Pronounciation: Ju-NIP-er-us chi-NEN-sis

Hardiness zones
Sunset 4-24
USDA 3 (some protection might be needed)-11

Landscape Use: Large foundation, informal screen, filler for mesic and old fashioned landscape design themes, bonsai.

Form & Character: Arching and spreading, fountain-like, coniferous, oriental.

Growth Habit: Large evergreen, woody, narrowleaf perennial shrub, moderately fast growth rate to 8- to 15-feet tall with a greater spread.

Foliage/Texture: Chinese junpier has both adult (appressed, scale-like) and juvenile (stiff, short and needle-like, ternate) foliage, opposite. Foliar colors varies from dark green to yellow to glaucous depending on cultivar. Somewhat stiff and pointed branches spread outward at almost 45 degree angle; fine texture.

Flowers & Fruits: Dioecious; female cones sub-globose to 5/16-inch across, 2 to 3 seeded, ripen in 2 to 3 years, purplish to brown; male flowers axillary and very small, golden yellow to brown, spring, inconspicuous.

Seasonal Color: Absolutely none in Phoenix. In colder climates the foliage of juniper turns bronze or purple in winter.

Temperature: Highly tolerant

Light: Full sun to partial shade.

Soil: Very tolerant, but somewhat salt sensitive.

Watering: In Phoenix, chinese juniper needs to be watered deeply during the summer months to survive. Little to no supplemental water is required during hte rest of the year.

Pruning: Many struggle with how to maintain Chinese juniper as it matures and typically outgrows its planting space. Typically what happens is that eventually Chinese juniper is sheared to control its spread. This is why I am ardent about selecting cultivars that have mature growth habits that match the available planting space.

Propagation: Chinese juniper cultivars are propagated from cuttings which generally root readily. Some of the upright cultivars are more difficult to root and are grafted, usually onto Juniperus chinensis 'Hetzii' or Juniperus virginiana seedling rootstock.

Disease and Pests: Spider mites and juniper scale.

Additional comments: Chinese juniper is mosptly an old-fashioned serviceable landscape filler plant that is widely found in landscape gardens across North America and Europe. In the Phoenix area however, it is typcially found in landscapes that were designed and planted prior to 1980 and today is not commonly thought of as a Phoenix landscape plant.

There are many cultivars and varieties for various uses. Some of these include:

• 'Armstrongii' - dwarf shrub, 3 to 4 feet in height with equal spread having beautiful soft foliage
  
• 'Aurea' - yellowish foliage and a columnar habit to 35-feet tall
  
• 'Blaauw' - a 4-feet tall shrub with only juvenile leaves which are spreading, long pointed and blue gray in color
  
• 'Blue Point' - an large conically upright, glaucous shrub to 15-feet tall
  
• 'Daub's Frosted' - a dwarf prostrate shrub with variegated foliage and limited juvenile foliage
  
• 'Hetzii Glauca' - a 5- to 7-feet tall shrub with pale blue foliage
  
• 'Monlep' (Mint Julep Chinese juniper) - medium sized shrub cultivar from Monrovia Nursery brilliant mint green foliage
  
• 'Nedsyelo' - a patented, compact growing with bright yellow lemon gold new growth and winter foliage, highly disease and insect resistant and very cold tolerant makes this a great cultivar for higher elevation Arizona landscapes, a spontaneous branch sport mutation on a mature specimen of cultivar 'Pfitzeriana' in Ohio
  
• 'Obelisk' - a slender upright shrub to 8-feet tall
  
• 'Old Gold' - having bronzy yellow foliage all year long
  
• 'San Jose' - a creeping groundcover shrub to only 1-foot tall with a 6- to 8-feet spread
  
• var. Shimpaku - a dwarf, irregular vase-shaped form that is popular for bonsai
  
• 'Spartan' - a fast growing conical shrub to 20-feet tall
  
• 'Torulosa' (Hollywood juniper) - a stark, vigorous upright (to 30-feet tall) and twisted habit that is apply named.

The hybrid between Juniperus chinensis and Juniperus sabina, known as Juniperus X pfitzeriana (Synonym: Juniperus X media) is also a common cultivated plant. This hybrid grows only as a shrub, never a tree, making it suitable for smaller gardens.