Singleseed Juniper 'Meyeri'

Flaky Juniper 'Meyeri' (Juniperus squamata 'Meyeri') is a blue fountain that leaps upwards and lets its shoot tips nod gently over. The stiff awl-shaped needles are set in whorls of three and carry a striking steel-blue tone that plays at its brightest in open sun.

Plant it as a specimen on a lawn, in groups of conifers, or on slopes where the soil needs binding. At 10 years it stands about 1-1.5 m, and with the years it grows considerably larger, so unlike the creeping 'Blue Carpet' or the bun-shaped 'Blue Star' it gives a genuinely vertical blue accent.

Key characteristics:

• What makes it special: The cultivar is named after Frank Nicholas Meyer (1875-1918), the USDA plant collector who brought plants back from East Asia for American gardens.
• Dimensions: At 10 years it reaches 1-1.5 m in height and up to 1.2 m across - a picturesque, well-filled shrub.
• Hardiness: It winters down to -34 °C (USDA zone 4), taking frosts confidently.
• Light: Give it full sun: that is where the needles hold their blue, since in shade the tone fades and the crown thins.
• Soil: It takes readily to a range of soils, and does best on drier sandy ones with good drainage.
• Watering: Watering is moderate: it stands drought confidently, but will not tolerate waterlogged soils at all.
• Care: Pruning is not needed, though the height is easy to keep in check; dead brown needles inside the crown are simply picked out.
• Landscape use: Striking as a specimen in a larger garden, in conifer groups, on slopes at risk of erosion and in urban planting.