Nearly every landscape has a problem that can be solved by planting a juniper. Tall, short, thin, thick, bushy and carpetlike, juniper varieties tolerate a wide variety of growing conditions, and many varieties are hardy in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 3 through 10. Junipers can serve as both shrubs and trees. Treelike junipers come in columnar, cone-shaped, pyramid and vase-shaped versions. Consider these tough, handsome evergreens as you plan your home landscape.
About Juniper Trees
Junipers come in so many varieties that the line between tree and shrub is sometimes determined by how you use it. In general, trees have a single trunk, although some have two or three main trunklike stems. Most respond well to pruning, which lets you emphasize a natural tree shape. Variations in climate zones result in local preferences, although all of the juniper varieties that follow are described as hardy to USDA zone 9, with some hardy to zone 10. Microclimate conditions will affect commercially available choices, and the tropical humidity associated with some parts of zones 10, 11 and 12 is not hospitable to evergreens in general.
Columnar Juniper Trees
Columnar junipers bring strong, thin vertical lines to your landscape. One of the most popular columnars is Juniperus scopulorum "Skyrocket," which can grow to 15 feet high with a width of 2 to 3 feet; "Wichita Blue," another J. scopulorum grows to 10 feet with a width of 4 feet. "Blue Trail" Rocky Mountain juniper (J. scopulorum) can reach 15 to 20 feet with a width of 4 feet.
Junipers offer alternatives to those whose definition of evergreen trees includes a Christmas-tree, or conical, shape. One of the most popular single-trunk conicals is "Spartan" (J. chinensis), which is known for richly colored foliage. Virginia juniper, most often called Eastern red cedar (J. virginiana) grows into a handsome tree 15 feet or more, with a width of approximately 8 feet.
Closely resembling the conicals are juniper trees described as pyramidical, denoting a thickset bottom and tapering top. The line between pyramidics and conicals is thin and blurry, but pyramidics tend to have a thicker or multibranch top rather than the classic Christmas single top point. "Blue Point" (J. chinensis), descriptions for which range from over 10 to 20 feet, and "Hollywood" (J. chinensis "Torulosa") are both often described as pyramidic.
Vase and Brush Shapes
Both "Blue Vase" and "Hetzii" reach between 6 and 12 feet tall, with several stems comprising the trunk and widths ranging up to 6 or more feet wide. "Blue Vase" (J. x media) is exactly that, a vase-shaped, bluish-tinted juniper that can function as a shrub or tree. "Hetzii" (J. chinensis) has a rounded brush shape and a long reputation for reliable use as a hedge or windbreak as well as specimen tree.
Spirals, Corkscrews and Shapes You Create
Juniper's toughness and rapid growth rate make even thicker-set varieties candidates for topiary. More than one nursery suggests that both "Hollywood" and "Blue Point" do well when trimmed and trained into spiral and other shapes.
- Morton Arboretum: Columnar or Fastigiate Trees
- Fast-Growing Evergreens: The Junipers
- Nature Hills Nursery: Juniper Trees
- Nursery Direct: Plant Directory 'J'
- Auburn University Plant Identification Resource: Juniperus x media 'Blue Vase'
- Auburn University Plant Identification Resource: Juniperus chinensis 'Hetzii'
- Thinkstock/Comstock/Getty Images