The decoration of any garden or summer cottage will be a beautiful and unpretentious juniper. Recently, this plant has become extremely popular among gardeners due to the variety of shapes and colors. In addition, these conifers can be cut, giving them any shape, which means that any design idea becomes feasible. The genus of junipers has more than 70 species. Today we will talk about the most popular types and varieties of juniper, planting and caring for them.
Juniper
These junipers are trees or shrubs, the height of which can reach 12 meters. The form can be absolutely any. The main difference is the reddish-brown shoots, flaky bark. The needles are shiny, narrow, prickly, on the plant there are blue-black cones covered with a bluish bloom. This type of juniper is resistant to cold, it is not afraid of it and air pollution. It can grow on poor soils. The species has about a hundred varieties! We suggest talking about the most popular of them.
Suetsika
The shape of this juniper is columnar, the height can reach 4 meters! The shoots are vertical, covered with needles of bluish-green or light green in color. This variety prefers lighted areas. Planting and caring for juniper allows you to get an excellent garden composition. Planting this plant in a shady place can lead to the fact that the crown becomes sprawling and loose.
Green Carpet
This representative of common junipers can grow up to only 0.5 m. But its width is usually 1.5 m! That is why gardeners use this plant for planting on slopes and in rocky gardens. The shoots of the plant creep, the needles on them are light green.
Gold Cohn
This variety has a dense conical shape, can grow up to 4 meters. The crown width of an adult juniper usually reaches a meter. Gardeners note that the shoots repeatedly change their color throughout the year: in spring they are bright yellow, in the fall they turn yellow-green, and closer to winter the shoots acquire a bronze tone. Gold Coon is resistant to frost, grows on bad soil. However, overmoistening can lead to diseases and even death of this juniper. Planting and caring for this plant is within the power of even novice gardeners: it is only important to monitor the moisture of the soil and provide it with sunlight.
Juniper rock
The birthplace of this pyramidal tree is North America. Rock junipers are tall - up to ten meters! In addition, they are resistant to various adverse factors, and therefore ideal for regions with a hot climate. Due to its unpretentiousness and height, rocky junipers are suitable for creating hedges and original coniferous compositions. Among gardeners, two varieties are most popular.
Skyrocket
This variety has a columnar shape, and its height often exceeds 6 meters. The width of the crown is usually about one meter. Skyrocket is an incredibly beautiful and unpretentious juniper. Planting and caring for it will not be difficult for both experienced and novice gardeners: it grows well on light loamy soils, tolerates drought and frost, and is windproof. The only condition is the binding of its branches for the winter.
Blue Arrow
Another magnificent representative of rocky junipers is Blue Arrow. The height of the columnar tree is about 5 meters, and the width can reach 70 cm. The shoots of the plant are quite stiff, the needles are not spiky, scaly, its color is saturated blue with good care. This juniper prefers drained soils, areas that are well lit.
Virgin juniper
One of the most unpretentious and sustainable species of gardeners is called Virginia juniper. Under natural conditions, this plant can be found on the banks of rivers, purged mountain slopes. It is worth noting that the wood of such a juniper is resistant to decay, and therefore it is used in the manufacture of pencils. All varieties of this species can be propagated by seeds, grafting and cuttings. Typically, the following types of virgin juniper are used to decorate parks and gardens:
- Gray Oul is a silver-gray shrub with a height of about 1.5 m. The branches of this plant are gracefully drooping, while the crown can reach 2 m. This juniper tolerates pruning and is resistant to cold.
- Hetz is a juniper ideal for large gardens. It grows very quickly both in height (up to two meters) and in width (up to three meters).
- Pendula is one of the tallest Virgin Junipers. It can grow up to 15 meters. Its branches are "weeping", green, with a light bluish bloom.
- Blue Cloud can be called a dwarf form of this species. It rarely grows above half a meter, while its crown is quite spreading - its width is about 1.5 m. The needles are gray, with a blue tint.
Medium junipers
These shrubs are characterized by resistance to growing conditions, a variety of colors. Among the most popular varieties are the following:
- Pfitzeriana Aurea is a sprawling juniper up to one meter high. The branches are horizontal, the shoots are golden-lemon in color, the needles are yellowish-green. This shrub grows extremely slowly, prefers sunny places.
- Gold Coast is another slowly growing juniper. It feels equally good on almost any soil, the only requirement is a sufficient amount of sunlight.
- Mint Julep is a surprisingly beautiful shrub with arched branches. It grows rapidly on rich soils, with proper care, the needles acquire a saturated green color.
Chinese junipers
These twenty-meter pyramidal trees are commonly found in Japan, China, Korea, and the Primorsky Territory. Speaking about planting the Chinese juniper and caring for it, it is worth noting that it suffers even a prolonged drought. True, it grows faster on fertile and moistened soils, and its crown becomes more spreading. What varieties are popular with gardeners? For example, Curivao Gold is a sprawling plant with a rounded shape. Juniper growing in shady areas of this variety loses its color saturation, but it grows well on rocky soils. Another very beautiful variety is Juniper Variegata. Planting and caring for this representative of Chinese junipers is extremely simple - he needs moist (but at the same time well-drained) soil, shelter from the early spring sun. In all other respects, the bush is completely unpretentious. Blue Alps is also undemanding in soil. He is not afraid of air pollution. However, gardeners say: in order for the bush to be lush, it should be planted in sunny areas.
But Juniper Blauw grows well in partial shade. Moreover, it can grow up to 1.5 m! The soil for him should be nutritious, best with a neutral or slightly alkaline reaction. Particularly appreciated by gardeners is a variety of juniper stricta. Planting and caring for this shrub is quite simple, and the result is simply amazing: the plant can reach 2.5 meters in height, its life span is 100 years. This variety is distinguished by endurance, resistance to severe cooling.
Junipers Cossack
Often this type is used to strengthen the slopes. After all, Cossack junipers are undemanding to the soil, love the light and tolerate dry periods perfectly. Planting and care for Cossack juniper is quite simple - you need to choose a lighted place (light penumbra is also allowed), prepare a mixture of sand, turf land and peat. Immediately after planting, it is recommended to water this shrub for a week. One of the most popular varieties is Tamariscifolia. Its height is about half a meter, and its width is about two meters. The color of the needles depends on the amount of sunlight, it can be light green, bluish. The Glauka variety is also distinguished by decorativeness - against the background of dense gray-blue needles, black cones grow with a light bluish bloom.
Horizontal junipers
Ideal for decorating retaining walls - horizontal juniper. Planting and caring for this plant practically do not differ from caring for junipers of other species. Gardeners especially appreciate such varieties as Lime Glow (a plant with golden yellow needles), Blue Forest (a delightful juniper with a blue hue), Blue Chip (a silver-blue creeping shrub that acquires a purple hue in winter).
Landing
Have you decided to purchase such an amazing plant as juniper? Planting in the open ground and caring for the shrub is not as difficult as it might seem. Start by choosing a place. Junipers prefer well-lit places, in the shadow of their needles it loses color and becomes loose. The pit for a young plant should be 2 times larger than an earthen lump. At the bottom you need to lay sand or broken brick, and then pour a mixture of two parts of peat and one part of fertile land and sand.
Care
In dry times, even the most unpretentious varieties need watering. One adult juniper will require about 15-20 liters of water, it is necessary to water 3-4 times in one season. Once a week, you can spray the shrub, and do it after sunset.
After planting, the care of the juniper also consists in shelter for the winter. This must be done in the first two years. Before heavy snowfall, the plant can be bandaged with twine.
Breeding
The best option is propagation by cuttings. Suitable for this plant, which is 8-10 years old. Young 10-centimeter cuttings must be cut at the end of April, to clear the lower part of the needles. After the escape, you should hold it for a day in a growth stimulator. Then plant the cuttings in a mixture of peat and sand, cover with a film and leave in the shade in place. When a plant develops a root system, it can be planted in the ground.