Once & for all, junipers inside yes or no?

Joanie

So many people ask about junipers living inside, and are so disappointed to hear that they simply don't do well. And many vendors seem to sell them for indoor trees.

So, is there ANYONE out there that grows junipers successfully indoors? Under what conditions?

For people who live in apartments, and don't have balconies, is there any way for them to keep junipers?

Please, if you have any ideas for or against, post them here. It can be a reference that we can use when we have to tell yet another person that their new juniper needs to go outside to thrive.

Joanie

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Vance Wood

There is only one person I know of who can get away with it, and he uses all sorts of lights etc. Jack Wiekle(sp?). He has a procumbens he has cultivated this way for over ten years.

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The only finished bonsai is a dead one; me 1992 MABA Des Moines Iowa

Cordon

my thoughts are these: You need enough light, probably you'd need a halogen setup. A window probably isn't enough, if apartments are anything like the ones I've lived in.

The other tricky part would be the dormancy. Being a temperate plant there has to be a winter dormancy period.

If you can overcome these problems then there is nothing keeping you from keeping juniper indoors.

Cord

midwestbonsai

Thats impressive.
-Paul

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RedPine

There is a guy been doing this for awhile with a junip who post at another bonsai forum.He uses the fridge for short dormancy periods and the rest of the time it stands in his apt window.His reason if I remember correctly is he just doesn't have an outdoor place to keep it,it's been working for a couple of years so far.



Mid,

The fellow vance speaks of has an article over at Fukubonsai.It's a must read!

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rockm

"He uses the fridge for short dormancy periods and the rest of the time it stands in his apt window...it's been working for a couple of years so far."

I think this may be too short a time period to measure "success" and the person, apparently, has no real idea of what he or she is doing. Juniper and pines have no dormancy period--that is why they are evergreen. They retain foiliage to take advantage of the ability to photosynthsize year round--something that gives them a leg up on their deciduous counterparts. Putting a conifer in a dark cold place won't induce dormancy or do them much good or contribute to indoor success.

Junipers are extremely tough, which is probably why the plant has survived two years despite mistreatment. They can take years to waste away indoors. I would say that unless you have managed more than three or four years of indoor care, then you really haven't been successful with it.

HB Smith

To me it is the equivalent of bonsai kittens (remember that website from a few years back?). You can get them to grow for a few years if you are really attentive and talented, but they will NEVER thrive as a juniper bonsai should. Pick a species that will at least come close to thriving so you can have a robust, healthy bonsai, not a "wow I've kept it alive for three years and its still got some green foliage left" kind of bonsai.

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Sincerely,
Howard

www.BonsaiSmiths.net

Spencer

Although I'm certainly no expert (in fact I'm a rank beginner), I believe there are solutions for those that live in situations where outdoor bonsai keeping seems difficult if not impossible.

I have built a small ledge from a plastic planter and some doweling and 2x4's that I have secured outside of my kitchen window. I've placed my juniper on that, and it *so far* seems to be doing alright. Granted, it's only been a couple of months (sheepish), but a lot of people I've mentioned this construction to wonder why they never thought of the idea. So there it is.

Not a solution to growing a juniper indoors, but a *plausible/possible* solution for those who (like myself) do not have ready access to an outdoor location (such as a yard or balcony).

Cheers!
Spencer

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midwestbonsai

Thanks Red I will do that.
-Paul

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