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Scientific: Juniperus scopulorum (Synonyms: Juniperus excelsa, Juniperus maritima, Juniperus virginiana subsp. scopulorum, Sabina maritima, Sabina scopulorum)
Common: Rocky Mountain juniper
Family: Cupressaceae
Origin: Sub-montane mountainous regions of western United States, British Columbia south to Arizona.

Pronounciation: Ju-NIP-er-us skoo-pooh-LOR-um

Hardiness zones
Sunset 4-24
USDA 4-11

Landscape Use: Background, informal screen, specimen accent large shrub or small tree where contrasts of foliar color and texture are desired. Good for transition, oasis landscapes. Escpecially nice in landscapes that use organic surface mulches.

Form & Character: Large, variably upright and reaching to pendulous and spreading, coniferous, full, dense, creates visions of the arid intermountain west like one gets when reading a Zane Grey novel.

Growth Habit: Evergreen, woody, narrowleaf perennial large shrub to small tree, moderate growth rate to 15- to 40-feet tall, variably spreading depending on cultivated form.

Foliage/Texture: Leaves scale-like in the classic 'juniper' sense scarcely or not overlapping at all. Foliage and stems green to gray, often glaucous blue; fine texture.

Flowers & Fruits: Dioecious, female cones purple to black, glaucous, 1/4 inch in diameter, 2-seeded, maturing mostly in 2 years.

Seasonal Color: None

Temperature: Tolerant

Light: Full sun to partial shade is required, no shade.

Soil: Tolerant

Watering: Infrequent but regular deep summer irrigations.

Pruning: Minimal to no pruning necessary, except to shapen if desired.

Propagation: Hardwood cuttings of male plants.

Disease and Pests: Spider mites are its biggest 'desert' problem, juniper scale is rare in Phoenix.

Additional comments: Rocky Mountain juniper is generally not thought of as a plant for 'desert landscapes', even though it will tolerate lower desert conditions and grow just fine in Phoenix and Tucson. It is a useful landscape shrub or small tree for higher elevation Arizona landscape gardens, such as in Flagstaff, Page, Payson, Pinetop, Prescott, Sedona, Sierra Vista, and Wilcox.

Outstanding cultivars include:

'Blue Haven' - Narrow, pyramidal, rich blue color, slow to 15 to 20 feet. Excellent blue foliage. A less vigorous substitute for Cupressus sempervirens cultivars.

'Cologreen' - Narrow and pyramidal like 'Blue Haven', yet with dark green foliage.

'Pathfinder' - Early cultivar, vigorous, dependable, and upright to 25 feet, blue-green foliage.

'Table Top Blue'- Spreading cultivar to 6 feet in height with 6 to 10 feet spread. Silver blue foliage.

'Tolleson's Weeping' - grafted, striking, pendulous weeping branches, graceful, eventually to 20 to 25 feet in height with 10 feet spread. Both blue-gray and green foliage forms exist under the same cultivar name.