Rocky Mountain Juniper                                            ( Juniperus scopulorum)

General Description

A small to medium tree, typically with a dense pyramidal crown.

Native to western North Dakota. Seedling plantings may exhibit

a wide variety of forms. Many denser growing cultivars are used

as ornamentals. The largest tree in North Dakota has a trunk

circumference of 7½ feet.

Leaves and Buds

Bud Arrangement - Continuous.

Bud Color - Same as leaves, hard to distinguish from leaves.

Bud Size - 1/8 inch.

Leaf Type and Shape - Simple scale and awl-like leaves.

Leaf Margins - Entire.

Leaf Surface - Prickly.

Leaf Length - Variable lengths, indeterminate growth, the current

year’s foliage is awl-shaped or scalelike, 1/4 to 1/3 inch.

Leaf Width - Variable 1/16 inch.

Leaf Color - Dark or light bluish-green, glaucous or light green,

variable. Little fall or winter color change.

Flowers and Fruits

Flower Type - Unisexual, usually dioecious.

Flower Color - Female, red to green; male, yellow.

Fruit Type - Cones (typical juniper “berry”), ovoid, and deeply

pitted, mature second year; 1 to 3 seeds.

Fruit Color - Shiny brown seeds in dark blue berry-like

glaucous cones.

Form

Growth Habit - Variable pyramidal to narrow crowns, normally

with numerous long, upward-reaching branches.

Texture - Fine, summer and winter.

Crown Height - 20 to 40 feet.

Crown Width - 12 to 20 feet.

Bark Color - Reddish-brown coloration to the underbark,

shredding bark. Older bark has shallow fissures in a network

of flat ridges.

Root System - Variable, shallow in moist areas, deep in dry soils.

Environmental Requirements

Soils

Soil Texture - Prefers deep moist well-drained loam, but will

tolerate sandy soils.

Water

Extremely drought tolerant once established, but likes moist soils.

Light

Full sun.

Uses

Conservation/Windbreaks

Small to medium evergreen for farmstead and field windbreaks.

Most stress tolerant species available for conservation use.

Wildlife

Excellent for cover, nesting, and food.

Agroforestry Products

Wood - Used for fence posts, cedar chests, pencils, and medicines.

Heartwood is decay resistant.

Food - Fruit used in alcohol products.

Medicinal - Used for cancer treatment, and colds, coughs, sore

throats, diarrhea, bleeding, fevers, pneumonia, stomach aches,

and topical pain reliever for arthritis. Source of pinene, a

terpenoid volatile oil and source of podophyllotoxin, an

antibiotic.

Urban/Recreational

Good for ornamental landscaping. Does not turn brown in

winter like Eastern Red-cedar.

Pests

Common diseases include cedar-apple rust (Gymnosporangium)

and Kabatina tip blight. Common insect pests include spider

mites. Junipers should not be planted near apples, crabapples,

juneberries, or hawthorns due to increased risk of damage by

Gymnosporangium rusts. Extracts of Juniperus species are toxic

to certain insect pests.