AusBonsai

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Hello Grant,
Love the tree and the stand too.

Please excuse my ignorance - Shimpaku, does this word only relate to Juniperus sp.?
Looking at your tree i would have said Cupressus sp. due to flat rounded leaves, as Juniperus sp. have pointed foliage. Or have i got it wrong?

Not particularly a coniferous fan, these images have inspired me to source some stock.

Thanks for the pictures and story.
Kevin

Kevin wrote:Hello Grant,
Love the tree and the stand too.

Please excuse my ignorance - Shimpaku, does this word only relate to Juniperus sp.?
Looking at your tree i would have said Cupressus sp. due to flat rounded leaves, as Juniperus sp. have pointed foliage. Or have i got it wrong?

Not particularly a coniferous fan, these images have inspired me to source some stock.

Thanks for the pictures and story.
Kevin

As far as I know;

Shimpaku is the generic Japanese word (Pak shu or similar in Chinese I was told) for this particular Juniper. For instance Needle juniper is Tosho or Nezu, they don't use J procumbens much so i haven't got a Japanese name for them although we know its common name to be Japanese garden juniper.

So Shimpaku is very specific to this juniper I believe. It is then known by where it came from(which region or river for instance).

Junipers are usually scale or needle type foliage and this is a scale type although the occasional juvenile foliage is sharp and needle like. They are a member of the cupressaceae family hence the similarity. There are about 60 different types of juniper world wide and range from small trees to ground covers.

In English its name is confused as sometimes people call it wrongly Sargents juniper or it could be known as J chinensis "Shimpaku".

Others who have spent lots of time in Japan may be able to explain better, fuller or correct my misapprehension in its correct Japanese naming; and it is almost exclusively only used in bonsai and is fast becoming my favourite bonsai subject as there are older specimens becoming available.

Grant

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Thanks for your patience and time Grant with this explanation.
Kevin

Not relevant to Kevin's question, but J.procumbens is known as Sonare in Japan.

Cheers,
Mojo

Mojo Moyogi wrote:Not relevant to Kevin's question, but J.procumbens is known as Sonare in Japan.

Cheers,
Mojo

Thanks

"shim" can be translated as authentic, where "paku" is juniper. from what i remembered, the term "shimpaku" was given to this type of juniper when it was first discovered, meaning the "authentic juniper".

regards

Stunning. Great pot, great tree.

Lovely tree grant.
Fantastic job styling this one - it really hits the right note for me.