Common Juniper vs Western Snowberry - TreeTime.ca

Common Juniper vs Western Snowberry

Juniperus communis

Symphoricarpos occidentalis

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON - MIGHT RETURN

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON - MIGHT RETURN

Common Juniper
Western Snowberry

Common Juniper is a wide spreading, coniferous shrub with scaly needles and small, berry-like cones. Used as a landscaping shrub, it typically grows 3 or 4 feet tall and will not spread like Creeping Juniper.

You can plant Common Juniper near building foundations or beneath larger trees to provide year-round color and texture to your yard with minimal maintenance.

Like the Common Snowberry, the Western Snowberry is a small shrub with pink flowers useful for feeding livestock and preventing erosion. Unlike the common species, however, the Western Snowberry is much more suited to wet conditions, capable of persevering through poor soil drainage and occasional flooding.

After the Snowberry's flowers have bloomed, it produces berries which often last on the plant through winter. These berries are toxic to humans, but livestock and local wildlife love them! Those hoping to attract wildlife to their property can plant Snowberry and expect to see animals foraging on it much later in the year than other plants.

Common Juniper Quick Facts

Western Snowberry Quick Facts

Zone: 1a
Zone: 1a
Height: 2.4 m (8 ft)
Height: 0.9 m (3 ft)
Spread: 3 m (10 ft)
Spread: 0.9 m (3 ft)
Light: partial shade, full sun
Light: partial shade, full sun
Moisture: dry, normal
Moisture: any
Growth rate: medium
Growth rate: medium
Life span: medium
Life span: short
Suckering: none
Suckering: high


Toxicity: berries are toxic to humans
Fall colour: green
Flowers: pinkish white
Berries: small, white, poisonous to humans
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no


Native to: AB, BC, SK, MB, ON, QC, NS, NB, NL, YT, NT, NU, PE
Native to: AB, BC, SK, MB, NT
Other Names: buckbrush, wolfberry