Juniperus scopulorum seed
LATIN NAME: Juniperus scopulorum
COMMON NAME: Rocky Mountain Juniper, Rocky Mountain Redcedar
The Rocky Mountain juniper is a hardy and handsome conifer of the western highlands, and its aromatic, blue-grey foliage and its vivid blue berries have marked the mountains of the West for a very long time. It grows as a small to medium-sized, evergreen conifer, reaching up to fifteen metres, with a conical or columnar crown of scale-like, blue-grey or grey-green foliage and, on the female trees, the small, round, waxy, blue berries, which are the seed cones and give the junipers their distinctive look. It is a species of juniper native to western North America, from southwest Canada to the Great Plains of the United States and small areas of northern Mexico, and it is a tree of the dry mountain slopes and the plains.
The Rocky Mountain juniper belongs to the cypress family, Cupressaceae, and it is a species of juniper native to western North America, from southwest Canada to the Great Plains of the United States and small areas of northern Mexico. It is a hardy conifer of the dry mountain slopes, prized for its blue-grey foliage and its blue berries.
Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology
The Rocky Mountain juniper has a genuine and growing place in both ecological and horticultural research. It has been studied in ecology, since it is a hardy conifer of the dry western slopes, and researchers have examined its growth, its role in the mountain community and its behaviour under the dry conditions of the West, while the junipers of the region have been studied for their value to the wildlife, whose food and shelter they provide. The conifer has also been studied in horticulture, since it is a handsome and hardy ornamental, prized for its blue-grey foliage and its blue berries, and researchers have examined its cultivation, its many varieties and its value in the garden and the landscape, while its toughness and its tolerance of the dry and the cold have made it a valued plant of the dry garden. The species has also been studied in botany, since it is a member of the cypress family, and its classification and its relationships have been examined, while the junipers as a whole have been studied for their aromatic wood and their many uses. For a conifer of such hardy beauty, the Rocky Mountain juniper has a steady and growing record of research.
Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications
Ecologically, the Rocky Mountain juniper is a generous conifer of the western slopes. Its blue berries feed birds and wildlife through the winter, its dense, aromatic foliage gives shelter, and it is a hardy presence on the dry mountains and the plains of the West.
Its economic value is real. It is a handsome and hardy ornamental conifer, prized for its blue-grey foliage and its blue berries, and it is grown in the dry gardens and the landscapes of the West, while the junipers have also been valued for their aromatic wood and their traditional uses, and the hardy junipers have drawn attention in the international gardening press as plants of the water-wise landscape. For a grower, the Rocky Mountain juniper is an easy and hardy conifer, and for a gardener it brings blue-grey foliage and vivid blue berries to the dry garden. The seeds need a spell of cold — keep them in the fridge in damp compost for a couple of months, then sow them in a pot of free-draining compost, and they’ll sprout steadily, growing on into a hardy, blue-berried conifer.
Blue Arrow Juniper – Sky Rocket Juniper
Juniperus scopulorum are small, conical, evergreen conifers that are native to the Rockies in North America. Juniperus scopulorum Blue Arrow was introduced in 1980 and is an improved cultivar of Juniperus scopulorum Sky Rocket. An RHS award of Garden Merit winner, it is a lovely, very compact and strictly conical tree with needles of steely blue. Excellent as a specimen or accent plant, as part of a themed display or planted to form a quality and aesthetically pleasing screen. Easy to grow in most free draining soils in a sunny or semi shade location. Can be grown in a pot or container. Use a good quality John Innes compost and mix in 20% horticultural grit to ensure good drainage. We also recommend you use a controlled release fertilizer, 8-9 month formulation, in spring, to provide sufficient nutrients for the year
Juniperus scopulorum, commonly called Rocky Mountain juniper or Colorado red cedar, is native to the Rocky Mountains from Alberta to Texas and in other mountainous areas from British Columbia south to Arizona. In the Rockies, it is typically found in dry, rocky, foothills above 5000 feet in elevation. This is a broad pyramidal tree with shedding red-brown bark that grows to 50’ tall and 20’ wide in its native habitat. It is similar in appearance to eastern red cedar (J. virginiana) and may hybridize with it if grown in the same area. Light blue-green to dark green scale like foliage lies flat against the branches.as.