Taylor Juniper (Juniperus virginiana ‘Taylor’)

Category: Trees | Evergreens | Wildlife | Bird Habitat | Drought Tolerant | Dry Site | Urban Site | GreatPlants for the Great Plains

The Taylor Juniper (Juniperus virginiana ‘Taylor’) is a distinctive, columnar evergreen prized for its tight, upright form and exceptional tolerance of tough conditions. Discovered near Taylor, Nebraska in the late 1970s by Allen Wilke, this native selection was introduced as a 2003 GreatPlants release for its performance and reliability across the Great Plains.

With a narrow, vertical habit—reaching about 25 feet tall and only 3 feet wide—Taylor Juniper is ideal for screens, windbreaks, accents, and space-conscious plantings. Its medium green foliage with a soft gray cast provides year-round structure and deepens slightly in winter, adding subtle seasonal contrast.

Highly adaptable, this juniper thrives in poor, dry soils, tolerates high pH conditions, and performs well in urban environments. Like other Eastern Redcedar selections, it offers excellent wildlife value, providing shelter and nesting habitat for birds.

NATIVE RANGE

Map courtesy of USDA-NRCS Plants Database.