Juniperus chinensis Blue Alps

Juniperus chinensis 'Blue Alps' is an ornamental and pleasantly fragrant Chinese juniper of medium size, with beautiful vigour and great resistance to difficult conditions. Forming a large, dense and upright shrub with supple, arched branches, this juniper is covered with elegant prickly blue-grey-green foliage, which is particularly silvery on young shoots. Of medium size, with relatively slow growth but very resistant to drought and pollution, this conifer is perfect in a large rock garden, on a slope, in a massif, as a hedge, and even in a small, dry, urban garden, in limestone soil. Bonsai enthusiasts will also find 'Blue Alps' a very interesting 'small tree'.

Juniperus 'Blue Alps' comes from Juniperus chinensis, the Chinese juniper. Its ancestor is a robust conifer native to the Himalayas, China, Mongolia and Japan. 'Blue Alps' is a very hardy and very ornamental variety, smaller in size, belonging to the cypress family like its parent.

Juniper 'Blue Alps' forms a beautiful bushy, dense shrub with a very open habit after a few years. Its upright branches bend slightly at their ends giving this shrub a relaxed appearance.  It will reach about 2 m (6 ft 7 in) in height in 10 years, and will not exceed 2.5m (8 ft 2 in) in height and 1.75 m in width. Its foliage consists of small pointed needle-like leaves of 1 cm (0.4 in) size which are bluish-green in colour.  They are very tightly packed and release a pleasant balsamic smell when rubbed. The underside of the needles is silvery and very bright. The young shoots are tapered and very pale, silvery-blue. The fruits that form on the female plant are berries that we call galbulus; they are bluish black and rich in therapeutic properties. Its bark, reddish-brown in colour, slowly peels off in fine beige strips. The Chinese juniper develops a root that grows deeply into the soil to anchor it firmly. Its extensive shallow root system ensures water is absorbed from even the slightest surface humidity.

Juniper 'Blue Alps' is a small, elegant and hardy conifer that will look stunning in the garden due to its graceful habit and beautiful blue evergreen foliage. It is perfect everywhere. With its slow growth, it will do wonderfully on its own, on a slope, in a large rock garden, or even planted in a group of 3 in a shrub bed accompanied by lower conifers with a rounded or bushy habit. It also grows very well in pots. The geometric qualities of conifers allow them to also work well in the design of a contemporary garden, which prefers the aesthetics of shapes, silhouettes and textures to the display of flowers. These reassuringly long lasting plants enhance any shrub bed, delineate paths, border a terrace, and can easily substitute pruned boxwood or holly. They combine well with mahonias, or with grasses which like similar growing conditions. They can also be associated with low maintenance dry shade perennials such as periwinkles, Euphorbia amygdaloides purpurea, epimediums or Trachystemon orientalis. For best results, experiment with volumes and colours. 'Blue Alps' will be as happy in an alpine garden as it is in a dry garden.