Description
Juniperus – Sabina – Juniper
There are about 60 species of slow growing and long lived, coniferous shrubs and tall trees in this genus. They are the most drought hardy genus of all conifers. They occur from dry forest and hillsides throughout the Northern Hemisphere. Juvenile leaves are usually needle like or narrowly wedge shaped, and ¼-½” long. Adult leaves are usually scale like and overlap, either lying flat along the shoots or spreading, and 1/16-¼” long. Both juvenile and adult leaves exude a pungent, somewhat pleasant smell when crushed. In most cases, male and female cones are borne on separate plants: male cones are spherical to ovoid, yellow, and to ¼” across, females develop into usually spherical, fleshy, berry like fruits, 1/8-½” across, with 1-10 seeds, and are persistent, generally ripening over 2 to 3 years. Junipers tolerate to a wide range of soils and conditions, and are useful for hot, sunny sites. Use as specimen plants in a rock garden and prostrate species as a groundcover. Contact with the foliage may aggravate skin allergies.
Easily grown in any well drained soil, including dry, chalky, or sandy soils, preferably in full sun or in light, dappled shade. Junipers need little, if any, pruning, other then sculpting or to restrain spread.
Prone to leaf miners, bark beetles, scale insects, aphids, mites, caterpillars, bagworms, phomopsis twig blight, gymnosporangium rust (cedar apple rust), dieback, canker, lesion nematodes, brown felt blight, and a variety of heart rot and wood rots.
J. horizontalis ‘Wiltonii’ – ‘Blue Rug Juniper’ – Creeping Juniper – This fast growing, tough, prostrate, creeping shrub from Northern North America can grow to 12” tall with an indefinite spread. It has glaucous blue-green foliage. The juvenile leaves are needle like, with long sharp points, and are carried in pairs or three’s, the adult leaves each have prominent gland on the back and lie flat along the shoots in rows of four. It produces ovoid, dark blue fruit.
Zones 3-9
