how do you contain it when it's grown to the capacity of the spot where it's planted...

Answer #4 · Lynne Saucier's Answer · hi john...thanks for all your good information...these creeping juniper/cedars are really lovely...i guess my daughter was just wondering if: 1. they would outgrow the place they are currently growing and 2. if they needed maintenance. this is one thing i have no experience with and therefore your info is valuable. looks like you have answered my questions. thank you!)

Answer #3 · Maple Tree's Answer · Lynne-Creeping Cedar also known as Creeping Juniper (Juniperus horizontalis) can refer to serveral juniper cultivars. Depending on the plant you have will determine its mature height and width. Most of these will have a mature width of 4 to 6 feet depending on factors such as climate, type of soil, sun light, nutrient availability, and available water to name a few. I noted links to plant files of some of the low spreading junipers that are common in many landscapes. You can click on these links to go directly to these plant files. There you will see pictures of the plants and their growth characteristics including their average mature height and widths. Hopefully one of these creeping junipers will look like the plants your daughter has. If not you would be safe assuming 6 foot would be the maximum width of most of the larger, low growing, spreading junipers.

http://www.gardenality.com/Plants/288/Groundcover-Plants/Creeping-Cedar.html

http://www.gardenality.com/Plants/1897/Groundcover-Plants/Blue-Chip-Juniper.html

http://www.gardenality.com/Plants/287/Groundcover-Plants/Blue-Rug-Juniper.html#

Don't hesitate to ask any other questions you may have.

John)

Answer #2 · Lynne Saucier's Answer · hi john-thanks for your pruning description...i understand what you mean about not pruning too hard...do these creeping cedar/junipers grow on and on and on...or do they have a maximum size? my daughter just bought a house and these are planted in the dip along the road...the whole yard has been very nicely landscaped, so i would assume the previous owners did not plant them indiscriminately...it just seems like they would grow on forever, getting larger and larger...but knowing that they might have a maximum/mature size is comforting in that they probably won't outgrow the space that has been allotted them.)

Answer #1 · Maple Tree's Answer · Hi Lynne-It is always best to plant the creeping cedar (creeping Juniper) in a location where it can grow to its mature size without having to hard prune it at times. These junipers can be pruned lightly or some long growth cut out helping to keep the plants within bounds. Unfortunately if these plants have to be sheared much at all to shape they will loose their beautiful natural spreading characteristic look. If the plants need hard pruning to stay within bounds they may not recover well enough to fill back in and look nice. Never prune back into the dead zone or where brown or no foliage exists. This area will most likely not develop any new growth. Pruning of these junipers should be done in late winter or early spring when new growth begins. Just remember when cutting your plants back, you are leaving some green growth on the stems or branching. Areas of green growth will still bud out developing new growth.

Please ask if you have any other questions.

John)