Illustration
Aquavita Juniper
Juniperus virginiana 'FARROWJVBF'
Also called aquavita and aquavita redcedar
Aquavita Juniper is grown for its foliage rather than flowers, giving the garden structure and color all season long.
Months here are Northern Hemisphere months; in the Southern Hemisphere, shift them by six months.
Growing Aquavita Juniper
Plant it in full sun. It prefers low water. It is hardy in USDA zones 4–9. Expect it to reach about 12 ft tall and 3 ft wide at maturity, in roughly 12 years (a house reading).
What was checked
Mature height and spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color and the trait tags were checked against named botanical sources for this plant, with what the sources could not settle written down; years to mature size rests on a recorded house rule where no publisher states one, and is marked so; its common name and alternate names have not been checked yet. Each fact above carries its own mark. The planting, spacing and size sections are derived from these checked facts by a fixed rule, not checked separately, and the plant type is the library's own classification.
When to plant Aquavita Juniper
Plant Aquavita Juniper in spring once the soil is workable, or by very early fall at the latest: an evergreen needs its roots down well before the ground freezes. In zone 6, the middle of its hardy zones 4 to 9, that is March to May, or August on the fall side.
Month-by-month timing for your zone is on the planting calendar; if you garden near zone 6, the middle of this plant's hardy range, start with zone 6 in March. Derived from the plant's category, zones and bloom months plus typical zone frost dates, not checked separately.
How big does Aquavita Juniper get?
12 fttall5 ft 7 inan adult3 ftwideSee Aquavita Juniper in a garden plan: the planner shows it in 3D beside everything else you add, growing toward this size over the years.
How far apart to plant Aquavita Juniper
Derived from the mature spread above by a fixed rule, not checked separately: spacing is the spread, center to center.
Space Aquavita Juniper about 3 ft apart, center to center, so each plant has room to reach its full width.
Add Aquavita Juniper to a garden plan and the planner draws it at its full width, so you see the spacing before you buy.
Where these facts come from
Aquavita Juniper's height, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, trait tags, soil, diseases, pests and toxicity were checked against 10 published sources on September 26, 2026. Each one is linked below with every fact it carried, which can include a fact this page still marks as not yet checked, because a source carrying a value is not the same as the value being held to the standard. Facts not in that list, and the planting, spacing and size sections, are not covered by these sources. Bloom was checked as well: Aquavita Juniper bears no flowers, so there is no bloom window for a source to carry.
- plants.rutgersln.comNetPS Plant Finder (Rutgers Landscape & Nursery)height, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, trait tags, soil, diseases and pests
- Missouri Botanical GardenPlant Finderheight, hardiness zones, sun, water, soil, diseases and pests
- Proven Winnersheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, trait tags and pests
- NC State ExtensionPlant Toolboxsun, trait tags, soil, diseases, pests and toxicity
- springmeadownursery.comSpring Meadow Nurseryheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun, trait tags and soil
- Plant Addictsheight, spread, hardiness zones, water and soil
- US plant patent (Google Patents)Google Patentsheight, hardiness zones, water, trait tags and diseases
- gardencrossings.comGarden Crossingsheight, spread, hardiness zones and water
- neinvasives.comNebraska Invasive Species Counciltoxicity
- Plant Addictstoxicity
How the checking works, and what each standard covers, is on the verified plants page.
Good to know about Aquavita Juniper
Curated from university extensions, botanic gardens and other primary sources, with the source named on every note.
Safety
Toxicity depends on the species. Savin (Juniperus sabina) is dangerous: its oil can cause miscarriage and liver damage. Common junipers show no such effect. Never use juniper oil internally. per Molecules
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Drop this plant onto a 3D plan, see how it fills in, and watch your whole garden bloom across the year.