Thanks. I knew a juniper ID wouldn't draw too much excitement, but I rooted cuttings of these this winter and want to grow it down a hillside. I was fairly confident #1 was blue rug... #2, I'm not sure what it is, and I do sheer those to size, so that makes ID even harder.

My main goal is a very low grow cultivar... Considered buying 'Pancake', but if my cuttings are Blue rug, that's low enough for me

It's slow enough that providing a good groundcover that suppresses weeds is an issue, not only how far it spreads, but how thick. Which isn't much on both counts. I would plant the starts on small mounds and mulch deeply between the mounds. Water well and regular to establish.

Mike

I took a look at mine in the yard today and it made me think that your #2 may be 'Blue Chip' if it's taller than #1.

I have a 12 foot spread of 3 Blue Rugs and weeds come up through it all over. I need to finish weeding it tomorrow. I never mulched under it heavily though.

If you want a Juniper ground cover that keeps out weeds and spreads fast then I would recommend Juniperus conferta 'Blue Pacific'. It grows nice and thick but isn't completely flat like you were wanting. I've seen dandelion try to grow in it but It usually smothers them out. I don't need to weed it. Hardy to only zone 6 though. It's done perfectly fine with temps that got down to -14 for me.

If you can find it, Juniperus conferta 'Silver Mist' has a great silver color.

Thanks @Mike & @Garden. I do mulch the slope heavy every other year right now, but part of the point of going the juniper route is to cut down on my 12 cu yard mulch order... get's a bit expensive and time consuming to spread. @Garden, you may be right about #2.. It is much more dense than #1, much more dense, and defiantly taller @ 6" or so.

What I really want is a very low grow (in terms of height, not growth rate), that also blocks weeds.. maybe that doesn't exist. My neighbor is a landscaper and he has some really low grow juniper growing down a slope.. I love the look, almost like paint just spilled down the hill. I'll have to ask him if it does any good at blocking weeds and what cultivar it is. I'm in z6b, so should be okay in terms of hardiness

i cant tell them apart... that is why i never chimed in ...

ken

@ken, lol... I agree. Juniper is tough for me to ID also. In person the growth pattern and color of the two are very different. #2 is taller growing and almost green w/a little blue hue. #1 is mostly blue with some green on the old growth and grows very flat.

I talked to my neighbor and he is growing Blue Rug juniper. It is very dense, low growing, and he says it suppresses nearly all weeds. Maybe the weed suppression is the result of mulching + full sun, similar to the way a healthy lawn can block weeds if it is dense enough.

Anyways, I will plant the #1 cuttings, which I believe are Blue Rug as @Garden Rees suggested and see how it goes. They should get 6-10hrs of sun, varying depending on season.