Evergreen shrubs, not without human involvement, gradually moved to gardens and parks, where they found their place in the performance of design functions. In order for living decor elements to fit their purpose, you need to find the perfect place for them and properly plant the plants. In the article we will analyze in detail the rules of agricultural technology for the care of common juniper, we will talk about its useful properties.
Habitat
Undergrowths of old pine forests, mixed groves, spruce forests, dry hills, limestones and sandy soils are a favorite habitat for conifers. This plant is common in the highlands of Central Asia, where it is called juniper. In Russia, common juniper is found in the Urals, the Caucasus, Siberia and the European part of the country. A tree with an original cone-shaped crown shape not only attracts the eye of a person, but also serves as a kind of measure of the level of environmental indicators. It will never grow in regions with polluted air.
Household territories, squares and other public places have become a habitual habitat for coniferous culture. It is often used by designers in the design of the landscape. Evergreen plant has high decorative virtues. This will become clear from the description of common juniper, presented below.
Botanical features
In total, there are more than 60 species of the perennial that we are discussing. Individual copies can live more than 600 years. What does common juniper look like? A long-lived plant exists in nature both in the form of a tree and in the form of a shrub (dioecious or monoecious). Tall species grow in forests, creeping - prefer an open rocky terrain. Trees stretch higher than 12 m, bush junipers grow from 1 to 3 m.
Anyone who is familiar with the world of fauna will not be at a loss to answer to which genus this plant belongs. As can be clearly seen in the photo, common juniper is part of the cypress family. The leaves are needle-shaped, short, medium hard, in the whorls they are grouped by 3 needles. The configuration of the crown is formed due to pressed branches that grow upward or shoots diverging on the sides. The trunk is covered with gray-brown bark with numerous cracks and peeling characteristic of it. Young twigs are glossy, have a yellow-red tint.
The female plant is distinguished by soft, green cones of oval shape, the male by oblong yellow earrings. This is the main distinguishing feature of the genus. Accordingly, the formation of cones can be expected only in female species. The fruits themselves are about the size of a cherry stone, dark blue and covered with a bluish bloom. Their full maturation occurs only after two years.
Kinds
There are plenty of species and varieties of juniper in the arsenal of designers. Combine it with foreign representatives of cypress. Let's get acquainted with the most popular cultures:
- Chinese. Shrub with a gray color of needles is one of the most unpretentious plants. Dry and rocky soil serves as a breeding ground for it. With his participation, you can create a wonderful rockery or alpine hill. Here are the most common varieties: Blue Alps, Plumosa, Gold Coast.
- Scaly. In landscape design, it is used to decorate the shadow corners of the adjoining space. Although the plant itself is hardy, it is too sensitive to ultraviolet light. With the advent of the first sunshine, bushes must be covered. By the end of spring, when they adapt to the light, coating material is not necessary.
- Juniper is ordinary. The advantages of perennial include drought tolerance, unpretentiousness and excellent aesthetic qualities. Unpretentious plant has a wide variety of species. Hibernica is distinguished from tall trees, and Green Carpet from shrubs.
- Cossack. Another species from the genus of cypresses, characterized by unpretentiousness and beautiful appearance. This is a creeping shrub that does not require close attention in care. Meanwhile, it responds well to complex top dressing and watering.
Evergreens are an adornment for any sites, as they always remain alive and able to change the color of needles throughout the year. Photos of common juniper with its use as an element of landscape design are available in our article.
Beneficial features
It turns out that the plant in question is planted not only for aesthetic purposes. It has incorporated many valuable properties that are beneficial to human health. In this regard, it is worth considering the question in which areas the berries of coniferous shrubs are used.
I would like to immediately note that in culinary and traditional medicine they use exclusively the fruits of juniper. The beneficial properties of the plant are determined by the concentration of valuable substances in its composition. The apricot berries contain the following chemical components: essential oil, pectin, wax, resins, sugar. And also acids: malic, formic and acetic. For the preparation of folk remedies, immature cones and the bark of young shoots are sometimes used.
Due to the high content of essential oil, medicines containing conifers have antibacterial and diuretic effects. They beneficially affect the digestive tract and metabolic processes. The berries also have a positive effect on the nervous system, help well with vascular diseases and relieve swelling. They are prepared by juices, tinctures and decoctions.
The culinary properties of common juniper were also disclosed. The specific aroma and taste allows you to use it as a seasoning, which goes well with meat dishes.
Selection of seedlings
The cypress transplant family does not tolerate well. It follows from them that the further development of a young plant will depend on the choice of a seedling. Proper planting of common juniper and care in the first days of its existence increase the chances of its survival. Seedlings must be checked for damage - patients are poorly accepted and may die. It is better that they are young and grown in special containers. The ideal age for a seedling is 2-4 years. Let's see what you need to pay special attention to when choosing a plant:
- The earthen lump should fit snugly to the roots and not fall apart. It will be more reliable if it is in the container and wrapped in burlap.
- The presence of growth is a sign of a healthy plant. It is necessary that young roots and shoots are noticeable.
- You should carefully examine the trunk - if there are cracks, then such a plant is undesirable to buy.
- Brown or brown spots on the needles indicate a seedling disease.
- Young twigs should be flexible.
Site selection and soil requirements
Junipers are rather photophilous plants. Certain varieties require only minor shading, in particular, the usual type of conifer. It is important to consider that much will depend on the amount of incoming light: the density of the crown, the uniform color of the needles, the aesthetic appearance of the perennial as a whole.
The composition of the soil does not have a particular effect on the plant, but it needs to be breathable. Clay soil interferes with the normal survival of common juniper. Loose soil, on the contrary, contributes to the rapid development of young seedlings. Right before planting, river sand, garden soil, peat and coniferous soil are brought into the hole. Such a substrate is prepared from equal proportions of all components, with the exception of sand. They put it half as much.
Landing
Spring is the most suitable time for planting common juniper. It is planted in the fall, but not always the plant manages to adapt in a new place and take root.
To avoid burning needles, planting is carried out with the onset of the first thaw. In the summer, it is allowed to plant well-packed seedlings (meaning a closed root system). At the same time, do not forget to cover young conifers from direct sunlight.
The landing pit should be spacious and determined by the size of the roots of the seedling. They must be immersed in the soil very carefully. The root processes cannot be allowed to bend in any way; they must be evenly distributed over the entire size of the hole.
Cypress can not tolerate a close occurrence of groundwater and any stagnation of moisture. They need good drainage. For these purposes, broken brick, sand and expanded clay are used.
Regarding the distance between the seedlings, no rules exist. This is a matter of the chosen design style. The only thing - you need to take into account varietal features, i.e., the degree of growth of a particular species. To create hedges, plants are planted close to each other.
Additional fertilizers, such as nitrofoska or Kemiru-universal, can be added to the planting pit. To reduce the risk of plant death, it must be watered with "Epin" immediately after planting.
Mandatory is abundant watering and covering the crown. When it becomes clear that the juniper has taken root, these techniques stop. The soil around the plant must be mulched with the help of a pine bark.
Care
Well-rooted plants do not require special attention. Juniper common care includes several simple tricks:
- Cypress crops are drought tolerant, so they do not need frequent watering. Humidification is carried out if the street is hot, dry for a long time. It will be enough to pour one bucket of water on one bush. Some varieties are gratefully responding to spraying. Such procedures are usually carried out in the evening.
- Due attention should be paid to the near-stem section. It is good that the soil around the trunk is loose and not clogged.
- The use of fertilizers is mandatory only for some species. For example, Cossack juniper is fertilized with dolomite flour, calculated at 300 g per plant. Virgin variety responds well to organic fertilizers. It would be nice to periodically close up some compost in the area of the basal circle.
- Varieties with colored needles are tied with a green mesh or spanbond during the appearance of the first spring rays.
- Pruning is carried out as necessary to give a peculiar shape to plants or to cleanse dry shoots. At the same time, the fact that the conifer grows slowly should be taken into account, therefore, it is not necessary to prune it strongly.
- And finally, the most crucial stage is the pre-winter care of perennials. It is important that the seedling is kept alive and intact until the next season. It is sprayed with a Bordeaux mixture for prevention. It is necessary to make sanitary pruning, in which the deformed shoots are cut off and the dried grass is removed. Then the bushes are wrapped. Old plants do not need shelter.
Breeding
Juniper ordinary breeds in three main ways: seeds, layering and cuttings.
- Layering. It is convenient to propagate creeping cypress species. The shoots are simply sprinkled with earth, and the next year they themselves start up the roots. In spring, newly formed bushes are separated from the mother and planted on the allotted area.
- The seeds. To improve future seed germination, stratification is carried out. They are pre-soaked and kept in moderate low temperature. Boxes with sown seeds are taken outside for the entire winter season and dug into the ground. In May, they are transplanted to a chosen place where the culture will grow constantly.
- Cuttings. In mid-April, one-year twigs are cut from old plants. On the one hand, they are exempted from needles by about 5 cm. The cuttings are immersed for 24 hours in a growth stimulator, and then planted in a sand-peat substrate. After 3 months, they will have roots. It is not recommended to transfer them to the open ground, it is better to keep them in the greenhouse until next year.
Pest and Disease Control
Juniper can be affected by fungal infections. This is expressed in the browning of needles, rust on the branches and drying of the shoots. From rusty plaque, arceride solution (500 mg per bucket of water) helps well. It is important to monitor the condition of plants and, if necessary, apply mechanical methods of protection: immediately remove the affected branches and completely dig up diseased plants. With such problems , it is better not to use the fruits of juniper ordinary.
Of the pests, the conifers are visited by aphids, spider mites and scale insects. To combat them, treatment is carried out using insecticides - "Fitoverma" and "Actellica".
Reviews
If we talk about people's impressions about the appearance of the plant, everything is clear here. Undoubtedly, many summer residents love the way it harmonizes with perennial flowers and other types of shrubs. About common juniper in the reviews of gardeners, you can gather a lot of useful information. Of these, the following can be distinguished:
- To grow seedlings for sale, sphagnum moss must be added to the substrate. It was noted that the soil with its presence becomes very light and retains moisture longer, it has hygroscopicity and disinfectant properties.
- If the greenhouse was assembled under new polycarbonate, it would be nice to shade with lutrasil. Creating a shadow by partially whitening a greenhouse is not recommended because the film begins to break into pieces.
- In the open ground, too old seedlings should not be planted. In most cases, they do not root and die. During the autumn planting, care must be taken that the earthen lump remains moist before the wintering of the plant.
Conclusion
If you want to feel coniferous aroma in your garden, purifying the air, select several types of magnificent perennial and decorate the site with them. Due to the variety of species, finding a suitable solution for yourself is not so difficult. From the description of common juniper, which you had the opportunity to consider, it is clear that the plant is unpretentious. Allow him some time at the initial stage of development, and it will please the eye for many years.