Shrub · North Texas care guide
Juniperus horizontalis 'Wiltonii'
Nursery Pro tip: A flat evergreen carpet for slopes and hot corners where grass won't grow. Full sun, no irrigation once established, never in a wet spot.
A flat, ground-hugging evergreen carpet just 4–6 in tall that spreads 6–8 ft, silver-blue in summer and plum-purple in winter. The best answer for a sunny slope, a hot parking strip, or spilling over a retaining wall.
Full sun and drainage — both essential. It will not grow in shade and it rots in wet clay. Plant on slopes, berms or raised beds; space 3–4 ft apart and let them knit together.
Fall or spring. Plant high, ball an inch or two above grade, native soil mixed with expanded shale, Root Stimulator. Use a thin gravel or bark mulch between plants until they close in, and keep it off the stems.
Weekly the first summer to root in, then every two to three weeks at most. Do not put it on a lawn sprinkler schedule.
Not needed.
Trim stray runners back to a side branch any time. Don't cut into bare wood — junipers don't resprout from it.
Phomopsis tip blight and root rot in wet, crowded or shaded conditions. Bagworms in June. Spider mites in a hot dry summer — hose it down. Weeds coming up through it are the real maintenance chore, so pre-emergent in spring and fall pays off.
Slopes and wall tops with yucca, agave, Texas sage and Gulf muhly; a silver-blue skirt under Blue Point juniper or Arizona cypress.
Written for Rockwall's black clay, heat and winters by the Landscape Source team. Every yard is different — bring a photo by, or ask LS-Ai, and we'll tailor it to your spot.