Juniperus x pfitzeriana 'BLUE AND GOLD' Pfitzer juniper
size/type
medium-sized shrub,medium-sized shrub
usual height
0,5-1,5m
usual width
1,5-3m
leaves
evergreen conifer
colour of leaves
flowers
insignificant or non-blooming
location
full to partial sun
USDA zone (lowest)
4 (down to -34°C)
winter protection
for zone 5+6
for zone 7
categorized
Pfitzer juniper has an interesting story of its origin. In 1860’s French missionary and botanist David Armand collected seeds of juniperus sabina and juniperus chinensis in northern China. Apparently he lost all of his notes but the seeds somehow ended up a French nursery Metz under a different name, where they were used for crossbreeding. Some time later, in 1890’s a German botanist Wilhelm Pfitzer hybridized some of the French plants, and eventually came up with a plant so unique that he suggested to take it down as a new species. Some hundred years later modern science confirmed his findings by exploring the plant’s DNA. His plant was called “Pfitzeriana” and this name is now accepted for all other varieties belonging to this species.
Description of the plant:
Blue and Gold is another bi-coloured variety of juniper from the Pfitzer group. Juvenile branches look like cypress branches with fans of small, scale-like needles lying flat on the branches. Thanks to that young leaves are so nice to touch (non-prickly). Its main colour is blue-green and up to 50% of the branches emerge banana yellow, not variegated but solely yellow along the entire length of the branch. They are at an angle of about 45° with bended tips. Blue and Gold juniper grows moderately, forming a flat-topped shrub, about 1.5m tall and up to 3m wide in full maturity (20-30 years). It can be pruned, trimmed, and shaped in any way, it even withstands hard pruning into old wood. Pfitzer juniper will grow in almost any soil, sun or partial shade under the trees, and once established it takes long periods of drought. It is hardy to about -34°C (USDA zone 4), and is suitable for growing in outdoor pots.
Last update 24-01-2013
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