juniper

When to prune junipers?

Botanical name
Juniperus communis
Family
Cupressaceae

Junipers are pruned from March to April. They are planted from October to April.

Junipers are woody perennials.

juniper
Photo: Ivar Leidus · CC BY-SA 4.0

Junipers through the year

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Pruning
Planting
15913172125293337414549
  • pruning
  • planting

In short

Pruning
from March to April
weeks 13 to 15
Planting
from October to April
week 40 to week 18 of the next year
Spacing between plants
2.4 m

Growing conditions

☀️
Sun
full sun
💧
Water
little water
❄️
Frost
overwinters outdoors

Pests and diseases

Listed here is every problem for which the sources name this plant as a host. The problems are not listed in order of how common they are.

Pear rust

disease
Signs
In summer and early autumn bright orange blotches on the upper side of the pear leaves, and later, on the underside opposite them, brown outgrowths like galls. On the juniper there are lasting swellings on branches and stems, from which orange jelly like horns push out in spring after damp days.
Prevention
The fungus needs both plants and cannot close its cycle without one of them: from the pear it goes to the juniper, from the juniper in spring back to the pear. A juniper near a pear is therefore not an innocent neighbour. The spores travel a good way on the wind, so removing one bush is no guarantee.
What to do
Cut the infected parts of the branches out of the juniper or take the bush away from the neighbourhood of the pear. On the pear cut out any cankered wounds on the branches. The source warns plainly that stripping the leaves off a badly infected pear does more harm than good.

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Related plants

The plant below is in the same botanical family (Cupressaceae).

Sources about the plant: GBIF Backbone Taxonomy, Iowa State University Extension, NC State Extension Plant Toolbox, Penn State Extension, Royal Horticultural Society, Wikidata. Checked between 14 and 31 August 2026. The problem descriptions also draw on: EPPO Global Database.