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Western Juniper
Juniperus occidentalis
  
About Western Juniper (Juniperus occidentalis) 1 Nurseries Carry This Plant Juniperus occidentalis (Western Juniper and Sierra Juniper) is a shrub or tree in the Cupressaceae family native to the western United States, growing in mountains at altitudes of 800-3,000 meter (rarely down to 100 meter). The shoots are of moderate thickness among junipers, 1-1.6 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, 5-10 millimeter in diameter, blue-brown with a whitish waxy bloom, and contain one to three seeds; they are mature in about 18 months. The male cones are 2-4 millimeter long, and shed their pollen in early spring. Western Juniper is slow growing; large trees are very old. In the garden it should be treated as a shrub.
Plant Description
Plant Type
Plant Type
Tree

Size
Size
25 - 49 ft tall

Form
Form
Upright

Growth Rate
Growth Rate
Slow

Flower Color
Flower Color
Yellow

Flowering Season
Flowering Season
Spring

Wildlife Supported
 
Birds and many small mammals are attracted to the fruits

 
Butterflies & moths hosted ( 22 likely * ) SHOW ALL

Landscaping Information
Sun
Sun
Full Sun, Part Shade

Nurseries
Nurseries

Soil Description
Soil Description
Prefers sandy or loamy soils. Does not grow well in clay soils.

Companion Plants
Companion Plants
Use with forest and woodland shrubs such as Manzanita (Arctostaphylos sp.), Big Sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata), Ceanothus sp., Dogwood (Cornus sp.), Red Buckthorn (Frangula rubra), Antelope Bush (Purshia tridentata), Huckleberry Oak (Quercus vaccinifolium), Currant (Ribes sp.), Labrador Tea (Rhododendron columbianum), and Desert Sage (Salvia dorrii)

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

Sunset Zones
Sunset Zones?
1*, 2*, 3*, 4, 5, 6*, 7*, 8, 9, 10, 14*, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24

Natural Setting
Site Type
Site Type
Dry slopes and flats

Climate
Climate
Annual Precipitation: 3.9" - 120.2", Summer Precipitation: 0.21" - 4.49", Coldest Month: 18.0" - 51.4", Hottest Month: 38.6" - 81.3", Humidity: 0.35" - 35.17", Elevation: 107" - 14328"

Alternative Names
Botanical Names: Juniperus occidentalis var. occidentalis


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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