Juniperus × pfitzeriana 'Wilhelm Pfitzer' is arguably one of Earth's most popular foundation plants. It is very easily found at garden centers and home improvement stores usually in very small, inexpensive sizes. Quite unexpectedly to the novice homeowner, this trees soon become quite massive and often create problems as they outgrow their surroundings.
Wilhelm Pfitzer juniper can be described as a vigorous, spreading to ground-covering selection with main branches extending out from a central point at roughly a 45° angle with nodding tips. Foliage is a mix of adult and juvenile form and is generally bright green in color. After 10 years of growth, a mature specimen will measure 4.5 feet (1.5 m) tall and 10 feet (3 m) wide, an annual growth rate of 12 inches (30 cm) or more.
This is an old cultivar that most certainly originated in China in the late 1800s. It is almost universally seen listed as simply 'Pfitzeriana.' However, in 1995, the registrar of the Royal Horticultural Society requested that it be renamed 'Wilhelm Pfitzer' because the epithetic combination J. × pfitzeriana 'Pfitzeriana' was banned until 2009.
