Utah juniper

The shoots are fairly thick compared to most junipers, 1.5-2 mm diameter. The leaves are arranged in opposite decussate pairs or whorls of three; the adult leaves are scale-like, 1-2 mm long and 1-1.5 mm broad. The juvenile leaves are needle-like, 5-10 mm long. The cones are berry-like, 8-13 mm in diameter, blue-brown with a whitish waxy bloom, and contain a single seed ; they are mature in about 18 months. The male cones are 2-4 mm long, and shed their pollen in early spring. It is largely monoecious with both sexes on the same plant, but around 10% of plants are dioecious, producing cones of only one sex.

Growth Characteristics: Utah juniper is usually a bushy tree in appearance, with a rounded crown and a trunk that is many-forked or occasionally with a central dominant trunk. It has an extensive root system the enables it to vigorously compete for moisture. Mature trees are usually less than 30 feet high. Utah juniper can live to be 650 years old. Reproduction is by seed. Flowers/Inflorescence: A small, up to 1/3 inch diameter, berry-like, globe-shaped female cone with poorly defined cone scales. More

On average, Utah junipers reach two to five meters depending on soil and water conditions. That can make finding bonsai-sized Utahs a challenge. When we did find modestly-sized trees, most had straight or otherwise uninteresting trunks. Below are a few that caught our attention. More

Picture of Utah Juniper Photo of white berries that Juniper trees form in Arches National Park in Utah, USA. More