Juniper or Red Cedar
Juniperus species (CUPRESSACEAE)
Planting and Growing Juniper Trees
You’ll find everything you need to know to plant and grow juniper or red cedar trees in the accompanying table’s tabs:
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- Foliage, cones, and seeds of juniper or red cedar trees
- Growing conditions for juniper or red cedar
- When to plant juniper or red cedar
- How to plant juniper or red cedar
- How to prune juniper or red cedar
- Watering, fertilizing, and care of juniper or red cedar
- Landscape uses of juniper or red cedar
- Pest and disease control for juniper or red cedar
Growing Juniper Trees
More than 70 species of fast- to slow-growing, highly varied, coniferous, evergreens, from low, spreading shrubs, 4–6 in. (10–15 cm) high, to tall, pyramid-shaped trees, 50–100 ft. (15–30 m) tall, with shiny, deep green, sometimes blue green, yellow, scaly or needlelike, fragrant foliage with overlapped plates, and with reddish brown, furrowed bark.
Juniper Planting and Care Guide
Flowering and Cones
Yellow, catkinlike, male cones and light blue, aromatic, pulpy, berrylike female cones appear in spring, ripening in autumn.
Best Climates
U.S.D.A. Plant Hardiness Zones 2–9. Hardy.
Soil Type and Fertility
Damp, well-drained loam. Fertility: Average. 6.0–8.0 pH.
Where and How to Plant
Full to filtered sun. Space as recommended for specific species.
Proper Care
Easy. Allow soil surface to dry between waterings. Fertilize annually in spring until established. Propagate by cuttings, grafting, seed.
About This Species
Good choice for accents, barriers, beds, borders, containers, fencelines, hedges, screens, specimens in natural, open, woodland gardens and landscapes. Aphid, borer, spruce mite, webworm and juniper blight, rust susceptible.
Common Species and Varieties of Juniper
Juniper Ground Cover Species*:
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- Juniperus chinensis procumbens, Chinese juniper
- Juniperus conferta, shore juniper
- Juniperus horizontalis, creeping juniper
- Juniperus sabina, Savin juniper
- Juniperus scopulorum, western red cedar
Juniper Shrub Species*:
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- Juniperus chinensis, Chinese juniper
- Juniperus communis, common juniper
- Juniperus sabina, Savin juniper
- Juniperus scopulorum, western red cedar
- Juniperus squamata, single-seed cedar
Juniper Columnar Species*:
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- Juniperus chinensis, Chinese juniper
- Juniperus scopulorum, western red cedar
- Juniperus virginiana, eastern red cedar
Juniper Tree Species*:
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- Juniperus californica, California juniper
- Juniperus deppeana, alligator juniper
- Juniperus excelsa, spiny Greek juniper
- Juniperus lucayana, West Indies juniper
- Juniperus monsperma, cherrystone juniper
- Juniperus occidentalis, western juniper
- Juniperus osteosperma, Utah juniper
- Juniperus recurva, Cox juniper
- Juniperus reigida, needle juniper
- Juniperus scopulorum, western red cedar
- Juniperus virginiana, eastern red cedar
*Many cultivars of several commonly cultivated juniper species have been developed with varied growth traits, appearance, and habits.
About Juniper Trees
More than 70 species of highly varied, coniferous shrubs and trees are found in the Juniperus genus. They are native to the northern hemisphere, from the tropics to the arctic.
Because species vary from low, prostrate ground covers to stately, pyramid-shaped trees, they are widely used as landscape plants.
Most junipers are small conifers that are clothed either in needles or scalelike foliage and which have berrylike cones. They are tolerant of harsh conditions and perform well in urban sites with salt exposure or smoggy air.
Depending on their species, junipers grow fast, medium, or slowly. They range in size from 4–6 in. (10–15 cm) tall for the low shrub species to trees as tall as 100 ft. (30 m). In a planter that constricts their roots, they grow slowly, making them ideal for bonsai and shape training. They rarely need pruning yet tolerate severe cutting of their limbs and new foliage.
Junipers are susceptible to several tree pests, including aphids, bagworms, borers, spruce mites, and webworms. They can be infected by blight and several forms of rust.
Choose from among the popularly cultivated species above, at left.
Planting and Caring for Junipers
Junipers perform yeomen’s labor in the landscape garden. When a bank or slope is subject to erosion, they will stabilize the hillside with their spreading roots and dense foliage.
When a border needs a green, yellow, or variegated shrub for a background planting, the interesting texture of junipers fills the bill. When seeking a stately tree with conical form and beautiful texture in a hot-summer, mountain area, red cedars—more juniper species—are fine as landscape specimens.
Plant your juniper in damp, well-drained loam, one that can range from acid to alkaline. Junipers need soils from 6.0–8.0 pH, a wide range that permits their use in most garden soils. Closely compare the tree’s needs to your climate conditions to choose the best species for your area.
Carefully match the depth of the planting hole to the soil line on your tree’s rootball. Junipers do best when planted with their shallow, surface roots 6–12 in. (15–30 cm) below the surface. Give the tree ample water through its first summer, irrigating whenever the soil surface dries.
Check the spacing needs of the juniper species and cultivar you select. Small ground covers may be planted as closely as 3 ft. (90 cm) apart, while large trees may need spacing as great as 20 ft. (6 m) apart.