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| ## rocky mountain juniper {#rocky-mountain-juniper .Title-Header}     |
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| *Juniperus scopulorum* Sarg.                                          |
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| Plant Symbol = JUSC2                                                  |
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Contributed by: USDA NRCS Plant Materials Program

![Color image of Rocky Mountain Juniper (Juniperus
scopulorum)](media/image2.jpeg){width="3.0in"
height="1.9897637795275591in"}

##### Uses {#uses .Header-3}

*Erosion control*: Plant Rocky Mountain juniper in the outer rows of
multi-row plantings where it will not be overtopped by taller trees. It
can be used in single-row windbreaks when a dense, medium height barrier
is desired.

*Wildlife*: This species provides food and cover for numerous birds and
mammals. Winter food and protection is particularly important for
pheasant, mule deer, and whitetail deer.

*Recreation and Beautification*: The year-long coloration and
attractiveness to wildlife makes this species useful for recreational
plantings. It tends to stay green all winter.

##### Status {#status .Header-3}

Please consult the PLANTS Web site and your State Department of Natural
Resources for this plant's current status (e.g. threatened or endangered
species, state noxious status, and wetland indicator values).

##### Description {#description .Header-3}

*Juniperus scopulorum* Sarg., Rocky Mountain juniper, is a small
evergreen tree to 35 feet, often with an irregular crown. A native of
western North America, it occurs in mixed or pure stands of open scrub
woodland over Wyoming and Colorado at elevations of 5,000 to 7,500 feet,
often on dry, rocky ridges. It does well in cultivation, adapted to a
wide range of soils and moisture conditions, and is winter hardy, slow
growing and very long lived.

Fruits blue with whitish bloom, fleshy "berries" (cones), 1/4 inch in
diameter, ripening the second season, seeds 1 to 2 inches each cone,
bony-coated; flowers small, cone-like, borne separately on male and
female plants; leaves opposite, scalelike, covering older twigs closely
in alternating pairs to ¼ inch long, pale to dark green, on new shoots
awl shaped, sharp pointed and spreading; stems short, often dividing
near ground, branches thick and ascending, bark red to gray-brown,
furrowed, thin and shreddy, branchlets very slender; roots deep, widely
spreading.

##### Adaptation and Distribution {#adaptation-and-distribution .Header-3}

Below 7,500 elevation; water relations 10 precipitation equivalent;
tolerant of droughty and moist, well-drained sites.

Rocky mountain juniper is distributed throughout the West. For a current
distribution map, please consult the Plant Profile page for this species
on the PLANTS Website.

##### Establishment {#establishment .Header-3}

Seedling should be planted in a firm weed free bed at a spacing of 3 to
6 feet. Seedling should placed in a hole or furrow large enough to
contain the entire root system without bending.

##### Management {#management .Header-3}

Care should be taken to protect young seedlings from feeding damage by
small rodents, rabbits, and deer. Weeds and other competing vegetation
must be controlled during the first and second years of establishment.

##### Pests and Potential Problems {#pests-and-potential-problems .Header-3}

Rocky Mountain juniper is relatively free of serious insect and disease
problems. It is the alternate host for the cedar-apple rust disease
which does very little harm to this species, but causes serious damage
to apples and other pome fruits.

##### Cultivars, Improved, and Selected Materials (and area of origin) {#cultivars-improved-and-selected-materials-and-area-of-origin .Header-3}

Bridger-Select (Northern Great Plains composite) was developed as a
selected pre-varietal release. Seedlings of Rocky Mountain juniper are
available from most commercial nurseries in the Rocky Mountain area.

##### Prepared By & Species Coordinator:  {#prepared-by-species-coordinator .Header-3}

USDA NRCS Plant Materials Program

##### 

##### Edited: 05Feb2002 JLK; 060801 jsp {#edited-05feb2002-jlk-060801-jsp .Header-4}

For more information about this and other plants, please contact your
local NRCS field office or Conservation District, and visit the PLANTS
Web site\<[http://plants.usda.gov](http://plants.usda.gov/)\> or the
Plant Materials Program Web site
\<[http://Plant-Materials.nrcs.usda.gov](http://Plant-Materials.nrcs.usda.gov/)\>

*The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in
all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national
origin, sex, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual
orientation, and marital or family status. (Not all prohibited bases
apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require
alternative means for communication of program information (Braille,
large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA\'s [TARGET
Center](http://www.usda.gov/oo/target.htm) at 202-720-2600 (voice and
TDD).*

*To file a complaint of discrimination write USDA, Director, Office of
Civil Rights, Room 326-W, Whitten Building, 14th and Independence
Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call 202-720-5964 (voice or
TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.*

*Read about [Civil Rights at the Natural Resources Convervation
Service](http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/about/civilrights/).*