AusBonsai

Mickeyjaytee wrote: ↑September 5th, 2025, 8:39 am
I’m still trying to find the video re the difference in pruning. It was possibly a BonsaiQ video. That said, the auto-translate subtitles spew out some really random things

I enjoy trying to understand BonsaiQ. So far I've worked out reliquary=shari, miscellaneous trees=something other than a pine or juniper. Sekka hinoki is petrified stone or something like that.

Mickeyjaytee wrote: ↑September 4th, 2025, 8:49 am Ah awesome. Do you own a few R3? Would love to see the colouring. It’s true, I’ve never had any of my junipers have a snooze over winter. They all retain their green colour and usually send out new growth then and again when spring starts. Little power houses!

I’ve heard that Itoigawa requires a slightly different approach to foliage trimming than shimpaku. Is this true and do you know exactly what the difference is? I’ll have to pour through some videos and find where I saw that specific piece of advise.

Would love tips on development also. I’m trying a few different approaches to see what works best in this climate.

Anyways, thanks for sharing mate, I appreciate it!

I only own one itoigawa (not old, from cutting maybe 4 years ago?) and 2 standard shimpaku. I should probably give a shout out to the member here who provided me with it… thanks again!
Juniper species are not my main concern though, so I won’t profess to be anything but a casual admirer/practitioner when it comes to them.
New growth is beginning for me on them now… if you want I can take some shots but they are tinged in winter colour, in a month or two I think the difference in green will be more obvious.
I’ve not heard itoigawa require different treatment to standard shimpaku and have always treated mine the same as the others (for the last few years). Like I said though, more experienced juniper growers would be better placed to advise than I am.
I find juniper in general quite slow to develop compared to other trees. For that reason mine tend to passively take up space on the benches while they gain foliage and girth. I work them far less than pines in development, elms, maples and almost all native trees. Maybe twice a year at most. I’m hoping when they get thick enough (I’m pot growing… no ground work) I’ll be ready to develop on. Lots of wire and very little reduction of anything for now.