Most conifers prefer full sun although there are some that will tolerate some shade and fewer still that thrive in shade.

I consider junipers of any variety to be full sun plants and a north facing wall would not be my first choice. Junipers in other than full sun become sparse looking and leggy.

Light levels are lower in winter but I would still want to maximize the amount of sunlight the junipers would receive.

That's too bad.. I see pictures online all the time of Junipers in and around people's front doors. I guess they're not facing North...

Can you give me a suggestion (just one, I don't want to take up your time) of an evergreen tree that stays small that would be good for north-facing walls?

I always really appreciate your expertise, gardengal.

How can the north side of your house get full sun, unless you are far enough away from the house to get out of it's shadow? My house faces north, and get's very bright sun, but the foundation plants can never get full, direct sun, because even at it's highest point in the sky, the house still shades out about 10ft or more...

Juniper is defiantly a full sun plant. However, I agree with Ken about dormant plants not really needing much light. You can basically keep dormant plants in a garage all winter or under snow all winter and they do just fine, so it shouldn't be an issue... I would go for it also.... just perplexed about how a North facing foundation can get full sun....

The typical go to for north facing foundations is usually yew, hemlock, and shade tolerant broadleaf evergreens like rhododendron, holly, boxwood, ect...

Well, I think it's full sun. It's always seemed that way to me. The Forsythias are growing like crazy in front there. And fwiw, the previous owners had roses planted right there when we bought the house, and that was when there was a covered porch there too. The roses had some shade from that covered porch but they still grew just fine. We dug them out at the time we took the porch down.

I had my heart set on Junipers right there, but if it's defiantly full sun and somehow my area is not, then I'm not going to do it. :(

Well, I think it's full sun. It's always seemed that way to me

==>> your probably noticing the brightness i mentioned ...

but. i just struck me .... look at google images.. under the latin name.. and you will find.. that they should probably be planted 8 to 12 feet from the house.. to allow future growth ... adn in doing that.. you are probably going to get into full sun but for the darkest month or two of winter ...

if you plant them real close to the house.. they will probably end up nudey on the house side.. since that part will never get light ...

those of mine i mentioned ... are at least 8 feet away from the house ...

dont forget.. also.. many Js can suffer snowload issues ...

in my world.. i would plant what i wanted.. and when they failed.. for whatever reason.. i would get rid of them .... i fear... your attachment to your plants ... you will never be able to get rid of a mistake.. lol.... so i am trying to throw out all the potential problems ....

ken

the sixth pic is an improper planting.. imo ...

https://www.google.com/search?q=Juniperus+chinensis+%27Blue+Point%27&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiHo5_ZoZ_SAhUM3IMKHRUuC7IQ_AUICSgC&biw=906&bih=739

I was informed awhile back that the trees that are dormant in the winter don't need sunlight, only water.

stuartlawrence got a BINGO! You can completely bury a Juniper in snow from December to March and it will be completely unaffected...foliage might even look better. That's assuming the weight of the melting snow doesn't break branches at the same time.

Just wondering, is this a 1 or 2 story house? As they grow will their mature height exceed the roof line, and will the foundation bed allow for their width? They may not grow as fast on the shady side of the house. However they do tend to get large and depending on the type of house!

Scientific Name: Juniper chinensis 'Blue Point'

Mature Size and Shape: Grows 10 to 14 feet high and 4 to 8 feet wide if left untrimmed in a pyramidal shape

I believe that you could find a few evergreens that may do well with that amount of light. Junipers would not be my first choice in the front, unless it was on the corner of a tall 2 story. Picture would be helpful

I have a large number of different conifers in pots on my deck, which is on the north side of the house. The plants get no direct sunlight from late fall through early spring, and are only in full sun (8+ hours) from late spring through early fall. They are all doing just fine.

If planting next to the house or a window I would plant something that stays in a nice tight columnar form so that over the years it doesn't encroach on your window view. Blue Point looks narrow when young but won't stay very compact unless you shear it every year. I planted 6 of them, 7 years ago, lining my fence. Although I do like them, I would have preferred something more narrow resembling an Italian cypress like the following junipers.

Juniperus sculpularum 'Skyrocket' - Not the narrowest but more narrower and compact than Blue Point and usually easy to find.

Juniperus sculpularum 'Blue Arrow' - Nice and narrow

Juniperus communis 'Compressa' - Very narrow, dense, and compact. Slow grower.

The foliage is quite different looking on these.

These will look great in close proximity to the house without outgrowing their location for years and years. The only downside is if you get lots of snow then you will need to wrap twine around them every winter to keep the snow load from splaying the branches and ruining the tree. =)

IME J. sculpularum doesn't do too well in eastern humidity and often becomes affected by fungal diseases. So while I agree with Garen Reyes's basic point, that the Blue Point junipers are really too wide for typical foundation plants, I wouldn't choose the first two plants mentioned. I have been guilty of planting too-wide evergreen trees as foundation plants, and would not recommend it.

"I was informed awhile back that the trees that are dormant in the winter don't need sunlight, only water."

I believe that, about the sunlight.

Around where I live the sun gets down to a very low angle for a few months during winter and the days are short (8 hrs. maybe). With all the underbrush and large trees, small conifers growing in the woods don't see much sun during that time, even if they aren't buried in the snow. They all seem to do fine.

I have a small spruce in the back yard that spent it's first winter completely covered by the 20" of snow we got that year.

But I don't think they need a lot of water because during their dormant period, they don't transpire. I know a dry, sunny, windy day(s) can't damage the needles, it's just that when the roots are froze or dormant, they can't move the water from the ground to the branches so watering the ground would help only minimally.

The thing that helps our conifers through the winters up here is when they are either buried in the natural falling/blowing snow or else when we get little snow 'skiffs' or foggy, misty periods during that time, it seems that helps keep the needles from drying out.

I have a small spruce in the front yard that gets snow shoveled/snow blowed on it when we do the drive way, Completely covered up again this year again. But each year it grows the best of all the conifers I have.

Ah, that's good info on the sculpularum. I've seen a few good looking J. sculp. 'Moonglow' here and there in the midwest but then I've also seen some pretty shabby looking ones as well. Makes sense.

Speaking of this sort of stuff, Juniperus chinensis, like 'Blue Point', can be susceptible to tip blight, a fungal disease that attacks the tips of the branches and causes the tips to die back. Mine get it ever so often but it's never been that bad for me. I should probably treat them with fungicide but I've been lazy. I just snip off the effected parts if and when they show up.

Ive got quite a few conifers that are planted in areas with too much shade. When the leaves from the deciduous trees fall, they get more sun during the winter months. They all seem to be doing ok. So far at least.

What about Picea glauca 'pendula'? That would produce a narrow spire of blue-green needles. The only concern might be the eventual height - I've seen some beautiful ~20 foot tall specimens around town here!