Juniper Tree, Blue Rug Juniperus horizontalis 'Wiltonii (tree form)' Height: 4 feet Spread: 10 feet
Sunlight:
Hardiness Zone: 3a Description: A stunning small evergreen tree for home landscape use, featuring steel blue foliage which takes on a purplish tinge in winter; extremely adaptable and hardy; an excellent accent plant for entranceways or patios Ornamental Features Juniper Tree, Blue Rug is primarily valued in the landscape or garden for its highly ornamental weeping form. It has attractive silvery blue evergreen foliage. The scale-like sprays of foliage are highly ornamental and turn plum purple in the fall, which persists throughout the winter. It produces blue berries from late spring to late winter. The rough gray bark adds an interesting dimension to the landscape. Landscape Attributes Juniper Tree, Blue Rug is a dense 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. Deer don't particularly care for this plant and will usually leave it alone in favor of tastier treats. It has no significant negative characteristics. Juniper Tree, Blue Rug is recommended for the following landscape applications; Planting & Growing Juniper Tree, Blue Rug will grow to be about 4 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 10 feet. It tends to be a little leggy, with a typical clearance of 2 feet from the ground. It grows at a slow rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 30 years. This tree does best in full sun to partial shade. It is very adaptable to both dry and moist growing conditions, but will not tolerate any standing water. This plant should be periodically fertilized throughout the active growing season with a specially-formulated acidic fertilizer. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is highly tolerant of urban pollution and will even thrive in inner city environments. This is a selection of a native North American species. Juniper Tree, Blue Rug is a fine choice for the yard, but it is also a good selection for planting in outdoor pots and containers. Because of its height, it is often used as a 'thriller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the center of the pot, surrounded by smaller plants and those that spill over the edges. It is even sizeable enough that it can be grown alone in a suitable container. Note that when grown in a container, it may not perform exactly as indicated on the tag - this is to be expected. Also note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden. Clean up Rating (1-5) 1=least effort 5=most effort Clean Up Ratings (2): Interior foliage can be raked up and bagged and seeds can be blown or raked onto the lawn and mowed or bagged. In the autumn few to some small cones can fall and can shed some inner foliage. Evergreens need to be watered during the winter. Our desert climate especially in late winter to early spring evergreens can suffer during next growing season. An easy way to remember check for dryness on the holidays Halloween, Thanksgiving, New Year's Day, Valentines Day & Easter. During the growing season maintain regular deep watering.
