Juniperus procumbens is a low-growing juniper native to the southern Japan. The USDA Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN) has the species as a synonym of Juniperus chinensis L. var. procumbens Endl. and lists no accessions under this name. [1]
A recumbent plant, it usually grows to 8" if given adequate space, will bunch to 2 feet if crowded. The branches intertwine and form a dense mat. The leaves are arranged in decussate whorls of three; all the leaves are juvenile form, needle-like, 6-8 mm long and 1-1.5 mm broad, with two white stomatal bands on the inner face. It is dioecious. The cones are berry-like, globose, 8-9 mm in diameter, dark blackish-brown with a pale blue-white waxy bloom, and contain two or three seeds. They mature in about 18 months. The male cones are 3-4 mm long, and shed their pollen in early spring.
It is very a popular ornamental plant in Japan, and also occasionally elsewhere in temperate regions, used for ground cover in rockeries and as bonsai.
"Nana' - One of the finest groundcover junipers, this old favorite grows similar to the species, but is more dwarfed. Plants appear as a neat, mounded mat of small branchlets 2' tall and up to 10' wide. The plant mounds on itself with age and develops a slight purple cast in winter." [2] |
