bonsaiTALK Community - View Single Post

I'm going to bet that your juniper is ornamental and not a native tree. My guess is it is a cultivar of J. chinensis (there are hundreds of them), though the foliage sort of reminds me of J. scopularum, the Rocky Mtn Juniper. The species J. scopularum is not commonly used in landscaping and most of the cultivars tend to be upright in their growth and your specimen seems to be more bush-like. A great book to help you is "Dirrs Manual of Woody Landscape Plants". It's not a key, but gives great descriptions of both native and ornamental trees. You might find it at your library.

Dave

9-Aug-2007	#2
Dav4 bonsaiTALK Master Craftsman Join Date: Jan-2005 Location: SE Massachusetts Country: USA USDA Zone: 6 AHS Heat Zone: 4-5 Posts: 625	I'm going to bet that your juniper is ornamental and not a native tree. My guess is it is a cultivar of J. chinensis (there are hundreds of them), though the foliage sort of reminds me of J. scopularum, the Rocky Mtn Juniper. The species J. scopularum is not commonly used in landscaping and most of the cultivars tend to be upright in their growth and your specimen seems to be more bush-like. A great book to help you is "Dirrs Manual of Woody Landscape Plants". It's not a key, but gives great descriptions of both native and ornamental trees. You might find it at your library. Dave