Utah Juniper, Juniperus osteosperma

About Utah Juniper (Juniperus osteosperma) 0 Nurseries Carry This Plant

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Juniperus osteosperma (Utah Juniper; syn. J. utahensis) is a shrub or small tree reaching 3-6 meter (rarely to 9 meter) tall. It is native to the southwestern United States, in Utah, Nevada, Arizona, western New Mexico, western Colorado, Wyoming, southern Montana, southern Idaho and eastern California. It grows at moderate altitudes of 1,300-2,600 meter, on dry soils, often together with Pinus monophylla. 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, 8-13 millimeter in diameter, blue-brown with a whitish waxy bloom, and contain a single seed (rarely two); they are mature in about 18 months. The male cones are 2-4 millimeter long, and shed their pollen in early spring. It is largely monoecious with both sexes on the same plant, but around 10% of plants are dioecious, producing cones of only one sex.

Plant Description

Plant Type

Tree

Size

9.8 - 26 ft tall

Form

Upright

Growth Rate

Slow

Flower Color

Yellow

Flowering Season

Spring

Wildlife Supported

Butterflies & moths hosted ( 2 confirmed

, 16 likely * ) SHOW ALL

Olive Hairstreak Callophrys gryneusCallophrys gryneus

Sequoia Sphinx Moth Sphinx sequoiaeSphinx sequoiae

The Brown Elfin Callophrys augustinusCallophrys augustinus

White-lined Sphinx Hyles lineataHyles lineata

Silver-spotted Tiger Moth Lophocampa argentataLophocampa argentata

Western Carpet Melanolophia imitataMelanolophia imitata

Common Eupithacia Eupithecia miserulataEupithecia miserulata

Landscaping Information

Sun

Full Sun, Part Shade

Soil Description

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

Common uses

Butterfly Gardens

Propagation?

For propagating by seed: 3 mos. warm (diurnal fluctuation from 68° to 86°F; and 3 mos. cold stratification (USDA Forest Service 1974).

Sunset Zones?

1, 2*, 3*, 4, 5, 6, 7*, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14*, 15, 16*, 18*, 19*, 20*, 21*, 22, 23, 24

Natural Setting

Climate

Annual Precipitation: 4.5" - 29.7", Summer Precipitation: 0.44" - 4.36", Coldest Month: 26.0" - 53.2", Hottest Month: 51.5" - 80.3", Humidity: 1.21" - 34.12", Elevation: 2420" - 9843"

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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

Utah Juniper

Juniperus osteosperma

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Utah JuniperJuniperus osteosperma

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Utah Juniper

Juniperus osteosperma