Content
- 1 Description of juniper middle Goldkissen
- 2 Juniper medium Goldkissen in landscape design
- 3 Before planting in a permanent place, you need to carefully consider the planting scheme, taking into account:
- 4 Planting and caring for Chinese juniper Goldkissen
- 5 Propagation of juniper pfitzeriana Goldkissen
- 6 Diseases and pests
- 7 Conclusion
Juniper medium Goldkissen or “golden pillow” is suitable for landscaping small garden plots. The original pinnate form of the Goldkissen variety, medium size, and juniper colors help to create a variety of landscape compositions.
Description of juniper middle Goldkissen
Goldkissen medium juniper is relatively unpretentious in care, and this advantage allows even novice gardeners to cope with its cultivation. The frost resistance of juniper Pfitzeriana medium Goldkissen also brought the variety popularity among designers involved in landscaping cities located in temperate climate zones, where harsh winters are not uncommon.
Juniper Goldkissen is an evergreen medium-sized shrub of the cypress family, class of conifers. Other names for the middle juniper Goldkissen - veres, juniper, yalovets - indicate the distribution and diversity of species of thorny spreading conifer throughout the Northern Hemisphere, right up to the subtropical zone.
The variety Goldkissen (media) is a hybrid, obtained by crossing Chinese and Cossack juniper, followed by intraspecific selection. The evergreen juniper of medium height was bred at the end of the 19th century by an employee of one of the German nurseries, Wilhelm Pfitzer. That is why it is called Juniper Pfitzeriana. Medium (media) is an intravarietal name denoting the size that Pfitzer worked on for many years to develop.
The average size of juniper Pfitzeriana Goldkissen, as well as its frost resistance, are the main varietal characteristics that attract landscape designers and amateur gardeners.
Brief characteristics of the Goldkissen medium variety:
- Height – 0.9-1.0 m;
- Average annual growth – 10 cm;
- Diameter – 2-2.2 m;
- Height at ten years of age – 0.5 m; bush diameter – 1.0 m;
- The shape is spreading, feathery, asymmetrical, without pronounced growth points, medium in size;
- The branches fit tightly to each other in the basal rosette, straight, growing at an angle of 35-550; young growth is slightly curved downwards; lower branches – creeping;
- Frost resistance – up to -250WITH
- Planting location – sun, partial shade; easily tolerates open, windy areas;
- The root system is taprooted, with numerous lateral shoots;
- The soil is drained, light, slightly acidic; not demanding on fertility in adulthood, but needs constant loosening;
- Care - increased requirements for two years after planting on the site.
The needles at the base of the medium Goldkissen variety are light green and needle-shaped. Young shoots of the middle (media) Goldkissen are covered with golden-yellow scales. When severely pruned, the needles become coarser and darken. In the shade it also loses its yellow color.
The average Goldkissen juniper acquires its most decorative appearance in spring and early summer: growing young scaly shoots decorate the plant with yellow colors. Goldkissen rarely bears fruit, but the smoky blue berries that appear on the branches in late August - mid-September complement the decorative palette of the evergreen perennial shrub. The berries of the medium Goldkissen variety appear in the second year after planting in open ground, in a permanent place.
Juniper medium Goldkissen in landscape design
The average size of the Goldkissen variety is suitable for creating landscape compositions in small gardens, in single and group compositions. The variety is used to decorate and at the same time strengthen slopes, and is planted as a hedge. Goldkissen, with erect asymmetrical branches, is ideal for creating multi-tiered compositions, single plantings, in combination with shade-tolerant and unpretentious herbaceous perennials.
Before planting in a permanent place, you need to carefully consider the planting scheme, taking into account:
- Illumination;
- Proximity of groundwater, soil acidity and aeration;
- Areas of growth of roots and crowns;
- Maintenance requirements of neighboring crops, common pests and diseases.
Such meticulousness in planning is due to the fact that the Goldkissen variety has a powerful tap-type root system with horizontal lateral layers occupying the entire area in the crown projection. It takes him a long time to get used to his new place. Therefore, it is not advisable to injure the grown roots by forced transplantation if it turns out that:
- overgrown trees shade it;
- planting pattern is too dense;
- juniper does not suit the neighborhood;
- Redevelopment of a flower bed or recreation area is necessary.
Juniper Pfitzeriana medium Goldkissen is a frost-resistant variety, but does not tolerate drought. Good companions for it will be ground cover herbaceous perennials that bloom all summer, which will protect the soil from drying out and complement the green color of medium-height juniper with a bright creeping carpet. The shrub will successfully complement the composition of coniferous and boxwood species against a background of stones. Its medium size combines well with the tall pyramidal forms of other varieties and types of juniper.
Comfort will be created by the average height in combination with wooden gazebos and hedges. It beautifully complements multi-tiered compositions, alpine slides, and heather gardens.
Planting and caring for Chinese juniper Goldkissen
It is better for novice gardeners to purchase a strong seedling from a nursery, in a container with a ready-made mixture. Choosing this breeding option will help you quickly consolidate your success. The best age for transplantation to a permanent place is 3-4 years. At this time, the root system of the seedling is sufficiently developed for rooting. Then everything depends on compliance with the rules of agricultural technology.
Preparing seedlings and planting area
All shrubby forms of medium juniper thrive in the sun or light partial shade. Direct sunlight is detrimental to this type of conifer, especially in dry areas. Goldkissen can grow in the shade, but at the same time it loses its golden color, and the bushes become very thin and dark over time. Goldkissen is distinguished by powerful taproots and fibrous roots, but they rot due to waterlogging. Therefore, the plant needs to choose an area with good lighting and light soil. When growing in heavier soil, it is necessary to arrange drainage in the planting hole.
It is also important to take into account the diameter of the bush in its adult state in order to correctly calculate the planting scheme. Densely planted junipers are more difficult to process if they are intended to be used as a “hedge”. The proximity of neighboring trees and shrubs should also be taken into account - they should not interfere with each other, especially if the Goldkissen juniper companions belong to other families, and their care requirements are significantly different.
Landing rules
Goldkissen medium is planted in open ground, starting from the second half of April - until the beginning of May, or in the fall, in the first ten days of September. The best time to land is in the evening.
The depth of the hole is determined by the size of the earthen ball, the height is determined so that a drainage layer of 20 cm fits on the bottom, and the root collar is flush with the surface of the site. For light soil there is no need to install a drainage layer: just fill the bottom of the hole with sand and spill it with a nutrient mixture. The width of the hole is 50-70 cm.That is, the volume of the planting pit is 2-3 times larger than the earthen ball with which the juniper is transplanted into the ground. The distance between seedlings is 1.5 – 2 m, for hedges. The projection of the shadow of tall bushes and trees and neighboring buildings is determined.
The pit is prepared 2 weeks before planting the juniper. Add the nutrient mixture in advance:
- Peat 2 parts;
- Turf 1 part;
- Shell rock (river sand) 1 part.
Lime is included in the composition if the soil acidity level exceeds 5 pH. Sandy loam or loam soil is suitable for juniper. In nature, it grows even on rocky terrain, but decorative varieties still prefer light, nutritious soil.
Immediately before planting the juniper, the bush in the container should be watered abundantly. You can use preparations like “Kornevina” to help the seedling quickly grow stronger in a new place. The hole should be spilled with water the night before. When planting, the bush is positioned without disturbing the orientation relative to the cardinal points, in relation to the direction in which it was before transplantation. The lump with rhizomes is covered with a loose mixture of sand, peat and soil, in 2-3 steps, slightly compacting. The surface around the bush can be sprinkled with sawdust and wood chips to protect the root zone from drying out.
Watering and fertilizing
The arid climate of the southern zones with hot steppe winds and scorching midday sun rays are the worst conditions for the middle Goldkissen juniper, as well as for other types of evergreen shrubs. In such cases, only regular irrigation in the morning and evening hours will help save young plantings of Goldkissen medium. In addition to sprinkling, seedlings especially need watering in the first two years, after transplanting into open ground.
The root system of juniper seedlings aged 1-4 years is poorly developed. The frequency of watering and the rate of water consumption are directly related to the size of the plant. It is necessary to carefully monitor soil moisture for a year after planting juniper on the site. Further watering is required depending on weather conditions, soil characteristics and growing region.
Optimal watering rates for middle juniper Goldkissen in the steppe and forest-steppe zones:
Plant diameter (m)
| Water volume (l) | Watering frequency (per week) |
0,5 | 5 ,0 | 2 times |
1,0 | 10,0 | 2 times |
1,5 | 15,0 | 1 time |
2,0 | 20,0 | 1 time |
The volume of water and frequency of irrigation for Goldkissen juniper can be reduced by 2 times in subtropical climates, as well as in the Moscow region, the Western European part of the Russian Plain, where normal humidity in the warm season is maintained due to natural climatic conditions. Excessive waterlogging is harmful to Goldkissen juniper, as it increases the risk of fungal diseases.
As already mentioned, the average juniper Goldkissen is unpretentious to soil fertility, but, like any plant, it responds well to fertilizing. For decorative, artificially created forms of all coniferous plants, the best fertilizer is compost.This fertilizer consists of rotted leaves, and best imitates the natural growing conditions of Goldkissen juniper. Feeding is necessary only for young, immature bushes. The Goldkissen medium juniper, which already has a well-formed crown and root system, does not particularly need additional nutrition.
Learn more about how to properly feed Goldkissen juniper and other medium-sized varieties in this video:
Mulching and loosening
Of all the agrotechnical measures, juniper most needs loosening the soil. This is due to the peculiarities of the development of its root system, around which, like all coniferous plants, a habitat zone for microorganisms is created. Thanks to natural symbiosis, this species has successfully survived on the planet for many millennia. It is the fact of the existence of a natural community that explains the reason for the non-survival of junipers and spruces brought from the forest in garden plots.
To mulch the soil in the tree trunk circle, it is advisable to use rotted sawdust of coniferous trees or their bark. Fresh sawdust is not suitable for this purpose because it retains biological activity. The use of mulch regulates water balance, eliminates weed, improves the structure of the soil, loosens it.
Trimming and shaping
Goldkissen juniper is easy to trim, which must be done for sanitary purposes in spring and autumn, as well as to form a crown if the plant on the site is used as a “living” hedge.
The formation of the juniper crown is carried out as for all types of coniferous plants. More details in this video:
Preparing for winter
The frost resistance of Goldkissen juniper significantly reduces the worries associated with preparing the shrub for winter. Only young seedlings, within 2-3 years from the moment of transplantation into the ground, need shelter.
Methods for preparing mature juniper for winter depend on the climatic conditions of the region. In the Moscow region, where the thickness of the snow cover can be significant, the branches of the bush are tied with twine, giving the shape of a pyramid, so that they do not break under the weight of the snow. The bush is covered with burlap to protect it from sunburn: from the second half of February to mid-March is the peak of solar activity.
In warmer regions with little snow, it is enough to cover adult juniper bushes with spruce branches and mulch the root circle with a layer of peat or rotted sawdust, 10-15 cm thick.
Propagation of juniper pfitzeriana Goldkissen
The easiest way to propagate the average Goldkissen juniper is vegetatively. Cuttings are cut in May-June, during the period when young shoots appear, and rooted in a soil mixture consisting of peat, sand, and rotted juniper needles. Then the box with the cuttings is covered with an opaque film, and the moisture content of the soil mixture is monitored. Rooted shoots are freed from the film. Then the seedlings of the average Goldkissen are grown in containers for 4-5 years, indoors or in a greenhouse, at average temperature and moderate humidity.
More experienced gardeners obtain seedlings of the average Goldkissen from seeds found in cone berries. This method of propagating the Goldkissen variety is average - longer and more troublesome.
Collected ripe Goldkissen juniper berries are kept for a month in damp sand at room temperature.Then the box is transferred for 4 months to a cooler room: the temperature drops to 150C. It is advisable to mix sand for seed germination with soil taken under a juniper bush, since it contains mycorrhiza, which is necessary for the development of crops. Sprinkle the seeds on top with a layer of sawdust and monitor their moisture content. With this method of stratification, seedlings of the average Goldkissen appear the following spring.
Diseases and pests
When choosing a planting site for juniper, it is important to consider that the proximity to most fruit and berry trees is extremely unfavorable for both species.
Pests of juniper middle Goldkissen are aphids, moths and sawflies. To combat aphids, juniper is treated with Istra. The moth is destroyed with a solution of karbofos - 8%. An effective remedy in the fight against sawfly is fufanon. If insects are found on the shoots of Goldkissen, you must immediately begin processing the juniper, and do not forget about repeated spraying at different stages of insect development.
Fruit trees, which often suffer from fungal diseases, can destroy junipers, and conifers are affected by rust, becoming a source of infection for fruit species. In the fight against fungal diseases and rust of juniper, sanitary pruning and spraying with a solution of Bordeaux mixture (10%) are used. If mucus and swelling of the bark are detected on the shoots of juniper, the bush must be urgently prepared for transplantation to another place in order to save it.
A decorative border of herbaceous perennials in the trunk zone of the Goldkissen medium juniper is an effective preventive measure in pest control. Many insects are repelled by the smell of night violet, nasturtium, and pyrethrum (Dalmatian chamomile). Unpretentious, shade-tolerant perennials - echinacea, rudbeckia - will not only emphasize the beauty of the juniper bush, medium variety (media) Goldkissen, but will serve as reliable protection against fungal diseases. Viburnum, elderberry, and jasmine will be good companions for the Goldkissen juniper with feathery branches, not only from an aesthetic point of view, but also as a useful companion against garden diseases.
Conclusion
Juniper medium Goldkissen has long been popular in Europe. In Russia and the CIS countries, gardeners are just beginning to use the Goldkissen variety in landscape gardening. Decorative properties, frost resistance, medium, compact size, allowing it to be successfully placed in a small area, and low maintenance are signs that the average Goldkissen will take its place among your favorite garden plants.
