Juniper 'Gold Star®'

Sheridan Nurseries Ltd.

$34.99
Title

Brighten your landscape with a luminous, star-shaped burst of colour! This exceptional spreading evergreen is prized for its vibrant two-tone effect, seamlessly blending deep emerald-green centers with brilliant, golden-yellow branch tips. Its graceful, arching branches and fine, feathery texture create a cascading golden carpet that maintains its sunny glow even through the winter months.

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Plant Details

Mature Size:

3' H x 6' W

Zone:

3-9

Watering:

Low to Medium

Foliage Type:

Evergreen

Growth Rate:

Moderate

Light:

Full Sun

Plant Profile

Common Names:

Gold Star Juniper

Scientific Name:

Juniperus chinensis 'Bakaurea'

Type:

Ornamental Spreading Evergreen Shrub

Growth Details:

  • Mature Size: Typically 3 feet (1 m) tall and 6 feet (2 m) wide.
  • Growth Habit / Form: Spreading, dense, and mounded, often forming a graphic star-like shape.
  • Growth Rate: Medium.
  • Longevity: Approximately 30 years under ideal conditions.

Environmental Needs:

  • Exposure: Full sun.
  • Soil Preferences: Prefers moist, well-drained, neutral to slightly acidic loams.
  • Soil Tolerance: Highly adaptable to a wide range of soils, including poor, rocky, or heavy clay soils.
  • Watering: Water every 2–4 days during the first year; once established, it is significantly drought-tolerant.

Special Features:

  • Resistances: Highly resistant to deer, drought, heat, and root rot.
  • Native Status: Horticultural origin (parent species is from Asia).
  • Urban Tolerance: Excellent resistance to air pollution.
  • Uses: Foundations, rockeries, slopes, and "color-pop" specimen plantings.
Care Guide

Ornamental & Landscape Value

Seasonal Interest:

  • Bloom Information: Non-ornamental; produces small, inconspicuous cones.
  • Fall/Winter Colour: Retains its brilliant golden-yellow and bluish-green tones year-round.
  • Stems: Features attractive harvest-gold stems.
  • Fruit: Occasionally produces small, fleshy violet-blue berries in winter.

Garden Value:

Ideal for adding structural colour to rock gardens, foundations, and mixed borders. Its spreading habit makes it a top-tier choice for mass plantings and erosion control on slopes.

Wildlife & Human Value:

  • Wildlife Value: Cones provide a winter food source for birds; dense habit offers protection for small animals.
  • Human Value: Provides consistent, year-round colour with very little physical effort; excellent for sustainable, low-maintenance landscaping.

Planting & Care Guide

Planting Considerations:

  • Best Time To Plant: Spring or early fall (typically available May–September).
  • Spacing: Space 3–5 feet apart for use as a groundcover.
  • Location Tips: Choose a prominent sunny spot with excellent drainage; highly tolerant of urban pollution and inner-city environments.

Care:

  • Light Requirements: Full Sun is essential to maintain the intensity of its golden colour; it needs at least 6–8+ hours of direct sun daily.
  • Moisture Requirements: Prefers medium moisture but is highly adaptable to dry conditions once established; absolutely must have well-drained soil as it will not tolerate standing water.
  • Maintenance, Fertilization: Low maintenance; best pruned in late winter if needed. Apply a slow-release fertilizer in early spring.

Tolerances:

Drought, deer, salt (moderate), urban pollution, and poor/rocky soil.

Tips For Success:

Use a 2–3 inch layer of mulch to suppress weeds while the plant establishes its carpet. Avoid planting in low-lying areas where water pools.

Fruit Profile