Last pic is the actual lot. Less than 500 sq 👣 of actual dirt. Very small. They’re drought tolerant, hardy, seeds are bird friendly (my primary interest in them). My biggest concern is rodent populations lurking underneath. My thoughts were 100% low growth junipers.
by NicelyBearded
26 Comments
I think they’re fine. I associate them with parking lots and other commercial landscaping, though. A lot of people have juniper on their park strips here. It’s fine.
Blue star juniper in scused like that around my way. It’s not as popular because it takes forever to fill in comparatively.
There is a bit of maintenance involved..
Weeding.. trash , rodents, watching out for bag worms… Buttttt ifyou can get them established..
They are extremely tough. Hot scorching sun. Drought. I’m in the mid-Atlantic region and have seen them thrive through truly horrible conditions.
Some really do stick close to the ground. Some are softer than others. Check out Blue Pacific. I think that’s a softer blue green variety
Useful and attractive if you take a more Japanese garden type approach and mix in some other evergreens etc
I think they’re nice as an accent, but I see entire landscapes full of them and it’s just kinda …boring…much less not too far from basically being a sort-of lawn, in and of itself.
It doesn’t provide much in the way of ecological value, except as habitat for rats (where I live at least). If the only benefit is drought resistance and erosion control, there are better ways to achieve that while also providing food/habitat for desirable wildlife.
Makes it kind of hard to use your yard for anything else, I don’t think of it as being pleasant to walk on/through and it doesn’t really give a flat ground for setting the patio furniture or anything else you might like in your yard.
Because junipers suck and are only good for housing red wasp nests.
Essentially, they become a boring monoculture just like grass. Maybe not as thirsty, but in a way potentially higher maintenance.
They don’t typically survive here, so we mostly see them as accent pieces that require a ton of love and care.
That or iceplant reminds me of yards in California back in the 70’s. 🤷♂️
If you’re interested in supporting birds, then why not plant a diversity of native plants? Baby birds can’t eat seeds, they almost exclusively eat caterpillars. And caterpillars pretty much only eat native plants.
Because they’re a non-productive monoculture just like a turf lawn unless it’s specific to your region, and then it’s still a monoculture just like non native clovers, creeping thyme, etc.
Because it is ugly and impractical overall.
They’re kinda stabby to play in tbh
I personally feel that a lawn is a monoculture that doesn’t provide much value for wildlife, and a juniper monoculture would be no different from a grass lawn in that respect.
Can you walk on that, or is that part of your yard only for show now?
It would take a looooong time to fill in, so go ahead and get one or three if you like them!! Add in some other stuff for variety. I love the blue juniper look. But I also love annual flowers and have minimal full sun opportunities, so it’s not for me. If I had some weird slope or hell strip or a huge landscape bed to fill in I would 10000% get some. Do what YOU like!!!! Don’t forget that everything has maintenance, so if you like them, don’t let the people who are saying they need maintenance to deter you. Less maintenance than mowing your “slightly bigger than a hell strip” area.
I have a neighbor with these and for as long as I can remember they’ve looked like crap. They end up with dead patches or scraggly areas unless you stay on top of pruning. I think he finally gave up on them because I noticed recently they had been mowed down to stubs lol.
I’d rather have cotoneaster.
Because they have serious drawbacks:
* damaged by foot traffic
* unsuitable play surface
* rodent host
* collect trash
* die out in the center and look bald
* spider mites and bagworm, juniper blight
* Slow growing and if you plant enough to get fast coverage you are overcrowded in a couple of years.
As a PART of a landscape they can be great.
Ahhh, little green gas cans
It’s no lawns, not no grass… that’s still a monoculture
I have some, it was one of the first things I tried on my steep hill. Its super slow to grow, expensive, and not particularly resilient against grass/weeds if they aren’t completely gone first. That being said, I think it’s quite nice if it’s established. But it’s too much $ and too slow for the amount of area I have to cover.
My city has an education campaign out about how junipers are incredibly flammable, increasing the destruction from fires. They use the ‘junk the junipers’ tagline from this organization: [https://wildfirepartners.org/junk-your-junipers/](https://wildfirepartners.org/junk-your-junipers/)
If your area is ever under drought conditions, I would avoid this kind of ground cover at all costs.
I like and prefer it in the gravel beds. It’s sort of a pain for maintenance, but I also don’t mind the bunnies who nest there and the garter snakes that creep around in it. It’s just not great for a lawn replacement.