The most common species, used for Bonsai, in northern areas, are Conifers. The Conifer family is huge and includes both Pines and Junipers, each of which have many sub varieties. In the northern countries, these trees are generally tall and pointed, to cope with the snow, whereas the bushveld varieties of Southern Africa are flat.

This is to provide shade for animals and include the Flat-top, the Pierneef and the Baobab styles. These all make for great Bonsai trees and here are some tips for growing the Juniper varieties of Bonsai Conifer trees.

Juniperous (Procumbence Nana)
These species are mainly used for ground cover, or borders for flower beds, as they are fairly small and have a tendency to grow sideways, or downwards. The names given to this type of Bonsai Conifer is either “procumbent”, which means lying down, or “Nana”, which means small leafed.

These Bonsai trees are evergreen and the more foliage the tree has, the faster it will grow, so never remove all the foliage. Pruning should therefore be done in stages and one should nip the buds between the fingers. Do not use scissors, or shears. When pruning these Bonsai trees, you should be careful, to use the right tools for the job, to as not to do any damage to the plant.

The leaves of these Bonsai Conifers require light, in order to grow. When the leaf pads become too dense, the foliage deep inside, will turn brown and die off. Rub the leaf pads gently, with your hands, to remove the brown, dead bits and to make space, for the light to penetrate, through the outer foliage, to the inside layers of the tree. 

All Conifers are very primitive plants and date back thousands of years. They are unable to process nutrients, from the soil, in their raw state. They have a symbiotic relationship with small organisms, in the soil, called mycorrhizal fungi, that convert the nutrients into a form that the trees can absorb.

When re-potting these Bonsai Junipers, it is important to include some of the original soil, as it already contains fungi that will help the plant to recover and to grow more quickly. This also aids in the development of new roots. This is not essential to other forms of Bonsai tree, but Bonsai Conifers and Bonsai Junipers are the exception.

Junipers are deciduous, meaning that the fruit will form on a female plant and the pollen appears on the male of the species. These are typically slower growing, than the other varieties and require a little more patience, but make a lovely long term investment, to your collection of Bonsai plants.

An excellent read is the e-book “Bonsai Indoor Plant Guidebook.”  This is the beginner’s comprehensive guide to growing Bonsai plants indoors. It is full of useful tips. Find out more here. http://www.dersalsites.com/bonsip/

Sally Robson is a South African Internet marketer, who together with her husband Derek, have a vision of empowering all fellow South Africans and other non U.S folk, to have equal opportunity and success on the internet, by overcoming the many obstacles facing them. They have started a string of sites, resources, courses and articles, as part of Dersalsites. Sally has a passion for gardening. For more articles and advice on gardening topics, visit Sally at: http://www.dersalsites.com/sallysgardeningtips/ 

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