Juniperus virginiana

Also called Eastern Juniper/Pencil Cedar

Broadly columnar growth habit
Upright growing foliage is green during the summer
Winter foliage turns a bronze colour
Use in groups for screening or naturalizing
Dioecious: there are separate male plants and female plants

ZONE:
2

HEIGHT:
5-7 m

SPREAD:
2-3 m

You must be logged in to
view availability and prices.

Growing and Maintenance Tips:

An upright cultivar of juniper; a good alternative for hedging where cedars are typically used.

Additional Notes about Eastern Red Cedar:

Native to Ontario. Eastern red cedars are found in southern and eastern parts of Ontario and southern Quebec. Its range extends down to the Gulf of Mexico and east of the Great Plains in the United States. Even though its common name is Eastern red cedar, it is a juniper, not a true cedar.

Juniper virginiana exhibits foliage that can be open-scale or closed-scale, in colours ranging from silver-gray-green to blue-green to light or dark green. All of these colours change toward bronze for winter.

Larval host plant for several moths, including the Juniper Geometer, and butterflies, including The Olive Hairstreak. The foliage provides year-round protection from predators and weather, for birds and mammals, while the seeds (cones) feed over 50 species of birds, as well as small mammals. The cones have notoriously hard coats, usually requiring a pass through a bird's digestive system to effect germination.