The Holger Juniper is a cultivar of J. squamata . It is a small (5 feet at maturity), compact, slow growing, needled evergreen shrub in the Cupressaceae family and noted for its attractive and unusual foliage. The foliage of this remarkable shrub changes with the season with spring being frosted with gold then turning in summer to a blue-green and finally, winter is blue-gray. Holger Juniper is a hardy, low-maintenance plant that does best in full sun with average moisture in well-drained soil. It tolerates a variety of soils, including clay and shallow rocky soil, and does well in drought and dry conditions; however, it will not tolerate wet soils. It generally needs no pruning, but plant height can be controlled if desired by pruning. This shrub has difficulty in the Southeast because of the hot and humid growing conditions. In the proper habitat, it can be grown in an Asia, drought-tolerant or rock gardens. It can be planted in groups for use on slopes or foundation plantings. Diseases, Insect Pests, and Other Plant Problems: No significant problems. Can be susceptible to blights (homopsis twig blight is of particular concern), rust diseases, root rot, aphids, bagworms, twig borers, webworms and scale . See the "Pests of Conifers" fact sheet to the left. The Clemson Cooperative Extension Home and Garden Information Center has a factsheet on common juniper diseases and insect pests.
Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds
whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.
No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.
Also noted by NC State
Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell
apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
Soil texture
Clay; Sand; Shallow Rocky
Soil pH
Acid (<6.0); Alkaline (>8.0); Neutral (6.0-8.0)
Soil drainage
Good Drainage | Occasionally Dry
Available space
6-feet-12 feet
NC region
Mountains; Piedmont
Mature size
Height: 4 ft. 0 in. - 5 ft. 0 in. | Width: 4 ft. 0 in. - 5 ft. 0 in.
Growth rate
Slow
Maintenance
Low
Canopy layer
3 - Shrub (3-15 ft)
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Arching; Dense; Erect; Prostrate; Spreading
Texture
Fine
Foliage
Needled Evergreen
Leaf color
Blue; Gold/Yellow; Gray/Silver; Green
Leaf type
Needles
Leaf arrangement
Whorled
Leaf feel
Soft
Leaf value
Showy
Leaf size
< 1 inch long
Hairs present
No
Leaf detail
Attractive seasonal foliage that is frosted with gold in spring, blue green in summer, and blue gray in winter. Awl-shaped, sharply-pointed needles (to 5/16 of an inch long) appear in whorls of three. Each needle has a gray-white band.
Flower detail
Junipers do not flower.
Fruit color
Black
Fruit value
Showy
Fruit detail
Fleshy, elliptic, blackish, berry-like seed cone contains only one seed.
Wildlife & Ecology
Native status
Non-native
Origin
Central to eastern Asia.
Wildlife value
attracts birds
Landscape Use
Landscape location
Lawn; Patio; Slope/Bank; Small Space; Woodland
Landscape theme
Asian Garden; Drought Tolerant Garden; Rock Garden; Winter Garden