Modern holders of private suburban estates confidently refused to use only utilitarian plants. More and more people are paying attention to the beautiful design of the site, preferring to buy berries and fruits, and to create works of landscape art on their allotment. Especially interesting in this regard are evergreens that do not lose their decorative effect in the cold months. And horizontal Andorra compact is gaining more and more popularity among a huge variety of coniferous junipers . Each gardener who cares about his hundredths and is proud of their design, will certainly sooner or later pay attention to this original bush.
Juniper horizontal Andorra compact: description
This plant is a shrubbery creeping on the ground, forming a dense crown-pillow, rising 30-40 cm above the soil. The average diameter of the crown is from a meter to two. The needles of juniper Andorra compact (photo is in the article) is green; due to small white spots scattered across it, it acquires a bluish tint. The shrub gives the garden a special decorative effect in autumn and winter, when the needles change color to violet-purple.
Andorra is growing slowly, not more than 10 cm growth per year in width. Forms juniper berries, which have a spherical shape and fleshy flesh. Berries are inedible! A distinctive feature is phytoncidity: a third of the bacteria is killed by the shrub itself, and therefore it is resistant to most diseases. Only some types of insect pests can harm it: juniper sawfly, coniferous aphid, mealybug and scale insect.
How to plant
We can please those who liked the horizontal juniper Andorra compact: planting and caring for the bush are simple and accessible even to a novice gardener.
Recommended planting dates are from mid-April to late May. Autumn landing is also possible, for which October is the best month. However, if the root system of a seedling is closed, it can be planted painlessly in any other season, although the survival rate will be somewhat lower, and the plant will develop more slowly in the first years.
Juniper horizontal Andorra compact needs good light and constantly moist soil. However, if groundwater is too close to the landing site, a preliminary creation of drainage is required. For drainage, it is enough to fill the planting pit with rubble to a height of 20 cm. The acidity of the soil for the bush is not important, it grows on any soil, including poor soil. It is permissible to land in partial shade: it is forbidden to only completely shaded areas where the sun practically does not appear.
Plant habits and preferences
The good juniper horizontal Andorra compact is its high winter hardiness. He is not afraid of even severe frosts down to -30 Celsius, which saves the gardener from the annual shelter of the pet for the winter. In the spring, in order to avoid getting burns from the bush, temporary shading may be required. Especially young people need such adaptation. In the spring, before removing the shading, preventive work is also carried out: the bushes are sprayed with pest preparations. Juniper needs fertilizer only when growing on very poor soils: in this case, during the growing season, fertilizing is made for conifers.
Andorra has high resistance to dust and high noise levels: it is quite suitable for growing in a metropolis.
Juniper is very drought tolerant. However, with constant dry air and prolonged absence of rain, watering may be required - about a bucket per bush once a week.
Landscape application
The most widely used juniper is the horizontal Andorra compact, which is used to knock higher bushes with a bare, low decorative root zone. It is magnificent both in single and in group plantings, it is very effective in decorating slopes, retaining walls and slides. It can be a great fence for tall flower beds and an alpine landscape. It looks very interesting to frame it with artificial ponds and garden fountains, as well as arbors and altanok mounted on a hill.