Common Juniper Berry (Juniperus communis) - Pre-order 40% deposit- box of 40 seedlings
Common Juniper Berry (Juniperus communis) - Pre-order 40% deposit- box of 40 seedlings
40x common juniper seedlings sown in Spring and grown up for dispatch in winter each year. A 40% deposit is payable to secure your trees with the remainder on dispatch. Pre-ordered seedlings are 10% cheaper than standard price as ordering ahead helps us plan what to sow and grow.Seedlings are grown in tubes and average 20cm tall. The seedlings are a random mix of male and female plants (50:50 approximately).
Common juniper is a hardy conifer native to wide tracts of the northern hemisphere, growing into a shrub to small tree. The plants produce berries that are widely used by the gin industry to add a pine note and in Australia, dried berries are imported from overseas. Some ales and beers are also flavoured with juniper berry and while too astringent to eat raw, they can be added sparingly to cooking to add flavour. The leaves are also useful for smoking meats, adding flavour and because the essential oils in the needles have anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties. Junipers make a good hedging plant and ornamental garden feature, with prickly needles unpalatable to most stock. They grow well in a range of soils and climates, are frost and drought hardy, though perform best on well drained soil with plenty of water.
Plants are dioecious - male and female. Female plants produce berries from a young age, often cropping heavily. Fruits are borne in late Summer to early Autumn in most parts of Australia, starting green and ripening to dark blue.