Is the Pftitzer Juniper A Good Tree For Bonsai?

The pftitizer juniper is one of many junipers that can be found in gardens across Europe. It is actually a mix of Juniperus Chinensis and Juniperius Sabina. 

The pftitizer is not that common in bonsai, there other variants that seem to get picked before it, often people will use the two variants it is made from, rather than going for this mixed option. I own one and you can see how its developing in my Pftitzer Juniper Progression

Is This Species Good?

Overall junipers are a great species for bonsai. There is usually a lot of similarities between the different variants that make them all useable in bonsai, but there is also a few differences that make some more popular than others.

For some reason pfitizer does not seem to be as popular as other variants. Its needle like foliage will probably put a lot of people off, even though this is totally useable in bonsai. I feel that the main reason we do not see these used more often is just because there is less good material.

As they are a hybrid, they are not really found in the wild. You will only find them in nurseries, as small boring trees. This means no one is collecting really old, amazing specimens of pfitizer from the wild.

However, they are in a lot of people’s gardens, so you may find at some point a lot of urbandori start appearing. These can grow to about 3 meters tall, so they will end up with a decent trunk if they are left to grow for long enough and these types of trees can be turned into some world class bonsai.

Foliage

The foliage is a needle like foliage and it can actually be quite annoying to work with. You will find you hands are pricked a thousand times when you trying to work with them and it can actually be quite painful.

I am sure this puts a lot of people off, but if you see past this, the foliage is fine for bonsai. It’s not the finest, but it is also not the coarsest. It’s just okay, which is all you really need if you want to make it a bonsai.

If you use the right techniques it can get very tight and dense foliage, with short internodes, which is exactly what you want from a tree you are using for bonsai.   

Growth Rate

I have two junipers and the pftitzer is the faster of them. I have pretty much been leaving mine unchecked and it is growing quite fast. I imagine if it was in the ground it would grow a lot faster. As I have already mentioned, they can grow to 3m tall, but they can also grow to be 5m wide, so they will stretch out and get big.

You want this type of growth though. This is going to get you a thick trunk and interesting branches, which make a juniper look 100 better.

A small juniper is just not that impressive, which is why I am trying to grow mine out. 

Response To Pruning

The pftitizer juniper is like any other juniper with its response to pruning. It will respond very well and will reliably shoot out and push out back buds.

While the trees growth is slightly coarser, it will get finer with pruning, which means you can easily develop and ramify a pfitizer which makes them the perfect choice to use as bonsai.

Styling Ability

The style you go for will depend on the material you are using, but generally junipers will work with a large number of styles when they are used as bonsai. 

Wiring

You will need to wire your tree if you want it to have any sort of style. They naturally grow into a sort of messy bush with long straight branches going everywhere. You will also find that foliage can sag at the tips. Clip and grow can help make the tree denser, but it will not give it any style.

Luckily they are very easy to wire, well, you will get a million pricks from the needles, but apart from that they wire easily.

Fall Colours

Junipers are evergreen, so they stay the same all year round and you will not get any colour change in autumn and you will not get to see the winter silhouette.

This doesn’t affect their ability to be bonsai, but is something should be aware of. Personally I like this about them. It means you can enjoy their look all year round.

Bark

Most junipers have great bark and the pfitzer is no exception. It’s a beautiful dark reddish brown and full of lumps and bumps and interesting textures. If you can get a tree with a thick trunk you are really going to be able to enjoy this bark.

 It also suits scars and wounds; they all add to the trees character and allow it to tell a story of struggle. 

Deadwood Opportunities

To further carry on that story of struggle with the tree, you need deadwood. I think a juniper without deadwood just looks like it is missing something. Deadwood works so well on junipers and it just add so much extra character. If you have a decent trunk you should have some dead wood on it.

Dead branches and stumps also work really well on junipers. If you allow your tree to grow out and look messy, you can easy cut most of this extra growth back and use it for deadwood.  When I see a young juniper without any deadwood, they just look so underdeveloped and uninteresting.   

Roots

The roots on a pftitzer are just like all other junipers …troublesome. They can usually cause a lot of people problems and you need to be cautious when dealing with them. It is very easy to stress the tree out, or even kill it.

However, you need to remember that some of the best bonsai trees in the world are junipers, so clearly they can worked with.

You just need to be cautious and patient. You cannot just hack them back like you would with a deciduous tree.

Care

So long as you are patient with the juniper, they are easy to care for. They are extremely cold hardy and are more than happy with the basics of water and sunlight.

 A beginner could happily look after them. The difficult part comes when you need to perform bonsai work on them. Too much of this can upset them, but like I said, if you are patient they are a very easy tree to deal with.

You can read more in my Pftitzer Juniper Bonsai Care Guide.

Conclusion

If you have the choice to use a pftitzer juniper you should do it. They can make awesome bonsai. However, you are probably going to come across many other varieties of juniper and you may find you are drawn more towards them, and that is okay.

There is nothing wrong with pfitzer, you can do a lot with them and they can make excellent trees, especially if you are starting with some decent material.

The general rule with junipers is, the better the material, the better your final tree will be.  (Although I guess that is true for all tree).