Plant & Tree Library

Description:

A top quality evergreen for cold climate landscapes, featuring steel blue foliage taking on a hint of purple in winter; an attractive tree form with gently arching branches; extremely adaptable and hardy; an excellent color accent

Ornamental Features

Blue Chip Juniper (tree form) is primarily valued in the landscape or garden for its highly ornamental lollipop-like shape. It has attractive blue evergreen foliage. The scale-like sprays of foliage are highly ornamental and turn purple in the fall, which persists throughout the winter.

Landscape Attributes

Blue Chip Juniper (tree form) is a dense evergreen tree, selected and trained to grow in a small tree-like form with the primary plant grafted high atop a standard. 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.

Blue Chip Juniper (tree form) is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Accent
• General Garden Use
• Container Planting

Planting & Growing

Blue Chip Juniper (tree form) will grow to be about 4 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 4 feet. It tends to be a little leggy, with a typical clearance of 3 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. It is considered to be drought-tolerant, and thus makes an ideal choice for xeriscaping or the moisture-conserving landscape. 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.

Blue Chip Juniper (tree form) is a fine choice for the yard, but it is also a good selection for planting in outdoor pots and containers. With its upright habit of growth, it is best suited for use 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.