| General Description | A medium sized tree which grows considerably faster than other junipers. It is one of the tallest Junipers and bears the largest fruit of the genus. |
| ID Characteristic | It is a vigorous plant and is easily identifiable by it wide needles and large cones. The pollen cones develop in groups of 3-6. |
| Shape | Broadly conical with a pointed crown. |
| Landscape | Used for screens, hedges, windbreaks, also grown in rock gardens or groupings. |
| Propagation | Seeds require a period of cold stratification and have a hard coat which can cause very slow germination. It requires a cold period followed by a warm period and then another cold spell, each 2-3 months in duration. Cuttings can be taken in September through October and placed in a cold frame, then should be transferred and planted outside the following autumn. |
| Cultivation | Plant in full sun and dry-moist soils; it is drought tolerant once established. It can tolerate sandy, loamy, and clay soils as long as the soil is well-drained and neutral to slightly alkaline. |
| Pests | Twig blight, rocky mountain juniper aphid, bagworm, juniper midge, and webworms. This particular Juniper is resistant to honey fungus. |
| Notable Specimens | Westonbirt, The National Arboretum, Tetbury, Gloucestershire, England. |
| Habitat | Usually found growing in shallow rocky soils in forests or on mountain slopes at an altitude of 600-1,800 m. It occurs in small groups or solitary specimens mixed with other coniferous species. |
| Bark/Stem Description | The bark is orange-brown when young and then turns ashy-grey as the tree matures. |
| Leaf Description | Rigid, spreading or reflexed, oblong to linear-lanceolate. Channelled at the upper surface and keeled at the lower surface. Scales are small and in rows of 7-8, with a sharp pointed apex. Needles are roughly 15 mm in length. |
| Flower Description | Staminate flowers consisting of 5-6 in a head, on a short, scaly stalk. Stamens are 9-12 in each flower. |
| Fruit Description | Fruit, 20-25 mm in diameter, ovate and ripens in the second year. The fruit is edible and consists of 6-9 fleshy scales in groups of three. When the fruit develops, it is greenish developing to a blue-violet to brown colour when ripe. |
| Colour Description | Needles are green with a slight tinge of yellow. The bark is a peeling grey colour and the fruit is a blue-brown. |
| Texture Description | Medium textured plant with pointy needles, but not sharp, with scaly bark. |
