11 Native Juniper Varieties for Year-Round Beauty

Junipers are tough as nails! They thrive throughout North America, from the deserts of Texas to the wet valleys of Oregon, and through the States to the East Coast. There are many native junipers to choose from. Join native plant gardener Jerad Bryant and discover these 11 beautiful species for year-round ornamental interest.

A robust Eastern Red Cedar, showcasing its densely packed, needle-like leaves in vibrant shades of green, with thin, upward-reaching branches, set against a bright blue sky.

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Junipers are some of the hardiest evergreens in the world! They thrive in various conditions, from tundra to southern desserts. Each species has unique characteristics that allow it to adapt to its local conditions. When you select one that originates from your area, you choose a tough specimen that’ll outperform most other types.

Choosing local native plants is always a good move, as it promotes biodiversity in your garden. What is biodiversity? It measures how many living species reside inside the area, and how many natural resources they have available. Plant a native juniper to add nutritious seeds for birds, habitat space, and pollen and nectar for pollinators

Native junipers live long lives, meaning you’ll plant one today that you can watch grow your entire life. Tree types tend to live longer than shrubs and ground covers, but we include all three options in this guide. Whether planting a tree or packing a small juniper inside a border, native species are perfect for hardy gardens no matter where they are. 

So, let’s get into it! Here are 11 of the best native juniper species and varieties for North American landscapes.

Rocky Mountain

A dark green coniferous tree with a narrow, conical shape and tightly clustered needle-like leaves, situated on a rocky landscape under a cloudy sky.
It sprouts blue seed pods that look like berries but are leathery cones.
common-name common name Rocky Mountain Juniper
botanical-name botanical name Juniperus scopulorum
sun-requirements sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
height height 30-40’
hardiness-zones hardiness zones 3-7

Rocky Mountain junipers thrive throughout their mountainous native range, growing to be single or multi-stem evergreen trees to 40 feet tall. This species needs dry conditions to thrive, especially during summer. Winter moisture helps them prepare for the dry season, but it can also threaten their roots’ health. Plant them in well-draining soil to avoid root rot issues.

As its name suggests, the Rocky Mountain variety spreads throughout cliffsides inside the Rocky Mountains. It’s a crag lover, growing in cracks where most other evergreen trees would suffer. If you live near this range, you should plant this species! It sprouts blue seed pods that look like berries but are leathery cones—they attract wildlife and increase your garden’s biodiversity.

Western

A cluster of tall evergreen trees with rounded canopies and dense, bluish-green foliage, bordered by a wooden fence in a sunlit, arid grassland environment.
This species sprouts scaly or needlelike foliage and blue, fleshy seed cones.
common-name common name Western Juniper
botanical-name botanical name Juniperus occidentalis
sun-requirements sun requirements Full sun
height height 30-80’
hardiness-zones hardiness zones 4-8

Western juniper has a native range right next to the Rocky Mountain species. This type thrives throughout dry regions of the Pacific Northwest, especially in central and eastern Oregon. It’s a giant, stately species that reaches up to 80 feet tall when mature, although some rare specimens reach up to 100 feet! This tree is best for large yards, natural landscapes, or in a row to line driveways or walkways. 

Western juniper sprouts scaly or needlelike foliage and blue, fleshy seed cones. The bark is brown and scaly in young trees and gray-red in mature ones with lines up and down. This species tolerates excess winter and fall rainfall so long as it’s growing in well-draining soil

California

A broad evergreen shrub with dark green, needle-like foliage and an irregular canopy, standing in a dry, rocky area with scattered boulders under a bright blue sky.
This species has year-round beauty with blue, fleshy cones in autumn, and blue-green foliage in winter and summer.
common-name common name California Juniper
botanical-name botanical name Juniperus californica
sun-requirements sun requirements Full sun
height height 9-25’
hardiness-zones hardiness zones 8-10

California juniper is shorter than the previous two native varieties, growing more like a tree shrub than a large evergreen conifer. It’s a multi-stem species best for warm desert or scrubland environments. It reaches wider than tall, making it ideal for low-growing hedges or as specimen shrubs in open spaces.

This tree offers year-round beauty with blue, fleshy cones in autumn, blue-green foliage in winter and summer, and single-sex flowers in spring. All three attributes attract wildlife, especially if you live near parks like Mojave National Preserve or Joshua Tree National Park. A single specimen can feed dozens of birds and small mammals, and it provides habitat space for ground-dwelling creatures.

Alligator

A low-growing, bushy shrub with dark green foliage, thriving on sandy soil among large rocky outcrops, surrounded by dry desert vegetation.
It sprouts scaly cedar-like foliage and brown-gray cones with waxy coverings.
common-name common name Alligator Juniper
botanical-name botanical name Juniperus deppeana
sun-requirements sun requirements Full sun
height height 50-60’
hardiness-zones hardiness zones 7-9

This species gets its name from the scale-like fissures on its short trunk. They’re red-brown and scaly, and they grow up the entirety of the trunk. This North American native species has a wider range in Mexico than within the U.S., although you’ll find it growing in parts of Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico. 

Alligator juniper sprouts scaly cedar-like foliage and brown-gray cones with waxy coverings. The blue-green leaves create a well-rounded canopy that can reach up to 60 feet tall. They’re incredibly fragrant and create gorgeous, aromatic bouquets for wintertime. Pair their branches and cones with other species that have winter blooms or fall colors for a beautiful arrangement.

One-Seed

A compact tree with tightly packed, bluish-green, needle-like leaves and a slightly rounded shape, set against a bright, clear sky with rocky slopes nearby.
It sprouts wonderfully fragrant foliage, blue and leathery seed cones, and yellow flowers.
common-name common name One-Seed Juniper
botanical-name botanical name Juniperus monosperma
sun-requirements sun requirements Partial shade
height height 20-40’
hardiness-zones hardiness zones 4-8

Most common in New Mexico, one-seed juniper is a heat-loving native variety that excels in desert ecosystems. It’s typically a multi-stem tree, and it grows gnarled and twisty with age. It’s also highly variable! Some specimens may form a small tree to 30 or 40 feet tall with a single trunk. You can train it how you’d like—prune any secondary shoots as they pop up to encourage a single trunk form, or you can let it grow wild with many stems.

One-seed juniper sprouts wonderfully fragrant foliage, blue and leathery seed cones, and yellow flowers. It’s more common in Mexico than the U.S., although it’ll thrive in warm regions throughout the Southwest. Give it free draining soil, minimal irrigation, and three to six hours of daily direct sunlight. 

Pinchot

A dense, green bush with needle-like leaves, showing clusters of brown fungal growth on the branches, sitting in a grassy meadow bathed in sunlight.
This variety sprouts reddish-brown cones instead of blue ones, and they have seeds inside that sprout into seedlings.
common-name common name Pinchot Juniper
botanical-name botanical name Juniperus pinchotii
sun-requirements sun requirements Partial shade
height height 20’
hardiness-zones hardiness zones 7-9

Like the one-seed variety, the native Pinchot juniper can grow as a dense, multi-stem shrub or a stately single-trunk tree. It displays both forms in its native range, growing wild and rangy with time. This species is so hardy you can coppice it, and it’ll sprout new shoots! Unlike most other kinds, this variety sprouts reddish-brown cones instead of blue ones, and they have seeds inside that sprout into seedlings.

Pinchot juniper needs partial shade, free-draining soil, and small amounts of water. It thrives in Texas desert regions from zones 7 to 9, where most other trees suffer. This is the kind for you If you want a low-growing juniper in a hot climate. It’ll survive winter temperatures below freezing so long as its soil doesn’t get soggy. 

Drooping

A tree with needle-like leaves, its once-green foliage now turned orange-brown, standing among healthy vegetation and showing signs of drought or disease.
It spreads wide and tall, growing to 40 feet tall when happy in its native range.
common-name common name Drooping Juniper
botanical-name botanical name Juniperus flaccida
sun-requirements sun requirements Partial shade
height height 30-40’
hardiness-zones hardiness zones 8-10

A rare weeping variety, the drooping juniper is a native tree with dangling foliage that grows downward rather than up! It’s similar to how a weeping willow grows, with a tall crown and branches that hang. This variety is rare in the U.S. but incredibly common in Mexico, where it thrives with cool winter temperatures and hot, dry summers. 

Drooping juniper spreads wide and tall, growing to 40 feet tall when happy in its native range. Give your specimen space to roam—plant it alone in a tree well or with other evergreen desert shrubs for a natural-looking ecosystem. This juniper sprouts green cones that mature reddish-brown, and they attract hungry desert animals in fall and winter.

Utah

A windswept tree with tightly packed green leaves, growing on a rocky outcrop in an arid landscape, its twisted branches shaped by the wind.
This tree’s foliage is more yellow-green than blue, and it blends in well with sandy landscapes.
common-name common name Utah Juniper
botanical-name botanical name Juniperus osteosperma
sun-requirements sun requirements Full sun
height height 20-40’
hardiness-zones hardiness zones 3-7

One of the hardiest in the world, the Utah juniper is rare in ornamental gardens but common in the wild. It resembles a California juniper, growing as a low-spreading shrub or a gnarled tree. In windy areas, the branches grow windswept and curly, with deadwood throughout the specimen. They look like full-size bonsai trees!

This tree’s foliage is more yellow-green than blue, and it blends in well with sandy landscapes. In summer the seed cones start forming—they take longer than other species to reach maturity and are ripe when most other food sources are absent. If you live near the Grand Canyon, then Utah juniper is the species for you. 

Eastern Red Cedar

A series of tall evergreen trees with slender trunks and needle-like foliage, lining a flat, open road on a bright, sunny day.
It forms fleshy cones like other varieties, and they’re an important food source for birds and small mammals.
common-name common name Eastern Red Cedar
botanical-name botanical name Juniperus virginiana
sun-requirements sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
height height 40-50’
hardiness-zones hardiness zones 2-9

Eastern red cedar is a juniper, not a cedar! It’s an ideal specimen for East Coast gardeners, as it’s one of the most hardy specimens on the continent. It’s also more tolerant of wet soils than other junipers, making it ideal for moist sites in the eastern U.S. It does hate soggy conditions, so be sure to water only after the soil dries.

Although Eastern red cedar tolerates poor, dry soils, it’ll remain a shrub in less-than-ideal conditions. Give it moist but not soggy soil, full sun, and space to spread, and it’ll grow into a single-trunk tree rather than a scrubby shrub. It forms fleshy cones like other varieties, and they’re an important food source for birds and small mammals that roam in eastern forests. 

Common

A small, rounded shrub with dense green foliage, growing on a grassy hill with scattered wildflowers and gently rolling terrain in the distance.
It sprouts soft blue-green foliage that doesn’t poke your hands.
common-name common name Common Juniper
botanical-name botanical name Juniperus communis
sun-requirements sun requirements Full sun
height height 5-15’
hardiness-zones hardiness zones 2-7

Common juniper is just that; it’s the most common growing evergreen conifer in the world! Find it spreading on its own Eurasia, North America, and the Arctic Circle. It’s more cold hardy than other varieties, and it struggles in warm zones that types like alligator and Utah junipers love. If nothing else grows in a freezing location and you want annual ornamental interest, try the common or its many varieties.

Try ‘Alpine Carpet’ for a low-growing cultivar of this species. It sprouts soft blue-green foliage that doesn’t poke your hands. If you’d like more stems than leaves, try ‘Effusa.’ It has sparse foliage clumps but lots of reddish twigs throughout its body.

Common junipers typically stay small as shrubs or multi-stem trees, but they can grow to be single-trunk conifers with the right conditions. Give them extra water and good soil, and they’ll turn into trees. Specimens stay as shrubs in poor, dry soils. They survive, but they grow low and slow. 

Creeping

A sprawling, low-growing ground cover with dark green, needle-like leaves, hugging the ground near the edge of a pond surrounded by tall grasses.
A single specimen can spread over ten feet wide!
common-name common name Creeping Juniper
botanical-name botanical name Juniperus horizontalis
sun-requirements sun requirements Full sun
height height 6-18”
hardiness-zones hardiness zones 3-9

Rounding up our native juniper list is a low-growing ground cover variety that rarely reaches over two feet tall. This is the creeping species, a hardy subshrub for dry soils. A single specimen can spread over ten feet wide! Use it for hillsides, outcrops, and rock gardens. It’s evergreen, keeping its attractive needles all year for four seasons of ornamental interest.

Dozens of creeping juniper cultivars exist for us home gardeners. Try ‘Wiltonii’ for icy blue foliage, and ‘Plumosa’ for gray-green scales that turn purple-red during autumn. Creeping juniper is very similar to Japanese garden juniper, except it’s native to North America. Use this species instead of nonnative ones to give your local animal species pollen, nectar, seed cones, and habitat space.

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