Growing Blue Rug Juniper Plant: All Your Questions Answered

Blue Rug Juniper, also known by its scientific name, Juniperus procumbens "Blue Rug", or as creeping juniper, is a low-growing evergreen shrub that's native to Asia and Australia. The hardy shrub requires low maintenance once established.

This guide, however, will help you plant Blue Rug Juniper and take perfect care of it for it to thrive in your garden.

All You Need to Know

In this guide, we will get into all the essential information you need to know about Blue Rug Juniper plants.

General Information About Blue Rug Juniper

Blue rug juniper is a low-maintenance, drought-tolerant evergreen shrub that can be grown in a variety of soil types. It has a compact growth habit and is ideal for small spaces.

It was first introduced to the United States in 1856 and has only been growing in popularity ever since, as it's used both for its aesthetic qualities and erosion control qualities. It thrives in rocky, sandy, or thin mountain soils, making it very suitable for a wide variety of locations.

It's also used to control weeds around retaining walls and in inland deserts.

Physical Characteristics of Blue Rug Juniper

Blue Rug Juniper is a small, prostrate evergreen shrub with silvery blue foliage. The silver blue foliage creeps along the ground, making the plant cover widely used. The creeping foliage turns purple bronze during the winter months, adding winter interest.

Growth Habit of Blue Rug Juniper

Blue Rug Juniper is a creeping juniper, which means it has a spreading growth habit and grows in a low mound. The wide spread of this plant can be controlled with light pruning or cutting back new growth when you notice it becoming too invasive.

It has a low and centered growth habit, so it can be grown as an accent plant in rock gardens or as part of an informal hedge as well.

Growing Conditions of Blue Rug Juniper

Blue Rug Juniper is a drought-tolerant plant and can survive in harsh conditions. It's tolerant of road salt as well and doesn't need any particular winter protection. It grows in USDA cold hardiness zone range 3-9. You should space plants 5-6 feet apart or even closer for faster coverage.

Here are the important growing conditions to keep in mind:

Soil Conditions of Blue Rug Juniper

It can grow in sandy soil, rocky soils, clay soils, or poor soils. The sandy gravel of inland deserts is even suitable as well. Blue Rug Juniper also tolerates alkaline soil and acidic soil well. The ideal soil pH should be between 6.0 and 7.5. As for soil moisture, well-drained soils are preferred.

Soil depth should be around 4-6 inches (10-15 cm). It will grow in any type of soil but it needs to be kept moist at all times or else it will die back from lack of water.

Sun Exposure Needs of Blue Rug Juniper

The blue rug juniper is a sun-loving plant that needs full sun to thrive. It can withstand heat and drought well but will do best in areas with mild temperatures and rainfall patterns. Sunny slopes are the perfect planting position.

Since blue rug junipers need full sun to thrive they should not be planted under trees or other shade-giving plants; it's tolerant of shade, but partial shade will slow down its growth rate.

You should keep this plant away from the hot afternoon sun if you want it to retain its coloration; otherwise, it will turn greenish-blue or even yellowish-green over time due to exposure to too much light.

Pruning Blue Rug Juniper

Pruning blue rug juniper is a pretty simple process. It's best to do it in early spring when you can see the tree's new growth and make sure that you don't cut off any of it.

To shape your blue rug juniper, cut back branches that are growing too long or crookedly and remove dead or damaged branches from the interior of the shrub. You may also want to prune crossed branches as well as old wood that has stopped producing new growth.

Diseases that Blue Rug Juniper Faces

Blue Rug Juniper is a very disease-resistant plant. As long as you are careful to avoid overwatering and plant in an area with good drainage and space plants decently in a suitable USDA cold hardiness zone, your Blue Rug Juniper will likely remain healthy.

You should also try to space the plants at least two feet apart. This helps increase air circulation around each plant and prevents them from becoming waterlogged or infected by pests like aphids or scale insects that thrive in damp conditions.

Spider mites and cedar apple rust might be an issue, however, so look out for it. Use fungicide if you suspect such a problem.

Blue Rug Junipers do well in full sun or partial shade; however, if you choose to grow them in shade make sure that there isn't too much direct sunlight. This can cause leaf scorch which leads to browning leaves and eventually death of those branches not receiving enough light (and therefore nutrients) from above-ground parts such as stems/trunks/branches etcetera.

Tips for Caring for Blue Rug Juniper

• Mulch around the juniper to keep the soil moist.

• Avoid pruning in winter, when it's dormant.

• Keep your blue rug juniper watered during the first year after planting, but don't overwater it. Provide supplemental water only when necessary--you'll know if this is necessary because the leaves will start to droop and turn brown at their tips, then fall off entirely if left untreated for too long.

There you have it--a quick overview of the blue rug juniper. This is a great plant for anyone who wants a sturdy, low-maintenance addition to their yard. It's also perfect for those who have limited space or don't have time to spend caring for plants.

It will do just fine as long as it drains well enough so that excess water doesn't saturate its roots too often. You'll find some of our tips to care for this plant as well.

This guide has everything you need to know about the plant so that you can provide all its ideal conditions and have it thrive in your garden.

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