Juniperus conferta
Common name:
Shore Juniper
Pronunciation:
ju-NIP-er-us kon-FER-ta
Family:
Cupressaceae
Genus:
Type:
Conifer
Native to (or naturalized in) Oregon:
No
- Conifer, evergreen, bushy, procumbent ground cover, 12-14 inches (30-35 cm) tall by 6 ft (1.8 m) wide, branchlets erect. Leaves crowded (conferta: crowded), overlapping, awl-shaped, 6-15 mm long, in whorls of 3, prickly point, deeply grooved above, one band of stomata, green, but may turn bronze-green or yellow-green in winter.
- Sun. Tolerant of poor soils, especially sandy, but not tolerant of excess soil moisture. At home on sandy ocean beaches.
- Hardy to USDA Zone (5)6 Found on the sea coasts of Japan. Rarely cultivated or sold there (John Creech, NMPRO, Sept. 2002).
-
A few cultivars:
- 'Blue Pacific' - trailing habit, to 1 ft (30 cm) tall, blue-green foliage
- 'Emerald Sea' - dense, to 10 inches (25 cm) tall, awl-like, emerald-green leaves, yellow-green in winter
- 'Silver Mist' - to 16 inches (40 cm) tall, silvery blue-green leaves that mature to blue-green
- 'All Gold' - variegated, foliage is soft yellow.