Other Names:  Temple Juniper

Description:

An interesting upright juniper with very distinctive droopy foliage and a strong central leader, makes a most interesting accent or specimen evergreen in the landscape; underutilized but worthy of greater use

Ornamental Features

Needle Juniper is primarily valued in the landscape for its highly ornamental weeping form. It has rich green evergreen foliage which emerges light green in spring. The needles remain green throughout the winter.

Landscape Attributes

Needle Juniper is an open evergreen tree with a strong central leader and a rounded form and gracefully weeping branches. It lends an extremely fine and delicate texture to the landscape composition which can make it a great accent feature on this basis alone.

This is a relatively low maintenance tree, and is best pruned in late winter once the threat of extreme cold has passed. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Needle Juniper is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Accent
• Vertical Accent

Planting & Growing

Needle Juniper will grow to be about 20 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 10 feet. It has a low canopy with a typical clearance of 3 feet from the ground, and is suitable for planting under power lines. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for 70 years or more.

This tree should only be grown in full sunlight. It is very adaptable to both dry and moist growing conditions, but will not tolerate any standing water. It is considered to be drought-tolerant, and thus makes an ideal choice for xeriscaping or the moisture-conserving landscape. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. This species is not originally from North America.