Mojo Moyogi wrote:In my experience, there are few answers to this question Toohey.
Best if you are patient: Shimpaku.
Balance of best result and easiset/fastest: J. squamata 'Prostrata'
Worth Considering: J.squamata 'Meyerii' and 'Holger', J.sabina,
Challenging: J. rigida (Needle Juniper)
Don't bother: J. squamata 'Blue Rug/Carpet' and 'Blue Star', J. conferta (Shore Juniper), J. chinensis 'Spartan' and 'Pyramidalis', any J. chinensis cultivar that has open, leggy foliage (there are lots like that!)
Cheers,
Mojo
Hi Gavin,GavinG wrote:Mojo - why is rigida challenging, and what's the problem with conferta? I haven't seen good examples of conferta, I'm just wondering why. Rigida is done in Japan, with thick cut-back lots-of-shari trunks. Haven't seen many in Aus.
Just curious, not stirring.
Gavin
Rigida is prickly and can be a handful to work on, I have worked on a couple and owned a very average one, I found that you have to be on top of your game during the growing season to keep the design of the tree intact. Challenging, but potentially very rewarding. Shinji Suzuki has created Rigida that are out of this world, so in the right hands, a wonderful tree. Jow has probably worked on some decent Rigidas on his visits to Japan, he would know as much about them as anyone on this forum.
I have had a couple of Shore Junipers (J.conferta) and have used them on a couple of occasions in landscapes a few years ago. Leggy, sappy, weak and nothing to write home about visually was my impression, I can't remember seeing one with a trunk of any substance, let alone a decent set of branches.
I left out Procumbens and Procumbens 'Nana', both very worthwhile and pretty easy to obtain. You need to pinch often to get neat foliage and I have found that red spider and 2 spotted mites like them a lot. Procumbens nana likes foliar misting, providing the soil is free draining. Mist helps to deter the mites. Procumbens are very good at communicating ruggedness in a design, Literati and Windswept work particularly well with these.
Cheers,
Mojo
