Juniperus conferta

The shore juniper is a dense, low-growing, spreading, decumbent, evergreen, conifer shrub. It grows 1 to 1.5 feet tall and spreads 6 to 8 feet wide. It is a versatile sprawling ground cover with erect branchlets. The leaves are blue-green, fragrant, and awl-shaped. They also have spiny-pointed or prickly pointed needles that are 5/8 inches long and are arranged in groups of three. There is a single stomatal band. The leaves tend to turn bronze-green to yellow-green during the winter. This evergreen is dioecious. The male cones appear yellowish-brown, and the female cone is small and round. The fruit is a berry-like seed cone that is initially dark blue or green and turns bluish-black with a silvery bloom as it matures.   

Shore juniper is native to the sea coasts of Japan and Sakhalin Island in Russia. It is rarely cultivated or sold in Japan. 

The genus name, Juniperus, is the Latin name for the juniper. The specific epithet, conferta, is Latin for crowded and references the foliage of this evergreen.

This evergreen prefers dry, sandy soil, and full sun. It is adaptable and poor soil tolerant and tolerant of hot and dry locations. It is intolerant to excess water and requires good drainage. The shore juniper grows especially well in slightly alkaline soils, but it is tolerant of acidic and neutral soils. This plant is seldom damaged by deer, is drought-tolerant, and is effective for erosion control.

This sprawling ground cover does very well in sandy locations. It may be used in rock gardens, foundation plantings, slopes, and mass plantings. It may also be used for cover over retaining walls.

Seasons of Interest:

Foliage: Year-round         

Quick ID Hints:

• decumbent, dense, low-growing, creeping, evergreen groundcover
• fragrant, awl-shaped blue-green foliage and spiny-pointed needles arranged in groups of three 
• flowers are male yellowish-brown round cones, female cones are round and small 
• fruit is a berry-like seed cone that is a dark blue to green and then turns bluish-black with a silvery bloom 

Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems: Shore juniper has no serious insect or disease problems. It is susceptible to blights, especially in rainy, wet conditions. Cedar-apple rust and root rot can also occur in poorly drained soils. Potential insects include aphids, bagworms, twig borers, webworms, scales, and spider mites. Shore juniper may also suffer from winter injury in colder climates when temperatures drop to -10 Fahrenheit. 

VIDEO created by Andy Pulte for “Landscape Plant Identification, Taxonomy, and Morphology” a plant identification course offered by the Department of Plant Sciences, University of Tennessee.