Daub's Frosted Juniper - Tree Form

It is always a problem in small gardens getting height without too much width. There are a few slender pencil trees, but ‘arching and graceful’ often turns into ‘big and spreading’ in a very short time. You won’t have this problem with ‘Daub’s Frosted’ Tree-form Juniper. By raising this spreading shrub on a short stem, it transformed from ground-cover into a beautiful arching specimen perfect for smaller gardens and spaces. Its graceful form is brought to life by the frosting of golden-yellow that kisses the branches in spring and early summer, and the sharp lime-green of the foliage the rest of the year is pretty cool too. As an eye-catching feature in a bed of low shrubs it’s a winner, or make unique planter boxes with this beauty and trailing plants – perhaps a blue juniper – underneath. Tough and drought-resistant, a box like that will forgive your long weekend away, when annual flowers will welcome you home with a scene of sullen death.

Growing ‘Daub’s Frosted’ Juniper

Size and Appearance

‘Daub’s Frosted’ Juniper grown naturally is a spreading evergreen with branches that sprout out at a low angle, and then arch over so that the tips hang down. While growing, through spring, and much of the summer, and even in early fall, the new growth is bright, cheerful yellow, a true frosting on the cake. Deeper inside the plant, and all over during late fall and winter, it’s a sparkling lime-green – always a hit fashion color in the garden. We asked our growers to raise some young plants up on a 2-foot tall stem, transforming this great plant into something super-special. Raising it up really shows off the arching growth and turns a low spreader into a brilliant feature plant. Over time it will grow to at least 3 feet across, and add a foot or two in height, so you are looking at a plant that is 3 to 4 feet tall and wide. The stem will thicken into a sturdy trunk that holds it up perfectly – a truly unique plant that catches lots of attention. This variety might produce some tiny male flowers you won’t even notice, but it doesn’t produce any berries – it’s a male bush. Unlike many other evergreens with golden leaves, this one doesn’t scorch in the summer sun, even in zones 8 and 9, so it always looks perfect.

Using ‘Daub’s Frosted’ Juniper in Your Garden

Small gardens often need some height, but it has to be contained, and that can be hard to find. This makes our tree-form ‘Daub’s Frosted’ Juniper bushes super-valuable if you garden with limited space. Mind you, they will look great in a bigger garden too, placed in a foreground position. Plant it as a center-piece in a round bed, or as an accent among all kinds of spreading shrubs. It loves to show off in planters or a tub, making a great show all on its own, or standing guard over trailing plants underneath.

Hardiness

‘Daub’s Frosted’ Juniper is easy to grow in cold zones, thriving even in zone 4. Incredibly, it also loves the heat of zone 9, and everything in between – a plant for all gardens.

Sun Exposure and Soil Conditions

You should definitely plant your ‘Daub’s Frosted’ Juniper in full sun – it will sulk and turn green in the shade. It grows well in just about all soils, even tough clays and urban soils, as long as they aren’t wet. Sand and gravel is fine too, because this shrub loves heat and hates wet feet. Once established it is very drought resistant and won’t be bothered by dry, dry conditions.

Maintenance and Pruning

You won’t find pests or diseases bothering this bush, and both deer and rabbits leave it alone. That means it is virtually zero maintenance, after a little attention to watering during the first season or two. It won’t mind a spring sprinkle of evergreen fertilizer, though, if you have a minute. We don’t recommend any trimming, and this tough guy doesn’t usually break even under heavy snow. If you do need to trim, please don’t take the hedge trimmer to it, you can destroy that graceful arching look in seconds. You can reduce the spread by cutting out the ends of the stems, always finding a small branch on top and cutting directly under it – you won’t even notice the cut if you do it right.

History and Origin of ‘Daub’s Frosted’ Juniper

The Pfitzer Juniper, Juniperus x pfitzeriana, is one of the oldest garden evergreens still being grown – it’s that good. It was found in Germany, at the Späth Arboretum in Berlin. The last time we checked that original plant, from 1890, was still growing strong. Although it’s a hybrid between Juniperus sabina and Juniperus chinensis, it’s a natural one that was found by a plant collector, growing wild in Inner Mongolia. It’s a large plant, with blue-green foliage. Sometime before 1970 Hillside Nurseries, in Morgan, Massachusetts, found a plant in their beds that was a Pfitzer with year-round golden foliage. It was much smaller and lower, and was called ‘Mordigan Gold’. Then, in 1987, at the John Mitsch Nursery, in Aurora, Oregon, someone spotted a unique branch on a plant of ‘Mordigan Gold’. It has a two-tone pattern oof lime-green and gold. In that way the variety ‘Daub’s Frosted’ was born.

Buying ‘Daub’s Frosted’ Juniper at the Tree Center

Of course you have to use stem pieces, not seeds, to grow more plants of ‘Daub’s Frosted’. More difficult, and it takes a highly-skilled horticulturist to turn that piece into a great tree-form plant like these ones in our nursery. So plants like this are rare, and they never stay long on our farm – order yours now.