Hollywood juniper

Sun

Full sun; light shade is tolerated, but growth becomes looser.

Water

Water deeply during establishment, allowing the soil surface to dry between waterings. Once established, it tolerates drought but benefits from occasional deep watering during prolonged dry spells.

Soil

Well-drained sandy, loamy or gravelly soil; tolerates a broad pH range. Avoid waterlogged ground and heavily compacted clay.

Height

15-25 ft (4.5-7.6 m)

Spread

8-15 ft (2.4-4.6 m)

Foliage

Dark green, mostly scale-like evergreen foliage held in dense, irregular sprays; some sharp, needle-like juvenile foliage may occur.

Growth

Moderate; slower in dry, poor soil.

Care needed

Low

• Deer resistant
• Drought tolerant
• Heat tolerant
• Wildlife

Northern hemisphere months. In Australia, shift them by six.

Difficulty

Easy

Toughness

Very tough

Pick your zone, country, light and whether you have pets.

1. Planting day

   7 ft (2 m)

2. After 1 year

   7 ft (2.2 m)

3. After 2 years

   8 ft (2.3 m)

4. After 3 years

   8 ft (2.5 m)

5. After 5 years

   9 ft (2.8 m)

About 26 years to full size.

From a typical nursery size, at an average rate for this kind of plant. A rule of thumb, not a forecast.

Cats and dogs

Mildly toxic: may upset a stomach

Growth rate

Slow

• Plant with the root flare at soil level, leaving room for the mature spread.
• Water deeply through the first two growing seasons whenever the root zone begins to dry.
• Apply 2-3 in (5-8 cm) of mulch, keeping it clear of the trunk.
• Avoid routine feeding; use a modest spring application of balanced fertiliser only if growth is poor and a soil test indicates a need.
• Stake only if the root ball moves in wind, and remove supports once roots hold it firmly.

Pruning. In late winter or early spring, remove dead, damaged or crossing branches and shorten selected shoots only into leafy growth. Avoid shearing or cutting into bare old wood, which usually does not regrow.

Spring

Plant when the soil is workable and not waterlogged; water the root ball thoroughly.

Spring

Refresh mulch and check that it is not touching the trunk.

Early summer

Inspect shoot tips for browning and check foliage for mites or bagworms.

Summer

Deep-water young plants during dry weather; let the soil drain between waterings.

Autumn

Water before the ground freezes if autumn has been dry, especially for recently planted trees.

Late winter

Remove broken or dead branches and make any light shaping cuts before new growth.

• Use as a single focal tree in gravel, with open space around it to show the twisting branches.
• Plant an informal screen where an irregular outline is more suitable than a clipped hedge.
• Pair with boulders and low groundcovers in Japanese-inspired gardens.
• Contrast its upright, dark foliage with rounded shrubs, silver-leaved plants or ornamental grasses.

Garden styles it suits: Architectural minimal, Japanese, Zen dry garden, Dry gravel garden, Low-maintenance and Winter interest.

Plant it with: Lavender, Catmint, Stonecrop, Blue fescue, Creeping thyme and Dwarf mugo pine.

Wildlife: Dense evergreen branches provide shelter and nesting cover for birds. Berry-like cones, when present, may be eaten by birds.

• Root rot in wet soil: improve drainage before planting and avoid frequent watering; replace badly affected plants rather than replanting into the same wet conditions.
• Juniper tip blight: prune affected shoots in dry weather, disinfect tools between cuts and avoid overhead irrigation.
• Spider mites: look for fine stippling and webbing during hot, dry weather; rinse foliage thoroughly and use an appropriate labelled treatment only if damage continues.
• Bagworms, particularly in parts of North America: remove and dispose of bags before eggs hatch; treat small, actively feeding larvae if an infestation is extensive.

Do not eat the foliage or berry-like cones. Juniper ingestion can cause stomach upset in people, cats and dogs, particularly in quantity; sap and prickly foliage may also irritate skin. Specific toxicity information for horses is limited, so keep prunings out of grazing areas. This is not the culinary juniper used for flavouring.

• Spartan Chinese juniper (Juniperus chinensis 'Spartan')

  Forms a dense, comparatively even, narrow pyramid rather than the twisting branches and irregular foliage masses of Hollywood juniper.

• Blue Point Chinese juniper (Juniperus chinensis 'Blue Point')

  Has blue-green foliage and a more regular conical outline; Hollywood juniper is darker green with conspicuously uneven branching.

• Hinoki cypress (Chamaecyparis obtusa)

  Has flattened, fan-shaped foliage sprays, often with pale markings beneath, and small woody cones rather than juniper's fleshy, berry-like cones.

The species name chinensis means 'from China', while Hollywood juniper refers to its long-standing use in landscapes around Hollywood, California.

Propagation. Take semi-ripe cuttings with a small heel in late summer and root in a free-draining medium under humid conditions. Rooting can be slow; seed will not reliably reproduce the cultivar.

Accepted botanical name

Juniperus chinensis

Native range

China North-Central, China South-Central, China Southeast, Inner Mongolia, Japan, Khabarovsk, Korea, Kuril Is., Manchuria, Myanmar, Primorye and Sakhalin.

Measured

Soil pH 4.5 to 7.5. Average height 2000 cm.

Sources: GBIF (CC BY 4.0) and Trefle (CC BY 4.0). The care and design notes are LandscapeGPT's own.