Juniper Work in Denver

[James H]

I am new to the denver area and was wondering when is a good time to start working on Junipers? I am up in conifer so we are around 15-20 degrees cooler than denver. I have a shimpaku that I am looking forward to wiring out and getting some movement into it.

 

[Bonsai Nut]

Brrrr...

I would wait until I saw the first new growth, but I am conservative that way. I don't like working on my trees in the Spring until they wake up. Some might say it is safe once you get below freezing temps, but I like the tree to tell me when.

 

[James H]

Thanks for the advice, I really want to try to make a shohin shimpaku with the nice twists and curves.

 

[CWTurner]

Winter wiring

I'd tend to agree with our Admin, but I was over at Bonsai4me.com the other day and was surprised at the advice to NOT wire Spruce in the Spring as there could be some die back.

I just looked for the Juniper advice and see "The wood of Juniperus is extremely flexible and branches of several centimetres in diameter remain supple enough to be shaped with ease. Junipers can be wired at any time of the year including the semi-dormant period of Winter. Do not create heavy bends in trunks and branches during temperatures of 0ºC or less."

I'm not trying to contradict a more experienced practitioner than I, but I know that when you get the fever, Spring seems a long ways off. Plus there's so much to do in Spring already!

CW

 

[Dav4]

You can wire junipers year round, the best times being fall and spring, imo. As noted above, I wouldn't be creating a lot of severe "cambium busting" bends if the tree is going to be subjected lots of freezing weather...light bending is fine now.