Juniper

Juniperus communis

tree

Common juniper (Juniperus communis) is a hardy, variable evergreen - usually a low, sprawling, prickly shrub 3 to 6 ft tall, occasionally a small tree - of cold, open, rocky country, and the most widely distributed conifer in the world. Its small, fleshy, blue-black "berries" (really soft cones) take two to three years to ripen and are the aromatic spice behind gin and behind many a game dish; they are the harvested part. Tough, drought-proof, and content in poor rocky soil, it is grown for those berries and as a rugged evergreen groundcover or accent. A sensible caution: the berries are avoided in pregnancy.

✅ Plant alongside

Good neighbors that attract beneficial insects or deter pests

• Yarrow — A drought-hardy herb that shares the lean, sunny, well-drained ground
• Lavender — Loves the same hot, dry, sharply drained conditions
• Thyme — A low Mediterranean herb that thrives in the gritty soil at the juniper's feet

🛡️ Pest & disease prevention

Proactive ways to stop trouble before it starts — tap a name with an arrow for its full guide

• Cedar-apple/cedar-hawthorn rust →

  Junipers host this rust - keep them away from apples, hawthorns, and crabapples, and prune out the brown galls

• Juniper scale →

  Sap-suckers that dull and yellow the foliage; treat with horticultural oil and keep plants vigorous

• Bagworms →

  Pick the spindle-shaped silk bags off by hand in winter before the eggs hatch

🌾 Harvest & storage

Harvest only the ripe berries - the soft, dusty blue-black ones, which take two to three years to mature - leaving the hard green first- and second-year berries on the bush, so at any time a plant carries both. Pick in fall, wearing gloves against the prickly needles, and dry the berries slowly until firm. A few go a long way. As a plain caution, juniper berries are avoided during pregnancy and are used as a measured spice, not in quantity.

🥗 Nutrition & benefits

Juniper berries are a pungent, resinous, piney spice - the defining botanical of gin and a classic seasoning for game, sauerkraut, and marinades - used a few at a time. As a sensible caution they are avoided in pregnancy and not taken in quantity. The shrub itself is a rugged, drought-proof evergreen for hard, sunny, rocky sites and a good wildlife plant.