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Tag: Conifer

Effortless Junipers for Practically Every Garden

Ground cover junipers look handsome when planted in spacious containers.

There are few plants that come in as many different forms as the juniper. The Genus Juniperus includes plants that are grown as ground covers with some that hug the ground at just several inches and others that may reach 2-3 feet in height. Another category is the shrub types, and these can range in growth from 4-12 feet. Junipers can also be columnar in their growth habit with heights ranging from about a few feet up to 20-30 feet. Then, there are the tree junipers that can reach 50 feet or more.

Juniper berries are waxy, fragrant, and distinctive.

Junipers are conifers, but instead of cones, the female shrubs have berry-like, waxy, blue-green fruits. The berries of some types are highly scented and are often used during the Christmas and New Year holiday season in wreaths and often as part of an evergreen indoor table decoration. Often, juniper scent is incorporated into holiday candles. Most juniper plants produce berries that are attractive to many birds.  Hummingbirds often build nests in the larger shrub and tree types.

Juniper foliage color can be various shades of green to blue, gray, and yellow. The leaves of some have smooth or prickly needles, so consider this when choosing a variety. Prickly forms should be planted in areas where people won’t have contact with the foliage.

Growing Juniper

Junipers can be planted in the spring or early fall.

Good drainage is a requirement for most juniper varieties, and once established many require little or no additional water, depending on your plant zone. Be sure and read the plant label for detailed planting guidelines. Most varieties will take a full sun location, but there are some that like some protection from the hot afternoon sun. Well-drained average soil will usually suffice. Amending the soil at planting time with a little Black Gold Canadian Sphagnum Peat Moss will encourage good growth from the start.

There is a vast selection of juniper choices, so it would be impossible to list all of the many varieties here. Instead, I have included several popular varieties that should be readily available at garden centers.

Groundcover Junipers

Juniperus horizontalis comes in several pleasing, low-growing varieties.

Tam juniper (Juniperus sabina ‘Tamariscifolia’, Zones 4-7), is often referred to as simply Tam. With blue-green foliage, expect this juniper to reach 2-3 feet in height and a width of 10 ft. It is one of the most widely used junipers in gardens.

Blue rug juniper (J. horizontalis ‘Wiltoni’, Zones 3-9) has silver-blue foliage that hugs the ground with long trailing branches. It is flatter and grows closer to the ground than the Tam Juniper. Expect it to spread beautifully. Specimens will tolerate some salt-spray and sandy soil, so it is a great oceanside shrub.

Shrub Junipers

Golden junipers add extra pizzaz to every garden.

Weeping needle juniper (J. rigida ‘’Pendula’, Zones 5-8) has an upright main stem and is often trained and staked to show off the secondary branches with weeping tips. Its green foliage and blue-black fruits are appealing. It will reach 15-20 ft in height when mature.

Pencil point common juniper (J. communis ‘Compressa’, Zones 3-7) is a very tight shrub with blue-green foliage. It is a slow grower that only grows about 2-4 inches per year. This is an ideal conifer for a rock garden and rarely needs pruning. Sometimes it is planted in rows as a dividing line in the garden.

Gold Coin common juniper (J. communis ‘Gold Coin’, Zones 3-7) is a conical, upright form with finely cut foliage. It is most admired for its brilliant new golden growth which turns bright green in the summer. It will reach about 10 feet.

Moonglow Rocky Mountain juniper (J. scopulorum ‘Moonglow’, Zones 3-7) is a dense conical grower with steel-blue color. At maturity, it will reach 8-10 feet. It makes a good screen and can be sheared as needed.

Tree Junipers

Western cedars are high-value trees for wildlife.

Western juniper (J. occidentalis, Zones 4-8) has fragrant green foliage and is native to intermountain regions from Central Washington to Southern California. It is very large growing and will reach 50-60 ft. The fruits are essential food for many native birds.

Weeping blue juniper (J. scopulorum ‘Tolleson’s Blue Weeping’, Zones 3-7) will usually reach about 20 feet and has very distinctive weeping branches that are silvery blue. It makes a graceful weeping tree.

I suggest visiting a local arboretum or garden center with a conifer display garden. Most conifer display gardens will include junipers. It is always wise to check out plants that will be permanent in your garden before making a final selection. Seeing plants growing out in the open may give a very different ‘look’ as compared to seeing them in a nursery container.

What Is the Best Narrow Conifer for Snowy Colorado Landscapes?

Eastern red cedar

“What is a good upright juniper, or other narrow conifer, to plant that stays nice and narrow and tight so snow doesn’t bend the branches down and damage them? My planting area only gets partial sun and is very dry for much of the year. I tried Skyrocket junipers, but they broke under the weight of the snow.” Question from Sharon of Westminster, Colorado.

Answer:  There are quite a few evergreens that can take snow load. The best are natives to your region, but there are also some cultivated, non-natives to consider.

Narrow stature can reduce snow load, but limb flexibility is even more important. Trees with unrelenting, stiff branches suffer the most breakage, while those with flexible branches bend under snow and pop back when the weight is gone. Often, the snow will slip off as the branches bend. Your native limber pine (Pinus flexus) is named for this trait.

Thinking along these lines, I would choose evergreens with good strength, bendy branches, some drought tolerance, and the ability to survive in lower light as young trees. Native selections will likely perform the best. Good options do not have to be linear.

Colorado Native Snow-Resistant Evergreens

  • The superlinear fastigiate Douglas fir, Pseudotsuga menziesii ‘Fastigiata’, is hardy to Zone 5 and has moderate drought tolerance.
  • Rocky Mountain cedar (Juniperus scopulorum), grows to 30 feet and can withstand some understory (partial shade) conditions as well as drought.
  • The Limber pine (Pinus flexus) will reach 65 feet, withstand some drought, and take lower light until it outgrows surrounding trees.
  • The columnar lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta var. latifolia ‘Fastigiata’) and tall, super-tough Ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) are two more options tolerant of the conditions you mention.

Non-Native Snow-Resistant Evergreen Options

  • Prairie Statesman® Swiss stone pine (Pinus cembra ‘Herman’): This alpine tree may not be native, but it is narrow, upright and stands up to snow. It is also drought-tolerant, withstands very cold winters, and reaches 30 feet high and 10 feet wide.  Its bright green needles are very fine.
  • Green Arrow Alaska Cedar (Chamaecyparis nootkatensis ‘Green Arrow’): This is about as narrow as you can get. No snow could hang onto these branches.  Green Arrow is very hardy, reaches 20 feet high and 2 feet wide. These look best planted in a group.
  • Hetz’s Chinese juniper (Juniperus chinensis ‘Hetzii Columnaris’ or ‘Columnaris’): This Chinese juniper is pyramidal, narrow, relatively compact (reaching 15 feet or taller) and provides a good windbreak for very cold areas to USDA Hardiness Zone 4.
  • Serbian spruce (Picea omorika, Zone 4). There are many tall, narrow varieties adapted to high snowfall, but the tree only has moderate drought tolerance.

I encourage you to search out more varieties via the ever-useful Morton Arboretum’s Tree Database.)

Happy conifer growing!

Jessie Keith

Black Gold Horticulturist