Does anyone recognize this bush? I am trying to make sure if it is some kind of Juniper. Is this the kind of plant that has berries you can eat, used for medicinal purposes, etc, and are used as one of the ingredients in making Gin? I just heard about the use of these, never knew about Junipers before and this guy came up as a 'weed' (in fact, I had tried several times to dig it out over the years, and it persisted until I gave up....incredibly tough plant) I wanted to go buy one but Who would have thought? maybe I had one right here all along. Talk about bizarre coincidence(???) Thanks much for any help. ------okay I checked http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juniper_berry It looks as if a few species of Juniper berry are poisonous...............does anyone know, do all Juniper plants produce berries, and how do you tell which are poisonous and which aren't? Anyone??
Definitely a juniper, probably one of the juvenile-foliage cultivars of Chinese Juniper Juniperus chinensis. Probably best not to eat any cones ("berries") it ever produces. For making gin, you need Juniperus communis.
Aw, bad luck!! I have limited 'sun space' and a small lot. I don't remember this plant ever producing berries, but then again I haven't paid too much attention to it (it has been there about 3-4 years, was pretty small for quite awhile then really took off, after I tried to dig it out....lol) I am more interested in any use for medicinal purposes, having no healthcare coverage and not quite in the budget range for American pharmeceuticals. http://en.heilkraeuter.net/herbs/juniper-bush.htm Are there versions of this plant that produce no berries? I may find myself in the unenviable position of digging out a Juniper bush to plant a Juniper bush..........crazy -------- Come to think of it, this bush may have been planted before I moved in years ago, been cut down/removed by the previous owner (leaving a big root system underground) and then lay dormant for a few years and suddenly come back on its own? That might explain this miraculous appearance/recovery.
'AmiDak' (Blueberry Delight™) is a female selection. Necessary if you want berries. Might keep the other Juniper as a pollinizer for 'AmiDak'.
Hi- thanks About 3 feet high? About how long do you think before it produces berries/seeds? I wish I knew for sure the species and whether it is male or female. (a little harder to tell w/plants.......lol) If you notice, it has strategically placed itself right by the downspout. Must enjoy the addtl water........
Ha! Too large for the spot, too small to produce berries. Well, its a shame. It is in a hard place to remove, too. I appreciate the bitter irony of having to spend an entire afternoon trying to hack a volunteer Juniper plant out of a corner, because it will probably be too big for the spot, in order to plant another (perhaps dwarf?) Juniper. The plant I wanted all along. They used to call these "Murphy's laws".............. ====== Update: I found a Juniperus Chinensis at Lowe's, held the leaves side by side. They look like identical carbon copies of each other.......
Some info on uses here: http://www.pfaf.org/database/plants.php?Juniperus+chinensis (but note the cautionary comment!)
AH excellent thanks! It looks as if my volunteer missed the mark. Although it is not wholly without use. Well, a shame I have so few sunny places left to plant. But I don't know if I can bring myself to hack this plant out at this point. It seems too much of a survivor to deserve that fate. I suppose I may have to get used to having J. Communis's deadbeat brother as my roommate..........
