It has several varieties that grow up to 10 feet tall making it an excellent plant for privacy. I took a few clippings and tried to start them with a map-gas torch. Also i realized there is no way I could figure out the type. This 'Blue Chip' juniper has Phytophthora root rot resulting in branch dieback above ground and in the center of the plant. Juniperus chinensis 'Spartan' Overall Description This juniper variety has a fast growing, dense, narrow columnar growth habit - tapers ever so slightly in width from the base on up to the point. Where is your new home? a LOT of little bee like flies (I think their Hoverflies but not sure) have seemed to take up Junipers are one of the most useful and beautiful landscape plantings. This juniper has another famous name, Blue Arrow Eastern Red Cedar. They might be able to connect you with a Master Gardener who could give you some advice. Brian, This plant prefers the sun and has excellent heat and salt tolerance. The remarkable trees can spread to a width of 4 to 5 feet. Use a knife to break up the tight root mass. They have spindly branches and needles of varying lengths, which give them a spartan look. Juniper bushes are common in older landscapes. The spartan juniper is a drought-tolerant plant variety that thrives in hot and dry environments. transplanting from a field nursery. Sources are inconsistent on the treatment of the common name, variously referring to it as eastern red cedar (two words), eastern . Copyright 2023 This Old House Ventures, LLC. Second, as stated there is a city of toys in my Juniper Universe. Juniperus scopulorum is a native plant that can be found in the western United States. We have an interesting bush/tree thing in our front yard (western exposure) It has four or five thick branches growing up from a central source, and the branches end in gigantic Sideshow Bob-esque explosions of foliage. To summarize then: Juniper tree roots will typically not grow back if cut back or removed. $49.99. I was wandering if they can damage my basement foundation wall. You should be fine with the Blue Point or other narrow varieties 4 from the house. Hi Melissa, Junipers are easy to prune to smaller more formal sizes. Fertilize spartan junipers with a spruce fertilizer in the early spring. A spartan juniper should not be consumed or eaten in any way. I agree that midsummer is not the best time for a project like this. Consider yourself lucky. Stay away from the Skyrocket Juniper if you are concerned about possible snow damage. Best of Luck! When you purchase through, How to Care for Your Philodendron Birkin: Keeping and Growing Tips, Tricks, and Fixes, Peperomia Hope: A New Plant Thats Easy to Care for, Lawn Care Tips for Beginners Everything You Need to Know, Philodendron Majesty Plant: Caring for The Royal Potted Plant, The One Plant to Have in Your House: Ficus Triangularis. They are at least 30 years old. Spartan Juniper Southern Living Plants Juniper trees come from China. I didnt realize there were so many varieties. If youre creating a privacy screen, plant your Spartan junipers three feet apart for a denser screen and five feet apart for a looser one. All Rights Reserved. Much like a classic Italian Cypress, this special selection of native Eastern Red Cedar grows tall and straight in a vertical column. Photo of the Day Natural Pond with new Boulder Edge, Osteospermum Variety Provides a Welcome Avalanche, 20 More Great Xeriscape Plants for Colorado. Outdoor Design Group Celebrates 10 Years in Business! I should post some pics of how many our still on our 6 acre property and you can see where I trimmed them back (several feet!). I was under the impression that the Juniperus virginiana varieties might be better suited for wetter areas such as North Carolina. One thing I've learned from this forum is to plant the smaller trees rather than big trees whenever possible. Juniper cones typically measure 0.15" to 0.5" (0.4 - 1.2 cm) in diameter and take up to two years to mature. Its also very important for spartan junipers to make sure that their roots are not in contact with rocks or any other hard objects. It features foliage that is softer and denser than other varieties. Embothrium 5 years ago Skyrocket juniper (zones 4-9): A tall, skinny evergreen with blue-green foliage that's low-maintenance and tolerant of hot and cold climates; What are you talking about get rid of it. Junipers are often categorized as spartan juniper or skyrocket juniper. As water and native grasses become scarce, the number of cattle a piece of land can support plummets. They don't require any pruning and will retain their columnar shape without being clipped. Im debating if I should appreciate it more. Informational table showing disease name, symptoms, pathogen/cause, and management of Juniper diseases. $0.00. Whenever I go for evening walks I can hear the lively ruckus from a plethora of rats that live in the juniper-ed landscapes. The plant also produces attractive blue berries, which are actually small cones. The spiny branches make these evergreens great for repelling pests such as deer and rabbits from gardens without having to use chemical deterrents or fencing. Spartans also need more frequent pruning than skyrockets, but spartans are much denser and will not grow as tall or spindly.if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[250,250],'absolutegardener_com-leader-2','ezslot_11',172,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-absolutegardener_com-leader-2-0'); Care for spartan juniper can be simple and straightforward. Insert a clean thermometer in the center of the rooting mixture to check the temperature. Description: Spartan Chinese Juniper grows into a narrow cone or columnar shape.The tree remains thick as if it had been sheared. Take your concerns along with the arborist comments for backup and go for a refund before this guy skips out on you. New growth will not develop from this area unless green needles remain. Im tempted to ask the seller if I can plant junipers so that when the new owner gets in, they are in and ready to start growing my new privacy wall without a fight! Canker may attack bark or main stems. Their surface may be dimpled like a golf ball. This means that it should not have standing water on top of it for too long, or else this tree will become unhappy very quickly. Use about 25-30g per tree every other year or once each year. Im highly allergic to juniper pollen which makes me miserable for 2-3 months every year. So, if I could through some sort of omnipotent power, Id eliminate junipers everywhere. There are also big chasms (like the landscaped just pushed a shovel into the soil) around some of the trees and the arborist said this was taking the water away from the tree and just sloppy work. Thanks for your time- Amy. Providing adequate irrigation is an essential part of how to grow a Spartan juniper. These can be signs of fungi infestation. Now is also an ideal time for selective pruning of spartan juniper to shape the plant. They are gorgeous but they are getting really big. Due to their tough structures spartan junipers are also popular among landscapers who like to use them for property borders or as a spiky barrier. Should I learn to love it ? When shearing junipers, care should be taken to leave some new growth on the plant to avoid pruning back into the dead zone. The leaves of this juniper are toxic but have been used over the years in certain home remedy ointments. 2) They are long-lived plants. Well written, btw. I have a view lot, but my view is not so great. These diseases force foliage to turn yellow, brown or red and wilt. After 10 years of growth, a mature specimen will measure 4.5 feet (1.5 m) tall and two-thirds as wide, an annual growth rate of 4 to 6 inches (10 - 15 cm). The home that I currently reside in was built in the late 50s and had junipers all over the place. thank you, Tony. I need a little bit more info to give you a good answer. Great website, thanks for the info! That is why in places like Eastern Colorado (where few woody plants survive, and water is a scarce resource) they are used by landowners and farmers for windbreaks. So glad I stumbled across your website, and still chuckling over the article title. If everyone in the neighborhood had to remove all trees, shrubs, grasses, and flowers out of their yards because someone in the neighborhood was allergic, I guess just about everyones yards would have nothing but dirt left in them. Your article says 100+ years. In the spartan junipers natural environment, it can also be found in the western United States and Canada. Growing best in full sun, more open in partial shade, Chinese Juniper needs well-drained soil Few know that spartan junipers are able to survive in the harshest of environments without any protection and still come out unscathed as if it revels in its ability to withstand natures wrath. Your email address will not be published. To support this business model, This. The trees naturally have a columnar, pyramidal shape with a wider base and a tapered top. Hi thanks for the quick reply! 20+ Great Plants to Attract Butterflies and Bees in Colorado, 7 of the Best Perennials for Fall Blooms in Denver, Dog Tuff African Dogtooth Grass: The Best Turf Grass for Hot & Dry Sites. Like most trees, the vast majority of its roots (85-90%) will be in the top level of the soil, generally the first 15-24 inches. centers, it can develop into a thick screen which could be useful along a driveway, where a narrow, bright green screen is often This cultivar grows to some 15 feet (5 m.) tall but remains slender, between 3 to 5 feet (1-1.5 m.) wide. Five Junipers make a wall at the bottom of my yard. Or alternatively, here is the juniper tree for sale. Would you recommend that I should move the juniper to prevent any potential damage to the retaining wall? I think the answer is moderation- we would never design a landscape today using only Juniper, but they are great plants when used in the right situation. Perhaps you could run a test by placing juniper material on just a few of the potato plants to see what happens? The spiky plant is often used to prevent erosion on steep hillsides because of its low water requirements. We do not want to add in more juniper bushes. Are there species of juniper that do not produce berries? Affiliate Disclosure: This OldHouses Reviews Team is committed to delivering Read More honest, objective, and independent reviews on home products and services. 15. Gently remove the plant from its pot. Any thoughts? You and the certified arborist have covered all the issues on what's wrong with this planting scenario. spp. They can be either monoecious or dioecious. This deciduous tree also puts up a beautiful display of white flowers during spring. Im very happy to have read up on it. Today, there are a large number of varieties of this shrub. 3) Given an appropriate amount of space, they require almost no maintenance. Junipers were once the staple of many California landscapes in the 50s, 60s and even into the 70s. You may find spartan juniper for sale at your local nursery. Many of the varieties get quite large after say, 20 years, and quickly outgrow the planting bed. Then, if there is room, you could supplement it and take the attention away from it by surrounding it with other plants. The following information was found on the Morton Arboretums website (http://www.mortonarb.org/trees-plants/tree-and-plant-advice/horticulture-care/pruning-evergreens): All junipers develop a dead zone in the center of the plant because of insufficient light. Shearing should take place in the spring when plants are actively growing. Those interested in growing Spartan juniper will want to start with climate. Sorry I couldn't figure out how to upload more images!). It may grow to 20 feet tall in 15 years. His pay back for bad information and substandard plants. right now I have cut the majority of the brown off, am over watering them, and am using Miralce Grow! I think junipers are beautiful trees and am about to put some in our yard this coming Saturday. These are widely grown by home gardeners looking for an easy-care fruit tree. Commonly used as a privacy screen or windbreak. close to bush. How far apart do you plant Spartan junipers? It had a very gnarly, twisted trunk and constantly shed its dead growth all over my roof. Ive been searching for pruning techniques online to no avail, I cant afford to hire a professional, and Id prefer to do it myself anyway, but knowing how bad hack jobs can turn out Im afraid to touch themplus I read a comment that if theyre cut too far back to just bare limbs, the foliage wont grow back ahhh! Tease out roots if potbound, or make several slits in the rootball. Its tough to say without seeing photos, and Im not well versed in the plants of the Southeastern US. Thank you for clarifying a difference between the Woodward and Skyrocket! Chinese Spartan juniper is usually a healthy plant. Its dense foliage is dark green and can be clipped into different shapes. The spruce sprigs should be placed in a circle with about 16 inches of space between each one. The shrub grows with a pyramidal shape and has dense branches. The cones are green "berries" when immature and ripen to purple-black color. Occasionally, my juniper allergies are so severe that I also get sinus and respiratory infections. Species can have interesting forms, textures, shapes, fall color, fruit, flowers, and bark. The arborist doesn't think the trees will last more than a few years (and that is with a ton of TLC) and the landscaper only guarantees them for one year. Figure 1. Hi Pat, Could Juniper trees handle these types of winds or would turn they turn brown and eventually die? Chinese Spartan junipers do best in USDA plant hardiness zones 4 or 5 through 9. The spartan juniper is characterized by its sprigs of colour that range from green to yellow-green. The tough yet attractive, upright-growing Spartan Juniper is a fast-growing, highly durable evergreen. It is frequently offered in containers from a nursery. USDA Hardiness Zones show the regions where different types of plants grow best, based on minimum winter temperatures. Senibina, Juniperus chinensis 'Spartan' (Chinese Juniper) adalah sempit, pyramidal untuk pokok kolar hijau, malar hijau membentuk titik seru tampan dalam landskap. Id love to keep these trees alive and have pruned a little, noticing 2 healthy shoots coming from the ground about 4 feet each. The plant adds about 1 to 1 feet to its width each year. The only obvious place to plant a screen of large conifers is in front of the wall planted far enough out as to not crowd the wall as they grow up. It grows as a native plant in open, dry spots, creeping over rocks and other low obstacles as it spreads. It sounds like youre saying its fine to trim the top leader and sides. An attractive upright conifer, Junipers chinensis 'Spartan' is a low maintenance plant that makes an excellent screen for narrow spaces. It requires little water, no fertilizer, and has few disease problems. When we moved in to our 1950s home 4 years ago within the first week we removed about 20 Junipers from all around our house. The structure of the root system Juniper (tree or shrub) Juniper is a coniferous tree or shrub. The best time of the year to fertilise spartan junipers is in winter, January-February (in the USA). We get a lot of high-gust wind and rain in the spring that blows the tops to where they get caught on the eaves. Having the right junipers in the right places is perfect for my mid-century modern home. Excellent Spartan juniper care can prevent many health issues. Hi, there are a few junipers along my front walk that have clearly overgrown their space. You can find more information at this link: http://erie.cce.cornell.edu/gardening Some spartans are found to be more toxic than others, and its important for homeowners to know which ones they have so that they can take precautions when working with them. If you plan on having spartan juniper as part of your landscape through winter, a very late fall or early winter pruning is appropriate for shaping spartans. Spartan juniper trees grow in full sun to partial shade. Used widely as a hedging plant as well as for topiary. I live in the California Bay Area and there are a number of aged homes, and a school in my neighborhood, that are clad in unsightly junipers. I wonder if those of you who plant junipers for simply aesthetic reasons have any idea how much suffering you cause a significant portion of the rest of the population around you. Choose a planting site that receives full sun to partial shade and has well-drained, slightly acidic soil. Project Highlight: Olde Town Arvada Landscape Makeover, New Bill Seeks to Encourage Use of Xeriscape in Common Areas, The Good, the Bad and the Non-existent Bike Rack, Whats That Stench? Unlike most evergreens, which produce needle-like foliage, junipers and arborvitae have tiny, overlapping leaves that resemble scales. Q: There is a retaining wall (professionally built, 1 ft. wide concrete slab) about 4.5 ft high in my property, I recently planted a Wichita Blue Juniper on top of the retaining wall and close to the edge of the wall. Female juniper trees produce berry-like cones. Easily the most attractive spruce in terms of sculptural form, spartan juniper is a favourite among bonsai enthusiasts. So I, the master gardener, took my loppers and pruners to them last week, really pruning them back to (1) regain about 14 on my flagstone walkway and (2) open them up so they can fill in some. Make sure there is plenty of space around the spartan juniper for it to grow. Matt, I live at almost 7,000 feet (New Mexico) in a juniper-pinyon pine grassland, but really wish for fire safety purposes I had something other than junipers on my south-facing foundation planting bed. People are just tired of them and want something unique and new. I need an upright juniper to form a screen in the backyard in the Denver area. We are planning to replace them with a more manageable shrub. Tessa. The leaves and stems contain smaller quantities of juglone, which is leached into the soil after they fall. Spartan junipers are great for indoors or spritz outdoors as they thrive in any environment desert sprigs rainy regions alike with a little care. Taught graduate level combustion course, and with all that expertise, with fire extinguisher and hose nearby could not catch dry, live juniper on fire. I understand yews have noninvasive roots but I do not care for the poisonous aspects. Regards. I would recommend Medora Juniper (Juniperus scopulorum Medora) or Woodward juniper (Juniperus scopulorum Woodward). can compare them to is the haircuts on some teenagers where the bottom is kind of close Is this true? We have never seen any berries on it . I had three juniper trees on my lot when I moved in and I added more lower growing varieties in strategic locations around my lot. Buy a really good sharp pair of small shears, and start trimming branch by branch. I didn't think about the issues of the roots and the retaining wall at the time when I planted the upright Juniper, now I am concerned whether the roots of the juniper will eventually damage the retaining wall? Spartan juniper trees are low-maintenance plants that are perfect for creating dense, mid-height privacy screens. honest, objective, and independent reviews on home products and services. Heavy fruit/cone/berry producer, and has very aromatic foliage when rubbed or crushed. It's going to fall apart in places all on it's own without help from the junipers.Mike, This post was edited by mikebotann on Tue, Jul 22, 14 at 19:00, Houzz Pro: One simple solution for contractors and design pros, Golden Pacific shore juniper shines in sun or partial shade, Panels in the roof have leaf pattern cutouts that create dappled shade and a calm, relaxed ambience. This is because spartan junipers are actually coniferous trees, not shrubs or bushes and at maturity can grow anywhere between 50-70 feet tall! If you plant them in wet soil, they will likely develop root rot and die. The green foliage of the Spartan Juniper stays consistent year-round and requires little to no maintenance once established. Noticed about a month They are in my front garden framing a large window. Hired a landscaper who said we got to them just in time and rather than leave them in their natural upward growth pattern he made them round. A large number of people are allergic, and most people dont have enough space for them to grow out. I live in a rural area of Western NY, and in the winter, or even in the summer when a storm blows in we can get wind gusts up to 60mph. Junipers are well adapted to dry soil conditions. Therefore, unlike the extensive root system that would be required to anchor a very tall tree, I doubt your juniper will develop roots that would damage your retaining wall. Birds devour the fruit and 'plant' it along farm fences and in old abandoned fields. Can they go deep into the ground or are they more like ground level root system? They can also be sheared and trained to provide the desired shape. Unfortunately not all landscape companies know what they are doing, or perhaps would rather cash in on a big project instead of giving practical advice to homeowners. If they cant find sphagnum, then the spartans should just go ahead and use commercial potting soil that is designed to be well-draining. I read your post and other tips about pruning and cut the lower branches off to expose the trunk sort of similar to a bonsai and kept its natural shape on the top.