Plant Gin Fizz Juniper for a Bush Bursting With Berries

Kirsten SchraderUpdated: Nov. 03, 2022

Plant a Gin Fizz juniper bush for low-maintenance greenery that looks great in every season. Plus, you'll attract flocks of hungry berry-loving birds!

A closeup of the white-green berries of a Gin Fizz juniper.

Gin Fizz juniper bushes are a wonderful evergreen shrub that offer year-round interest. They produce bunches of blue-green berries—far more fruits than a typical juniper bush. Here’s why you should plant one in your yard and the best way to do it.

Why You Should Grow a Gin Fizz Juniper Bush

This shrub is perfect for home gardeners who are looking for a “plant it and forget it” specimen.

It’s a fantastic easy-care hedge. All you have to do is grow several in a row and the lush foliage provides a privacy fence for every season.

Gin Fizz juniper bushes have a gorgeous pyramid-like shape. Their shape stands out focal point or in a mass planting.

It’s also a great alternative to arborvitae, which is one of the best and most popular types of evergreens. Both shrubs grow in full sun, but Gin Fizz may be more compact than some arborvitae and it produces gorgeous berries.

Check out the best low-maintenance landscaping ideas for your yard.

How to Grow a Gin Fizz Juniper Bush

Gin Fizz juniper bushes grow in tall pyramid-like shapes and look great in pairs.

Botanical name: Juniperus chinensis
Zone: 4 to 8
Light needs: Full sun
Size: When mature, it reaches 10 to 18 feet high and 7 to 10 feet wide.

These plants are very low maintenance. Just follow our guide on planting shrubs and bushes to get started.

Once established, a Gin Fizz juniper tolerates occasional drought and needs very little extra care. Pruning should be minimal and happen only occasionally, if at all. In fact, this juniper is slow to bounce back from a deep pruning, so it’s best to snip lightly.

Gin Fizz Juniper Bush Wildlife Benefits

Bird-watchers should definitely consider planting Gin Fizz juniper. Its prolific berry productions makes it a bird magnet. The berries appear every summer and birds start picking at them shortly after. It’s a cheap way to attract more birds on a budget.

What it doesn’t attract may be equally exciting. Generally speaking, deer aren’t interested in Gin Fizz juniper bushes. So gardeners in areas with plenty of white tails can relax knowing their hedges will not part of a backyard deer buffet.

Next, check out the top 10 dwarf conifers for small spaces.

Originally Published: November 03, 2022

Kirsten Schrader

Kirsten has more than 15 years of experience writing and editing birding and gardening content. As content director of Birds & Blooms, she leads the team of editors and freelance writers sharing tried-and-true advice for nature enthusiasts who love to garden and feed birds in their backyards. Since joining Birds & Blooms 17 years ago, Kirsten has held roles in digital and print, editing direct-to-consumer books, running as many as five magazines as a time and managing special interest publications. Kirsten has traveled to see amazing North American birds, and attended various festivals, including Sedona Hummingbird Festival, Rio Grande Bird Festival, The Biggest Week in American Birding Festival and Cape May Spring Festival. She has also witnessed the epic sandhill crane migration while on a photography workshop trip to Colorado. Kirsten has participated in several GardenComm and Outdoor Writers Association of America annual conferences and is a member of the Wisconsin Society for Ornithology. When she's not researching, writing and editing all things birding and gardening, Kirsten is enjoying the outdoors with her nature-loving family. She and her husband are slowly chipping away at making their small acreage the backyard of their dreams.