Juniper Cossack: photo, description, varieties, cultivation
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The article presents the Cossack juniper: photo, description, varieties, care, reproduction, protection, use in landscape design.
Juniper Cossack: photo, main information
Juniper Cossack: photo
Juniper Cossack belongs to the cypress family. In the wild, it can be found in Malaya and Southeast Asia. Thanks to human activity, this type of juniper can now be found in Southern and Central Europe, as well as in Russia - in Primorye, the Caucasus, the Urals and even partially in the Siberian region.
Scientists know up to seven dozen species of juniper, the main differences of which are the color and shape of the crown. Due to its eternal green state and unpretentious care, the juniper is very popular with landscape designers and ordinary gardeners.
This interesting plant has its own special fruit, which scientists call the cone berry. In appearance, they resemble cones that grow no more than a centimeter in length, covered with a thick shell. The fruits do not fall off after the fruiting period, like many garden plants, the juniper retains its fruits for several years. After a year, the outer shell of the cone berry darkens, turning into a dark blue color, and is covered with a slight waxy bloom.
It is worth noting that the Cossack juniper we are considering (photo) is considered to be a poisonous species. It has been proven that the essential oils of its needles contain toxic substances.
Juniper Cossack: photo, appearance
Juniper Cossack: photo
The plant looks like a small tree or a medium-sized bush, no more than one and a half meters in height. But it is not worth talking about certain values of the width, since the plant occupies all the free space provided to it. The juniper takes root from the lateral branches and if this process is not controlled, then the plant will form thickets after a short time. The needles resemble needles, 4-5 mm long. Over time, the needles begin to adhere to each other and thereby thicken, forming a kind of scales. In ripe cones, up to four seeds are formed. Plants of Cossack juniper are unisexual, which means that the female and male flowers are on different plants.
Juniper Cossack: description of varieties
Variety "Tamariscifolia»Alpine, widens in width and practically does not grow in height.
Juniper Cossack: description
Usually bushes of this variety do not grow higher than 30 cm over the entire life cycle. Thanks to the long and mobile branches, the bush can grow up to several meters in length. The branches are whip-like with small needles, which are collected in several pieces in a bunch.
This variety has several subspecies that differ in color and saturation. Shishkoyakody appear at the end of the calendar summer. Fruits, up to one centimeter in diameter, are covered with bloom and contain toxic substances.
The plant is resistant to frost, not demanding on the soil and grows well even in large cities on rather poor soil and with a high level of air pollution. Due to the branchy root system, this type of plant is planted in the garden when decorating an alpine slide.
Variety "Glauka"Has long branches that can take up to three meters from the main trunk of the plant.
It grows up to a meter high.Loves abundant sunshine, direct sunlight and drained soil. A feature of this variety is the change in the color of the plant in winter, it becomes gray-blue. It is for its ability to transform the garden in the cold seasons that gardeners and landscape designers appreciate this variety.
Variety "Mac " has a funnel-shaped crown, which eventually transforms into a spreading one.
The bush of a plant can grow no more than two meters in height, and in width it can grow up to ten meters. The bush lends itself to pruning, so it rarely grows to such a size. In the warm season, the bush has a green color, and in the cold season it is purple.
Grows well in partial shade and loves open land. Dislikes soil with a high salt content and close-lying groundwater.
Variety "Variegata»Has a compact size, approximately one meter by one meter.
The branches are green and the tops are creamy. The plant is not afraid of low temperatures, not picky about soil and sunlight, not whimsical to care for. However, it is necessary to monitor the frequency of watering during the hot season. The plant must be covered during the first hibernation. Every year at the beginning of spring, fertilizers are applied, the most popular are nitroammofosks up to 50 g per 1 m2, which contain the main elements for plant nutrition - nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium. In the autumn, the soil under the plant is sprinkled with sawdust mulch. For rapid reproduction, the cutting method is used, but it is also possible to grow a plant from seed, but this requires a lot of time for stratification. With a positive result of stratification, full-fledged seedlings appear after a few years.
Variety "Arcadia»Covers with its branches all the free space around one meter in diameter, but grows to a modest height of no more than three tens of centimeters.
He loves sunny plots of land and abundant watering in the hot summer period, and in the evenings he will be happy to sprinkle. After planting in open ground, it is important to monitor the watering of the plant, and when preparing the plant for the winter period, it is necessary to mulch the soil under the plant.
Variety "BduDanub"Has high plant growth rates, so in one season a plant can grow up to two tens of centimeters.
But the standard height of this variety is no more than one meter. The plant prefers open spaces and partial shade; in hot and dry weather, spraying is necessary. It is advisable to cover the plant during the first wintering, then this will not be required, since the plant will fully grow stronger. The needles look like small blue-green scales and are soft to the touch. Quite often, perennial flowers are planted next to it, used to create coniferous beds and small rocky gardens - rockeries.
Variety "Rockery Jam"Quite young, was created by European breeders.
A low bush, the branches of which grow up to several meters and occupy the entire perimeter around them. The needles are predominantly needle-like, respectively prickly to the touch. The plant is good at pruning branches and allows the owner to give free rein to their imagination regarding the outer shape of the bush. The variety grows steadily on different types of soil, but on fertile soil, the plant will grow especially actively and delight with its bright green needles. It has no contraindications regarding the presence or absence of closely lying groundwater, it takes root well in wet and swampy areas.
Variety "False Cossack«.
Very often wild plants of this variety can be found in the Alps, at an altitude of 4 km above sea level. It takes root well on the slopes of rocks and on stony taluses. For unpretentiousness in care, undemanding to the soil, resistance to low temperatures and drought, it is very popular with Siberian gardeners and in Central Asia. The bush of the plant spreads along the ground, the needles are soft, round, green in color.
Variety "Hixie»Grows slowly, grows no more than 150 cm in height, while having a rather spreading crown, which can reach three meters.
Loves abundant sunlight, slightly acidic and loose soil. Undemanding to watering, already a week after planting in the soil. In preparation for the winter season, the land under the bush must be mulched with peat or sawdust in a layer of several centimeters.
Variety "Cypress»Undersized, frost-resistant, female.
Withstands temperatures as low as -40 ° C. The average habitat of shrub growth is up to five meters.
Variety "Erecta»Refers to upright species, grows up to two meters in height.
The branches of the shrub grow upward, so in appearance the plant resembles a pyramid. The needles are soft, deep green in color, reminiscent of scales. The plant does not need constant watering or spraying, easily tolerates any temperature and dryness of the air.
Plant care
The main feature of the Cossack juniper is the presence of toxic substances in the needles of the plant. From this circumstance, the peculiarities of caring for the plant follow.
Firstly, you should not grow or plant Cossack junipers near playgrounds or places where children are often.
Secondly, all gardening work - planting, transplanting, pruning, sheltering, preparing for winter - must be carried out with gloves.
It is worth considering carefully the choice of a place for planting a juniper. This plant loves full sun or partial shade. If the place is very shady, then there is a high probability that the plant will lose its entire color, crown density and constantly hurt. It is also worth considering the peculiarity of the plant to overgrowth, so it is advisable not to plant plants closer than half a meter from each other. Juniper does not tolerate transplanting well, so it is advisable not to do this.
The type and type of soil is practically not important for this plant, if there is a drainage system or a drainage system. A large amount of stagnant water has a bad effect on the root system of the plant, and therefore affects its development.
It is necessary to prepare a place for planting juniper. First you need to dig a rather large and deep hole so that the root system of the plant can fit into it without hindrance. At the bottom of the pit, it is necessary to put a drainage, the height of which should be up to two tens of centimeters, depending on the age and size of the plant. It can be specialized devices and improvised means - expanded clay, crushed stone, small bricks.
Next, you should put a nutrient layer, which is recommended to be made from a proportional mixture of sod land and sand, with the addition of nitroammophos, and watered abundantly with water so that the earth settles and compacted. Sometimes this period can take up to 10-14 days.
Before direct transplantation, the plant is watered abundantly with water. You should not remove the existing soil from the root system, as this can damage it and complicate the period of plant survival in a new place. It is necessary to plant the plant so that the root collar remains above the ground. The best age for transplanting a plant is 3-4 years.
On hot summer days, the plant must be sprayed and watered in the evening, when the sun has practically disappeared. The plant has a neutral attitude to pruning, this does not affect the life and behavior of the plant. Experienced gardeners recommend not rushing to give the final shape to young bushes, but letting them grow and carrying out only sanitary pruning of dry or diseased branches at this time. And after 2-3 years, you can give the bush the final shape.
Reproduction methods
For juniper, there are several ways of reproduction - cuttings, seed and with the help of layering.
As we wrote above, describing one of the juniper varieties, seed propagation is a very long and rather complicated process.But nevertheless, some gardeners take on this difficult task.
A full-fledged healthy plant can be grown from a seed, but the germination rate of juniper seeds is extremely low. For the seeds of this plant, the same pre-planting preparation is carried out as for most vegetables.
It is advisable to pre-check the seeds for the presence of nutrients inside by immersing them in water. Empty seeds will float to the surface of the water. The seeds can be soaked in specialized liquid stimulants and sprinkled with a layer of earth up to one centimeter. Thus, the seeds are placed in the conditions under which the seeds should "wake up".
You can plant seeds throughout the fall, this time is considered to be the best. Those who plant seeds in the spring should be stratified in the fall. Seeds should be planted densely. The first shoots appear approximately in the second or third year after planting. Young plants require careful maintenance and close attention. The land must be constantly loosened and covered with mulch, the first winters of young plants should be covered.
An easier way is propagation by cuttings. In the spring, cuttings are taken from an adult plant. The length of the cutting should be about 8-10 cm and have a "heel", that is, a piece from the main stem or a piece of old bark. Cuttings are left in water with a stimulant for a day. The next day they are planted in the sand, and when roots appear on the handle, they are transplanted to a permanent place in the ground.
The easiest way is to propagate juniper with layering. And it is also the simplest because the branches of the juniper, creeping along the ground, take root on their own, thereby forming juniper thickets.
To help the branches take root, gardeners artificially press the branches to the ground, add and loosen the soil, and apply fertilizers. The branches need about a year to fully take root without outside help. During this time, the plant must be watered and the soil must be loosened. As soon as new young vertical branches appear on the rooted branch, it can be cut off from the mother bush.
Diseases
The most common disease in juniper is fungus. The most common of these is rust infestation. Its presence on the bush is indicated by growths of a reddish-orange color. In order to protect the juniper from rust disease as much as possible, you should not plant it next to fruit trees - pears and apple trees, as well as hawthorn and mountain ash, since these plants have high rates of rust incidence.
If an infection has occurred, then it is necessary to trim all infected branches with a sterile garden tool, which must be disinfected again after sanitary pruning. When this disease is detected, it is recommended to use a fungicide called "Topaz", which is able to stop the further multiplication of the fungus after a few hours. If the fight against the disease was not started immediately and the initial period of the disease was missed, the treatment should be repeated several times.
With stagnant water and high soil moisture, juniper can acquire a disease called brown shute. Despite the rather tempting name, the external manifestations of the disease on the juniper bushes look completely unattractive. The bush is covered with gray-black cobwebs, the branches practically do not grow, and the new branches completely die off. If you do not take any action to combat the disease, then the branches begin to dry out and the bush may die completely. The most popular means of combating brown shute is treatment with Bordeaux solution, with the removal of extensively affected branches.
Fungal diseases can affect not only the terrestrial parts of the plant, but also the root system. One of these diseases is fusarium.Due to the fact that initially the fungus is located and develops on the roots of the plant, often gardeners, without noticing it, plant already infected plants. Signs of the disease include lethargy of the branches, which increases after watering. In the future, watery spots with a brightly grown dark vascular network may begin to appear on the branches. To combat this disease, it is recommended to use a fungicide called Fundazol. And in order to completely exclude infection with this type of fungus, it is necessary to process the roots of the plant as much as possible before planting or transplanting a plant to a new place, for example, with the drug "Baktofyte".
Pest insects are rarely found on juniper bushes. However, most often you can find spider mites and scale insects on the plant. They do not strongly affect the vital activity of the plant, and to destroy them, it is enough to spray the plants with specialized means. The most popular among gardeners are "Fuf-new", "Fitoverm", "Aktara".
Juniper Cossack: photo, application and use
The Cossack juniper is grown both as an indoor and as a garden plant. Juniper has the ability to release phytoncides, and therefore purify the air.
As for the juniper in the garden, it is quite popular with landscape designers. The evergreen color goes well with other shrubs and flowers, which is an excellent background for flowering ones.
The ability to grow on the most scarce soils allows it to be used to decorate rockeries, borders and rock gardens. Despite the presence of poisonous oils in the needles of the plant, it is popular and widespread almost throughout Russia.
Juniper Cossack