SPECIES: Juniperus conferta, (ju'nip-er-us, meaning juniperlike; kon-fer'ta, meaning crowded, pressed together)

SIZE: 1-1 1/2 feet tall; 6-9 feet side.

FORM SPREADS. Dense shrub with main stems that run procumbent (horizontally along ground) and secondary stems that grow upright.

FOLIAGE: Needlelike leaves in whorls of three, crowded and overlapping on stem. Gray-green with white line on top.

FLOWERS: Minute male and female flowers on separate plants (dioecious). Males are catkins; females are scales arranged in whorls. Nothing showy. Pollen sheds in March-April.

FRUIT: Small cone, round but flattened at base; green maturing to dark blue or bluish-black with a waxy coat.

VARIETIES: Blue Pacific, grows 1 foot high; compact blue-green foliage; trailing growth habit; tolerates heat. Emerald Sea, medium green foliage in prostrate form. Other low, creeping junipers to consider include: Bar Harbor, Blue Rug, Sargent, Wiltoni and Japanese garden varieties. Your local garden center can advise you about varieties to suit your needs.

CULTURE: Thrives in sunny, sandy, hot and dry spots; tolerates most any soil if drainage is good. Also good for salt and seashore conditions. Spreads fast by underground stems.

PRUNING: None needed. Junipers usually do not sprout from old wood so avoid pruning them beyond the green zone of live foliage.

PROBLEMS: Red spider mites during hot weather; sprays of cold water control small populations, miticide needed for severe infestations. Can get canker, which is a lesion or oozing point of decay in plant tissue, usually on the trunk or branches; caused by disease, wounds or insects.

If fungal problems attack, poor drainage and too much moisture are usually the culprit, says Bonnie Appleton, ornamental horticulture specialist at Virginia Tech's Hampton Roads Agricultural Research and Extension Center. These junipers also dislike shade. The best way to prevent disease problems on junipers and any plant is to put it in the soil and light conditions it needs to grow best, says Appleton.

USES: Good ground cover for sand dunes and slopes, around trees and tall shrubs. Handsome looking when draped over walls, banks or in planters. Use in masses, especially in front of taller plantings.

Sources: Virginia Cooperative Extension, Landscape Plants of the Southeast, Southern Living Garden Book, Taylor's Easy, Practical Pruning, Encyclopedia of Herbs, Spices & Flavorings

NEW JUNIPER

* A new golden lace juniper - Juniperus chinensis pfitzeriana Gold Lace - grows to 2 feet wide, 3 feet tall in five years, eventually maturing to 4 feet wide, 6 feet tall. This offspring of the popular Gold Star juniper has bright golden stems and lacy foliage more conspicuous than most golden pfitzers, says Bill Kidd at McDonaId Garden Center. It tolerates most soil types and likes full sun. Use it as a foundation or specimen plant, broad hedge, traffic controller or massed on slopes for color and texture. Shears well. Hardy in Zones 4-9.