Chinese Juniper-Juniperus Chinensis Print
Written by Bonsai King   
Wednesday, 16 December 2009 10:37

Local Name:

Chinese Juniper, Yuan bai, ibuki, byakushin,

Scientific Name:
Juniperus chinensis, Juniperus thunbergii, Sabina sphaerica

Family:

 Cupressaceae

Habitat

Chinese juniper is native to China, Mongolia and Japan. Widely grown as an ornamental in North America and Europe,

 

Propagation

Most Chinese juniper cultivars are propagated from cuttings which root readily. Some of the upright cultivars are more difficult to root and are grafted

 

Comments
Chinese juniper comes in many forms, from creeping ground covers to bushy shrubs to full size trees. The typical form is a tree, 50-70 ft tall, with an upright conical form and a spread of only 20 ft or so. The bark is brown and shreds off in thin strips. As with other junipers, there are two kinds of leaves. Juvenile leaves on young growth are wedge shaped needles with sharp points and borne in sets of two or three. Adult leaves are diamond shaped and arranged in four ranks overlapping flat on the twigs like fish scales. The foliage has a pungent or acrid scent, rather unpleasant in the cultivars believed to have originated from hybridization with savin juniper, less so in cultivars without the savin influence. Male and female cones are carried on separate plants. The female cones are fleshy, violet brown and berrylike, about a 0.5 in diameter. Juniperus chinensis is an extremely variable species or there are actually more than one biological species and a few hybrids as well.
Last Updated on Thursday, 08 April 2010 16:30