Skyrocket Juniper

Skyrocket Juniper (Juniperus virginiana 'Skyrocket') is the answer when you need height in a space with almost no width. It reaches about 6m tall and holds to roughly 0.8m across, a narrow blue grey column that never needs shaping to keep that form. Frost hardy, drought tolerant and happy in poor soil, it is one of the least demanding screening plants you can buy.

Why you'll love it

• Height without width. Six metres tall and under a metre wide, so it screens a first floor window from a garden bed only 1m deep.
• The shape is natural, not clipped. It grows into the column on its own, which means no annual hedging to keep it looking right.
• Cold and dry are both fine. Genuinely frost hardy and drought tolerant once established, and it tolerates poor and stony ground.
• Roots that stay out of trouble. Non-invasive, so it can sit close to driveways, paths and fences.

Where it works best

Narrow screening. Plant 1m apart in a single row for a solid columnar screen. This is the plant for a side boundary where a lilly pilly or photinia would push into the walkway.

Driveways and avenues. Spaced 2m to 3m apart it reads as a formal rhythm of verticals rather than a wall, which suits a long entry.

Windbreak and feature planting. Wind tolerance makes it useful on exposed rural blocks, and a matched pair either side of a doorway gives instant structure.

Growing Skyrocket Juniper in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun. Shade thins the foliage and can make the column lean. It is at home in cool temperate, warm temperate, Mediterranean and arid or semi-arid gardens, and it is one of the few narrow screens that takes genuine frost. It is not a plant for the humid tropics or wet subtropical coast, where still, damp air brings on fungal dieback.

Soil. Free draining, and it is not fussy beyond that. Poor, sandy and stony soils suit it. On clay, plant on a raised mound, because waterlogging is the fastest way to kill a juniper.

Water and feed. Deep soak weekly through the first summer, then only in extended dry weather. Feeding is optional: a light complete slow release fertiliser in early spring is plenty. Keep mulch 75mm deep and clear of the trunk.

Pruning. Very little. Trim only to shorten the leader or tidy a stray shoot, and cut into green growth, because junipers do not reshoot from bare brown wood inside the plant.

What to expect when it arrives

Three sizes are grown: 200mm plants in packs of six, single 300mm pots, and 45L specimens. The 200mm and 300mm plants arrive as young narrow columns, often knee to waist height, and they are the sensible choice for a long run. The 45L is a properly advanced plant with real height on day one.

Some inner browning or a dusty grey cast after transit is normal and greens up within a few weeks. Plants are delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95. Advanced and large stock is freighted at cost, and every plant is covered by our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Read our guide to growing and maintaining conifers.
• Compare the range in our conifer collection.
• See other options in tall and narrow screening plants.
• For exposed rural sites, browse plants for windbreaks.

Common questions

How far apart for a screen?

One metre apart in a single row. At that spacing the columns touch as they mature and give a continuous vertical screen with no bare gaps.

How fast does it grow?

Slowly, which is part of the appeal. Expect around 20 to 30cm a year in good conditions, so budget several seasons to reach screening height unless you start with the 45L.

Will it stay narrow without pruning?

Yes. The narrow habit is genetic rather than the result of clipping, so it holds under a metre wide on its own. Tying the leaders loosely helps in heavy snow or wind.