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In addition to outdoor evergreen trees of the cypress family, there is indoor juniper, which looks like them. At home, this beautiful low tree serves as interior decoration and purifies the air from bacteria.
Is it possible to grow juniper at home in a pot?
Junipers have a spectacular appearance, plastic shape, and a variety of colors. The plant is planted in dachas, courtyards, and gardens. If you wish, you can grow juniper in your apartment. When planted at home, this crop forms a low tree. In order for the plant to feel good in the home interior, it is necessary to select the appropriate varieties.Low-growing, slow-growing options would be ideal. Among the methods of reproduction are:
- seeds;
- cuttings.
The first method is more labor-intensive and does not guarantee success, since seed germination is usually poor, and several months pass from sowing to planting.
The second method is simpler. In the spring, you need to cut a 10 cm long cutting from a tree that is at least 8 years old, place it in a mixture of peat and sand, cover it and place it in the shade. After 2 months, roots will appear, and then the plant should be replanted.
Types of indoor juniper
Among conifers, few species can grow indoors. Juniper feels good in an apartment room or in a winter garden. Among the species that can be grown as indoor plants are the following junipers:
- solid;
- Chinese;
- ordinary;
- horizontal.
Dwarf forms feel best at home, for example:
- Horizontal Wiltoni. It has blue needles, grows slowly, reaches 10 cm in height and 1 m in diameter when mature. This species makes a wonderful backdrop for other houseplants;
- Compress – as you can see in the photo, this is a columnar-shaped indoor juniper of miniature size. It grows slowly: at the age of 10 years, the height of the plant is 60 cm;
- Common indoor Depressa Aurea – creeping appearance, height -30 cm, diameter 50 cm;
- Chinese Pyramidalis has a strict conical shape, blue-green needles, maximum height - 1.2 m;
- Medium - Old Gold, It has scaly foliage that turns golden in autumn and is suitable for bonsai.
Varieties of indoor junipers are also represented by larger, weeping and rocky specimens.
Features of growing juniper at home
When growing indoor juniper, you need:
- choose a large pot to free the root system;
- make drainage from broken bricks, expanded clay, gravel, sand;
- do not allow the soil to dry out;
- regularly drain excess water from the pan;
- humidify the air in the room where indoor juniper grows.
- Choose a sunny, cool place for the plant.
How to plant juniper at home
There are several ways to plant juniper at home. If there is a forest nearby, then in the fall you can find a young plant, carefully dig it up, plant it in a pot of appropriate size, and bring it into the house. However, the downside of this method will be the difficulty in adapting the plant to new conditions, and the real problem in this case is keeping the juniper in a pot until spring.
There is an option for planting using cuttings. This method is more reliable and promising.
Planting material for the home can be obtained by layering if you root a juniper branch directly on the street. After the roots appear, the branch is transplanted into a flower pot.
The easiest and most reliable way is to purchase the appropriate type of indoor juniper in a specialized store. In this case, all that remains is to replant the plant and care for it according to all the rules.
How to root juniper at home
To propagate indoor juniper by cuttings, you need to prepare planting material:
- In mid-spring, cut semi-lignified shoots with a “heel”, 10 cm long, from the middle or upper part of the crown.
- Prepare a mixture of sand and peat.
- Moisten the substrate.
- Treat planting material with a root formation stimulator.
- Place the cuttings in a container with the mixture.
- Pour the mixture with Kornevin's solution.
- Cover the container with film and take it to a shaded place.
- Constantly spray the crowns.
- Two months later, after the cuttings have rooted, transplant them into separate pots of the appropriate size.
What kind of soil should be used for juniper in a pot?
Despite the widespread belief that conifers are unpretentious, growing juniper in an apartment requires soil with the following properties:
- lightness and looseness of the soil substrate;
- impossibility of further compaction of the soil mixture;
- breathability;
- moisture capacity;
- ability to retain moisture;
Soil composition includes:
- turf soil - 1 part;
- leaf humus - 2 parts;
- peat – 1 part;
- sand – 1 part;
- pine litter – 1 part.
You can purchase ready-made soil for indoor juniper at a specialty store.
Preparation of planting container and material
A large pot is suitable as a container for planting indoor juniper. The root system feels comfortable in it. The soil in such a container remains porous, easily allowing air and water to pass through. Moisture is evenly distributed throughout the entire volume, which makes caring for the conifer easier.
The most suitable container material for planting indoor juniper is ceramic, clay and porcelain. Natural materials prevent the entry of harmful substances into the soil. By choosing the shape, design, and pattern of the flowerpot, you can emphasize the beauty of the plant. The advantage of clay pots is that moisture can evaporate through their surface. Due to the porosity of the material, the root system can be saturated with oxygen.The roots of indoor juniper in a pot are warm in winter and cool in hot weather.
The disadvantages of ceramics include:
- fragility due to careless care;
- the roots of the plant can stick to the surface and be injured during further transplantation.
To prepare new clay pots for planting, they must be immersed in water for 2 hours. During this time, gases and harmful substances formed during firing are removed from the pores. A container that has already been used should be washed with soap and a brush, boiled with soda, and rinsed with running water.
How to plant juniper in a pot
To plant a purchased seedling or rooted cuttings of indoor decorative juniper, you must:
- Choose a pot whose volume should significantly exceed the size of the earthen ball or container in which it was purchased.
- Provide drainage holes in the bottom of the container.
- Place drainage (pebbles, small stones) on the bottom.
- Soak the plant along with the container in a large container with Kornevin dissolved in it.
- Wait until the container stops floating and sinks to the bottom.
- Pour the soil mixture prepared in advance on top of the drainage by 4 - 5 cm.
- Carefully remove the juniper from the container by shaking it and squeezing the sides.
- Place the plant vertically in the pot 3 cm below the edge.
- Fill the voids with soil substrate.
- Lightly compact the soil.
- Water.
- Place in a cool, bright place without direct sunlight or drafts.
- If necessary, shade.
Replanting juniper
Unlike many house flowers, indoor juniper should be replanted annually. The optimal time would be mid-March.The height of the plant should not exceed 1 m. To transplant, you must:
- Prepare a pot 1.5 - 2 times larger than the previous one, soil and material for drainage.
- Carefully use a spatula to separate the soil from the walls, being careful not to damage the roots or the pot.
- Remove it, holding it at the base with a large lump of earth and place it in a new container, in a pre-prepared hole in the ground.
- Fill in the resulting voids, compact them a little, and mulch the soil surface with peat or bark.
The level of juniper above the ground should remain the same. You should not bury or plant a transplanted houseplant higher.
The plant must be watered generously with warm, settled water. After the transplant, more comfortable conditions should be created so that the engraftment process is painless. You can take the juniper to the balcony, shading it, if it receives direct sunlight, the optimal air temperature is +18 ⁰C. It’s a good idea to spray the juniper crown with water every day. When the indoor coniferous plant reaches its maximum growth and becomes an adult, replanting can be stopped, but periodically it will be necessary to add fertile soil to the pots.
How to care for juniper in a pot
The conditions for keeping conifers are almost the same for all species. They should be located on the north or north-east side of the house and at the same time shaded from sunlight. The plant reacts negatively to “moving”; it is worth refraining from changing the place of residence of indoor juniper. Otherwise, the conifer must adapt to new conditions, and its normal development is inhibited. In the summer, it is useful to take the decorative juniper in a pot outside, into partial shade.
In winter - provide conditions under which the indoor plant will be located further from the heating system. The best place for wintering is a warm loggia or window sill, where it is cool. The optimal temperature will be in the range from 6 to 12 ⁰С. If there is no suitable place, then the conifer can be protected from hot air and drying out using plastic film. At the same time, maintain access to air, but remember that winter is a real test for a houseplant, so you should help it overcome this period.
Optimal temperature, humidity and lighting
If you decide to plant juniper in a pot at home, caring for it requires the creation of certain climatic conditions. In summer, ambient temperatures should not be allowed above 25⁰C and cooling below 12⁰C. The plant loves fresh air, but does not tolerate drafts. In hot weather, it is worth taking it outside and spraying it daily to maintain humidity and clean dust from foliage or needles.
The plant needs bright light, but the lighting should be diffused. Direct sunlight can cause burns. Pots with indoor plants taken outside in the summer should not be constantly in the shade.
How to water juniper at home
In summer, in hot weather, plants require abundant watering. The condition of the earthen coma should be monitored. Both waterlogging and drying out of the soil are harmful. To water indoor juniper, clean, warm, settled water is used. The frequency of the procedure is 1 time every two days.
By autumn, watering is gradually reduced.If the air temperature has already dropped and the room is not yet heated, humidification should be very careful, especially in inclement rainy weather, when air humidity rises and the soil dries out slowly.
In winter, the apartment has dry air, low humidity, and rapid evaporation. Watering should be done 2 times a month, but at the same time ensure that the top layer of soil dries out.
In spring, the dose of moisture needs to be increased again.
The crown must be sprayed with warm, settled water regularly throughout the year - twice a day in summer and every other day in winter.
How to feed home juniper
Caring for a juniper growing in a pot at home also includes periodically feeding it. Ephedra that are in the active growth phase (from April to September) should receive mineral fertilizer when watering once every two weeks. It is used according to the instructions. Indoor juniper really needs feeding, since it does not receive nutrients from the outside. With the onset of autumn, fertilizing is reduced and brought to once a month. From December, fertilization is stopped until spring.
As a fertilizer, you can use humus added to the pot with the plant. The interval between organic and mineral fertilizing should be at least two weeks.
Trimming and shaping
To give indoor juniper an elegant shape, it is pruned once a year for sanitary purposes. The optimal time for this is February. Conifer growth is slow, but it accelerates at the end of winter. At this time, dried or deformed branches should be removed. It is recommended to cut off the young shoots a little and the top of the plant a little more.This pruning technique allows you to achieve lushness and attractiveness of indoor juniper, as well as improve its health.
Coniferous species, decorated according to the canons of Japanese bonsai art, look quite original. The process is long, complex, and requires patience and knowledge of how to properly shape and trim a tree, from which a small masterpiece is obtained.
Diseases of indoor juniper
The indoor plant is susceptible to fungal diseases and pests.
- Brown mold most often affects young branches of indoor juniper in hot and rainy summer weather. For the purpose of prevention, it is necessary to thin out diseased, damaged branches more often.
- Rust infects the needles, the shoots die. For treatment, diseased parts are cut out and treated with immunostimulants, fungicides, and Bordeaux mixture. Cut parts of the affected plant should be destroyed.
Pests of indoor juniper include:
- scale insect – affects the needles, the branches of the plant dry out;
- sawfly – eats away tissue from the inside;
- shoot moth caterpillars - eat young branches.
Pests can be controlled by spraying with insecticides.
What to do if the juniper at home dries out
There are several reasons for the yellowing and drying out of indoor juniper branches:
- lack of nutrients;
- excessive dryness or moisture in the soil;
- lack of adequate drainage;
- introduction of fungi or pests.
After determining the reason why the home juniper dries out, it is necessary to carry out the necessary measures - treat it with pest control drugs, reduce or increase watering, change the soil substrate, make drainage and replant the plant or give it full feeding.
Conclusion
Unlike outdoor species, indoor juniper is constantly in the house next to people. Its presence creates comfort, and the pine aroma promotes health, purifies the air, and strengthens sleep. Dwarf species in the home interior provide aesthetic pleasure. It is necessary to know and remember all the nuances of growing and caring for indoor juniper so that it develops correctly and quickly.
