Daub's Frosted Juniper

To create a rich, stable garden scene, it is important to use a good quantity and selection of evergreens, both conifers and broad-leaf, as their year-round foliage and structure frames the changing display of flowering trees and shrubs. For the best effect these plants should be used in a range of sizes and foliage colors, to give variety and avoid a flat, blank green background. As well, by using plenty of different forms and colors, we can reduce our reliance on flowering plants, which often need a higher level of care. Always use evergreens generously in your garden, and for great color and contrast on a plant with attractive form, Daub’s Frosted Juniper is unbeatable.

Growing Daub’s Frosted Juniper

Size and Appearance

Daub’s Frosted Juniper is an outstanding color form of spreading juniper, with striking brilliant yellow new shoots, which gradually turn light lime green. For much of the year this creates a great contrast of yellow ‘frosting’ on a lime green plant, sparkling in the light and highlighting your planting arrangement. Besides color, this plant has beautiful form, with the branches arising from the center at about 30o and then having slightly pendulous tips. This creates a lovely, graceful look, and because it spreads wide, but stays at a lower height, this plant shows off in the foreground, without blocking plants behind it.

Daub’s Frosted Juniper will grow to between 1 and 2 feet tall in ten years and spread between 3 and 6 feet wide in that time. The growth rate depends on location and soil, but this plant always grows steadily and reliably. It will continue to grow throughout its life and if untrimmed it will in time become significantly larger. The sturdy branches grow out from the ground, and older plants may develop a strong trunk at their base. The young tips of the foliage droop over slightly, creating a graceful form. In spring the new growth is bright yellow, with a sparkling look. As summer passes and the new shoots mature, they turn lime green. Since new growth is continuous throughout spring, summer and early fall, there are always yellow tips, which creates the ‘frosted’ look of this unique plant. It is a male plant, so although older plants may produce some pollen in spring, no juniper berries are produced.

Using Daub’s Frosted Juniper in Your Garden

Use Daub’s Frosted Juniper as part of the foundation planting around your home, where it is perfect for planting beneath low windows, or on either side of a set of steps. Use a single plant for smaller spots, up to 6 feet across, or plant several at 3 or 4-foot centers to cover larger areas with low-maintenance but striking plants. It is ideal for covering sloping areas, or for hiding manholes and drains. Plant in your beds and borders to bring easy all-year color or use it in large planters for a great display on a terrace or patio. Plant along a driveway to soften the edges and blend the paving into your garden scene. This versatile plant has many uses around the garden.

Hardiness

Unlike some other golden evergreens, Daub’s Frosted Juniper does not burn in full sun, and this plant thrives in open situations, even in cold zones. It is hardy everywhere, from zone 3 or 4 to zone 9. In zone 3 some winter burning of the young shoots is possible, but these are quickly replaced with fresh new growth in spring. The strong branches resist breakage from snow even in areas with heavy falls, and this tough plant is very easy to grow, and it is as resistant to heat as it is to cold.

Sun Exposure and Soil Conditions

Plant Daub’s Frosted Juniper in a sunny location. It will tolerate some shade, but the foliage color will not be as strong. Plant it in any well-drained soil, and it thrives even in poor, rocky and sandy soils, and even in clay, as long as it is not constantly wet. Once established it is drought resistant and an ideal choice for dry areas.

Maintenance and Pruning

Always allow enough room for this plant to develop its form, as trimming is not recommended. If you do wish to reduce its size, in spring cut back the tips of longer branches to an upward-rising shoot, which will hide the cut end. This plant has no significant pests or diseases, and deer and rabbits normally leave it alone.

History and Origin of Daub’s Frosted Juniper

Daub’s Frosted Juniper is a special form of the Pfitzer Juniper, Juniperus x pfitzeriana. That very popular plant was found in the 1890s, and the original plant is still growing in Berlin, at the Späth Arboretum. It is a hybrid plant (between Juniperus sabina and Juniperus chinensis) that was probably found growing wild in Inner Mongolia. That plant has blue-green foliage, and although very popular, it can grow much too large for many gardens.
Over time unusual branches have developed on some plants of the Pfitzer Juniper, with a different character to the original. One of these is called ‘Mordigan Gold’, which forms a smaller, lower spreading and slightly less pendulous plant than the original. Most importantly, it has bright yellow foliage that lasts well all year round. It was discovered some time before 1970, by Hillside Nurseries, Morgan, Massachusetts. In 1987, at the John Mitsch Nursery, in Aurora, Oregon, an unusual branch was seen on a plant of ‘Mordigan Gold’. this became the remarkable ‘Daub’s Frosted’ form, with its special two-tone yellow and lime-green coloring.

Buying Daub’s Frosted Juniper at the Tree Center

Our plants of Daub’s Frosted Juniper are derived directly from John Mitsch’s original plant, and reproduced by stem cuttings, not seed. You will love this dependable and hardy juniper, but our stock is limited, so order now, while we still have supplies of this special plant.