Spartan Juniper

Spartan Juniper (Juniperus chinensis 'Spartan') is the screening conifer for gardens where width is the problem. It climbs to about 5m but holds itself to roughly 1.2m wide in a dense, dark green column. Frost hardy and drought tolerant, it screens reliably in the cold climates where lilly pillies and murraya give up.

Why you'll love it

• Tall privacy in a narrow bed. It fits side passages, boundary strips and the gap between house and fence.
• Its shape is built in. The tight columnar habit is natural: no hedge trimmer, no ladder work.
• Genuinely cold hardy. Takes hard frost in its stride, which makes it a first choice for Canberra, the tablelands, inland Victoria and the Adelaide Hills.
• Tough on the coast too. Salt tolerant, wind tolerant and untroubled by poor soil, one of the few formal screens that handles exposed positions.
• Formal looks without formal effort. Matched pairs frame an entry, and it takes spiral and cone topiary well if you enjoy the shears.

Where it works best

Screening and hedging. Plant 1m apart for a solid evergreen wall. A 10m boundary takes 10 or 11 plants, and the row stays inside a 1.5m bed even at full height.

Driveways and avenues. Repeated columns at 1.5m to 2m spacing give the formal avenue effect European gardens use cypress for, on a hardier plant.

Feature and topiary. A single specimen reads as sculpture in a courtyard or beside a front door.

Growing Spartan Juniper in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun is essential for tight, even growth; shade thins the column. It performs from cool temperate and Mediterranean climates through warm temperate and dry inland districts. In the humid subtropics keep air moving and avoid overwatering.

Soil. Any free draining soil, including sand and poor gravel. It resents a waterlogged root zone, so on heavy clay plant on a mound.

Water and feed. Deep soak weekly through the first summer, then it is one of the most drought tolerant screens available. One feed of controlled release fertiliser in spring is plenty.

Pruning. None required for the columnar form. If you shape it, trim lightly in late spring and never cut back into bare wood, because junipers do not reshoot from old brown growth.

What to expect when it arrives

Spartan is grown in a wide range of sizes: tubes and 140mm pots (in economical packs of 10 for long runs), 300mm and 400mm plants that already read as small columns, then 45L, 75L, 100L and 200L stock with instant height. Tubes are the value route for a long boundary, adding roughly a year against 300mm stock. Everything is delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95. Advanced and large stock is freighted at cost, and every plant carries our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• More tall and narrow screening plants
• Browse the full conifer range
• Frost hardy plants for cold districts
• Compare all hedging and screening options

Common questions

How fast does it grow?

Expect roughly 30cm to 50cm a year once established, faster in warm districts with water. From 300mm stock, a planted row reads as a real screen within three to four seasons.

Will it outgrow its spot?

Height, eventually, if you never touch it; width, no. It can be topped at 3m or any height and held there with one light trim a year.

Is it safe near paving and pipes?

Junipers are shallow, fine rooted plants without the aggressive roots of figs or poplars. The usual courtesy of 60cm to 1m from paved edges is all they need.