Juniperus horizontalis 'Plumosa'

'Plumosa' juniper is a needled evergreen cultivar shrub or groundcover in the Cupressaceae (cypress) family. The parent plant, creeping juniper, is native to the northern part of North America. The species name horizeontalis refers to the tendency of its long, trailing branches to spread much farther horizontally than it grows vertically.

This plant prefers full sun and well-drained, acidic to slightly alkaline soil.  The parent plant is found growing in rocky or sandy soils from rocky outcrops to streams, making this shrub fairly adaptable to various soil types, including poor soils, and pH as long as the soil is well drained. While it is intolerant of shade, it is drought, heat tolerant and is not browsed by deer. It is fairly salt tolerant allowing it to grow well in coastal areas.  It is also tolerant of air pollution and other urban conditions making it a good choice for a home landscape plant.  

The fine textured blue-green to gray-green needles turn copper to purple in winter, bringing interest to the landscape even in the winter. 

Ideal to use mass planted on slopes as a ground cover to manage erosion. Use in rock gardens, in a container or in the front of a border.  The evergreen leaves bring color planted along a walkway or as foundation planting.  It can also be used for bonsai.

Quick ID Hints:

• Mostly awl-shaped leaves but can also be intermediate, opposite, or in whorls of threes
• Gray-green leaves appear in the summer and turn light purple in the winter
• Foliage is sticky
• Female cone is 1/4" in diameter, globose, bluish or greenish-black, and glaucous
• This plant is a flat-spreading, evergreen shrub

Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems: Creeping juniper and its cultivars are susceptible to infestation by aphids, bagworms, caterpillars, false spider mites, juniper scale, juniper tip mite, juniper webworm, and spruce spider mites.This shrub and its cultivars are susceptible to Cercospora needle blight, Phomopsis and other blights, and some fungal diseases. It shares with apple trees a susceptibility to a rust fungus called Gymnosporangium juniperi - virginianae. This fungus causes "cedar apples" on juniper twigs and dark leaf spots on apple leaves. 

The Clemson Cooperative Extension Home and Garden Information Center has a factsheet on common juniper diseases and insect pests.

VIDEO Created by Elizabeth Meyer for "Trees, Shrubs and Conifers" a plant identification course offered in partnership with Longwood Gardens.

More information on Juniperus horizontalis.