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California Juniper
Juniperus californica
  
4 Nurseries Carry This Plant

About California Juniper (Juniperus californica) 4 Nurseries Carry This Plant Juniperus californica (California Juniper) is a species in the Cupressaceae (Cypress) family native to southwestern North America; as the name implies, it is mainly found in California, but also extends through most of Baja California, and a short distance into southern Nevada and western Arizona. It grows at moderate altitudes of 750-1,600 meter. It is a shrub or small tree reaching 3-8 meter (rarely to 10 meter) tall. It is much branched from the base. The shoots are fairly thick compared to most junipers, 1.5-2 millimeter diameter. The leaves are arranged in opposite decussate pairs or whorls of three; the adult leaves are scale-like, 1-2 millimeter long (to 5 millimeter on lead shoots) and 1-1.5 millimeter broad. The juvenile leaves (on young seedlings only) are needle-like, 5-10 millimeter long. The cones are berry-like, 7-13 millimeter in diameter, blue-brown with a whitish waxy bloom, and contain a single seed (rarely two or three); they are mature in about 8-9 months. The male cones are 2-4 millimeter long, and shed their pollen in early spring. It is largely dioecious producing cones of only one sex, but around 2% of plants are monoecious, with both sexes on the same plant. The bark is typically thin and appears to be "shredded." In the garden this plant is tolerant of many soils and requires minimal water once established. It becomes wider than tall so give it plenty of room.
Plant Description
Plant Type
Plant Type
Tree

Size
Size
9.8 - 26.3 ft tall
20 ft wide

Form
Form
Rounded

Growth Rate
Growth Rate
Moderate, Slow

Dormancy
Dormancy
Evergreen

Fragrance
Fragrance
Fragrant - Pleasant

Wildlife Supported
 
Many birds and mammals are attracted to the berries.

 
Butterflies & moths hosted ( 4 confirmed , 24 likely * ) SHOW ALL
Callophrys gryneus Image
Olive Hairstreak Callophrys gryneusCallophrys gryneus
Lithophane subtilis Image
Lithophane subtilisLithophane subtilis
Gloveria arizonensis Image
Gloveria arizonensisGloveria arizonensis
Sphinx sequoiae Image
Sequoia Sphinx Moth Sphinx sequoiaeSphinx sequoiae
*
Callophrys augustinus Image
The Brown Elfin Callophrys augustinusCallophrys augustinus
*
Hyles lineata Image
White-lined Sphinx Hyles lineataHyles lineata
*
Lophocampa argentata Image
Silver-spotted Tiger Moth Lophocampa argentataLophocampa argentata

Landscaping Information
Sun
Sun
Full Sun, Part Shade

Moisture
Moisture
Very Low

Summer Irrigation
Summer Irrigation
Max 1x / month once established

Nurseries
Nurseries
Carried by 4

Ease of Care
Ease of Care
Moderately Easy

Cold Tolerance
Cold Tolerance
Tolerates cold to 10° F

Soil Drainage
Soil Drainage
Fast, Medium

Soil Description
Soil Description
Typically coarse, well drained and low nutrient soil such as decomposed granite. Soil PH: 7.0 - 8.0

Common uses
Common uses
Bank Stabilization, Hedges, Deer Resistant, Butterfly Gardens

Companion Plants
Companion Plants
In the wild it grows with many companions depending on location. In the garden it needs plenty of room and does not allow understory plants, but can be planted adjacent to Big Sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata), Buckwheat (Eriogonum sp.), Apache Plume (Fallugia paradoxa), Flannelbush (Fremontodendron californicum), Yucca (Hesperoyucca or Yucca sp.), Antelope Brush (Purshia tridentata var. glandulosa), and various cactus species

Maintenance
Maintenance
Prune in winter when wood boring insects are less active.

Sunset Zones
Sunset Zones?
3, 6, 7*, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14*, 15*, 16*, 17, 18*, 19*, 20*, 21*, 22*, 23*, 24

Natural Setting
Site Type
Site Type
Dry slopes and flats of high desert in the south to somewhat more mesic slopes of the Coast Ranges and Sierras

Climate
Climate
Annual Precipitation: 3.9" - 73.2", Summer Precipitation: 0.14" - 4.46", Coldest Month: 22.2" - 59.1", Hottest Month: 45.3" - 87.6", Humidity: 0.92" - 38.48", Elevation: 122" - 11104"


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Sources include: Wikipedia. All text shown in the "About" section of these pages is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Plant observation data provided by the participants of the California Consortia of Herbaria, Sunset information provided by Jepson Flora Project. Propogation from seed information provided by the Santa Barbara Botanical Garden from "Seed Propagation of Native California Plants" by Dara E. Emery. Sources of plant photos include CalPhotos, Wikimedia Commons, and independent plant photographers who have agreed to share their images with Calscape. Other general sources of information include Calflora, CNPS Manual of Vegetation Online, Jepson Flora Project, Las Pilitas, Theodore Payne, Tree of Life, The Xerces Society, and information provided by CNPS volunteer editors, with special thanks to Don Rideout. Climate data used in creation of plant range maps is from PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University, using 30 year (1981-2010) annual "normals" at an 800 meter spatial resolution.

Links:   Jepson eFlora Taxon Page  CalPhotos  Wikipedia  Calflora


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