Plants and Profits: Juniper

Suggest juniper when customers ask for . . .

• Basic plants for newly built homes
• A strong and sturdy evergreen shrub
• Plants to screen a patio or outdoor retreat
• A tall shrub or tree that can serve as a windbreak
• A specimen shrub to anchor a large planting bed

{The story}
Juniperus chinensis is a landscape staple across the country—and for good reason. This tough, versatile plant comes in a wide variety of shapes, forms and color variations. Junipers are ideal plants to form the backbone of a new garden. They’re also one of the first go-to plants for homeowners looking to add screens that will create privacy in back and side yards. Junipers are typically easily transplanted and once established require very little care. Depending on the variety and cultivar, junipers can be used as hedges, screens, specimens, mass plantings or groundcover.


Display and marketing possibilities

• Group different juniper cultivars together in a display to show the wide variety of habits and forms the plant offers.
• Invite local bonsai enthusiasts to the garden center to show their juniper specimens.
• Make large container-grown specimens do double duty in your store. Use them to screen off portions of your plant yard that aren’t in use.
• Post photos of full-grown junipers found in local neighborhoods to show the ultimate shape and form homeowners will achieve in their landscapes.