Please help me identify my Bonsai!

DhulFaqir

Hi everyone, and thanks for an extremely informative site!

My problem seems to be a common one around here, I just got my first Bonsai as a gift, but have no idea what species it is If anyone out there would like to hazard a guess based on the following information, I would be extremely grateful. I'm working on getting a digital pic of the tree, but I'd like to know what species I'm dealing with as soon as possible, so I can care for it properly from the start.

First of all, I'm in Beijing, China, and I think this is a fairly typical tree for this area. Apart from looking like a typical stereotype of a Bonsai you'd see in a movie or dictionary illustration, it's most distinctive feature is the foliage.

The leaves don't actually look much like leaves, but are rather needle-like, although it doesn't look anything like a typical pinetree. Each "leaf/needle" has ridges, and they have an almost artificial look to them.

I've looked through dozens of galleries, including that "Kabuki" one that was recently recommended to another newbie with a similar problem. None of them has an exact match, but I'd have to have a very clear upclose image of the foliage to make that determination anyway. The closest match I've found is the Cypruss on that Kabuki page I mentioned, but yet again the foliage seemed a little off.

So, folks, what do I have here?

Thanks in advance for any help you can give me, I'm very new to Bonsai but find it fascinating already. In fact, I'm rapidly becoming emotionally attached to this little unidentified tree


--- G. Raven

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Bonsainut

Dear G.,
It's great to have you among us, that is those of us emotionlly attached to bonsai!
Wow you really didn't give much to go on . It is fun to guess though. Since you didn't mention the Juniper family I would guess them. Juniper is number one in most gift retailers stock. They are the best sellers because that is the tree most people imagine when the think of bonsai.
Here's one I grew from a cutting. Any thing look familiar?

__________________
Keep growing,---'Nut



Lethal Use of Farce

Bonsainut

Dear G.,
It's great to have you among us, that is those of us emotionlly attached to bonsai!
Wow you really didn't give much to go on . It is fun to guess though. Since you didn't mention the Juniper family I would guess them. Juniper is number one in most gift retailers stock. They are the best sellers because that is the tree most people imagine when the think of bonsai.
Here's one I grew from a cutting. Any thing look familiar?

__________________
Keep growing,---'Nut



Lethal Use of Farce

DhulFaqir

Thanks!
It DOES look very familiar, I'm pretty sure I have some kind of Juniper. One thing I can't really tell from any online pic I've seen so far is whether the needles actually branch off, because I noticed that these do. I'm kind of new to trees, but I was under the impression that pine trees and christmas trees had their needles sticking straight out of the branch, never branching into smaller ones. I take it this is normal for the Juniper family? It's not really noticable unless you get really close up, and even then not all of them branch off.

Also, does it matter much what the specific subspecies is, or do they all require similar care? I've seen some mentions of planting them outdoors, something I'd rather avoid since we get extremely cold and dry winters and I rather like looking at and pampering my Bonsai in my room

Anyway, thanks for your advice and the pics! I'll be coming back soon when I have more newbie problems, and hopefully to share some pics of my Bonsai in years to come!

--- G. Hrafn

RussellG

Yes, I would have to say from the Juniper Family Also. I think the previous writer is right on.

Tinker

Hello, I'm from Cambridge, United Kingdom and am caring for a bonsai by boyfriend lovingly bought for us from the local supermarket! Unfortunately we didn't get a tag with it to tell us what type of species it is, so I'm hoping someone can help!

It's leaves are generally just over 1cm in length and are jagged around the the sides and it's bark is a light blue/brown colour. It would be good to attach a photo, but I haven't worked out how to yet!

Perhaps someone can come back to me and ask me some more questions.

Looking forward to hearing from anyone!

Tinker