Juniperus - Juniper

Cupressaceae

Wachholdersträuche in nebeneinander in einer Reihe

Our Juniperus

The juniper genus, with its more than 60 species, is widespread throughout the northern hemisphere from the polar zone to the tropical mountains. Picturesque juniper trees impress over and over again with their distinctive growth and unusual forms. As a rule, they are multi-stemmed shrubs or trees up to 10 m high. Their evergreen leaves are either needle-shaped or scaly-shaped; in some specimens, both types occur side by side. Scaly-leaved species emit a penetrating aromatic smell, especially in strong sunlight or after rainfall. Needle-shaped species also smell, but not so strongly.

The monoecious or biecious blossoms always remain inconspicuous, while the fleshy berry cones (mostly grey or blue) look very attractive, especially if there are many of them on the branches. Apart from the native Juniperus communis, berries of the other species are from slightly to highly toxic.

All juniper species require a sunny location and do not tolerate shading and crowding by larger plants. Otherwise, they lose their characteristic growth and unique needle or dandruff colouring.

Species and variety overview

A. Habit

Small tree

Large shrub

Medium sized trees

Small shrubs

Zwergstrauch

B. Special habits

Columnar habits

Loosely conical to broadly upright

Asymmetrically

Cushion-shaped

flat-growing

C. Attractive needles

Dark green needles

Yellow to yellow-green needles

Grey-blue to blue-green needles

D. Heavily fruiting (Fruits poisonous)

Find your Juniperus

Juniperus chinensis 'Blaauw'

1 to 2 m