Hi Pardak,

Far in the past the name of this conifer was Juniperus chinensis 'Hetzii' which was later changed in Juniperus x media 'Hetzii'.
Now it's Juniperus virginiana 'Hetz'.

No reason why the seeds shouldn't be viable, juniper pollen can blow a long way. If there's any male junipers of a compatible species within 5-10km you'd stand a fair chance of getting some viable seed. And if it is now known to be a J. virginiana cultivar, I'd think it is extremely likely that there will be plenty other J. virginiana within range.

Resin

Thanks coniferjoy for the naming info update. With all the name changes no wonder all these conifer cultivars get mixed up lol...

Thanks pineresin for the info on juniper pollen. I'm sure there are other junipers within a few miles/kms but I just thought the male plants had to be fairly close, at least within a few hundred yards/meters, to fertilize the female plants. Had no idea pollen could blow that far.

In that case I'll save a few cones and plant them this fall just in case they are viable seeds. Might take a year or two to find out whether the seeds are viable however as I believe juniper seeds take 2 years before germinating.

Thanks

Not junipers it's true, but just been reading about a study where traces of pine pollen were found in the air in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, well over 1,000km from the nearest pines.

Resin

Thanks Resin, that's really interesting to know. Wonder how they even discovered that pollen way out there in the ocean!?

Sounds like it's at least POSSIBLE that any male juniper virginiana within a few miles/km of here would be able to pollenate this female Juniperus virginiana 'Hetz'.

Originally I was thinking that with most dioecious conifers you needed both a male and female plant of the same species and cultivar in close proximity before pollenation could occur. However if this is indeed a member of the virginiana species, and if male juniper virginiana pollen can travel a very long distance, then perhaps at least a few of the cones might be viable.

I'll save a few cones and see what happens. Like I said, might be a couple of years before I know whether the seeds are viable.

I might also try a few cuttings from this specimen and see if I can get any to grow that way, althought I've read that upright junipers are more difficult to root from cuttings than ground cover junipers.

Thanks Resin!

"Wonder how they even discovered that pollen way out there in the ocean!? "

They ran a vacuum cleaner, pulling air through a filter, and inspected the filter to see what was trapped.

Resin