Juniperus procumbens 'Nana'
- Green Mound Juniper
Juniperus
procumbens 'Nana', known by many in the US as the Green
Mound Juniper, is a personal favourite. Its neat green
foliage and ground-hugging habit make it ideal for groundcover,
yet it is the foliage arrangement and the way in which
the new shoots grow that give this cultivar its strong
appeal. I grow it on the edge of paving here in the UK,
where it can best show off its superb characteristics.
The attraction of the foliage
of the green mound juniper is such that it is widely used
to make bonsai trees, particularly in the USA, where it
has become the 'classic' bonsai juniper (see Juniper
bonsai trees) - this despite that it will not
grow into a tree left untrained and is in fact a low-growing,
groundcover plant!
The Green Mound Juniper has
foliage of an apple green colour, that is green with just
a hint of silvery-blue. It will grow well in an open position
away from big shrubs or trees and prefers well-drained
soil. If your soil is clay or heavy dig two or three bucketfuls
of fine gravel or pea shingle deeply into the square yard
(square metre) into the centre of which you are going
to plant your juniper. When planting also incorporate
organic matter into the hole and mix with the soil. Grows
four or five feet across in ten years.
Uses in the Garden
The green mound juniper looks
particular good at the edge of paving or at the side of
garden steps, where its thick shoots will hug the contours
of the ground in a most effective way. For the same reason
it looks good when the surrounding soil is mulched with
gravel. Grow it with alpines or low-growing heathers so
as not to mask its fine characteristics.
Similar Plants
At a garden centre in Essex on the
east coast of England I recently purchased a juniper labelled
" Juniperus procumbens 'Rivularis' " which appears,
at least in the plant I have, to be similar to J. procumbens
'Nana' but with looser, more vigorous foliage. I can find
no reference to this variety in the literature or online,
so time will tell whether it is just a very well-fed and
mis-named plant of 'Nana' or something different.
'Bonin Isles' is a cultivar of Juniperus procumbens said
to be like 'Nana' but more blue in colour.
In the garden, and for the same kind
of situation, Juniperus sabina 'Tamariscifolia' would
do well, and has a similar growth rate, though more clearly
defined shoots like long arrow heads sweeping down over
the body of the plant. Other prostrate junipers that would
serve a similar purpose though not forming much of a mound
would be Juniperus conferta varieties such as 'Toshio
Blue'.
Where to buy
Below are two examples of the Green Mound Juniper grown
as bonsai that can be purchased online:
Skyrocket Juniper
Skyrocket is one of the most upright forms of grey-green
Juniper.
Blue
Star Juniper
The Blue Star Juniper is a fairly slow-growing silvery
blue mound.
Blue
Rug Juniper
The Blue Rug Juniper carpets the ground.
Where to buy juniper
plants
Useful sources of juniper plants.
Juniper
products
Find out the products that can be made from juniper.
The Green Mound Juniper is
a beautiful plant, but What
are Juniper trees?
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