Blue Pacific Juniper for Sale - Buying & Growing Guide

Planting and Care

by John Haryasz | Horticulture Writer and Landscape Designer – last update on November 17, 2022

Planting instructions

The Blue Pacific Juniper adapts to many soil types, including dry soils and soils of varying acidity levels. Regarding sunlight, this plant has a chance to survive in partial shade but will perform best when it grows in full sunlight. While this plant does grow much more than a foot off the ground, it can spread several feet in every direction, which you should account for when spacing this plant. To plant your Blue Pacific Juniper, all you need to do is dig a hole that’s as deep as the root ball is tall and twice as wide.

Watering and nutrients

During the initial growing season, you should water your Blue Pacific Juniper about once per week to aid establishment. During every following growing season, you should supply water for this plant whenever you notice that the first two inches of soil have dried out. However, this plant will also show great drought tolerance as it matures. The best way to feed it is to apply a balanced fertilizer once per year during the early spring.

Pollination

As is true of most junipers, the Blue Pacific Juniper plants can be either male or female, which means that you’ll need two plants if you wish to conduct pollination. The male versions of these plants open their cones to release pollen into the air, which travels via wind currents to the female plants. Successful pollination results in the female plant developing a set of juniper berries. Those juniper berries each carry a seed surrounded by light blue flesh, which adds to the ornamental appeal of this plant during the later parts of the season.

Pruning

Most years, you will not need to prune your Blue Pacific Juniper at all. The main reason for this is that this plant grows quite slowly, meaning that it poses little to no threat of overtaking other plants in your garden. The Blue Pacific Juniper also grows in naturally low and spreading groundcover form, which limits the need for shaping. With that said, it remains beneficial to prune out any part of this plant that is dead or diseased.

Pests, diseases and animals

There is a handful of diseases that are common among junipers, with twig blight and tip blight being some of the most prevalent ones. Along with those disease complications, a juniper plant may also experience infestations of insects like spider mites, scale insects and aphids. However, the Blue Pacific Juniper stands out from other junipers for having better resistance to both pests and diseases. Along with avoiding infections and infestations, this plant is often deer resistant as well.

Achieving maximum results

Overall, the Blue Pacific Juniper is a plant that is easy to care for and can adapt to a wide range of growing conditions, including varying soil types. With that said, one of the most common threats to this plant is overwatering. Be sure to allow at least the first two inches of soil to dry out before watering this plant, or you may increase the risk of certain diseases. Also, the pruning needs can increase as this plant matures, as you may find more dead stems and foliage as it gets older.

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