Family: Cupressaceae

Chinese juniper is a conical tree with a dense, uptight crown. It is incredibly adaptable. Chinese juniper can be a large tree of 60 feet or a shrub (as long as it gets regular trimming and shaping.) It grows almost everywhere In Hawaii, from sea level to high on the mountain. It is wind, salt, and drought tolerant. This tree will even thrive in the shade. It drops no leaf litter, the roots are unobtrusive, and it’s low maintenance. 

Plant Uses:

• Bonsai
• Container plant
• Hedge
• Ornamental
• Privacy / screening
• Specimen
• Windbreak
• Bonzai

Plant Dangers:

• No dangers

High Risk Traits:

• Broad climate tolerance (USDA zones 5B–11; wide temp, rainfall, and altitude range)
  
• Repeated introductions outside native range (e.g., Taiwan, Turkey)
  
• Congeneric weed (J. pinchotii is invasive)
  
• Host for pear rust pathogen (Gymnosporangium asiaticum)
  
• Unpalatable to deer
  
• Persistent seed bank (germination takes >1 year)
  
• Poorly controlled by herbicides
  
• Tolerates alkaline, infertile, and shallow soils

Low Risk Traits:

• Slow to mature (10+ years to bear seeds)
  
• Not a weed (gardens, agriculture, environment)
  
• No spines, thorns, or burrs (prickly leaves not harmful)
  
• Not allelopathic or toxic
  
• Dioecious (requires cross-pollination)
  
• No vegetative fragmentation
  
• No wind dispersal (seeds not winged)
  
• Low seed output (2–3 seeds per cone)
  
• No resprouting after cutting or fire
  
• Does not form dense thickets