[GPI]

Ground Cover Junipers -The Green Mound Juniper - Juniperus Procumbens Nana
By Lawrence Dyer

The Green Mound Juniper is an exciting and versatile ground cover juniper despite the rather uninspiring name by which it is known. The term "Green Mound Juniper" does describe the plant in a basic way, but gives nothing away about its twisting wiry branches and neat silvery-green foliage.

This low growing juniper with its tiny spiky leaves makes a picturesque and rugged shape that makes it ideal for growing alongside paving or steps. In the latter case it will tumble in neat cascades down the side of the steps. Its trailing stems are relatively short and neat when compared to other low growing junipers such as the Juniperus horizontalis cultivars.


Juniperus Procumbens Nana, photo / pic / image.
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Such is its admirable form that the Green Mound Juniper is one of the most popular junipers for garden use in North America and Europe. It is even used for bonsai, when its stiff stem is trained up to form a tree-like trunk from which the side branches naturally fan out horizontally. It is not a particularly fast-growing Juniper, nevertheless it is possible to have a good-looking bonsai tree in just a few short years.

Unlike many junipers, the Green Mound Juniper does not change its colour much throughout the year, remaining an attractive silvery-green or sage-green both summer and winter. In some exposed spots it may take on a slightly bronzed colour during the winter.

Growth rate and growing conditions
After ten years growth you can expect the Green Mound Juniper to have covered an area of about 1 1/2 square metres under reasonable growing conditions. This means that it is not going to romp away and smother your other alpine beauties, but will remain a neat and highly desirable conifer from the beginning.
Like other junipers the Green Mound is easy to grow. Well-drained soil, into which some organic material has been dug, is ideal. It does not like a water-logged spot, nor will it like the large leaves of herbaceous plants or shrubs growing over it and crowding out its light.

Planting uses
If you have a large area of paving beside an alpine garden or rock garden then several Green Mound Junipers dotted around the edges and eventually perhaps meeting up would be very effective, allowing one or two to grow further back within the area of the alpine garden to give a more natural, scattered effect. Alternatively the Green Mound Juniper looks good in a contemporary garden with areas of cobbles and other textured surfaces, combining well with metal and glass, and plants such as phormium (New Zealand flax) and various low-growing thymes.
Overall, the Green Mound Juniper is not a plant that any wild garden, heather or alpine scree should be without!

For more information on the Green Mound Juniper visit http://www.junipertrees.com/green-mound-juniper.html
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