Plant field guide
Juniper (Bar Harbor)
Low-growing spreading juniper that hugs the ground at only 6-12 inches tall. Blue-green foliage turns attractive plum-purple in winter. Excellent groundcover for slopes, banks, and rock gardens.
Growing requirements
- Scientific name
- Juniperus horizontalis 'Bar Harbor'
- Sun
- full sun
- Water
- low
- Height
- 6 in (15 cm) – 12 in (30 cm)
- Spread
- 60 in (152 cm) – 96 in (244 cm)
- Spacing
- Not recorded
- Hardiness zones & minimum temperature
- USDA 3–9; average annual extreme minimum from -40°F (-40.0°C). Hardiness does not predict local frost dates.
- Difficulty
- easy
Planting & seasonal timing
Northern Hemisphere planting months: not yet verified in our database.
Northern Hemisphere pruning months: June.
For the Southern Hemisphere, these seasonal windows shift approximately six months. Check your local frost forecast, soil temperature, and species requirements; calendar months are not a guarantee of planting safety.
Outstanding groundcover. Extremely drought tolerant. Tolerates poor, rocky soil. Excellent for erosion control on slopes. Salt tolerant.
Pruning
Trim to control spread. Remove any upright-growing shoots. Don't shear - prune individual branches.
Fertilizer
None needed
Does not need fertilizer
Mulch
Gravel mulch preferred. Avoid heavy organic mulch.