“Juniper” covers a huge range of plants, from carpets a few inches tall to trees taller than a two-story house. If you are planting one, the cultivar name on the tag matters far more than the species. If you already have one, its mature size tells you whether it will fit where it is.
The short answer: most juniper trees reach 15 to 60 feet tall, depending on the species and cultivar. Eastern red-cedar typically grows 40 to 50 feet tall and 8 to 20 feet wide in landscapes. Upright Chinese juniper cultivars usually stay 15 to 25 feet, shrub types 3 to 15 feet, and groundcover junipers under about 2 feet. Junipers cannot be cut back much, so pick a cultivar that matures at the size you need.
Typical juniper sizes
| Type | Example | Mature height | Mature width |
|---|---|---|---|
| Native tree | Eastern red-cedar (Juniperus virginiana) | 40 to 50 ft (up to 60 ft) | 8 to 20 ft |
| Columnar cultivar | ‘Glauca’ eastern red-cedar | 20 to 25 ft | 8 to 10 ft |
| Narrow upright | ‘Spartan’ Chinese juniper | 15 to 20 ft | about 5 ft |
| Narrow upright | ‘Spearmint’ Chinese juniper | about 15 ft | 3 to 5 ft |
| Pyramidal | ‘Hetzii Columnaris’ Chinese juniper | 20 to 25 ft in 15 to 20 years | 6 to 8 ft |
| Large shrub | ‘Hetzii’ juniper | 8 to 12 ft | 8 to 12 ft |
| Spreading shrub | ‘Wilhelm Pfitzer’ juniper | 6 to 10 ft | 15 to 20 ft |
| Low shrub | ‘Blue Mountain’ eastern red-cedar | 3 to 4 ft | 5 to 8 ft |
| Groundcover | Creeping juniper cultivars | Usually under 1 to 2 ft | 4 to 8 ft or more |
Sizes for eastern red-cedar and its cultivars are from the Morton Arboretum; Chinese juniper and Pfitzer sizes are from Clemson Extension. Groundcover sizes vary widely by cultivar.
Eastern red-cedar: the common juniper tree
Eastern red-cedar is the juniper most people mean by “juniper tree” in eastern North America. The Morton Arboretum lists it at 40 to 50 feet tall and 8 to 20 feet wide, and Virginia Tech’s dendrology fact sheet notes it can reach up to 60 feet. Clemson Extension describes it as densely columnar to broadly pyramidal, 20 to 60 feet tall with a spread of 10 to 20 feet, hardy, drought tolerant and long-lived.
It grows at a slow to moderate rate. In open fields it often appears on its own from seed spread by birds.
How fast do junipers grow?
Most junipers grow slowly to moderately. Growth is faster in full sun with good drainage and slower in poor soil, shade or dry, windy sites. Clemson Extension gives an example: ‘Hetzii Columnaris’ is expected to reach 20 to 25 feet in 15 to 20 years. That means a small nursery plant can take a decade or more to reach its full size, and it is easy to underestimate.
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Why mature size matters more for junipers
With many shrubs, you can cut back an oversized plant hard and it will regrow. Junipers are different. The University of Wisconsin–Madison Extension warns against cutting junipers back to bare, non-leafy wood, because new growth may take years to fill in, if it ever does. That means you can keep a juniper at its current size with light pruning, but you cannot shrink it much.
Clemson Extension adds that proper spacing reduces or eliminates the need to prune healthy branches, and improves air movement, which helps prevent foliage diseases.
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Choosing the right juniper for the spot
- Measure the space. Note both height and width, including clearance from walls, windows and walks.
- Read the tag for the mature size. Use the cultivar name, not just “juniper.”
- Leave extra room. Plant at least half the mature width away from walls and walks.
- Match the conditions. Junipers need full sun and well-drained soil. Clemson notes that Rocky Mountain juniper cultivars are intolerant of high humidity and more disease-prone in humid climates than eastern red-cedar.
- Think about rust. Eastern red-cedar hosts cedar-apple rust. If you grow apples or crabapples nearby, consider resistant fruit varieties.
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Why sizes vary so much
Published sizes are averages. The same cultivar may stay smaller in a cold, windy or dry site and grow larger in a long, warm growing season with good soil. Labels also often list the size after 10 years rather than at full maturity, so a juniper can keep growing past the number on the tag. When in doubt, plan for the larger figure.
Using junipers as screens
Narrow upright cultivars such as ‘Spartan’ make good screens in small spaces. Space them according to their mature width, so they touch at maturity without crowding. Planting too close leads to browning on the inner sides where branches shade each other.
For care, see when to prune junipers and how to identify a juniper. If yours is browning, read why junipers turn brown.
Sources
- Juniper, Clemson Cooperative Extension HGIC
- Eastern Red-cedar, The Morton Arboretum
- Eastern Redcedar (Juniperus virginiana), Virginia Tech Dendrology
- Pruning Evergreens, University of Wisconsin–Madison Extension
Top photo: Bob Miller, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons