Juniperus chinensis Stricta

Juniperus chinensis 'Stricta' is a Chinese Juniper with an upright and conical habit in its early years. As it ages, it tends to broaden while maintaining an interesting upright form. Its foliage is its greatest asset: bluish-green for most of the year, it turns steel blue in the cold of winter, which enhances its decorative interest. Juniperus chinensis 'Stricta' is an easy plant to grow as it is very adaptable. It appreciates a certain freshness of the soil but once well established, it tolerates dry conditions quite well. It thrives in neutral to alkaline soil, even poor or sandy soil. A sunny exposure is recommended, but it also tolerates partial shade. 

Juniperus chinensis is a member of the Cupressaceae family, which includes other well-known conifers such as Chamaecyparis, Thuja, Cupressus, or less common ones, such as Calocedrus or Tetraclinis. Native to Asia (China, Japan, Korea, Russia), it is generally a large tree, measuring 20 m to 25 m (66 ft to 8 ft) with a more or less pyramidal shape.

This variety has much smaller dimensions adapted to our gardens. In fact, it will reach a height of 2 m to 2.5 m (6.6 ft to 8.2 ft) and a width of 80 cm to 100 cm (31.5 in to 39.4 in) in about ten years. Its habit is upright, with a pointed cone shape, and tends to broaden slightly with age. Its dense foliage consists of small non-prickly leaves. It is bluish-green for three-quarters of the year, and takes on a striking steel blue colour in winter. This shrub inherited from its origins a great hardiness (beyond -25° C (-13° F)) as well as an ability to adapt to different growing conditions. It is rather tolerant of soil, from neutral to alkaline, and can also grow in sandy, even poor soil, as is usually the case. This juniper grows in moderately moist to occasionally dry substrate, it just requires good drainage as it does not tolerate stagnant water. It prefers full sun but tolerates partial shade for part of the day. It is therefore a good plant to start with in the garden as it is generally very tolerant and can withstand atmospheric pollution, which is an advantage in urban areas. Its moderate growth makes it suitable for smaller gardens, planted in rockeries, mixed borders or as a solitary specimen. Its limited growth also allows it to be grown in containers, to decorate a balcony or terrace. A light annual pruning will be sufficient to limit its growth and give it a perfect shape. It can also be planted in groups of different sizes, possibly trained as topiary to create a remarkable scene.

This highly decorative small conifer will benefit from being planted with other conifers with coloured foliage, especially gold-coloured foliage, preferably in a spreading form to create a double contrast of shape and colour. You can choose Taxus baccata 'Summergold' (common golden yew) with its golden young foliage that later turns bronze and then dark green, creating a scene with changing colours throughout the seasons. 'Goldkissen' juniper will also be a good companion for a yellow/green-blue contrast. Among deciduous plants, you can opt for Cotinus coggygria 'Golden Lady', a smoke tree with changing foliage, from yellow to orange. 'Black Beauty' elderberry with purple foliage will create a dark background that will enhance our green-blue juniper, plus the added advantage of beautiful pink summer flowering.

Purple or almost black foliage will also be interesting for creating attractive scenes, such as those of the series of black Indian lilacs (Black Solitaire, Blush, Best Red or Crimson Red depending on the flower colour). This way, you will benefit from the bicoloured foliage of the juniper, a bordeaux-black foliage in the summer, dazzling flowering in summer, and decorative bark that will become increasingly beautiful over the years.