Pine Trees and Junipers
Every Bonsai enthusiast would like to own a bonsai of a pine or a juniper tree. They are temperate zone trees and can easily conform to any particular bonsai style. Their advantage again is their needles in the place of leaves and not too vigorous root system.
Since these trees are not common in Chennai with our tropical weather system, we usually mistake both the types for each other.
Both Pines and Junipers along with their close relatives like Spruce, Firs, Yew etc belong to the genera Conifers. Conifers are cone bearing plants and trees. they do not flower , but produce seeds in a structure made up of modified leaves called bracts, that later become cones.
All pine trees have needles,, but all needled evergreens are not pines.
A distinguishing trait of pine trees is that their leaves (needles) are bundled together in packs of two to five . Needles may be long or short, but if they are clumped together, it is a pine for sure
In Juniper and Thuja( common in Chennai),which are also evergreens, the leaves are replaced by needles. Again the shape and size of the needle (leaf) vary,but it is flat and overlap one another, like the shingles on a roof. The foliage may vary, in texture from soft to prickly, but all the Junipers have overlapping needle trait.
In the nurseries in Chennai we can get junipers and thujas. and rarely pines too.
So Bonsai Lovers try your luck with the evergreens..
Suseela Vergis..
Every Bonsai enthusiast would like to own a bonsai of a pine or a juniper tree. They are temperate zone trees and can easily conform to any particular bonsai style. Their advantage again is their needles in the place of leaves and not too vigorous root system.
Since these trees are not common in Chennai with our tropical weather system, we usually mistake both the types for each other.
Both Pines and Junipers along with their close relatives like Spruce, Firs, Yew etc belong to the genera Conifers. Conifers are cone bearing plants and trees. they do not flower , but produce seeds in a structure made up of modified leaves called bracts, that later become cones.
All pine trees have needles,, but all needled evergreens are not pines.
A distinguishing trait of pine trees is that their leaves (needles) are bundled together in packs of two to five . Needles may be long or short, but if they are clumped together, it is a pine for sure
In Juniper and Thuja( common in Chennai),which are also evergreens, the leaves are replaced by needles. Again the shape and size of the needle (leaf) vary,but it is flat and overlap one another, like the shingles on a roof. The foliage may vary, in texture from soft to prickly, but all the Junipers have overlapping needle trait.
In the nurseries in Chennai we can get junipers and thujas. and rarely pines too.
So Bonsai Lovers try your luck with the evergreens..
Suseela Vergis..
