Juniperus chinensis var. sargentii
Common Name(s):
Previously known as:
- Juniperus chinensis subsp. sargentii
- Juniperus sargentii
- Sabina sargentii
- Phonetic Spelling
- jew-NIP-er-us chi-NEN-sis va-RY-eh-tee sar-JEN-tee-eye
- Description
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Juniperus chinensis var. sargentii, or Sargent's Chinese juniper, is an evergreen conifer groundcover variety native to the Far East, from Russia to northern Korea and Japan, and a member of the cypress family (Cupressaceae). It grows 1 to 2 feet tall and 8 to 10 feet wide with a low-growing and spreading habit, horizontal branches, and erect stems. The mature leaves are fragrant, bluish-green, scale-like, and the young leaves appear in whorls of three and are awl-like or needle-like. This evergreen is dioecious, having separate male and female plants. Male plants have pollen cones, and the pollinated female plants produce bluish-black berry-like seed cones. The variety name, sargentii, honors Charles Sprague Sargent, who first introduced this conifer to the Arnold Arboretum in Boston in 1892. This variety was cultivated for its hardiness, drought tolerance, and resistance to urban conditions.
Prefers full sun and medium-moist, well-drained sandy or loamy soils. It is adaptable to other soil types; however, it is intolerant of wet soils. This groundcover tolerates poor soil, dry soil, urban conditions, and drought.
Provides evergreen ground-level groundcover for slopes, banks, rock gardens, and foundations. It is also used as a bonsai specimen.
Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems: No significant insect pests or diseases. Monitor for aphids, bagworms, and webworms. May be susceptible to blights and cedar-apple rust. Root rot can occur in poorly drained or wet soils.
The Clemson Cooperative Extension Home and Garden Information Center has a fact sheet on common juniper diseases and insect pests.
Details of Juniperus chinensis follow, many of which apply to Sargent.
- See this plant in the following landscape s :
- Mountain Ridge Top Garden - North Lawn and Upper Drive Border Mountain Ridge Top Garden - North Woods Mountain Ridgetop Garden - East Lawn and Lower Drive Border
- Cultivars / Varieties:
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- 'Glauca' (Blue Sargent Juniper)
Dense, creeping groundcover with bluish-green evergreen needles - 'Viridis' (Green Sargent Juniper)
Grows 2 to 3 ft. tall, 6 to 8 ft. wide, with a low, sprawling habit and emerald green foliage
- 'Glauca' (Blue Sargent Juniper)
- 'Glauca' (Blue Sargent Juniper), 'Viridis' (Green Sargent Juniper)
- Tags:
- Cultivars / Varieties:
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- 'Glauca' (Blue Sargent Juniper)
Dense, creeping groundcover with bluish-green evergreen needles - 'Viridis' (Green Sargent Juniper)
Grows 2 to 3 ft. tall, 6 to 8 ft. wide, with a low, sprawling habit and emerald green foliage
- 'Glauca' (Blue Sargent Juniper)
- 'Glauca' (Blue Sargent Juniper), 'Viridis' (Green Sargent Juniper)
- Tags:
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Attributes:
- Genus:
- Juniperus
- Species:
- chinensis
- Family:
- Cupressaceae
- Life Cycle:
- Woody
- Recommended Propagation Strategy:
- Stem Cutting
- Country Or Region Of Origin:
- Russian Far East to Northern Korea and Japan
- Distribution:
- Native: Japan, Khabarovsk, Korea, Kuril Islands, Manchuria, Primorye, and Sakhalin
- Wildlife Value:
- Attracts birds.
- Play Value:
- Edible fruit
- Fragrance
- Wildlife Food Source
- Particularly Resistant To (Insects/Diseases/Other Problems):
- Deer, salt, ,air pollution, heat
- Dimensions:
- Height: 1 ft. 0 in. - 2 ft. 0 in.
- Width: 8 ft. 0 in. - 10 ft. 0 in.
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Whole Plant Traits:
- Plant Type:
- Ground Cover
- Shrub
- Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:
- Needled Evergreen
- Habit/Form:
- Dense
- Horizontal
- Prostrate
- Growth Rate:
- Slow
- Maintenance:
- Low
- Texture:
- Medium
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Cultural Conditions:
- Light:
- Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
- Soil Texture:
- Loam (Silt)
- Sand
- Soil pH:
- Acid (<6.0)
- Alkaline (>8.0)
- Neutral (6.0-8.0)
- Soil Drainage:
- Good Drainage
- Moist
- Occasionally Dry
- Available Space To Plant:
- 6-feet-12 feet
- NC Region:
- Coastal
- Mountains
- Piedmont
- USDA Plant Hardiness Zone:
- 4a, 4b, 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b, 9a, 9b
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Fruit:
- Fruit Color:
- Black
- Blue
- Fruit Value To Gardener:
- Showy
- Display/Harvest Time:
- Fall
- Fruit Description:
- The male plants have pollen cones. The female plants have fleshy, bluish-black, "berry" looking cones. The female cones are pollinated in July. The seeds mature in the fall of the following year.
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Flowers:
- Flower Description:
- Non-flowering
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Leaves:
- Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:
- Needled Evergreen
- Leaf Color:
- Blue
- Green
- Leaf Feel:
- Prickly
- Leaf Value To Gardener:
- Fragrant
- Leaf Type:
- Needles
- Leaf Arrangement:
- Opposite
- Hairs Present:
- No
- Leaf Description:
- The mature foliage is scale-like, dark bluish-green, with dark glands. The young leaves are awl-like or needle-like, prickly, and pointed. The foliage has a camphor-like fragrance when crushed.
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Bark:
- Bark Color:
- Light Brown
- Bark Description:
- The bark is ridged, fissured, and peeling in thin strips
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Stem:
- Stem Is Aromatic:
- No
- Stem Description:
- Procumbent stems.
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Landscape:
- Landscape Location:
- Recreational Play Area
- Landscape Theme:
- Asian Garden
- Children's Garden
- Design Feature:
- Foundation Planting
- Attracts:
- Songbirds
- Resistance To Challenges:
- Deer
- Drought
- Dry Soil
- Erosion
- Salt
- Urban Conditions
