I think the Cologreen Juniper is a good choice for what you are looking for. Another good choice is the Spartan Juniper which is what I have and has an emerald green color. I live in New York State. It also grows in a dense green column about 4-5 feet wide, 15 feet high. It is deer resistant and not picky about type of soil. However it must have good drainage like most junipers. It does not like to sit in water or muck. Since it gets about 5 feet wide, I would space them about 6 feet apart. All around sun and air is necessary to keep it dense, green and healthy. They will form a solid green wall from the ground up. They grow pretty fast and look nice. You can plant them in a straight row or zig zag, either is fine. They get blue juniper berries which is a important food source for birds over winter.
Trouble free, maintenance free and always has that manicured look. Just make sure they get good drainage. They like to dry out between waterings. I don't water mine at all, I just let the rain take care of that and they are happy. Here's a pic. Mine endured the wrath of hurricane Sandy, hurricane Irene, blizzards, noreasters galore and a tornado. Sandy beat one up pretty badly and made it lean out, but after trimming the broken branches and staking it for a couple seasons, it's looking great again and is pretty good at recovering the broken branches (no bare spots). I hope this helps.

I think the Cologreen Juniper is a good choice for what you are looking for. Another good choice is the Spartan Juniper which is what I have and has an emerald green color. I live in New York State. It also grows in a dense green column about 4-5 feet wide, 15 feet high. It is deer resistant and not picky about type of soil. However it must have good drainage like most junipers and full sun if possible. It does not like to sit in water or muck. Since it gets about 5 feet wide, I would space them about 6 feet apart. All around sun and air is necessary to keep it dense, green and healthy. They will form a solid green wall from the ground up. They grow pretty fast and look nice. You can plant them in a straight row or zig zag, either is fine. They get blue juniper berries which is a important food source for birds over winter.
Trouble free, maintenance free and always has that manicured look. Just make sure they get good drainage and sun. They like to dry out between waterings. I don't water mine at all, I just let the rain take care of that and they are happy. Here's a pic. Mine endured the wrath of hurricane Sandy, hurricane Irene, blizzards, noreasters galore and a tornado. Sandy beat one up pretty badly and made it lean out, but after trimming the broken branches and staking it for a couple seasons, it's looking great again and is pretty good at recovering the broken branches (no bare spots). I hope this helps.

{{!gwi}}

Thanks so much for the time some of you spent giving me some great advice, here and email. I think I am set on Junipers (thanks to your stories and beautiful pictures) as I am looking for something different than Spruces, that seem to do great here, even in standing water and heavy clay. It got down to -36 C here last week (-47 C with the wind chill), over 2 feet of snow in the last month, and it can get mighty cold here (but wind is not really an issue here like it is in Calgary). I want to put a row of Junipers in along my south side (facing full sun), 8 feet (north) from the power line, they will have no water problems, have natural but thin bush directly to the north of them, lots of shelter from the wind on the east and west. (The wind normally blows from the north or west). My local garden centre said that deer will still nip the foliage and Junipers can be fine for a long period of time and then suddently turn brown (even if you water them well in the fall). He seems to want to steer me to more Spruce again (have enough of those). I have a Moffett Juniper that the deer have never touched (they ate my Globe Cedar down to old wood) and the Moffett has never turned brown anywhere. It's about 7 yrs old and I plopped it in the side of my driveway pad which is heavy in gravel and it looks fine (and full sun). I would like to stick with Junipers and am just trying to finalize the right type if it's still a good idea. I have heavy clay. Live in Central Alberta, Canada, zone 3a I think. I just don't want to put in a huge row and they turn brown or have other problems...and which is best for close to a power line. Thanks so much for any opinions. My garden centre says he doesn't have Cologreen but can get Witchita and Moonglow normally (not certain as he doesn't get a new list until January). Are these ok? Also, why is it so hard to find an accurate mature height for trees? One book said Medora gets 30' tall, and another says on 10'. How can someone plan a yard if resources out there have different maximum heights for the tree?

urchysj ... I live on an acreage near Edmonton and would suggest that you do consider 'Medora', as it grows much more dense and does not require pruning as does 'Wichita Blue'. In the past, I had grown 'Moonglow', though it wasn't a personal favorite. 'Taylor' is a tall growing variety that must receive all day direct sun to be happy. I had it planted on the west side of the house where afternoon to early evening sun was received, though in a few years it was thinning out and becoming spare in growth, I moved it to FULL sun and it's making a nice recovery. I LOVE 'Moffat Blue' for its silver blue coloring and very nice branching pattern, it's slower and more squat in growth and I use many around the yard to very good effect. I don't have experience with 'Cologreen', though it looks like a good choice and so does 'Spartan' as shown in dog_wood's very nice photo.

Most junipers are hardy in zone 3, though yes, in some winters / early springs they might sustain a degree of browning, though generally make a full recovery. I always give my upright junipers a very good soaking in mid October to fully hydrate them before winter.

Terrance

I have both Junipers and have tried many Cedars. Needless to say the Deer eliminate the Cedars without fail. The Junipers seem to be safe,