Krohn Conservatory Bonsai #31 -Itoigawa Shimpaku Juniper

This landscape Itoigawa Shimpaku was created by Chris Baker for the Bonsai Society of Greater Cincinnati’s Fall Show October 2023.  Chris Baker is the curator of the Chicago Botanical Garden’s Bonsai collection.

The Itoigawa Shimpaku is a unique variety of Chinese juniper. Chinese juniper can be found throughout Eastern Asia from the Russian Far East to as far as south as Myanmar and Taiwan.  It is loved for its wild, yet elegant nature and grows best on the rocky limestone cliffs of Mt. Myojo and Mt. Kurohime.  Shaped and nurtured by the rugged environment, it is prized for its reflection of the harshness of nature and the perseverance of life, earning it the name the King of Bonsai.

This variety is a vase-shaped, slow-growing cultivar that is known for twisting movement and brighter, thinner foliage than a standard shimpaku. Its bark has less of a red hue and the foliage is very bright sea-green in color.  It is naturally less compact by comparison but reverts to juvenile foliage after heavy pruning, which is slightly bluer, but still soft.