In August of 2022 Red Butte Garden's Director of Horticulture was on a camping trip in the mountains of northern Utah when she came across a unique, very low-growing form of Juniperus communis (Common Juniper). In Utah, this species typically grows between 18 inches to three feet tall. This new discovery only reached six inches high!

Collecting Cuttings and Cones of this new discovery.

In October of the same year, the Garden's Curation Manager was on his way home from eastern Idaho when he saw a pencil thin juniper on the hillside. This species, Juniperus scopulorum (Rocky Mountain Juniper), normally grows to about 15 feet wide, but this narrow individual was only two feet at its widest point.

A stately and unique narrow juniper.

Cuttings of each unusual juniper were taken in October of 2022 in an attempt to clone these special plants.

Juniperus communis cuttings.

Juniperus scopulorum cuttings.

We stuck about 40 cuttings of each species in the greenhouse and managed to get about nine cuttings of each species to take root.

Two year old rooted cuttings.

After it was apparent that the cuttings maintained the same characteristics as their wild parent material, we applied with the Royal Horticultural Society to give each of these unique varieties a cultivar name recognized in the International Conifer Registry. On November 15, 2024 both cultivars received their official certificates of registration.

Red Butte Garden is now home to Juniperus communis 'Clear Creek' (Clear Creek Juniper), named after a nearby tributary to where it was discovered, and Juniperus scopulorum 'Jade Pillar' (Jade Pillar Juniper), named to describe its growth habit and color.

Official Certificates of International Registration

Keep an eye out for these new and unique varieties in the Garden when you visit this year.

Photos by Jason W. Baker