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Ice Blue juniper is a highly ornamental shrub with evergreen needles of a bluish tint, the result of selection by scientists from the USA since 1967. The variety tolerates winters well in the middle zone, is drought-resistant, and sun-loving. Hobbyists grow creeping juniper not only horizontally, but also vertically.
Description of the horizontal juniper Ice Blue
A dwarf, slow-growing plant from the Cypress family is also found under the names Icy Blue, Montber. Creeping juniper bushes of the ground cover variety Ice Blue spread up to 2 m in diameter, rising slightly in height, only from 5 to 10-20 cm. Long shoots of juniper are covered with brown bark of a warm shade. Flexible, soft branches of the variety, gradually spreading across the soil, create a thick carpet of green-bluish color. The shoots grow very slowly, up to 15 cm per year, and rise slightly upward along an oblique line. By the 10th year of development, the bush of the Icee Blue juniper variety reaches a height of 10 cm and spreads up to 1 m in width.Dwarf juniper seedlings aged 6-7 years are usually offered for sale.
The scaly cylindrical needles of the Ice Blue juniper variety change color slightly with the seasons: in summer with a green-blue tint, in winter it approaches a steel shade with lilac nuances. Old juniper plants produce fruits, small blue cones of a round shape, up to 5-7 mm in diameter, with a thick white coating. The Ice Blue variety shrub adapts to climate conditions of cold hardiness zone 4 and tolerates short-term temperature drops down to -29-34 °C. Juniper develops well in the Moscow region and other areas of the middle climate zone. The variety takes root well in urban environments, so it is widely used in the design of megacities and industrial zones. Ice Blue juniper needles do not tolerate prolonged drought, but in the middle zone they need to be planted in a place where the sun is present almost all day.
The natural habitat of the plant is the mountainous areas of North America and areas of the sandy coast. As a garden decoration, the Icee Blue juniper variety is used in conditions close to natural:
- in rockeries;
- on the alpine slides;
- in compositions with low coniferous crops;
- as a ground cover crop with a uniform color.
Planting and caring for Ice Blue juniper
The Ice Blue variety shrub will delight you with its decorative appearance for a long time and will be a picturesque element of garden compositions if the plant is correctly placed and planted in accordance with the requirements of agricultural technology.
Preparing seedlings and planting area
Ice Blue juniper is not particularly picky about soil composition, but loves moisture-permeable, well-drained areas. The variety shows best development on moderately moist, loose sandy loams and loams, neutral or slightly acidic. To plant juniper, choose a well-lit sunny place, or light and short partial shade. Under trees or in the shade of buildings, the needles of this variety lose their picturesqueness and become dull. Low-lying wet places, as well as heavy soils, are unfavorable for the Ice Blue shrub. Low-growing bushes may suffer from snow drifts, so it is also better to avoid such places.
Typically, plants of this juniper variety are purchased from nurseries, where the seedlings are kept in containers. Such bushes are moved at any time during the warm season, but preferably in early spring, as soon as the soil allows work to be carried out. Ice Blue juniper is planted with an open root system even later, although there is a danger that the needles will burn if not covered with a net for shading. In areas where frosts are early, the variety may not have time to take root when planted in autumn. Exposed roots are strengthened with a growth stimulator according to the instructions, kept in water for 6-10 hours. The plant in the container is watered abundantly so that the earthen lump easily comes out of the container without destruction.
Landing rules
According to the description, Icee Blue juniper takes up a lot of space over time, so holes are dug at large intervals, up to 1.5-2 m. Planting algorithm for the Ice Blue variety:
- the dimensions of the planting pit are twice or three times the volume of the seedling container;
- depth – 0.7 m;
- drainage is placed on the bottom with a layer of 20-22 cm;
- a seedling is placed on a substrate of peat, sand and garden soil in a ratio of 2:1:1 and sprinkled with earth so that the root collar remains above the surface of the hole;
- water and apply mulch;
- During the week, the seedling is watered every 1-2 days with 5-7 liters of water.
Watering and fertilizing
Water the creeping juniper Icee Blue in the circle around the trunk, 10-30 liters 1-2 times a month. In hot summers without precipitation, watering is increased and sprinkling is carried out in the evening every week. In late autumn and early spring, fertilizing from humus, compost or peat is placed in the tree trunk circle. To acidify the soil, use pine bark and sawdust, citric acid, and garden sulfur. In mid-spring, the variety is supported with complex fertilizers:
- "Kemira";
- nitroammofosk and others.
Mulching and loosening
The area near the tree trunk is regularly loosened after watering. Weeds 1.5-2 m around the juniper bush are removed, because pathogens of fungal diseases and pests can multiply on them. For mulch, waste from the processing of coniferous trees is used, and in the fall, compost, humus, and peat.
Trimming and shaping
The densely creeping Ice Blue juniper, as in the photo, does not require pruning. To create a more lush crown in the form of a carpet, the tops of the shoots are pinched in spring or early summer. In March and April, after the snow melts, they look at how the bush has overwintered and remove damaged, broken shoots.The Ice Blue juniper has an interesting shape on the trunk. The tree is created using special methods in nurseries. Caring for such a tree includes formative pruning, which is carried out by specialists.
Sometimes the branches of a mature Icee Blue plant are given a spectacular waterfall appearance.
Preparing for winter
With the first frosts, young bushes are covered with spruce branches or the remains of wilted plants and sprinkled with peat, a layer up to 12 cm high. You can also cover the top with agrofibre instead of spruce branches. The shelter protects from frost and bright sunlight at the end of winter and beginning of spring, which can cause the needles to burn out. To prevent the needles from becoming warm during winter thaws, mulch made from large fragments of bark is kept under the paws of the creeping variety in the fall. In early spring, when the snow melts, the mass of it is removed from the juniper bush.
Reproduction
The creeping Icee Blue variety is easy to propagate by layering: the shoot is placed in a furrow, pinned to the soil, mulch removed from the ground, and covered with earth. During the season, several shoots take root, which are planted every other year. When propagating by cuttings, choose last year's shoot coming from an old branch located in the middle of the bush:
- the lignified heel of a 12-16 cm cutting is kept in a growth stimulator according to the instructions;
- placed in a moistened substrate of peat and sand;
- a mini-greenhouse made of film is installed on top;
- the substrate is regularly lightly moistened and the cuttings are sprayed;
- after 40-47 days, rooting occurs and the greenhouse is removed.
The sprouts are planted in a shkolka, which is carefully covered for the winter.
Diseases and pests of horizontal juniper Icee Blue
The variety may suffer from fungal diseases of the needles or bark cancer. For prevention, branches should not be wounded; diseased branches should be removed.Having detected signs of fungi, the bush is treated with fungicides:
- Ridomil Gold;
- Quadris;
- Horus;
- Ordan or others.
Insecticides are used against pests - scale insects, aphids, moths:
- Match;
- Aktellik;
- Angio;
- Aktara.
Conclusion
Ice Blue juniper, undemanding to soil, frost-resistant and drought-resistant, is covered for the winter only in the first years, maintenance is minimal. If all replanting requirements are met, the creeping bush with bluish-green needles will develop well. The plant will decorate any garden plot with its original appearance.
