At the end of spring many chinese junipers start showing yellow inner vegetation. (old weak vegetation, that does not take enough light) The usual time to clean this up, is in spring or autumn. The junipers that have been cleaned up during this operation, will usual not introduce anymore dried out vegetation. Those which are more mature, tend to yellow more hidden in the inner vegetation. This is a normal process of rejuvenation of the vegetation. By cleaning up the vegetation, you are also bringing balance in the vigour of the tree. It also happens with other conifers. In order to show to the neophytes how you do this, I have made some pictures.
This is a juniper which has not been worked on for a few years, only fertilization is applied. A tree which is maturing for a future styling.
Juniper maintenance (Nicola Crivelli)
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As you can see, it shows strong differences in vigor.
The beautiful chubby tops are shining green, and loaded with berries.
And in the weaker zones you can find this yellow and dried vegetation.
In the lower zones the imbalance of the vigor is obvious. If we want to save these branches, we must clean them up and prune the entire plant.
This is how the branch looks before cleaning it:
After removing the dried out vegetation, it looks like this:
Now we remove the berries which absorb much energy of the plant:
Strong branches:
Medium strong branches:
Weaker branches: If the tips are green, this means that they can make it.
Very weak branches: If the tips are yellowing, it means the branch has lost his vigor and becomes to weak to survive.
This is how the branch should look after cleaning up:
But there is still imbalance in vigor.
Strong tips and weaker internal vegetation.
After some pruning:
If we want strong foliage pads, we leave two or three pads. (Depending on the zone where they grow. The apex is strong while the lower branches are weak) All branches without green tips have been removed, together with the dried ones. Removing these parts will improve air circulation, and the passage of light to the weaker zones, which will make them stronger.
Weak zone:
In the weaker zone we leave the branches to get stronger without pruning. We only eliminate the dried branches, the ones without green tips, and the berries.
In an extreme case where the branch is so weak it has only vegetation without green tips, and that branch is indispensable, it is not pruned. You leave it as it is, and you hope in an increase of vigour. If you want good vigorous junipers, sufficient light and a very good draining soil is very important. And of course it must be fertilized.
After cleaning and pruning:
Remember, if we don't do this work, you surely will loose some branches, especially in the lower parts. Nearly all the interventions that we make on our Bonsai, aim for a better balance in the energy, or better said to counter the apical dominance.
This article is written by Nicola Crivelli from Suisse. Nicola houdt ook een BLOG bij, waar je wat meer van zijn werk kunt zien.