40x common juniper seedlings grown in tubes and averaging 20cm tall. Common juniper is a hardy conifer native to wide tracts of the northern hemisphere, growing into a shrub to small tree. The plants produce berries that are widely used by the gin industry to add a pine note and in Australia, dried berries are imported from overseas. Some ales and beers are also flavoured with juniper berry and while too astringent to eat raw, they can be added sparingly to cooking to add flavour. The leaves are also useful for smoking meats, adding flavour and because the essential oils in the needles have anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties. Junipers make a good hedging plant and ornamental garden feature, with prickly needles unpalatable to most stock. They grow well in a range of soils and climates, are frost and drought hardy, though perform best on well drained soil with plenty of water.

Plants are dioecious - male and female. Female plants produce berries from a young age, often cropping heavily. Fruits are borne in late Summer to early Autumn in most parts of Australia, starting green and ripening to dark blue.