Types of junipers for planting in the country

Juniper Genus (Juniperus) of the family Cupressaceae includes about 70 species, widespread in the Northern Hemisphere, from the Arctic to tropical Africa and the mountains of Central America. The scientific name of the plant corresponds to its ancient non-Latin denomination.

Junipers are gymnosperm conifers. Among them there are both fairly tall (20-40 m) trees, and shrubs, including creeping. The crown is usually spreading, branches are horizontal. Leaves are needle-shaped or scaly.

Interesting features

A number of junipers (Juniperus chinensis, Juniperus virginiana) has two types of leaves: seedlings and part of the young branches of adult plants are covered with needle-shaped needles, adult plants are scaly. In mature individuals, needle-shaped needles most often develop on shaded shoots. Fast-growing elongated shoots often have an intermediate type of leaves: scaly at the base with a protruding needle-shaped tip.

Among the junipers there are monoecious and dioecious species. Female cones are berry-shaped, fleshy, dark blue with a gray waxy coating, brownish-red or orange, 4-27 mm in diameter, with 1-12 seeds. Seeds have a very hard shell. Seed ripening in different species occurs in 6-18 months. Male cones are small and inconspicuous.

Useful properties of juniper

Female cones, known as juniper berries, have a strong, pleasant sweet-resinous odor and are used as a spice in cooking. The most famous field of their application is the aromatization of gin, a strong alcoholic drink. Some types of juniper trees have valuable wood. For example, Virginian juniper (Juniperus virginiana) is widely used for furniture production and is even known in its homeland, in North America, as “red cedar”. Some Native American Indian tribes have used juniper to treat diabetes.

The Sacred Plant

Ancient Celts considered juniper a sacred plant, the smoke of its burning branches fumigated the dwelling for the New Year in order to drive away evil spirits and draw the blessing of the gods upon the house and its inhabitants. Of the female cones and needles of junipers, valuable essential oils are obtained. In ornamental horticulture, the following species of junipers are widely used.

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See also: Juniper (photo) benefit planting and care

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Juniperus vulgaris

Juniperus common (Juniperus communis) has an extensive area that covers the cold and temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere (Europe, Asia, North America), in the form of relict populations found in North Africa.

Shrub (in adverse conditions creeping) or a small tree no more than 10 m height. The crown is dense, conical or ovate; in male specimens it is narrower. Leaves are acicular, rigid, prickly. Shishkoyagody 6-9 mm in diameter, violet-blue, almost black, with a bluish wax coating. The plant is dioecious. There are garden shapes and varieties. A fairly unpretentious species, more suitable for growing in a cool climate. It differs lightfastness, it is undemanding to soils, frost-resistant, well-cut. It grows slowly, in an adult state it does not tolerate a transplant. In the southern regions it suffers from the heat and dryness of the air.

Red cedar

Juniperus virginica (Juniperus virginiana) is widespread in North America (with the exception of the western regions). A tree up to 20 m tall, in adverse conditions shrub. Leaves of two types: in plants up to 3 years old and on young shoots are needle-shaped, later - scaly. Cones 3-7 mm in diameter, dark blue or dark lilac, with a bluish waxy coating. Usually seed and anther cones develop on different specimens, i.e. a dioecious plant.

Extremely durable appearance. In West Virginia grows a copy, whose age totals 940 years. This species has many decorative forms and varieties.

It is characterized by rapid growth, resistance to air pollution, pests and diseases, drought, without losses, it tolerates cold winters, it is not very demanding for soil conditions. Well tolerates haircut, long retains its shape.

Juniperus Cossack

Juniperus sabina (Juniperus sabina) is found naturally in the mountains of Central and Southern Europe, Western and Central Asia. Shrub 1-4 m height, the shape of the crown can be very different depending on the conditions of growth. In the seedlings, needle is acicular, soft, sometimes the same is found on individual shoots of adult specimens. In mature plants

Needles are scaly in most branches. Shishkoyagoda 5-9 mm in diameter, blue-black with a bluish coating. Usually the plant is dioecious, there are occasional specimens that carry female and male cones. Shoots are poisonous. There are decorative forms and varieties.

Kind of light-loving, resistant to air pollution, wintering grounds. The growing shoots are easily rooted, due to this the plant is able to form extensive thickets.

OUR COUNCIL

It is recommended to hold the lump of juniper seedlings before planting for 1,5-2 hours in a container of water so that the substrate is properly saturated with moisture. When planting adult specimens, the root neck should be 5-10 cm above the surface of the earth, in young seedlings - at the soil level.

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See also: Juniper - Species

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Juniper, Chinese

Juniperus Chinese (Juniperus chinensis) in nature occurs in northeast Asia (the south of the Far East, Northeast China, Manchuria, Korea, Japan).

Spread shrub or tree 8-10 m tall with a pyramidal crown. Needles, as in a number of previous species, are of two types - needle-shaped and visible scales. Cones 7-12 mm in diameter, blue-black with a whitish waxy coating. The plant is usually dioecious.

It grows slowly, unpretentious and wintery. More suitable for culture in cool regions, light-loving.

Juniper scaly

Juniperus squamata originally from China and the Himalayas. Usually a dioecious shrub, sometimes a tree 2-10 m in height. Needles are acicular, often with a bright blue-gray tinge. Shishkoyagoda 4-9 mm in diameter, black, shiny. There are a large number of decorative forms and varieties.

Grows slowly, photophilous, average winter hardiness. Requires good drainage. In the garden they prefer a sunny location, in extreme cases - light partial shade.

Conditions for growth

Better than other species with shading, juniper common (Juniperus communis) is tolerated, but its crown in a thick shade becomes loose and unattractive.

Requirements for the substrate are determined by the biology of a particular species. Common to all junipers is their ability to grow well on poor soils and require full drainage (do not tolerate stagnant moistening).

OUR COUNCIL

Juniper often suffers from rust.

They are susceptible to attacks of juniper miner moths, aphids and juniper scabs.

To combat all of these misfortunes use special drugs (decis, phyto-verm, carbofos, etc.).

Features of juniper farming

Landing is best done in spring (April-May) or at the end of summer (August). The distance m between copies depends on the variety (species) and is not less than 0,5 m for miniature and dwarf plants and not less than 1,5-2 m for tall ones.

The depth of the closure depends on the size of the root system (earth coma), usually proceed from the fact that the pit should be 2-3 times the size of the coma. On wet soils, especially if the groundwater is approaching the surface, drainage is surely arranged: rubble or broken brick mixed with sand is laid with a layer of 15-20 cm.

To fill the pit, you can prepare a soil mixture from peat, turf and sand in the ratio 2: 1: 1), while it is useful to take into account the individual requirements of a particular species.

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Reference by topic: Garden spruce or pines, fir trees and juniper trees instead of Christmas trees for the New Year

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Juniper: care

Care of junipers is simple. In spring, a complex mineral fertilizer is introduced along the thawed snow. Watering is recommended in dry hot weather (once a month, abundantly), it is useful to sprinkle irrigation (once a week, in the evenings). Close-ups of young plantings should be free from weeds. Shallow loosening is carried out immediately after watering.

After planting, the soil is mulched with peat, chips or sawdust with a layer of 5-8. Thermophilic species are useful for mulching for the winter.

Juniper from nature have attractive shape of the crown, but not bad move haircut and pruning. More often and more regularly, it is necessary to remove dead branches.

Reproduction of juniper

Natural species of junipers propagated by seeds. In some species, they ripen in a year, in others in two. Shoots appear 1-3 years after planting in the soil. To facilitate germination, freshly picked seeds are cleaned of soft tissues before sowing and slightly scratch the hard shell (grinding with sand, rolling on sandpaper).

Cultivars are propagated with graft or green cuttings "with a heel".

It is easy enough to reproduce loose forms by layers.

Cutting

On the cuttings are both perennial branches, and the growth shoots of the current year. You should know that the planting material from the older branches roots faster (in 50-70 days), the cut off young twigs grow over 3 months or more, and the percentage of surviving plants will be lower.

Before planting, the cuttings can be placed in water or wrapped in a damp cloth, put in the refrigerator, but not more than 3 hours. Rooting occurs most quickly at a sufficiently high temperature (+ 23 ... 26 degrees). The substrate should not dry out - daily spraying helps a lot here.

Cuttings of upright growing species and forms are planted vertically, creeping - at an angle. Growth stimulator treatment gives the best results on young branches.

On the photo junipers:

4. Juniper scaly Blue Star .5. Juniper Chinese Aurea 7. Juniper is an average Saybrook Gold 8. Red cedar. 11. Juniper Chinese Variegated Kaizuka. 12. Common juniper «Candelahrifortuis»

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GROWING JUNIPER - LANDING AND CARE: TIPS FEEDBACK AND RECOMMENDATIONS

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Do you need a broom? Plant juniper!

Today you can buy quite a few species of juniper.

These are evergreen trees or shrubs from the family of cypress trees.

In young plants needles are acicular, but as they grow in some species, it can turn into scaly ones.

Varieties

The genus of junipers is numerous, with more than 70 species growing in the Northern Hemisphere. On their basis, a large number of varieties were bred. The following species are most interesting in decorative terms:

• Chinese - most often has a pyramidal or columnar shape, the needles are often bluish-green, frost-hardy, and this quality increases with age;
• ordinary - evergreen shrubs or low trees with bushy or columnar shapes, often multi-stemmed, some trees sometimes reach a height of 15 m, green needles, frost-hardy, unpretentious, drought tolerant;
• horizontal or open - creeping undersized shrub with thin long branches, blue-green needles, turning brown in autumn and winter, frost-hardy, unpretentious even in urban conditions;
• Cossack - low creeping shrub with sprawling branches up to 1,5 m high, forms dense thickets, needles bluish-green with a pungent odor, winter-hardy, drought-resistant, low soil requirements.

There is also rock, scaly and virgin juniper, but these species are less often used for decorative gardening.

Cutting

Gardeners-lovers prefer to plant shrub juniper forms that have excellent decorative qualities. The task of obtaining a planting material is simplified by the fact that junipers reproduce quite easily by cuttings.

Cuttings can be carried out 8 for two periods: in spring, at the end of April, and in summer - in June-July. For propagation, choose an annual green shoot 10-12 cm long. A twig is torn from the trunk, 3-4 cm from its base, it is cleaned with needles, the end of the paws is trimmed, removing the "burrs". Before planting, the stalk is kept for 24 hours in a solution of a growth stimulator.

Landing

To plant the cuttings, prepare a mixture of chernozem and humus in advance (in the ratio 1: 1), mix them well, and pour granular sand on top with a layer of 7-8 cm. In this layer, prepare the stalk to a depth of 3-4 cm. The container is covered with a cut bottle. Care is to maintain the temperature at the level of 24 degrees of heat, daily watering with simultaneous spraying with water all the branches. In extreme heat, it is pritenyayut.

Landing in open ground

Under normal conditions, on the 40-45th day, a seal (callus) forms at the end of the cuttings, from which roots grow, penetrating the nutrient layer of the mixture. By autumn, a seedling is obtained. In late September - October, he is transferred from a box to a school for growing, and in the spring - to a prepared place in the ground.

Juniper is a rather unpretentious, moderately moisture- and photophilous plant, normally tolerates a transplant. Therefore, it is not difficult for even a beginning gardener to grow such an ornamental plant from a stalk; there would be a desire. In the same way, you can cut the thuja, spruce, larch.

Note

Real steam men believe that without a juniper broom a bath is not a bath. His needles act like the Kuznetsov applicator, acting on biologically active points. The phytoncides released in a steam room kill pathogenic bacteria, which is an excellent prevention of colds. Another ability of the juniper is the resistance to allergies and the healing of skin sores.

© Author: Elena Aleksandrovna PONOMAREVA, Voronezh Region, Bobrov

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JUNIPER AND ITS PLUSES

Juniper is a coniferous plant widely in demand among summer residents. Due to the diversity of its appearance, it is widely used in landscape design, as well as a hedge. Another advantage of juniper - with the help of a haircut, you can give it absolutely any shape that fits into the desired landscape.

Juniper produces a large number of volatile. Professionals note such qualities of this plant:

• undemanding to soil fertility;
• shade tolerance;
• drought tolerance;
• frost resistance (-40 ° C);
• longevity;
• high decorativeness regardless of the season.

Plants with a closed root system purchased in the nursery can be planted at any time of the year. Good watering is needed. Planting rooted cuttings and seedlings in a permanent place is carried out in spring or autumn.

Place for landing choose sunny. The soil for juniper is slightly alkaline (lime or dolomite flour is used for this). Some species feel good on rocky soils. Choosing a place and neighbors is necessary taking into account the growth of the plant.

Specialist commentary

Mikhail Nikolaevich Rudevich, Senior Researcher, Laboratory for the Introduction of Woody Plants

Juniper is allowed to be used as a hedge, primarily due to the variety of its forms: creeping, sprawling, columnar shape. The latter is most often used to create landings of free placement. However, it is worth remembering one feature of this species: due to weather tests, the plant may receive early winter or spring burns, after which it is difficult to recover and it looks unsightly and bad.

But in landscape design, the use of juniper has become quite widespread. The plant gives a pleasant aroma, emits a lot of essential oils - planting nectar on a sunny day emits 30-40 liters of oil. For planting I recommend juniper ordinary, creeping and Cossack. These varieties lend themselves well to cutting and shaping, are resistant to damage. There are no features in caring for a plant: it is undemanding, drought tolerant. The only thing that juniper will like is its moderate moisture content and fertile soil.

Juniper transplantation is undesirable: it is very difficult to dig up a plant without damaging the root root.

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JUNIPER - BOTH A SPICE AND A MEDICINE

I would like to know about the use of forest juniper berries, which grows on our site.

Tamara Kalugina, Yaroslavl region

Answered by Natalia Solonovich, agronomist

Berries, or more correctly cones of common juniper (Juniperus communis), the very one that grows in our forests, are very useful. They contain essential oils, carbohydrates, resins, trace elements, vitamins. Therefore, they have found application both in cooking and in medicine.

In cooking, they are considered more of a "hunting seasoning" - marinating and stewing with them improves the taste of big game. In the preparation of domestic animals, cones are used when they want to improve the taste of fatty meat - goose, pork or roast beef or lamb. Crushed berries are added to sausages and pies, they are seasoned with meat and fish when smoked.

Shishkoyagody is also used in the manufacture of soft drinks: kvass, beer, fruit drink, jelly, as well as in salting and pickling products. This seasoning goes well with sauerkraut, garlic, onions. From cones, as well as from grapes, wine, cognac, beer and the famous English gin are obtained.

The cones can be used dried or fresh. Only ripe, blue-black fruits of the second or third year are harvested. They are harvested in October, preferably after the first frost. Dry only naturally. When drying in an oven or electric dryer, the beneficial properties of juniper berries are lost. Store tightly closed to prevent evaporation of the essential oil. Shelf life - 3 years.

The rate of consumption of cones is very small, up to 5-6 pieces per 1 kg of meat, in large quantities they are dangerous.

In no case should common juniper berries be confused with poisonous Cossack juniper berries, which differ in color (black and blue) and the presence of two seeds inside the fruit.

Modern medicine recommends taking juniper berries as a diuretic, disinfectant, expectorant.

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LANDING AND CARE OF JUNIPER - VIDEO

© Author: Marina Novoselova. Photo: Yuri Roskov

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