Conifers are trees with cones and include junipers whose berries are modified cones. Most keep their foliage all year round but new growth occurs with the seasons. Junipers are highly prized for bonsai in part because the different varieties provide for many different styles. This exhibit highlights some of that variety.
​Tree name: Procumbens nana juniper (Juniperus chinensis var. procumbens ‘Nana’)
Tree height: 18”
Pot: Ron Lang: 
Accent plant: Coral Bells (Heuchera ‘Canyon Duet’)
​Tree Name: Hollywood Juniper (Juniperus torulosa)
Display Height including pot: 39", 
Pot Maker: Darryl Elmer

The Hollywood Juniper is not native to Hollywood, but is common there. It is noted for its twisted upright green branches.






My thoughts move slowly to the top
Of yonder spindly branches.
In contemplation of my life
The risks, rewards, and chances.
​Tree Name: Japanese Black Pine (pinus thunbergii)
Display Height: 15"
​Tree Name: Paperbark Tree (Melaleuca nesophila)
Display Height: 23"
Pot Maker: Reiho

This is a plant in the myrtle family and grows native in western Australia.
Tree Name: Japanese Garden Juniper (Juniperis chinensis var. procumbens nana)
Display Height: 8"


This tree is an example of the cascade style. Notice how the placement of the accent plant and the reaching limbs of the bonsai create a powerful image. Who is accenting whom?
​Junipers chinensis “prostrata”: originally bought it in a 5 gal. nursery can at Simpson’s Nursery, Jamul, Calif. now closed. Trained for about 32 years. The bonsai measures 15”x 33” in a cascade bonsai pot of unknown origin. A worker cleaning windows “helped” create the jin.
Tree Name: Takasago Pine
Tree height: 23”
Notes: Started from a whip about 25 years ago. Field grown. A bonsai for about 22 years.





​
Don't judge me by my scar'd trunk
Nor by my weathered bark,
I still posses an inner strength
Though time has left its mark.
​Tree name: Kishu Shimpaku (Juniperus chinensis var. sargentii)
Tree height: 21”
Pot: Yamaaki
Accent plant: Coral Bells (Heuchera ‘Midnight Rose’)

At the end of this exhibit, go "behind-the-curtain" to see how this beautiful tree has evolved over several years.
Tree Name:   Juniper (Junipercus chinensis var. procumbens nana)
Tree height:    14" (soil to apex)
Pot:  Jim Barrett, specially made for 1993 International Bonsai Convention.

My mother would tell me stories of tigers prowling outside her compound walls in search of cows that had strayed. This juniper is not native to that jungle, but these childhood stories still influence the design of my trees.
Tree Name:   Junipercus chinensis var. procumbens nana (procumbens nana juniper)
Tree height:   12” (includes pot)
Bonsai Pot:  Toshun
Accent Pot:  unmarked; 2” in diameter
Accent plant:   Sedum makinoi ‘Ogon’ (golden Japanese stonecrop) and Ajuga reptans ‘Valfredda’ Chocolate Chip (bugleweed)
​
Notes:  This 12-year old procumbens nana was given to me in 2015.  One of my passions is to “rescue” bonsai. Go "behind the curtain" at the end of this exhibit.  There you can see it as it looked when I first inherited it. As you will see, it originally had a few health issues.  
​Tree Name:  Grafted Kishu Shimpaku (Junipurus chinensis var. sargentii)
Pot Maker: Sara Rayner
Display Height: 26
​Tree Name: Kishu Shimpaku (Junipurus chinensis var. sargentii)
Pot Maker: Bob Harris (deceased)
Display Height: 14”
​Tree name: Tecate Cypress Group (Cupressus forbesii)
Display height: 33”

Originally from Bill Murphy’s collection. When you finish viewing this exhibit, look behind-the-curtain to see what this group looked like when I first obtained it in 2008.
Tree Name:   Japanese Black Pine (Pinus thunbergii)
Tree height:    24" (soil to apex)
Pot:  unknown
Tree Name: Shimpaku Juniper 
Height: 22”
Japanese Friendship Garden
Donor: Tak Shimazu

The San Diego Bonsai Club maintains a permenant display in this garden at Balboa Park.
Tree Name: Shimpaku
Height: 19”
Japanese Friendship Garden
Donor: Mas Ishi

The Shimpaku Juniper is highly desired for bonsai because of its lush foliage and expressive trunk and branches. The trunk is generally styled in gentle curves as opposed to the  style of the Foemina and California Junipers.
Tree Name: Foemina Juniper
Height: 28”
Japanese Friendship Garden
Donor: Jim Barrett

Foemina Junipers are noted for their tall straight trunks. Note the contrast with the California Juniper below and Shimpaku above. Often these trees are styled with a very symmetrical set of branches cantilevering out from the trunk. In this case the artist has broken that symmetry to create a triangle with a long branch out to the left. The overall balance of the display is maintained by offsetting the tree in its pot.
Tree Name: California Juniper
Height: 37”
Japanese Friendship Garden
Donor: Sherwin Amimoto

California Junipers are noted for their contorted trunks and branches. This is a very nice example of how the use of minimal foliage highlights the trunk and the jin spikes poking up toward the sky.
​Tree Name:  (procumbens nana juniper) Junipercus chinensis var. procumbens nana and (cork bark Chinese elm) Ulmus parvifolia var. cork bark
Tree height:   16” (includes pot and apex jin)
Bonsai Pot:  Sara Rayner
Accent Pot:  unmarked; 2” in diameter
Accent plant:   Ledebouria socialis (silver squill) and Dymondia margaretae (silver carpet)


​Thank you for visiting our show. If you would like to learn more, take a peek behind the curtain to see some of the techniques used to craft these trees. To return to the exhibit gates, choose the exit.