Another post from vacation. It's been hot and dry in the Black Hills this summer, and junipers are showing their resilience. In this climate, the creeping brown crud of dead and dying branches caused by Phomopsis and Kabatina fungal infections and slow branch by branch death caused by juniper twig girdler are not a possibility.
Alan found this beauty growing somewhere in travels around the Black Hills and was drawn to it by its split personality. It's as though a 'Blue Rug' had a tryst with a 'Gold Strike' and the product is trying very hard to take after both parents. It is indeed a Juniperus horizontalis, and you can find colonies hugging the ground in sunny rocky places on limestone or gypsum in many places in the northern foothills of the Black Hills. I've also seen a different form of this species growing near limy springs where their roots are saturated and the shade is dense. This form has growth that is a bit more upright, as Alan's juniper is.
I have often thought that I should take some cuttings and see how it grows at home. If it can withstand our fungal diseases and juniper twig girdler, it might be an interesting plant for those who just can't make up their mind what color juniper they would like to have. Perhaps Alan will trade some cutting for a cherry pie bribe. More on that when I post this Friday.
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