posture. For propagation of creeping juniper, you can cut 1-year-old robust branches as cuttings in March to April for cutting propagation, or you can carry out layering propagation during the growing season; both root very easily. The rooted small seedlings should first be cultivated for 2 to 3 years, and shaped after they grow to a certain thickness and height. In addition, you can also buy creeping juniper seedlings cultivated for several years from the market to make bonsai. Creeping juniper seedlings cultivated for several years are sold in all three seasons of spring, summer and autumn each year, and some have even undergone simple shaping, but this shaping is rough and stereotyped, with low artistic quality, so they still need to be reshaped and re-created. Sometimes when landscaping departments carry out green space renovation, they eliminate some old creeping juniper plants; you can choose those with good form to make bonsai. For purchased bare-root creeping junipers or old creeping juniper stumps from other sources, they should first be planted in a relatively large clay pot. Before planting, you can apply erythromycin ointment, burn ointment and other medicines to the wounds of thicker branches and root systems to avoid bacterial invasion and affect survival. After they are well established and grow new roots, then shape them. Common creeping juniper bonsai forms include large and small cascade style, waterside style, lying trunk style, curved trunk style, slanting trunk style and various other different forms, as well as various bird, beast and other animal forms. For young seedlings grown for 2 to 3 years, the branches and trunk are soft, so you can first use metal wire or palm fiber for wiring, and after the general outline is completed, cut off the branches not needed for the shape. For old creeping juniper trees whose branch and trunk forms are relatively ideal, the tree's original form should be maintained, and only the thinner branches and new growth should be wired. In order to increase the sense of age of the bonsai, part of the branches and trunk can also be processed into "shari" or "deadwood branches"; when processing, follow their grain, and do not be affected or contrived and lose natural charm. The crown can be processed into either a neat cloud-pad style or an elegant natural style. Summer and early autumn are the peak growing seasons for creeping juniper. At this time the sap flows relatively quickly, and pruning will cause sap to overflow, which is unfavorable to plant growth, so shaping and pruning are best done in late winter or early spring. Creeping juniper branches only set into shape after two years of wiring, and the wiring material must not be removed too early, otherwise the branches will spring back and return to their original state. But after setting into shape, the metal wire should be removed as early as possible, so that because the wiring time is too long, the metal wire cuts too deeply into the branch surface, which is not only unfavorable to plant growth but also leaves scars and affects appreciation. After about 2 years of care following shaping, the base of the form is fixed, and it can be moved into an ornamental pot. Creeping juniper likes a sunny, warm and humid environment. In spring and autumn it can be kept outdoors in a sunny spot, while in summer it should be properly shaded to avoid scorching sun exposure. It can be placed in a semi-shaded spot without direct sunlight, or in a place where sunlight can be seen in the morning and evening but there is no strong light at noon, and care should be taken to ensure good ventilation. In northern regions, move it indoors in winter at a low temperature of about 5°C; in the south, it can be buried with its pot outdoors in a wind-sheltered, sunny spot to overwinter. During the growing period, water frequently to keep the pot soil moist, but the pot must not have standing water. Creeping juniper likes humid air. When the air is dry, spray water on the plant and the surrounding ground to form a local humid micro-environment, making the leaf color emerald green and pleasant, full of vitality. After the shaped juniper bonsai has taken form, apply a well-rotted dilute liquid fertilizer about once every 20 days during the growing season. Do not fertilize too much or too frequently, so that because of excessive fertilizer and water, the plant grows leggy and affects the beauty of the tree form. In summer and winter, stop fertilizing. During care, creeping juniper bonsai sometimes grows very long branches, which should be cut off in time so as not to ruin the beauty of the tree form. During the growing period, frequently pinch the tips to control branch extension, promote side-branch growth, and make the branches and leaves short and dense. A creeping juniper bonsai in the vigorous growth stage should have its pot changed once every 2 to 3 years, which can be done before sprouting in spring. If the original flower pot is too small, you can change to a larger flower pot, and change the shape as needed to improve the ornamental value of the bonsai and keep it looking fresh. Old creeping juniper bonsai can have their pots changed once every 3 to 4 years. When changing pots, the root system should be pruned, part of the old soil removed, and it should be replanted with new cultivation soil. The pot soil should be rich in humus, fertile and moist, loose and breathable, with good drainage. It can be mixed from 2 parts humus soil and 1 part fine sand, and well-rotted animal hoof and horn, bones, etc. should be placed in the lower part of the flower pot as base fertilizer. If it is a relatively deep cylindrical pot, granular coal ash cinders should also be placed at the bottom of the pot to increase air permeability.

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