Spartan Junipers are best known for their starring role as spiraled topiary columns! This living design element is most popular in Mediterranean and Asian-inspired gardens and offers a more structured alternative to the tall cypress of Italy.

Densely branched, the Spartan Juniper holds up to artistic pruning and can take on a variety of topiary shapes. Beyond its ability to dazzle your guests and neighbors, the Spartan Juniper is also an ideal plant for small-scale screening and windbreaks.

The Spartan Juniper is an impressively fast-growing tree that reaches up to 15 feet in height and 5 feet in width. This tree has a growth rate of 12 inches per year, which means you can don your most creative gardening smock and become the Picasso of your landscaping within a short period of time.

If you prefer a more traditional use for your Spartan Junipers, you’ll be pleased to know these trees make excellent borders, windbreaks, and privacy screens, but they also thrive in containers and are widely used in mass plantings and urban gardens. Due to their narrow width, the Spartan Juniper can make a big impact on your landscaping even when space is limited.

While Spartan Junipers can grow in full sun to partial shade, they do best in full sun. These beauties thrive when they have six hours of direct, unfiltered sunlight. When it comes to water, these trees will require very little help from your sprinkler system or watering can. They do well with natural rainfall levels in most regions once they are fully established.

Adding to their low-maintenance appeal, Spartan Junipers do not require fertilization. That said, you can fertilize once in the early spring and again in late summer as long as you choose a slow-release fertilizer.

Planting

If you’d like to create a privacy screen, plant your Spartan Junipers 3 feet apart for a denser screen or 5 feet apart for an airier screen.

To plant your trees, choose a planting site that offers full sun. Prepare the location by removing weeds or debris of any kind. Dig a hole that is about three times the width of the tree’s container and equal to the depth of the root blumb. Lower the root bulb into the hole and backfill the hole.

Then, water the soil and top the are with 2 to 3 inches of mulch, being careful not to crown the trunk of the tree.

Watering

You’ll want to continue watering your juniper 2 to 3 times per week for the first month. Once your tree is established, only water when the soil is dry to the touch.

Keep in mind that though your juniper is soil tolerant, it will do best in soil that drains well.

Fertilizing

Fertilize and prune, as needed!