Bar Harbor Creeping Juniper

Bar Harbor Creeping Juniper (Juniperus horizontalis 'Bar Harbor')

Bar Harbor Creeping Juniper, Juniperus horizontalis 'Bar Harbor', is a low, carpeting evergreen groundcover valued for its dense, trailing habit and soft blue green foliage that hugs the contours of the landscape. Growing only about 6 to 12 inches tall and spreading 6 to 8 feet or more over time, it forms a living mat that quickly covers open soil, slopes, and edges. Foliage reads as cool blue green through the growing season, then often takes on attractive smoky plum to steel purple tones in colder weather for added winter interest. Tough, adaptable, and rarely bothered by deer, it is a practical way to tie larger plantings together while reducing the need for mulch and constant weeding.

Distinctive Features

Bar Harbor Creeping Juniper is distinguished by its very low profile and strong trailing growth, with overlapping, fan like sprays that knit together into a thick, even carpet. The foliage is fine textured yet sturdy, providing color and coverage without looking coarse or bulky. Its seasonal color shift, blue green in spring and summer and often tinged with purple in fall and winter, gives year round plantings subtle variation without ever feeling loud. Because it naturally conforms to the ground, draping over rocks, walls, and grade changes, it can be used to highlight boulders or hardscape as a low, textural focal point while also performing the work of erosion control.

Growing Conditions

• Light: Performs best in full sun; too much shade leads to thinner growth and reduced foliage color.
• Soil: Prefers well drained, sandy or rocky soils; tolerates poor, lean ground but dislikes heavy, waterlogged conditions.
• Water: Water regularly during the first season to establish roots, then only during extended dry spells; once established it is quite drought tolerant.
• Hardiness: Generally hardy in USDA Zones 3 to 9 when planted in sunny, well drained sites.
• Size: Very low growing, typically 0.5 to 1 foot tall with a spread of 6 to 8 feet over time.

Ideal Uses

• Focal Point Groundcover: Use as a low, sweeping focal point around boulders, at the top of walls, or at the front of beds where its color and texture frame taller plantings.
• Slopes and Banks: Excellent for stabilizing sunny slopes, hillsides, and berms where grass is difficult to maintain.
• Rock Gardens: Natural fit for rock gardens and gravel beds, where it weaves between stones and softens hard edges.
• Path and Drive Edging: Plant along walks and driveways to create a low evergreen edge that never needs mowing.
• Mass Plantings: Ideal for large scale coverage in commercial or residential landscapes where a durable evergreen carpet is desired.

Low Maintenance Care

• Watering: After establishment, water deeply but infrequently, allowing the soil surface to dry between waterings to encourage deep roots.
• Pruning: Requires little pruning; lightly trim stray or overhanging stems in late winter or early spring to keep edges neat.
• Fertilizing: Feed in early spring with a light application of a balanced, slow release fertilizer if growth appears weak.
• Mulching: Mulch newly planted areas to reduce weeds while plants fill in, then allow the juniper to become the living mulch as it spreads.
• Problem Resistance: Naturally resistant to deer browsing and tolerant of wind, salt spray, and urban conditions when grown in full sun and good drainage.

Why Choose Bar Harbor Creeping Juniper?

• Reliable Groundcover: Forms a dense, weed suppressing carpet that reduces maintenance in sunny areas.
• Year Round Interest: Blue green foliage with seasonal purple tones keeps slopes and large beds looking finished in every season.
• Tough and Adaptable: Thrives in poor, dry, and rocky soils where many other shrubs and groundcovers struggle.
• Low Profile Habit: Very low height ensures views and architecture remain unobstructed while the ground stays covered.
• Design Flexibility: Works equally well in rock gardens, coastal plantings, slopes, and as a unifying evergreen layer in large landscapes.

With its low, spreading habit, durable nature, and cool toned foliage, Bar Harbor Creeping Juniper provides long lasting coverage and clean lines in sunny landscapes, turning problem spots into finished, easy to care for spaces.