Juniperus sabina Tam No Blight

Juniperus sabina 'Tam No Blight' is a variety of sabine juniper with beautiful dense blue-green foliage, evergreen all year round. It naturally adopts a spreading habit, forming a very good ground cover to dress a slope or decorate a rockery. Not bulky, it can also be used in borders, without the risk of invading its neighbors. It is a slow-growing conifer, but also an extremely hardy plant, perfectly adapted to wind, drought, and altitude. It prefers full sun and a well-drained soil, even poor, dry, and tolerant of limestone. 

Also known as Savin, the Juniperus sabina is a mountain species native to Europe (Andalusia, Turkey, Alps, Balkans), North Africa (Algeria and Morocco), and Asia. It is found between 1400 and 2750m above sea level, but also in many parks and gardens in lowland where it has acclimated perfectly. It is a perfectly hardy conifer (down to -40°C) and of remarkable vigour belonging to the Cupressaceae family. Its short needles are not prickly, and in the absence of a defined axis, it develops in all directions in a bushy form, more or less creeping.

The 'Tam No Blight' cultivar forms after a few years a beautiful dense and prostrate shrub, measuring 60cm (23.6in) in height with a spread of 1.20m (3ft 11in). Beautiful with its beautiful blue-green colour, its evergreen foliage is decorative all year round. It grows slowly when young, then its growth accelerates somewhat as it ages. Its overlapping branches are covered with small tightly-packed scale-like leaves, pressed in pairs on the upright branchlets. Very sturdy, this small conifer is generally an undemanding plant to grow. However, note that junipers have a shallow root system that can sometimes make them difficult to associate with perennials. 

The 'Tam No Blight' juniper is an extraordinary small conifer, very undemanding, that conquers space in the most difficult areas of the garden as long as they are sunny. It will be adopted without reservation on a difficult slope, among rocks, above a wall or a low wall, or near a swimming pool, as it goes well with geometric lines and masonry structures. It is easily cultivated in pots and lends itself well to the art of bonsai due to its very dense foliage and natural small size. Ideal in a contemporary garden, it can be associated with other graphic plants with colourful foliage, such as the Taxus baccata 'David', a columnar yew with young golden foliage, which will provide contrast in terms of shape and color. On a slope, it will blend well with the very pretty Cotoneaster suecicus 'Coral Beauty', with comparable vigour, and which will bring all the interest of beautiful white flowering, followed by magnificent decorative coral-coloured fruits.