A native we do not grow
Western Juniper
Juniperus occidentalis. Small tree, 13 to 49 feet, zones 4 to 8; full sun; dry or average ground.
We do not grow western juniper, and it is not in our shop. This page gathers what our tools say about it and the natives we grow for the same ground.
At a glance
| Other names | Pencil wood |
|---|---|
| Form | Small tree |
| Height, feet | 13 to 49; up to 78 in its native stands |
| Spread, feet | Up to 50 |
| Zones | 4 to 8 |
| Sun | Full sun |
| Soil moisture | Dry or average ground |
| Growth | Slow |
| Leaves | Evergreen |
| Traits | Wildlife value |
| Pollen | April to May |
| Fruit | Berries, September to February |
| First crop | 10 to 20 years (significant crops from 50 to 70) |
| Pollination | Not known whether one bears alone |
| Lifespan | The oldest tree dated by its rings reached 1,600 years. Only a tiny share of trees has ever been ring-counted or cross-dated. |
| Transplanting | Oregon State University's Landscape Plants says: "Difficult to transplant except when young." |
| Black walnut | Not named on the Morton Arboretum's lists |
| Ground | Dry uplands and rocky ground |
| Native in | 5 states |
Western juniper is native in 5 states: California, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon and Washington. The states are the USDA PLANTS Database's records, with the native range read from Silvics of North America and the Fire Effects Information System.
What our tools say
How fast it grows and how big it gets, by site Whether it suits your zone, sun and soil How far from a house, wires and a septic field What grows with it in the wild and in a yard When to plant it where you live When it sheds pollen and fruits, month by month How to sow its seed, with dates for your place Whether one you have can be moved, and what the move takes How old one is, from its trunk How a big one scores against the champion trees
For the same ground, we grow
These trees we grow share the most of western juniper's natural communities in the wild, by the companion species tool's rules.
Read from
Its figures come from Silvics of North America, the Forest Service's Fire Effects Information System, the Woody Plant Seed Manual, the USDA PLANTS Database, the Wildflower Center, Cal Poly's SelecTree, Oregon State University's Landscape Plants, Oregon State University Extension, Calscape, the Jepson eFlora, the Gymnosperm Database and Plants For A Future.