Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
bc_bev

Juniper ID Please

BC_Bev
12 years ago

We need to fill in a hill with the same species of juniper. We've taken a sample to our local garden centres & no one can conclusively id this for us. I realize the photo is poor quality but am hoping the key features are clear enough. Thanks in advance!!
{{gwi:269789}}From July 27, 2011
{{gwi:269791}}From July 27, 2011

Comments (9)

  • ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
    12 years ago

    not with those pix.. too small ..

    its not a shrub..its a conifer... the peeps in the conifer forum ... will need a pic of the whole .. and bigger versions of these pix ...

    if its a horizontal juniper... odds are.. its rooted itself in various places.. you might be able to move parts of what you already have.. IN THE PROPER SEASON ...

    i dont care where you post.. but there are a slew of blue junipers.. and you might get the best answer from those peeps ..

    ken

  • brandon7 TN_zone7
    12 years ago

    "its not a shrub..its a conifer"

    How do you know that Ken??? LOTS of conifers are shrubs. Hmmm, I'm gett'n that day-jaw-view feeling...

  • forensicmom
    12 years ago

    Some people are too picky. Conifers are still listed in the shrubs category.

    Sorry but I don't know either.

  • ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
    12 years ago

    shrub is a 'common term' .. used to describe everything in the yard that is not a tree.. or a annual/perrenial ..

    you all know.. when we default to common terms.. we start losing the ability to have a specific conversation about a specific plant..

    if you want to name one of the 20 to 30 blue flat junipers... you better not start the conversation.. by describing it as a flowering shrub ... dont you think ...

    here .. try this... i am thinking about a tree in my yard ... can you take a leap and think what i am talking about???

    yeah.. i know you guys are yanking my leg... and i understand its as a friend ... no problem there ...

    but shouldn't we start by defining a term for the OP so she can narrow down her search for knowledge ...

    ken

    ps: i called them all shrubs for 20 years ... and then i found out there is a world called conifers .. go figure on that ... it was a quantum leap of knowledge ...

    Here is a link that might be useful: check this out.. then change the search term to blue conifer .. and you can see how one search narrows down the plants suggested ... then try blue juniper

  • brandon7 TN_zone7
    12 years ago

    Ken, where'd you see anything about flowering?

    I agree that an ID from only the pictures above is impossible, but if you know of a good source that lists many of the blue, sprawling junipers, maybe Bev could start by looking there. I don't know of a good single-source online off the top of my head.

    Bev, you might find some possibilities just by googling 'blue juniper groundcover' (if they are more flat/low-lying) or 'blue juniper shrub' (if they grow more than a few inches high).

  • botann
    12 years ago

    The problem with covering a hill with low lying 'carpet' junipers is that it's hard to get them established and grow thick enough for any kind of low maintenance weed control.
    I have planted each one on a small mound and then put down a very thick mulch between the mounds with the idea that the mulch would have to be renewed as needed until the junipers could do the job.
    It's easier to just get a thicker, higher growing juniper and install the same way, but you use less renewing mulch.

    A common low growing blue juniper sold here is 'Wiltonii'. Even in the best of circumstances, I wouldn't use it to cover a large area or an area not very accessible where the weeding might get ignored.

    Have you thought of using drifts of junipers of varying heights? Some nice combinations are possible as long as it isn't random. Think low blue in front, (water) Then arrange rocks in a 'headland', and then extend the 'headland' with mounding junipers acting as rocks and cliffs. Behind that, green junipers. Towards the back and in the green, plant some vertical junipers in a drift for trees. Think of it as a simple painting. On a hill, it would really be nice. Better than a flat expanse and the cost would be about the same.
    Mike

  • gardener365
    12 years ago

    Yeah, I agree with Mike on the ID. I figured it was J.horizontalis 'Blue Rug' which equals 'Wiltonii'.

    Dax

  • ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
    12 years ago

    brandon.. we have had the flowering shrub forum vs shrub forum debate before.. no need to do it again ...

    listen OP ... here is the deal ... first.. if left to its own design .. it will fill in ... [i bet a buck bev never comes back .. lol] ... given enough time ...

    second.. filling in.. is like bondo'ing a car ... the car.. nor the junipers.. will ever quite look right ... [thats a plastic filler and a can of spray paint to fix a car]

    i recommend... that you use this opportunity to add something else.. to compliment the blue juniper... rather than trying to match it...

    what about some upright yellow conifers... that could be visually stunning ... and make much more of a landscape statement ... rather than an all blue hill ...

    this will also add some diversity to your planting..
    MANY.. of my 20 or 30 junipers.. have various problems.. and i am now wondering why you lost the ones you did ... and whether you have some problem building in the group .... if so.. adding more of the same.. is a fools errand... why did you lose the ones you lost???

    ken

  • brandon7 TN_zone7
    12 years ago

    "brandon.. we have had the flowering shrub forum vs shrub forum debate before.. no need to do it again ..."

    But, but, but you're still trying to convince people that "shrub-sized" conifers aren't shrubs (when everyone else seems to agree that they are)! And, the "flowering" part of the discussion seems to be new and unexplained.

    It seems the same as if someone asked about a hosta in the Perennials Forum and you said "its not a perennial..its a hosta".