Blue Star Juniper

Blue Star Juniper

Juniperus squamata 'Blue Star'

Cupressaceae

• Full sun (best blue color; thins in shade)
• 1'–3' tall x 2'–4' wide
• Drought Tolerance: High once established; needs good drainage, intolerant of wet soil
• Foliage: Evergreen silver-blue awl-shaped needles in whorls of 3; purplish tint in winter
• Wildlife Benefits: Evergreen shelter for small birds/insects; deer resistant

Blue Star is a dwarf, slow-growing juniper prized above all for its intense silver-blue color. It is a cultivar of Juniperus squamata, the flaky or singleseed juniper, a species native to the high mountains of Afghanistan, the Himalayas, and western China; the cultivar itself arose in the Netherlands in 1964 and has since earned the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. It is an easy, durable evergreen for our climate, hardy, drought tolerant once established, and content in poor, dry, sandy, or rocky soil. Its one firm requirement is good drainage, as it will not tolerate wet, soggy ground. Plant it in full sun for the richest blue color. Junipers as a group can be troubled by twig blights in unusually wet springs, by root rot in poorly drained soil, and by occasional aphids, bagworms, webworms, scale, and spider mites, but Blue Star is generally trouble-free and needs essentially no pruning to keep its shape.

Blue Star's appeal is year-round and immediate: a low, dense, hemispherical mound of short, awl-shaped needles carried in whorls of three, each needle banded silvery white so the whole shrub reads as a glittering steel-blue cushion. In winter the color often deepens to a purplish heather-blue. It is genuinely dwarf and slow, taking years to reach one to three feet tall and spreading only two to four feet wide, so it holds a tidy, sculptural shape for a very long time. That combination of true blue foliage, fine star-like texture, and compact mounded form is what makes it one of the most popular small conifers and a reliable evergreen anchor in a low, sunny planting.

As a dense, low evergreen, Blue Star offers shelter for small birds and beneficial insects, and it is notably deer resistant. It is a non-native ornamental and not a significant wildlife or food plant, so its role is structural and aesthetic rather than ecological. 

Blue Star is one of the most versatile small evergreens available: a specimen or foundation plant, a low blue accent in a rock garden, a slow groundcover, and a natural fit for containers, troughs, slopes, and dry borders. Its color and texture are especially effective as a foil for warm tones and for the reds and burgundies of the hens and chicks succulents, and it echoes the blue of the columnar Skyrocket juniper. Combine it with sedum and hens and chicks, ornamental grasses such as blue fescue, and other low, drought-tolerant sun-lovers for a cohesive, water-wise composition that looks good in every season.

Note: This plant is NOT fire-wise and should be planted carefully, avoiding areas prone to wildfire and keeping adequate clearance from structures.