It is difficult to deny yourself the pleasure of seeing year-round on your personal plot pleasing to the eye and constantly greening plants, which also do not require painstaking care from the owner. Scale juniper, popular among landscape designers, refers to such evergreen crops.

Scaly Juniper Description

This chic undersized shrub, with a branched, broad-leaved, lush crown, belongs to the Cypress family. The scaly juniper picks up its growth slowly: for a year by centimeter, both in height and in width. For all years of life, it can reach a height of only one and a half meters. The dimensions of this tree are quite average, which does not prevent it from looking very attractive.

Did you know? The homeland of this culture is the East Himalayan and Taiwanese territories. Juniper - A recognized long-liver, because he is able to please the eye of many generations of people for almost six centuries.

After all, its creeping open form of the branch is characterized by density, rigidity and a harmonious combination of shades of needles. When describing the needles, it should be noted that its upper part is bluish with an admixture of blue, the lower one is characterized by the saturation of green. The length of coniferous needles varies from 0.5 to 1 cm, they have a subtlety of pronounced coniferous aroma.From the second year of life on the plant cones begin to form, having the shape of an oval and changing their color from green to reddish as they grow, and then to black with a brownish-reddish hue. They usually ripen by the end of spring, have a length of 7 to 8 cm.

When characterizing flake juniper, it is important that this culture loves good lighting, which should be considered when choosing a place for planting. But, unlike most representatives of the cypress family, it does not show frost resistance.

Important! Cones prepared for collecting seeds may be closed. In this case, they should be identified in a warm place and wait until they open.

Species and varieties

Scaly - only one type of juniper.

There is a species diversity of this plant:

• middle;
• Virginia;
• horizontal;
• Chinese;
• rocky skyrocket;
• ordinary hibernica;
• Cossack;
• scaly.

Scaly juniper is a species of the cypress family that has more than a dozen varieties. Squamates include:

• Blue Carpet characterized by a relatively rapid growth rate, reaching 10 years reaching approximately 60 cm in height. Photophilous, but not bad feeling and in more shady places relatively frost-resistant plant. Any soil is suitable for growth, it is negative for dampness. Potted growing is possible;
• Golden Flame differs by the presence in the green needles of inclusions with a creamy tint. Dry needles are able to stay on branches for years, worsening the aesthetic appearance of the plant, and therefore need mechanical removal. But this does not prevent the representatives of this variety from being considered the most beautiful among other squamates. A climate with mild winters is better suited, poorly tolerates a lack of lighting, does not put forward special requirements for the soil, periodic minor watering is needed. In growth it is very slow;
• Floreant (Floreant) It is a variety unlike other varieties, whose plants do not have a lot of yellow-colored spots scattered on the green crown. Also an amazing feature of representatives of this variety is their dwarf growth of no more than a meter, while the plant is able to grow up to two meters wide;
• Loderi - a variety whose plants are shaped like a pin with elongated, slightly pointed and raised branches, so these trees can be mistaken for spruce from a distance. Their dimensions are up to 1.5 meters in height and up to a meter in width. The needles of these scaly are quite small, have a green color with a blue tint. The trunk has a gray with a creamy tint bark. At the age of two, the needles dry in plants of this variety, acquiring a brown color. By its decade, the tree is able to grow up to 80 cm. It loves heat, moisture, light, but it will feel good in a shaded place;
• Blue Spider - a variety whose plants are long-livers compared with other varietal representatives of the scaly species. The needle-shaped crown of trees of this variety is always green with a bluish tint. At a young age, the bushes are sprawling, later they acquire a compact fluffy shape, the shoots hang slightly. By ten years of life, they grow up to half a meter, in diameter - up to one and a half meters, for all the time of growth in height - up to 150 cm, in width - up to 250 cm.Coniferous branches have a bluish-gray hue. Dark blue cones are characterized by a metallic sheen. Plants are naturally formed; no additional formation is needed. It does not tolerate cultivation in the shade, but tolerates low temperatures fairly persistently. It prefers fertilized and cultivated soils, but can grow on less enriched lands. It is a long-liver, it feels good when grown in an urban metropolis;

  Did you know? In the old days, utensils were made from juniper, in which milk did not turn sour even in the heat.
• Holger bushes of this variety are characterized by sprawling branches. The height of the plants is from 80 to 100 cm. An amazing decorative feature of the representatives of this variety is the green color with a silver tint, the color of the needles with a yellowish frame at the ends of the branches. It is characterized by its ability to tolerate frosts and grow seamlessly in the shade. But still, plants grow best in sunlight. Widely used by landscape designers in compositions with various perennial cultures;
• Meyeri - One of the most popular varieties for the design of home gardens. The bushes have a special decorative effect due to the creeping form of plants, in which thick branches are covered with soft coniferous needles that have a green color with a bluish and bluish tint. When hibernating, the bushes need additional shelter. He feels bad on depleted soils. Unusually looks at registration of balconies, roofs, front elements;
• Dream Joy - a variety whose small, neat, attractive plants have green needles framed on top with an original yellow top. As they grow older, the crown is covered with a bluish tint. The height of the bushes is up to 80 cm, in diameter - up to 1 m 20 cm. Plants love the sun and fertile, cultivated soil. In terms of design solutions, they feel harmonious in a prominent place where they could not get lost among other cultures;
• Blue Star - a slowly growing variety, reaching 50 cm in height, under the most favorable conditions - 1 m. The drooping crown of the bushes is dense, dense, spherical in appearance. The needles have a pronounced blue color with a bluish tint, due to the presence of whitish stripes on the branches there is the impression of a metallic tint. It adapts well to almost any growing conditions. Landscape designers use bushes of this variety for decorative coating of the soil on personal territories;
• Blue Swede - a variety whose representatives have a crown with a rare silver or bluish-green hue. In winter, the shade of needles is transformed into gray with a steel tint. Branches sag and stretch above the ground. The variety is not resistant to frost, requires additional shelter, but is able to grow even on depleted soils and in shaded places. Bushes of this variety are low, barely outgrow a half-meter bar, but are able to grow up to two and a half meters in diameter. The variety is suitable for cultivation in urban conditions, as it easily tolerates the presence of gassed air;
• Hunnetorp - The variety, especially popular in European countries, is evergreen. It is characterized by low growth. The crown of plants is neat, compact, has small needles of silver-green color. It is considered marching from the Blue Sweet variety.

Features of planting seeds

Very often, when deciding to decorate their homestead with scrub juniper bushes, gardeners do not manage with one copy. And since the purchase of seedlings is not a cheap solution, cuttings, cuttings and seeds are the best option. Reproduction using seed is the most economical, but at the same time very painstaking and quite lengthy process.

Important! Reproduction by seeds is an absolutely natural way, because in the natural environment junipers reproduce only in this way. But hybrid varieties are not recommended to be propagated in this way, since seeds with full characteristics ripen quite rarely.

Those who decide to grow junipers from seeds should know about some features:

• seed collection is best done at the end of the summer period or the beginning of autumn, when they can germinate, but are not yet fully ripe;
• it is better to plant seeds immediately after they have been collected;
• the first sprouts from the seed material appear after a few years, so you need to be patient;
• you need to be prepared that it will also take a lot of time to turn the sprouts into full-fledged plants.

Preparatory work

Before planting seeds, a number of preparatory work should be carried out correctly, otherwise, as a result of a long wait for seedlings, you may not see it at all:

• to prepare seed material from cones-berries of fruiting plants in late August - early September;
• dip the collected cones into water, rinse, rub, and then the seeds are removed from them;
• since the shell of seeds is characterized by a high level of density, it should be damaged, otherwise seedlings will not be able to break through after years;
• you need to lower the seeds in a mild acid solution for 30 minutes, then rinse, grind them with ash and leave for 20 days or between sheets of sandpaper, then the seeds must be immediately planted in the soil;
• before planting, it is necessary to carry out compulsory stratification of the seeds, keeping them for 30 days in the refrigerator or almost the entire winter (up to four months) at minus outdoor temperatures. To do this, pour a peat-and-sand moistened mixture with the addition of moss into a wooden box, place the seed material in it, sprinkled with snow.

Green cones are not ripe, so they are not suitable for collecting seeds. For seed material, it is recommended to collect cones during their darkening, and not after this process is over, because then they will be "sleeping" and will not be able to germinate. To properly collect the cones, it is worth spreading a cover under the juniper bush, and shake the bush - suitable cones will sprinkle on the fabric.

Important! Not all varieties of flake juniper can be propagated by seeds.

Landing pattern

Planting in compliance with all the rules will help the juniper seeds to ascend and develop harmoniously in the future.

To do this:

• as soon as the snow cover has melted in the spring, the seeds after the stratification procedure are identified in the soil;
• you need to choose a place for planting, which should be warm, well lit;
• pre-fertilize the soil, loosen it well;
• form grooves in the soil, the depth of which is 2 cm, slightly tamp their bottom;
• seeds to plant in furrows at a small distance from each other;
• Sprinkle the seeds with humus, mulch the planting site with a centimeter layer of wood shavings or peat to maintain moisture levels.

Juniper seed stratification increases the chances of seed germination and the number of seedlings obtained.

When the ascended seedlings reach three, four years of age, each of them is transplanted to a new growing place in open soil.

Such transplantation is preferably carried out on a cool spring day in the following sequence:

• for planting, choose moistened and breathable soil, in which there is sand, lime;
• dig out the required number of pits for planting at a distance of 50 cm to 2 m, depending on the size of the bushes, which should grow in the future;
• pits for planting should be wider in diameter than the root of the transplanted plant, at least 2 times;
• 14 days before the day of planting at the bottom of the planting pits, sand or brick drainage should be poured with a layer of up to 20 cm;
• on top of the drainage layer, pour out two-thirds of the size of the pit a fertilizer layer consisting of peat, sand, sod land in a ratio of 2: 1: 1, mix all the components with a glass of nitroammophos;
• in the next 14 days after sedimentation of the nutrient layer, the seedling is planted in a pit;
• when planting, it is necessary to save a lump of earth on the root processes;
• then the pit is completely covered with the rest of the earth without fertilizer;
• the root neck should be visible above ground level, for large seedlings - up to 5 cm;
• planted plant should be watered abundantly;
• Landing ends with the stage of mulching the soil around the trunk of the plant.

Plant care

After planting in the soil, seedlings require constant care, consisting of:

• moderate soil moisture;
• weed removal;
• fertilizers;
• covering the soil with a mulch layer of at least 4 cm;
• additional shelter of seeds and sprouts for the winter period;
• conducting preventive measures to combat diseases and pests.

Fertilizer fertilizer

Juniper scaly refers to fairly unpretentious plants, it does not need to be intensively fed. Fertilizers with compost, nitrogen preparations or complex granular mineral fertilizing two or three times a year will be enough. It will not be superfluous to additionally spray the needles of plants with micronutrient fertilizers, which will help it maintain its brightness for a longer time.

Important! From cow or bird humus, juniper roots can burn, and the plant itself is an abyss. The loosening of the earth around this plant can also cause wilting of the crop due to damage to its surface root system. Juniper will be enough for mulching the soil.

Winter care

In winter, the crown of the juniper can darken, fall off, the bark of the formed plants can crack, which over time can lead to the death of the entire bush, therefore flake juniper in winter requires special attention:

• some flake juniper varieties are more frost-resistant, others less, but it will not be superfluous to cover them all for the winter. For this, a lapnik is suitable (it is fixed on the crown in stages by tiers, starting from the bottom of the bush), woven and non-woven wrapping (burlap, light cotton, kraft paper), insulation material that is used in construction for laying laminate, also suitable for covering small bushes and the snow itself;
• the formed plants should be pre-tied at the end of autumn, so that under the weight of the snow cover the spreading branches do not break;
• some juniper varieties are sensitive to the activity of sunlight in the winter and spring, which can lead to premature browning of needles and even burns, therefore it is recommended to additionally install a screen with a reflective function from the most lighted side;
• overwintered branches damaged from frost should be cut to a healthy place in spring and treated with garden varieties.

To shelter the juniper for the winter, it is unacceptable to use a plastic film, since the culture will lock up and disappear.

Disease and Pest Prevention

Juniper is very rarely exposed to disease or pest attack, but still it happens.

Diseases posing a danger to this crop:

• rust - a fungus that manifests itself in spots of a rusty color of the crown. Affected branches should be removed and burned, the whole plant treated with fungicides "Vectra", "Skor" and others. To avoid such problems, the juniper should grow at a distance from the fruit trees, from which it is infected, and spraying with a solution of "Arcerida" every one and a half weeks can also help;
• shute - a fungus that appears with the advent of summer and manifests itself in yellowing and covering of last year’s needles with blackish spots. Damaged branches need to be removed and burned, the plants should be treated with fungicides "Strobi", "Quadrice" and others;
• crown drying most often occurs in the winter, if the plant is not sheltered from active sunlight. As a result, intense photosynthesis begins in the needles, for which it is impossible to get nutrition from the roots in frozen ground. To avoid this, you need to protect plants from excessive sun;
• branch drying possibly with the wrong place for planting (thickened, with heavy soil and stagnant water), resulting in fungal diseases. Affected branches should be eliminated and burned (if the lesion area is significant, you need to uproot the entire bush), carry out the treatment with fungicides "Gamair", "Fitosporin" and others. For the purpose of prevention, treatment with these drugs should be carried out every fall;
• Fusarium and Alternaria - fungal diseases, for the prevention and control of which you only need to use disinfected tools, treat the resulting damage with copper sulfate and fungicidal preparations.

Insects representing a potential danger to representatives of juniper crops:

• spider mite, in the fight against which treatment with a solution of the Karate preparation at the rate of 55 g of the agent per ten-liter bucket of water helps;
• aphid, which can be eliminated with the help of treatment every 2 weeks with Fiotoverm (2 g per liter of water);
• juniper moth - destroy with a solution of the drug "Decis" (2.5 g per ten-liter bucket of water);
• scale shield - treated with "Karbofos" (70 g per ten-liter bucket of water).

Landscape use

The calm pleasant color and the creeping strict form of the crown of most varieties of flake juniper made it an indispensable element in the landscape design of any garden plot, garden, park, flower bed and other territory. It can be used as a single plant, or in combination with other crops. In landscape design, you can perfectly combine different varieties of this plant, since each of them has its own unique zest. Often flake juniper is used as the lower front tier of a multi-level composition, while plants of high varieties can decorate fences.

Did you know? One hectare of juniper plantings, thanks to phytoncides, which it releases per day, is able to purify the air of a large metropolis from harmful microorganisms.

Most often it occurs in three main styles:

• Japanese - to form this style, low-growing varieties of flake juniper and stones located in a certain sequence are necessary;
• English - This style, characterized by the restraint of design, most often adorn parks and gardens;
• French - a style in which juniper cultures are given a certain geometric shape, planting them symmetrically enough.

Junipers look especially exquisite against the backdrop of a winter landscape, and in spring, summer and autumn they gracefully accentuate flowering crops. Without them, it is difficult to imagine the design of rockeries and alpine hills. They can be cut and shaped, giving at the same time any necessary look.

Did you know? Archa, heather - all these are the names of juniper.

Scaly juniper is a unique decorative variety of the Cypress family that can bring joy to the human eye all year round. And his ability to survive and preserve his best characteristics in the conditions of our climate, unpretentiousness in leaving, extraordinary variety make culture an obligatory design element of the unique design of any landscape.