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Now I know why it's called a Grey Owl

18 years ago

Took it a couple seasons before it took on the shape of owl ears but it's really nice now. I love its steel blue foliage. Anyone have any pictures of theirs you'd like to share?

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Comments (16)

Ron_B
18 years ago
Who?
happyhoe
18 years ago
It's a juniper.
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The owls are continuing to call
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Love the cuckoos too. Most of the locals here call them rain crows since the myth has it that they call before a storm. They do have an odd call. CCox, you think it's a sad one? I don't know, it always reminds me of sitting in a fishing boat with my dad years and years ago. A cuckoo would do its cuk cuk cuk ca ca kow kow kow thing and dad would say, There's a rain crow, gonna be good fishing today. Never seemed to really have a bearing on the good or bad of the trip but the call still reminds me of those days on the water with him. I discovered a nest on a rather low branch of a tree here years ago. For days all I would see was a bird butt sticking out one side, and from where I was standing it looked almost like a dove's tail but not quite. Then one day I saw the cuckoo fly to the nest. I'd never seen one before and was delighted but unfortunately I never did see a brood. We had a series of strong storms and had to bring in one of our tractors to clean up the snapped off trees. The stack with all its hot fumes and roaring deisel engine were still not enough to make that bird leave the nest and after the cleanup was done a tail could still be seen jutting out of the flimsy nest. Too bad the chicks never appeared. I always assumed a snake was responsible.
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what is this called and why is it?
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Comments (9)
I own an home built 1834. Making the post from a cell phone.. So please disregard typos Anyway here is my thoughts on this. I own a two room Laborers Cottage, it has two front doors, and one room has Ash flooring, and the other Popular flooring. One room would be the room that they lived in. And the other room would be a formal room. My home was used as a doctors office on one side, and the family of two adults and twelve children all lived in the 700sq foot home.. They would have only used 350sq foot of the home for living, and the other side was only for Sunday, guests or an office visit. I would guess that this detail found in this home is the same idea, you would have one room with nice flooring, and trim. The rest of the home would be built out of cheaper materials. You all are forgetting that back then most everything had to be done 100% by hand. I found that the wall separating the two room in my house the studs still had the bark on them. Trim and flooring would cost a lot back then, since it may take a few hours to make just one piece of trim or flooring. It makes a lot of since to me, they could make the home look a lot nicer for the one room that guests would ever be allowed in, and save the money on making the other room exactly the same way. I think I may use this exact same idea in my home when I finish remodeling it.. Since all of the original trim was already removed by the last owner.. This is a neat touch. FYI: the 700 foot room will now be just our living room.. Since there is a 1500sq foot addition on the home now. I plan on making one side the family room with TV. And the other side will just be the sitting room for reading or greeting guests into our home.
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I went to the "for the love of a house" site and recognized I had visited before. I noted that they used Titanium in their master bedroom. This is the color I used in my small dark, one windowed kitchen. Artemis used sea haze and I almost went with that for my kitchen. I looked at a lot of grey green blues and they are all pretty. What helped me with the final selection was to paint up patches on the wall and live with the samples for several days, comparing and contrasting. I must have painted 14 or so samples before I settled on Titanium. Each trial helped me refocus my search even when the trial was a reject. I am going to save this thread to "clippings" so that when I am ready to paint my bathroom (next to the kitchen) I can refer to the colors discussed here, and visit "for the love of a house" again to see her selections.
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Ron_B
18 years ago
Yes: I knoooooo. Juniperus virginiana 'Grey Owl'. Origin Holland, 1938; seedling of J. virginiana 'Glauca'. Introduced 1949. Mulches itself with fur balls.
sbeuerlein
18 years ago
And the fur balls contain the bones of mice and snakes.

Actually, I always thought it was called (so appropriately) "Grey Owl" because it is so gray and ghostly. I never noticed any "ears" before.

Nevertheless, one of my favorite Junipers. Great, great plant. I've seen them sheared before. Oh, the tragedy!

Scott
Ron_B
18 years ago
Make that I knoo - oo - oo-oo -oow.
karinl
18 years ago
Correctly: Whoooooo?
pineresin
18 years ago
To whit, to woo a juniper
Nettie
18 years ago
You guys are a hoot.
snowdeer
17 years ago
i have 4 of them and i was wondering how to cut them so they are not so high. about 3 feet now.
Embothrium
17 years ago
Depends on stucture of this particular specimen(s) and other aspects of your situation. Probably can find individual taller branches that are higher than the rest and cut these out. Any major reduction and the beauty of the plant will soon be lost, of course. And it won't stop trying to assume the size and shape determined by its genetic blueprint until it weakens and dies.
conifers
17 years ago
From May 1-4 - The US National Arboretum; Juniperus 'Grey Owl':

I remember being drawn to the plants color:)

Dax

Then, check out this plant: From Bickelhaupt Arboretum, Clinton Iowa - Picea pungens (Rifle Blue); October 2005.

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Embothrium
17 years ago
Maybe it should be renamed 'Grey Pharoah'.
pineresin
17 years ago
Bubo ascalaphus?
quirkyquercus
16 years ago
Look what I dragged out of the closet.

Hey what is the growth rate of these typically and how do they compare to hetz chineze juniper?
kvolk
16 years ago
Bloom lists Juniperus virginaiana 'Grey Owl' as a prostrate ground cover cultivar. The picture is the thread certainly isn't a ground cover. Are there two grey owls?
Bumblebeez SC Zone 7
16 years ago
I have half a dozen grey owls and they don't look at all like that first photo. But they are only 7 years old. I was under the impression that 4'-6' in height was to be expected with a wing/bat shape. Much more flatter and broad than the photo. They are around 4'-5' right now and are flat and spreading. This year is the first year they have had berries, which are very attractive.

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