Juniperus scopulorum 'Tolleson's Weeping' - Tolleson's Weeping Juniper

This weeping Juniper is a pretty popular form in other areas of the county, but I see very few here. I am always a fan of weeping conifers and Junipers get a bad rap. Seeing a mature specimen like this one in Santa Cruz should change peoples minds.

Tollesons blue weeping juniper grows 20' by 15' with an upright leader and weeping lateral branches. Very nice look for those of us that like weepers. (Might be a poor man's Cupressus cashmeriana and might be more reliably grown as junipers are very drought tolerate.)

Foliage is scale-like, bluish color covering the stems. Distinct white bands of stomates seen where the leaves overlap. Stems are rounded like Cupressus, and are very hard to tell apart, sometimes the smell is different with junipers.

Here is a lateral branch with weeping secondary branches.

Trunks are pretty and add some texture to the softness of the foliage. Bark is somewhat shaggy, with small plates that peel up on the edges.

As I recall these are male trees, and will not have fruit.

Misidentification:
if you see it you will not misidentify it, but if you only get a small branch, good luck. Not many other trees have such a distinct weeping habit. Cupressus cashmeriana has flattened sprays of foliage, junipers have 3 dimensional branching.


Location:
There are several around but they don't look anything as nice as this one:

Santa Cruz
230 Chilverton Ave