Juniper 'Sea Green'
Juniperus chinensis 'Sea Green' · Cupressaceae
An evergreen fountain of arching branches with soft, mint-green foliage that darkens in winter. It is fast, tough and takes heat and drought.
- Size
- 5 ft tall, 6½ ft wide
- Zones
- 4 to 9
- Light
- Full sun
- Flowers
- Grown for its leaves
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Anchor
A bed built around juniper 'Sea Green'
The planner designed this bed around juniper 'Sea Green' when this page was made: a 22 × 10 ft (6.7 × 3.0 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 'Sea Green' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Juniper 'Sea Green' × 1, green leaves
- 2 Verbena 'Homestead Purple' × 3, purple
- 3 Cheddar pinks 'Tiny Rubies' × 42, pink
- 4 Indian grass 'Sioux Blue' × 3, tan
- 5 Stiff goldenrod × 8, yellow
- 6 Autumn sage × 4, white
- 7 Winter heath × 8, pink
- 8 Sea thrift × 24, pink
- 9 Beardtongue 'Husker Red' × 3, white
- 10 Sicilian honey garlic × 6, cream
- 11 Crown imperial × 6, yellow
- 12 Narrow-leaved foxtail lily × 5, yellow
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 do Indian grass 'Sioux Blue' and winter heath.
Why here
- Anchors a back corner. At 5 ft it is one of the taller plants here, and the tallest close the ends of the bed, where they stand in front of nothing.
- A step in the back row. Next to stiff goldenrod (4 ft): no two neighbours there are the same height, so the back steps up and down like a skyline.
- One plant, alone. A shrub is seen as an object, and needs clear ground around it.
Why now
- Here for its leaves, all year. They cover the six weeks between early March and late November when nothing on the plan is in flower.
- One of four evergreens. They are what the bed has to show from November to March.
Planned as an English border: 17 of the 19 groups (89%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. The scheme leans cool (purple and pink) and uses yellow for warmth, with tan, white and cream to calm things between them. The flowers run from late January to mid October: 39 weeks in all.
The planner's own design check: 13 Excellent, 4 Good. 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 'Sea Green' goes in a border
At 5 ft it belongs at the back of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is tall (4 to 5 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.
Its arching, vase-shaped habit is more graceful than most junipers. Give it full sun and room; it cannot be cut back into bare wood.
- Evergreen mass planting
- Informal hedges and screens
- Hot, dry sites
What to plant with juniper 'Sea Green'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Daylily: adds the flowers, late June to early August; low enough (2½ ft) to stand in front of it.
- Russian sage: adds the flowers, mid July to mid September; happy in the same dry soil.
- Sedum 'Autumn Joy': adds the flowers, mid August to mid October; bold leaves against its fine ones; low enough (24 in) to stand in front of it.
Questions about juniper 'Sea Green'
Does juniper 'Sea Green' need sun or shade?
Juniper 'Sea Green' grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day).
It wants dry, sharply drained soil, of average fertility, and little watering once settled.
What zones does juniper 'Sea Green' grow in?
USDA zones 4 to 9. It is hardy to zone 4, which means it survives winter nights down to about −20 °F (−29 °C).
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
How far apart should juniper 'Sea Green' be planted?
6 ft (180 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 6½ ft (200 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 5 ft (150 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many juniper 'Sea Green' plants do I need?
Usually one. At 6 ft (180 cm) across, it is a plant you place, not one you mass. For a hedge or screen, set them 6 ft apart: two plants for a 10 ft run.
In the bed above, the planner used one in one group.
Is juniper 'Sea Green' 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.
Is there a native plant like juniper 'Sea Green'?
Juniper 'Sea Green' comes from China, Mongolia, Japan, Himalayas. These North American natives come closest to doing its job:
- Juniper 'Grey Owl': the same job in a bed; belongs in the middle, not at the back, 24 in shorter.
- Northern bayberry: the same job in a bed; 20 in taller, 8 in wider.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
Do deer eat juniper 'Sea Green'?
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 'Sea Green' look like in winter?
Juniper 'Sea Green' keeps its 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.
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 'Grey Owl' Juniperus virginiana 'Grey Owl'
- Juniper 'Old Gold' Juniperus x pfitzeriana 'Old Gold'
- 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
- Evergreen shrubs for structure
Zone guides: Zone 4 · Zone 5 · Zone 6 · Zone 7 · Zone 8 · Zone 9
Every fact on record
- Type
- Shrub
- Size
- 5 ft (150 cm) tall, 6½ ft (200 cm) wide
- Plant
- 6 ft (180 cm) apart
- Height class
- Tall (4 to 5 ft)
- Place in the bed
- Back
- Flowers
- None: grown for its foliage
- Leaves
- Fine texture, evergreen; green
- Shape
- Vase-shaped, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 4 to 9
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil
- Average, dry and sharply drained
- Water
- Low
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Cupressaceae
- Comes from
- China, Mongolia, Japan, Himalayas
- Stands up to
- Deer, salt, pollution
Checked against NC State Extension. 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.