Prince of Wales Juniper

The Prince of Wales Juniper is right at the top of the list for easy ground-cover evergreens. It quickly spreads into a horizontal mat of branches, about 6 inches tall, and up to 10 feet across. It has green foliage with a bluish tinge, and in winter it glows attractive shades of bronzy-purple. It has no equal for covering sloping banks or spilling over walls, and it is perfect for softening the edges where beds meet hard surfaces, like driveways, paths and terraces. If you have hot, dry areas of gravel, rocks and boulders, you can turn them into a living carpet in a short time with this great shrub. As a native plant it is ideal for natural gardens too.

• Low, ground-hugging carpet of blue-green foliage
• Attractive purple-bronze coloring in winter
• Tough and rugged in heat and cold
• Perfect for slopes, edging paving and spilling over walls
• Grows well in poor, rocky and sandy soils

Plant the Prince of Wales Juniper in full sun for the best growth and richest foliage colors. It will grow in any well-drained soil, even poor sandy ones and dry clay. With its strong roots and mat of branches it is perfect for erosion control on banks, and it is resistant to deer, pests and diseases. Only shade and wet soil present any problems. It does not need trimming to keep it low and neat, but if it is spreading too wide, prune back branches just in front of an upward-facing shoot, to preserve its natural form, rather than using trimmers.