Cones and Berries

[Relknes]

A few questions about cones and berries:

1. At what age do junipers start producing cones and berries?

2. Is it more a question of age, size, or health?

In particular, I am curious about Juniperus Procumbens and Juniperus Chinensis.

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

Junipers grown from cuttings are usually old enough right from the start. Since procumbens & chinensis are not native to USA all nursery stock is cutting grown.

They only produce berries on mature foliage and when in good health. Procumbens will have to have settled down to mostly scale foliage before producing berries. This might not happen until tree has been slowed down in growth, maybe a decade into bonsai training.

Chinensis, all shimpaku varieties can berry at any time. I have cuttings I made making berries at only four years.

Note, I only see berries in years following a year I did not prune or pinch much. Berries seem to form on branches produced the previous summer.

Pruning for bonsai tends to remove the branches most likely to fruit the next year.

 

[Relknes]

Thanks for the info, Leo.
Do you have an idea of how long it would take for plants grown from seed, rather than cuttings, assuming they are left to grow freely?

 

[Relknes]

I think I may have finally tracked down the statistic: generation length.
If I am correct, then it should be 10 years for Juniperus Procumbens and 20 years for Juniperus Chinensis (according to IUCN Red List).
Of course this doesn't factor in the sub-species (nana might be considerably longer, Sergeants might be shorter, etc...), and it seems that when they are old enough to produce, Chinensis produce a lot more frequently and in greater volume. At least, that is my impression.

 

[M. Frary]

. At what age do junipers start producing cones and berries?

Somehow I missed this!
My answer is right around puberty.
Their bodies start changing and they get hair growing out of places it never grew before.