Skyrocket Rocky Mountain Juniper

Description:

This Skyrocket Rocky Mountain Juniper is located in the Woodland Walk area of the Botanical Garden Wetlands at Olds College. It is an aromatic columnar shaped coniferous evergreen from the cypress family. Native to North America, it typically grows in sunny areas within prairie habitats and occasionally in woodlands within dry soil, sand, or even clay. The trees can reach heights of ten meters or more and exhibit fibrous bark and scale-like leaves. This speimen appears to be young at a height of approximately one meter. The scale-like foliage of this plant is typically blue / green in color however this specimen also has dead and damaged foliage on the rear elevation of the tree, facing the fence, which is brown and orange. The tree also has extensive branch damage with multiple broken branches at all levels throughout the front of the tree. Although this shrub is typically single stemmed this specimen is multi-stemmed. It is the only of the three to be multi-stemmed. This shrub planted in an area that is shaded during the sunniest parts of the day which may be contributing to its poor condition. Within the grouping of the three shrubs this specimen is the only tree which does not appear to be healthy. The bark appears normal and the foliage on live branches, mostly located on the top of the tree, also appear to be normal and healthy.

Habitat:

This is one of a group of three Skyrocket Rocky Mountain Junipers sitting between the westerly fence and the asphalt walkway. The opposite side of the fence is lined with large towering pine trees which block the afternoon and possibly mid-day sun. The soil at the time of the spotting was wet from a recent snow and covered in bark mulch and fall plant debris. The site is partially protected from north-westerly winds.

Notes:

Mechanical damage of some kind has caused the damage to the front elevation of the shrub. The shrub should be pruned to remove damaged branches and promote healing. The overall poor health of the shrub may be due to lack of adequate sunlight or inappropriate soil / planting conditions. A further investigation would be required to fully understand the issues and identify the most appropriate resolution.