Take this with a grain of salt because so many variables. I had the best result with 1:1:1 coarse perlite, regular garden center perlite and coco coir.
Thanks so much for the info! What area are you collecting in?
I’m in coastal SC, so it’s hard to know if I’m dealing with the Eastern Red Cedar (Juniperus Virginiana) or the Coastal Red Cedar (Juniperus Virginiana var. Silicicola). About a mile down the road there are a lot of fully grown samples along the marshes. I cut a sample branch to inspect the foliage and it’s so tight and compact. Should be a great species to work with if I can get some collected.
Yeah well to be honest I have assumed just juniperus virginiana, but maybe 
a variation as well, not sure. But that’s what I find so interesting about the species. The variety of foliage between the species is fascinating. Literally two feet apart and the foliage can be super leggy like a Hollywood juniper , where the one two feet away looks like a large shimpaku(not literally but for example sake).the only downside to me, is how their winter colors vary and aren’t particularly attractive.
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Chalk it up to genetic variations, I suppose. They don’t really get winter color in my area. They stay pretty green. In fact, so do all of my potted Junipers. I guess it’s our climate.
Yeah.I’m about 40 minutes north of Boston, only 1 mile from the ocean. We have a very unique climate. I just took my dog for a walk through our coastal park and the amount of germinated J. Virginiana is beyond countable. I have limited knowledge on junipers growing from seed. I saw one of Eric Schrader’s videos where he briefly talks of the lengthy process of growing junipers from seed. I wonder if they pop up wild and grow with such vigor elsewhere. Hey attach some pictures if convenient. I’d love to witness other’s experiences.
I am a few miles south of Boston and they get lots of Winter color near me.
Just a heads up that any collected will have a high probability of cedar apple rust and if you have rosacea it can become a cascading issue.
Proactively treating them right when you collect them is a good strategy and any anything you have in the rosacea family proactively treat them in the fall.
I assume they put out shallow seasonal roots for the spring/early summer months (Ryan has talked about this several times before).
I have collected them late fall into winter January/Feb I ended up not keeping mine because of the cedar apple rust and the number trees I have in the rosacea family. I was able to keep it from blooming bug the risk was too much for me perosnally. I had success in 50% perilolite and organic potting soil. Waiting the 2 + full years seemed to be totally worth it as they really exploded after the second full year in recovery.
Good luck and hope this is somewhat helpful