Common Name:

General Information

Juniperus pseudosabina is an evergreen shrub or a tree with a dense head; it, ranges in size from around 2 metres up to 18 metres, with an average around the 8 metres mark[].
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a food and source of materials. It is very suitable for use as an ornamental.
Juniperus pseudosabina is too widespread, and probably increasing due to changes in land use and forest cover, to be threatened with extinction in the foreseeable future. The plant is classified as 'Least Concern' in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species(2013)[].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

,

Range

Asia - Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan East and west Siberia, Mongolia, western China (Xinjiang), Afghanistan, Pakistan

Habitat

Subalpine conifer forest, juniper woodland and montane to subalpine scrubland and steppe, often restricted to rocky outcrops and sunny slopes, growing on various soil types from coarse gravel terraces to dry loess slopes; from 1,950 - 4,100 metres[]

Properties

Conservation Status	Least Concern
Edibility Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Evergreen Tree
Height	8.00 m
Growth Rate	Slow
Pollinators	Wind
Self-fertile	No
Cultivation Status	Ornamental, Wild

Cultivation Details

Juniperus pseudosabina is a very cold-hardy plant, able to tolerate temperatures down to around -30°c when fully dormant[]. The climate is extreme continental with short, hot, dry summers and long, cold, snowy winters[]. The species occurs in a continental climate at high elevations in mountains similar to the European Alps and should be hardy even in high latitudes[]
Requires a sunny position and a well-drained soil.
Especially the shrubby form of this species would make a very attractive juniper in cultivation but it seems to be absent in gardens; this is an omission that ought to be rectified[].
Plants can live for 300 - 500 year in the wild[].
A dioecious species - both male and female forms must be grown if fruit and seed are required.

Edible Uses

The large blue seed cones ('berries') are soft and probably edible[]

Medicinal

None known

Other Uses

The foliage is used for incense[].

The heartwood is reddish-brown; the sapwood white. The wood is straight-grained, very translucent, suitable
for working . It is used to some extent as a construction timber[].
This species is more often shrubby than a tree and consequently it is less often used for firewood or small timber[].

Propagation

The seed requires a period of cold stratification. The seed has a hard seedcoat and can be very slow to germinate, requiring a cold period followed by a warm period and then another cold spell, each of 2 - 3 months duration[, ]. Soaking the seed for 3 - 6 seconds in boiling water may speed up the germination process[]. The seed is best sown as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame. Some might germinate in the following spring, though most will take another year. Another possibility is to harvest the seed 'green' (when the embryo has fully formed but before the seedcoat has hardened). The seedlings can be potted up into individual pots when they are large enough to handle. Grow on in pots until large enough, then plant out in early summer. When stored dry, the seed can remain viable for several years[].
Cuttings of mature wood, 5 - 10cm with a heel, September/early autumn in a cold frame. Plant out in the following autumn[, ].
Layering in September/early autumn. Takes 12 months[].