Can a sierra juniper do well in south florida?
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Do you mean juniperus scopulorum? There are more than one cultivar. If a tree was collected from the rocky mountains, it would not like Florida. There are nursery cultivars that are sold at big box stores like Walmart and Lowes that may be hardy in your area. I have purchased several nursery plants and twisted them up and put them in a raised bed to see how they do. Juniperus Scopulorum, Juniper ‘Blue Arrow’ Tree. They are very flexible and have survived our winters in Iowa. Their need for dormancy may be a problem, but if they sell them locally ask for a guarantee! If you want an ancient survivor from elevation, it needs an experienced care giver and the best environment. Do you belong to a bonsai club? There is great local information from fellow bonsai hobbyists and professionals.
I believe the Sierra juniper is juniperus occidentalis. I’m not 100% sure about surviving in Florida, but where they grow naturally is in the Sierra Nevada range between 3000-10000 feet and probably need dormancy.
But I’ve never owned one or heard one way or another about it needing dormancy.
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Thanks, i do belong to a group. Most are into tropical trees here. I favor junipers. I cant seem to get an answer on this particular tree, mostly " not really sure"
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J. grandis likes cold and dry. So complete opposite of south Florida. It will almost certainly die eventually without proper frost.
I believe it will need a dormancy period to remain healthy. Over time, say maybe 3-5 years it will begin to weaken and eventually succumb and start dying back. I live in Central Texas and looked into several species many times for past several years. Ponderosas, sierra junipers, bristlecones and others. It appears you already have the tree, so I would probably look into housing the tree elsewhere next winter. Bjorn is in Tennessee and his garden is up and running. You could maybe commission him to overwinter your bonsai and maybe style it next winter. Obviously, it would be returned to you in the Spring. My two cents.
looks like i will graft shimpaku. Thanks for the input.
Juniperus scopulorum, the Rocky Mountain juniper, is a species of juniper native to western North America, in Canada in British Columbia and southwest Alberta, in the United States from Washington east to North Dakota, south to Arizona and also locally western Texas, and northernmost Mexico from Sonora east to Coahuila.Wikipedia Also available at big box stores as a landscape plant. If they can live in Mexico maybe can tolerate Florida!!
Beautiful start! I guess you need to find out what species it is! There seems to be some difference of opinion from the common name. 0_0