Types of Juniper Plants

Larger Trees

• The Chinese juniper (Juniperus chinensis) is a narrow tree that takes on a conical form as it grows between 50 and 60 feet high. Chinese juniper, native to Asia, features scale-like foliage in varying shades of green. Its cones, looking like berries, ripen to a dark brown. Chinese juniper is cold hardy to USDA Zone 4. Eastern red cedar (Juniperus virginiana) grows between USDA zones 2 through 9 in the eastern half of the United States. It handles many soil situations and the tree matures between 30 and 65 feet tall. Eastern red cedar, with its peeling, shredding bark, evergreen foliage and aromatic wood, is a fine specimen tree for full sun locations.

Smaller Trees

• Wichita Blue is a cultivar of Rocky Mountain juniper (Juniperus scopulorum) that attains heights between 15 and 30 feet, growing as much as 12 inches each year. Wichita Blue serves as a background tree or as a privacy screen, exhibiting bluish-gray foliage all year. Like all junipers, it thrives in full sunshine. Singleseed juniper (Juniperus squamata) comes from western sections of China, is cold hardy to USDA Zone 4 and does not tolerate hot summers with high humidity well. Singleseed juniper tops out at 25 feet in tree form, with green-gray needles that change to purple or bronze in a cold winter.

Narrow Shrubs

• Discovered in Taylor, Nebraska, the narrow tree/shrub form of eastern red cedar named Taylor grows between 15 and 20 feet tall, but only 3 to 4 feet wide. This columnar shape makes it a great fit to guard entrances or for use in lining walks and driveways. Taylor provides the landscape with a silvery shade of blue-green foliage along with blue-purple cones. Blue arrow is a Rocky Mountain juniper type that grows to 12 feet high, but no wider than 48 inches. It's small enough for lots with limited space, serving as a cold hardier replacement for the Italian cypress in USDA zones 3 through 5. Blue Arrow possesses steel blue foliage.

Groundcover Shrubs

• Mass the Mini Arcade cultivar of savin juniper (Juniperus Sabina) to create groundcover. Although it spreads out as much as 6 feet, it only grows between 12 and 18 inches tall. Mini Arcade is an option for rock gardens, foundations and banks that require some form of vegetation to help prevent erosion. Creeping juniper (Juniperus horizontalis) comes in a form called Emerald Spreader. Its name gives away its qualities – emerald green foliage and an ability to sprawl across a landscape. Emerald Spreader grows 8 inches high and 6 feet wide, doing well in urban scenarios where air pollution may be present.