Juniper 'Wichita Blue' Tree for Sale - Buying & Growing Guide

Planting and Care

by Mary Van Keuren | Gardener (30+ Years Experience) – last update on July 5, 2022

Planting instructions

Site your juniper in well-draining soil, in a spot where it will receive at least six hours of sun a day. Unpot the plant and tease out any encircling roots, which can girdle the tree and slowly kill it. Dig a hole that’s as deep as the root ball and twice as wide. Place the tree in the hole, spreading out the roots. Fill in around it with topsoil, tamping down as you go to eliminate air pockets. Water thoroughly. Apply a 2- to 3-inch layer of an organic mulch, such as bark chips, to conserve moisture and hinder weed growth.

Watering and nutrients

For its first year after planting, water your juniper weekly, giving it about an inch of water each time, unless it receives that amount from rain. Once the tree is established, it will only need supplemental watering during times of extreme heat or drought. Fertilize your juniper in early spring with a product designed for landscape trees and shrubs, preferably a balanced formula such as 10-10-10.

Pollination

As conifers, junipers don’t have flowers. Instead, they produce seeds in bracts that turn into cones. The wind is the pollinating agent for these shrubs, which then produce seed-carrying blue berries that are an attractive food source for birds.

Pruning

The juniper ‘Wichita Blue’ will form an attractive pyramidal shape on its own with little pruning. You may occasionally need to remove a dead, diseased, or broken branch, which you can do at any time. If you are using these shrubs to form a more formal hedge, however, you can prune rigorously to achieve the shape desired.

Pests and diseases

Junipers are hardy shrubs, and a healthy plant can resist insect infestations and diseases quite well. Common pests that may appear on your juniper ‘Wichita Blue’ include spider mites, aphids, and scale insects. One way to handle them is to release beneficial insects such as ladybugs, which prey on aphids. Junipers are susceptible to several fungal diseases including cercospora twig blight and phomopsis tip blight. Both cause needle browning, and both can be treated by applying a copper fungicide.

Achieving maximum results

Properly siting your juniper ‘Wichita Blue’ is an important factor in determining its success. If your juniper is going to be a stand-alone specimen planting, make sure to site it where there is good air circulation around it, since damp, humid conditions can encourage fungal diseases. A mature juniper can be 6 to 8 feet wide, so space your plants at least that far apart. If you wish to plant your shrubs close together so that they can be pruned into a formal hedge, be sure that there is good circulation and open space around the hedge.

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