Juniper 'Grey Owl'
Juniperus virginiana 'Grey Owl' · Cupressaceae
Wide-spreading, feathery branches of soft silver-grey, held in graceful, arching layers, and studded with blue-grey berries.
- Size
- 3 ft tall, 6 ft wide
- Zones
- 2 to 9
- Light
- Full sun
- Flowers
- Grown for its leaves
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Anchor
A bed built around juniper 'Grey Owl'
The planner designed this bed around juniper 'Grey Owl' when this page was made: a 16 × 8 ft (4.9 × 2.4 m) English border in zone 6, full sun. It chose the other plants from the 715 that suit those conditions and its dry soil, and says below why juniper 'Grey Owl' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Juniper 'Grey Owl' × 1, silver leaves
- 2 Verbena 'Homestead Purple' × 6, purple
- 3 Sea thrift × 5, pink
- 4 Tatarian aster 'Jindai' × 4, purple
- 5 Switchgrass 'Prairie Sky' × 4, tan
- 6 Wild lupine × 8, blue
- 7 Ornamental onion 'Purple Sensation' × 5, purple
- 8 Star of Persia × 4, purple
- 9 Spring starflower × 12, white
Why this plant
- The only plant grown for its leaves. Leaf lasts all season, where a flower lasts a few weeks.
- Part of the bed's structure. Shrubs and grasses keep their shape when the perennials die down. So does switchgrass 'Prairie Sky'.
Why here
- In the middle. At 3 ft it is the step between verbena 'Homestead Purple' (10 in) in front and Tatarian aster 'Jindai' (4 ft) behind: each is seen over the one before.
- One plant, alone. A shrub is seen as an object, and needs clear ground around it.
- Fine leaf against bold. Tatarian aster 'Jindai' is beside it: the strongest contrast of leaf there is.
Why now
- Here for its leaves, all year. They cover the 8 weeks between early March and late November when nothing on the plan is in flower.
- One of two evergreens. They are what the bed has to show from November to March.
Planned as an English border: 5 of the 6 groups (83%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. Switchgrass 'Prairie Sky' and Tatarian aster 'Jindai' anchor the back corners of the bed: the tallest plants on the plan stand there. The flowers stay on the cool side of the palette: purple, pink, blue, tan and white.
The planner's own design check: 13 Excellent, 3 Good, 1 Satisfactory. It flags one thing to watch: Nothing on this plan is highly poisonous or an aggressive spreader.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where juniper 'Grey Owl' goes in a border
At 3 ft it belongs in the middle of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is medium tall (2½ to 3 ft).
Its job: anchor. A shrub that gives the bed permanent structure. Planted singly, as soon as the front edge is laid; everything else is arranged around it.
A selection of the native eastern red cedar, tough enough for any soil and any cold. The silver foliage is a calm background for flowers and dark evergreens.
- Silver evergreen mass
- Dry banks
- Background for perennials
What to plant with juniper 'Grey Owl'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Russian sage: adds the flowers, mid July to mid September; happy in the same dry soil.
- Purple coneflower: adds the flowers, late June to early September.
- Little bluestem: happy in the same dry soil.
Questions about juniper 'Grey Owl'
Does juniper 'Grey Owl' need sun or shade?
Juniper 'Grey Owl' grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day).
It wants dry, sharply drained soil, on the lean side, with no feeding, and little watering once settled. Once settled in, it stands drought.
What zones does juniper 'Grey Owl' grow in?
USDA zones 2 to 9. It is hardy to zone 2, which means it survives winter nights down to about −40 °F (−40 °C).
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
How far apart should juniper 'Grey Owl' be planted?
5 ft (150 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 6 ft (180 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 3 ft (90 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many juniper 'Grey Owl' plants do I need?
Usually one. At 5 ft (150 cm) across, it is a plant you place, not one you mass. For a hedge or screen, set them 5 ft apart: three plants for a 10 ft run.
In the bed above, the planner used one in one group.
Is juniper 'Grey Owl' poisonous to dogs and cats?
No toxicity is recorded for dogs, cats, horses or people, according to NC State Extension.
"Not toxic" is not "edible": a pet that eats a lot of any plant can be sick.
Do deer eat juniper 'Grey Owl'?
Mostly not. NC State lists it as resistant to deer. No plant is proof against a hungry deer in a hard winter, but this one is low on the menu.
What does juniper 'Grey Owl' look like in winter?
Juniper 'Grey Owl' keeps its silver and grey-green leaves all winter, so it is one of the plants that hold a bed together from November to March, when the perennials have gone.
Is juniper 'Grey Owl' good for bees and butterflies?
Juniper 'Grey Owl' is visited by pollinators, butterflies, moths and songbirds.
It is a host plant: the caterpillars of imperial moth and juniper hairstreak feed on its leaves. A butterfly can only lay its eggs on its host plants, so these do more for it than any nectar flower.
It is native to the United States (this is a named variety of the native plant).
More Juniperus
- Creeping juniper 'Blue Chip' Juniperus horizontalis 'Blue Chip'
- Creeping juniper 'Blue Rug' Juniperus horizontalis 'Wiltonii'
- Creeping juniper 'Mother Lode' Juniperus horizontalis 'Mother Lode'
- Japanese garden juniper Juniperus procumbens 'Nana'
- Juniper 'Blue Arrow' Juniperus scopulorum 'Blue Arrow'
- Juniper 'Blue Star' Juniperus squamata 'Blue Star'
- Juniper 'Gold Cone' Juniperus communis 'Gold Cone'
- Juniper 'Old Gold' Juniperus x pfitzeriana 'Old Gold'
- Juniper 'Sea Green' Juniperus chinensis 'Sea Green'
- Juniper 'Skyrocket' Juniperus scopulorum 'Skyrocket'
- Shore juniper 'Blue Pacific' Juniperus conferta 'Blue Pacific'
In these guides
- Salt-tolerant plants for roadsides and coasts
- Pet-safe plants for a sunny border
- Plants for butterflies
- Plants that feed garden birds
- Evergreen shrubs for structure
- Shrubs under 4 feet for small gardens
- Silver and grey-leaved plants
- Host plants for the imperial moth
Zone guides: Zone 3 · Zone 4 · Zone 5 · Zone 6 · Zone 7 · Zone 8 · Zone 9
Every fact on record
- Type
- Shrub
- Size
- 3 ft (90 cm) tall, 6 ft (180 cm) wide
- Plant
- 5 ft (150 cm) apart
- Height class
- Medium tall (2½ to 3 ft)
- Place in the bed
- Middle
- Flowers
- None: grown for its foliage
- Leaves
- Fine texture, evergreen; silver, grey-green
- Shape
- Vase-shaped, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 2 to 9
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil
- Lean, dry and sharply drained
- Water
- Low
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Cupressaceae
- Comes from
- South East Canada to Central & Eastern U.S.A., Mexico
- Attracts
- Pollinators, butterflies, moths, songbirds
- Host plant for
- Imperial moth, Juniper hairstreak
- Stands up to
- Deer, drought, salt, poor soil
Checked against NC State Extension and VASCAN (plants of Canada). Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.