Icee Blue® Juniper

Light Needs

Full Sun

(At Least 6 Hours Of Direct Sunlight)

Mature Height

4 Inches

Mature Spread

6-8 Feet

Growing Zones

3 to 9

Icee Blue® Juniper solves one of the hardest landscape problems by covering serious ground with a dense, silver-blue evergreen carpet. It stays low at just 4–6 inches tall and 6–8 feet wide. It holds a fuller crown than many spreading junipers, so coverage looks solid instead of thinning open with age. Botanically known as Juniperus horizontalis 'Monber', it is especially useful when you need color, weed suppression, and slope-holding roots from one plant. We tend to use it on banks and wall edges because the cool blue foliage keeps its presence even when the rest of the planting fades back.

This evergreen shrub is built for heat, lean soil, coastal exposure, and urban conditions, which gives it a broader job description than most groundcovers. The finely textured foliage stays silver-blue through the growing season, and can pick up plum-purple tones in the coldest winter weather. It is a practical choice for erosion control, rock gardens, poolside plantings, and dry borders where a spreading plant needs to stay disciplined and close to the ground. It is deer and rabbit resistant, and once established it handles drought far better than turf or thirsty groundcover options.

Icee Blue® Juniper Care

Plant Icee Blue® Juniper in full sun and well-drained soil for the best color and tightest growth. Sandy, rocky, or average soil all work well, and it tolerates slightly acidic to slightly alkaline ground as long as water does not sit around the roots. Wet or poorly drained sites are the main thing to avoid.

Water deeply and regularly through the first growing season so the roots move out into the surrounding soil. After that, let the soil dry somewhat between waterings, because juniper performs better a bit dry than constantly damp. Fertilizer is rarely needed, though a light spring compost topdressing around the root zone can help in very poor ground without forcing weak growth.

Pruning is usually minimal, but you can lightly trim wandering tips in late winter or early spring to keep lines clean. Avoid cutting back into bare interior wood, since junipers do not reliably regrow from old stems. Mulch is useful while plants are filling in, especially to hold weeds down, but keep it pulled back from the crown.

Icee Blue® Juniper Spacing

Space plants 5–8 feet apart for groundcover use, or closer if you want the area to fill faster. For containers or elevated planters, use a broad pot at least 18–24 inches wide with fast drainage so the trailing branches have room to spread.

In the landscape, pair Icee Blue® with barberry and maiden grass for strong color contrast and a dry-site planting that holds up through winter. In containers, use snapdragons at the edge for seasonal bloom, while ivy adds trailing leaf contrast behind the blue evergreen mat.

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