Tree · North Texas care guide
Juniperus virginiana
Nursery Pro tip: The native evergreen screen. Bulletproof once rooted in.
The native evergreen that grows wild on every hillside in Rockwall County — dense, aromatic, blue-green, and indestructible once established. Dark green in summer, bronze-tinged in winter, with blue berries the cedar waxwings come for. The best evergreen windbreak we have.
Full sun and any soil, from limestone to heavy clay, wet or dry. 30–40 ft tall and 10–20 wide, so it's a back-fence or property-line tree, not a foundation shrub.
Fall through spring. Wide hole, ball at grade, native soil, Root Stimulator, mulch. Don't plant it deep and don't overwater the first year.
Weekly the first summer, then nothing — it prefers to be left alone.
None.
Rarely. Shear lightly in early summer if you want it tighter; never cut back into bare wood, which won't regrow.
Bagworms in June are the main pest — pick off the little brown cones or spray Bt early. Cedar-apple rust needs an apple or hawthorn nearby to matter. Spider mites in drought.
Windbreak or privacy row 10–12 ft apart. Mix with Arizona cypress and wax myrtle for a layered screen. Note: it's a source of the winter 'cedar fever' pollen.
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.