Plant Primer: Spartan juniper can be planted to create a hedge or screen

Spartan juniper

Light: full sun

Height: 15-20 feet

Spread: 4-5 feet

USDA Hardiness Zones: 4-9

Origin: China, Japan and the Himalayas

The Spartan juniper (Juniperus chinensis ‘Spartan’) can fill many jobs in a garden.

The upright evergreen has lovely dark-green needle foliage. There are two foliages: mature foliage is scale-like; juvenile foliage is sharp and awl-like.

Junipers are dioecious, with male and female trees. The female trees produce silvery blue berries that the winter birds enjoy, and the trees make an excellent spot for nesting birds.

Spartan junipers are narrow, pyramidal to columnar. They can be versatile, used in planting as a hedge, screen or even as a single specimen. This type of juniper does not like wet feet, thriving in well-draining soils and is drought-tolerant once established.

See the splendor of the Spartan juniper in the Crane Ornamental Grass and Conifer Collection at Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens.

— Barbara Arnold

Franklin Park Conservatory