Creeping juniper ∗ The 10 best planting and care tips

Characteristics

• Scientific name: Juniperus horizontalis
• Genus: Juniper (Juniperus)
• Family: Cypress family (Cupressaceae)
• Growth type: conifer, dwarf shrub
• Growth height: 20 cm to 50 cm
• Growth width: 100 cm to 300 cm
• Leaves: evergreen needles
• flowers: dioecious, inconspicuous
• Fruits: cones
• Toxicity: toxic
• Hardiness: hardy
• Use: ground cover, grave planting, pot

growth

creeping juniper comes from North America. There, the conifer colonizes barren slopes, sand dunes and riverbanks throughout Canada, Alaska and Massachusetts. In this country, Juniperus horizontalis is one of the most popular conifers from the cypress family. Hobby gardeners appreciate the dwarf shrub as a classic groundcover, useful problem solver and easy-care design element. The following overview summarizes all the important facts about growth:

• growth type: Evergreen, low shrub with creeping roots and densely branched branches, some of which overlap.
• growth height: 20cm to 50cm.
• growth width: 100cm to 300cm.
• growth rate: 5cm to 15cm.
• root system: Deep-rooting with numerous runners.
• bark: brown, smooth, later flaking.
• Horticulturally interesting properties: hardy, undemanding, tolerates pruning, hard wearing, heat tolerant, urban climate resistant, poisonous.

leaves

On its prostrate branches, creeping juniper produces two different types of leaves with these characteristics:

• leaf shape A: pointed-acicular, 4 mm to 8 mm long, close fitting to slightly protruding.
• leaf shape B: blunt-rounded, 1.5 mm to 2 mm long, scale-like-overlapping.
• leaf color: green to dark green, reddish purple to bronze in winter.

Numerous varieties expand the color palette with decorative nuances from a subtle bluish to intense yellow.

blossoms

Like all junipers, Juniperus horizontalis is a dioecious, unisex shrub. The conifer bears either male or female flowers with these characteristics:

• Male flowers: yellowish cones on the short stalk.
• Female flowers: yellowish-reddish cones from three cone scales, ovoid to spherical.
• Flowering time: April to June.

fruit

Fertilized flowers of a female creeping juniper turn into berry-shaped fruits with these attributes:

• botanical status: berry cones
• fruit shape: stalked, globose to ovate, 5 mm to 7 mm in diameter.
• fruit color: bluish to blue-black.
• maturing time: 2 to 3 years.
• special feature: poisonous

Each soft, resinous mini cone contains one to three seeds. The 4 mm to 5 mm small seeds contain the highest poison concentration of all plant parts of a Juniperus horizontalis.

use

Its evergreen understatement makes creeping juniper a versatile design component in the bed and on the balcony. Get inspired by these options of creative and practical uses:

Every creeping juniper has the potential to become an artistic bonsai, as the following video shows:

Bargain creeping juniper from the hardware store on the way to a bonsai work of art

Plant creeping juniper

You can buy creeping juniper ready to plant at any time of the year from the nursery. With regard to the creeping roots, the shrub is usually offered as a container plant. This has the advantage that you are not tied to a fixed planting time with Juniperus horizontalis. Where and how to plant creeping juniper correctly, read here:

location and soil

These are the site preferences of creeping juniper:

• sun up penumbra (needles die off in a shady position).
• normal garden floor, fresh and moist, well drained and not too heavy.
• Exclusion criterion: waterlogging

Planting in the bed

It's so easy to plant creeping juniper in the bed:

1. Soak potted root ball in water until no more air bubbles rise.
2. Dig a pit twice the diameter of the root ball.
3. Repot the shrub and plant it just as deep as in the container.
4. Press the soil down with both hands and water thoroughly.

In lean, nutrient-poor locations, please give a handful compost soil or horn shavings(€9.00 at Amazon*) as starter fertilization in the planting hole. heavy clay soil fan with sand or lava granules,(€14.00 at Amazon*) so that the creeping roots can build up well in all directions.

planting in a pot

Commercial coniferous soil without peat is suitable as a pot substrate. The focus of the planting is protection against harmful waterlogging. Cover the bottom of the pot with potsherds, expanded clay or grit,(€14.00 at Amazon*) so that excess rain and irrigation water runs off quickly.

digression

Creeping juniper is not a host for pear rust

Cultivate creeping juniper

Creeping juniper is very easy to care for. You should spend a little time dealing with water supply, nutrient supply and pruning care for a conifer in top form. A look at these tips on care and propagation is worthwhile:

Pour

Water a young bush thoroughly when it is dry. As a deep root, a creeping juniper later supplies itself with water. In pot culture, the conifer depends on regular watering. Although the prostrate coniferous branches shade the soil, the substrate dries out in a sunny location. Feel no moisture in the top one or two centimeters of the planting soil, run normal tap water on the root disc until the first drops run out at the bottom.

Fertilize

As a groundcover, creeping juniper is grateful for a liquid fertilizer. Raking in compost can damage the creeping roots and shoots. Give every four weeks from March to August conifer fertilizer into the water. At the beginning of September, stop the nutrient supply so that the evergreen shoots mature before winter.

To cut

Creeping juniper tolerates pruning if you observe this property: conifers do not lay sleeping eyes and no longer sprout from needleless branches. How to properly prune Juniperus horizontalis:

1. Conifer every 2 to 3 years to cut between February and August.
2. Thin out dead branches.
3. Cut back unfavorable shoots that are sticking out of shape.
4. Set the scissors in the green needled area.

hibernate

In its North American native regions, creeping juniper has learned to survive unscathed in the bitter frost. Due to a winter hardiness of up to -35° Celsius, you can delete winter protection measures from the care program.

propagation

Hobby gardeners favor vegetative propagation by cuttings because the decorative properties of the mother plant are retained. Cracklings are used, which root better than classic head cuttings. The following brief instructions explain the correct procedure:

1. Best time is from July to September.
2. Tear off a 15 cm side branch from the older, vital branch.
3. Cut off the bark tongue, cut back the shoot tip by a third.
4. Fill the nursery pot with a mix of coniferous soil, coconut soil and sand in equal parts.
5. Insert 2/3 of the cuttings into the substrate and water.

Under a transparent hood, in a partially shaded location at an average temperature of 16° Celsius, root formation begins within four to six weeks.

Popular Varieties

These creeping juniper varieties embellish rock gardens, balconies and resting places with tasteful colouring:

• Glauca: Blue creeping juniper with silvery-blue needles all year round, up to 30 cm tall, up to 200 cm wide.
• Mother of Load: rarity with creamy yellow needles, beautiful grave plant, dainty compact, growth height up to 15 cm, growth width up to 65 cm
• Wiltonii: Blue carpet juniper, bluish needles, grey-blue cones, forms dense mats, 20-30 cm high, 150 cm to 300 cm wide.
• Hughes: Evergreen dwarf shrub with grey-green needles on creeping shoots, up to 50 cm high and up to 250 cm wide.
• Blue Acres: extremely wide creeping juniper with blue-grey, soft needles, up to 300 cm wide, up to 30 cm tall.
• Prince of Wales: colorful variety, green-blue needles turn reddish in winter, up to 30 cm high, up to 250 cm wide.

FAQ

We want to plant creeping juniper under a pear tree. Any concerns about pear grating?

You can plant Juniperus horizontalis as ground cover under a pear tree without hesitation. Creeping juniper is not one of the host plants for the causative agent of pear rust. primary carrier of fungal infection are Chinese juniper (Juniperus chinensis), poison juniper (Juniperus sabina) and probably creeping juniper or Japanese creeping juniper (Juniperus procumbens).

How many creeping junipers should be planted for rapid greening?

As a rule, the nursery for creeping juniper as ground cover recommends a plant requirement of 2 to 3 bushes per square meter. In view of the very slow growth, it takes a few years for complete greening to develop. In order to completely green a bed area in the shortest possible time, you should double the number to 4 to 6 creeping junipers per square meter.

Can you transplant a five year old creeping juniper? What to look out for

Creeping juniper can cope with a change of location in the first five years. The stress factor is at its lowest if you transplant the conifer in February or March, once the soil has thawed. Loosen the soil with a digging fork. Now lift the root ball out of the ground with as many runners as possible. At the new location, dig a spacious planting pit. While maintaining the previous planting depth, place the creeping juniper in the ground and water it. To compensate for the lost root mass, cut back the shrub in the green area.

Is creeping juniper poisonous?

All juniper species are poisonous. This also applies to creeping juniper (Juniperus horizontalis). The focus is on the berry-shaped fruits, which can cause nausea, vomiting and stomach cramps when eaten. Overdose can cause kidney damage. However, creeping junipers flower and fruit extremely rarely. As dioecious conifers with separate sexes, the poisonous fruits only form when males and females are in close proximity.