Utah juniper and ornamental junipers

Botanical name

Juniperus osteosperma (Utah juniper)

Type

Native evergreen, often multi-stemmed

Height

Usually under 26 feet; often 10 to 15 feet

Lifespan

Up to about 650 years, very slow growth

Elevation

3,000 to 8,000 feet in the Great Basin (USFS)

Rainfall

Typically 12 to 18 inches; extremes below 10 to about 20

Utah juniper sits on the foothills around Dayton, Washoe Valley and Virginia City. Landscape junipers, such as spreading and upright garden varieties, are in front-yard beds all over the valley.

How do you identify Utah juniper?

It is a short, rounded, often multi-trunked tree with shredding, gray-brown bark and scale-like blue-green foliage. Female trees carry small, bluish, berry-like cones. Ornamental junipers are lower and more varied: spreading mats, upright columns and shrubs, many in blue and gray shades.

• Short, rounded, often several trunks
• Shredding bark
• Scale-like blue-green foliage
• Blue berry-like cones on female plants

Where does it grow by elevation and zone?

The Forest Service gives 3,000 to 8,000 feet in the Great Basin, which spans every elevation we serve, from the Fernley and Dayton areas (about 4,200 to 4,400 feet) through Reno, Carson City and Virginia City (about 6,200 feet). It prefers drier ground than most trees on this list, growing where precipitation is about 12 to 18 inches, although it tolerates less. Hardiness zones run from 6b to 7b by ZIP code. Planted junipers do well on valley lots with little water, which is why so many go in near houses.

How do junipers behave in a fire?

The Forest Service reports Utah juniper is usually killed by fire, particularly when under 3 to 4 feet tall, and that natural stands rarely carry a continuous fire because the ground is sparse. A yard is different. A juniper with dead material inside, planted against a house or under a window, is the plant Extension singles out: University of Nevada Extension names evergreen woody plants, such as juniper, among the most combustible and says to keep them at least 30 feet from the house. See junipers and other high-hazard plants and defensible space and fire mitigation.

What else goes wrong with junipers?

Old landscape junipers grow into the walls, gutters and walkways they were planted beside, and the dead interior builds up. Snow can bend and split multi-stem trunks. Brown patches can be drought, age or an insect or disease; an arborist identifies the cause, and we do not spray. See drought stress and dieback.

What does an arborist look at on a juniper?

Where the plant sits relative to the house, how much dead material is inside, whether it touches siding, vents or eaves, and whether it is one tree or a hedge. A single healthy Utah juniper out in the open is a different conversation than a row of garden junipers against a wall.

Pruning timing and when removal is the answer

Dead wood and hazardous limbs can come off at any time. Otherwise, early spring and summer is the usual time for conifers. Do not cut a juniper back into bare wood, because it will not regrow. Raising the skirt and removing the dead interior is the cut that reduces fire risk.

Removal is the usual answer for junipers touching the house, junipers under eaves and vents, overgrown hedges, and dead or dying plants. Choose a tree removal or a lot clearing visit for a group of them; stumps can be ground. A certified arborist assesses each job on a free estimate. For chips, call the office.