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Junipers are popular among gardeners around the world. There are many species of this coniferous plant. One of them is coastal juniper Converta. Description, characteristics, types of conifers, features of agricultural technology will be presented below.
Description of coastal juniper
Coastal juniper (Juniperus conferta) is a representative of coniferous plants listed in the Red Book. These are low shrubs growing on the same plane. The varieties are considered capricious, so not all gardeners decide to grow these plants.
Juniper on the site or in the natural environment forms a prickly carpet, distinguished by its brightness. The coniferous plant belongs to the Cypress family, is dioecious, can reproduce by seed, less often by layering and cuttings.
All types and varieties of coastal juniper, descriptions and photos of which will be of interest to beginning gardeners, are frost-resistant. That is why the geography of cultivation has affected almost all regions of Russia.
Coniferous plantings are especially beautiful at the beginning of summer, when young shoots grow on the bushes. This quality of dwarf conifer is widely used by landscape designers who use plants to decorate lawns, park areas and private areas. Plants can be planted individually or used as ground cover when creating alpine slides, rockeries, and hedges. Since the plants are low-growing, they can be grown for landscaping terraces, balconies, roofs, loggias.
Coastal juniper varieties
Breeders have developed many new species of coastal juniper. In order not to make a mistake when choosing, you need to know the features of each of them.
The most common varieties:
- Slugger;
- Golden Wings;
- Blue Pacific;
- Silver Mist;
- Emerald Sia.
Coastal juniper Schlager (Slager)
A feature of the creeping juniper Conferta Slager, according to the description and reviews of gardeners, is its height. At 10 years of age, the height is no more than 20 cm, and the crown grows up to 1 m. The height of older plants is no more than 50-60 cm.
The branches are red-brown. The needles are gray-green or dark green. The length of the needles is 10-15 mm, width is 1 mm, the tips are prickly.The cones are dark blue, round in shape with a clearly visible bluish coating.
Coastal juniper Golden Wings
This is a variety of low conifer with creeping shoots, in which they are slightly raised at the very tips. Dimensions of an adult juniper Conferta Golden Wings: height – about 30 cm, and crown diameter – 1 m. The plant is decorative, distinguished by the two-color paint of its needles.
Shrubs are especially bright if they have enough sunlight. In partial shade they lose their decorative effect. Coastal juniper responds gratefully to fertile soil and well-moistened soil. Stagnation of water can lead to the death of the bush.
One of the features of the coastal juniper variety Golden Wings is winter hardiness. The plant can be grown at a temperature of -35 degrees. But the bright sun at the end of winter and beginning of spring can cause pine needles to burn. Therefore, it is recommended to throw agrofibre over the plantings. Remove the shelter after the soil thaws in calm weather.
Coastal juniper Blue Pacific (Blue Pacific)
Coastal juniper Blue Pacific (Juniperus conferta Blue Pacific), according to gardeners, grows slowly. A representative of the Cypress family is a creeping shrub. Its height is no more than 40 cm, the crown grows up to 1.8 m in diameter. This feature of the Blue Pacific juniper must be taken into account when planting and caring.
The shoots form a dense and dense crown.The needles are green-blue in color, look great at any time of the year, quite prickly and fragrant. When planted in an open place, the modified leaves are bright and succulent, but partial shade and shade can reduce the decorative value of the juniper.
It is advisable to plant the shrub on slightly acidic, sandy, well-drained soils. The plant is drought-resistant, so coastal juniper can be planted within the city. But excess moisture can destroy the plant.
Like many junipers, the evergreen Blue Pacific is a frost-resistant plant, so it can be safely grown in risky farming areas, creating amazing compositions.
Coastal juniper Silver Mist
This variety of coastal juniper is the result of the work of Japanese breeders.
The plant is compact, with silver or blue-gray needles. The Silver Mist variety will look especially beautiful on alpine hills, next to ponds, as an addition to landscape compositions, as well as when designing garden paths.
The height of an adult coastal juniper Silver Mist is about 20-50 cm. The crown grows to a width of 80-90 cm. Every year the plant grows by 7-10 cm in height and by 15-20 cm in width.
The skeletal branches of the conifer are of medium length and branch chaotically. The shoots are arranged horizontally and spread along the soil, creating an asymmetrical crown shape.
After flowering, spherical, blue or green fruits appear.
Coastal juniper is undemanding when it comes to soil, although it exhibits better decorative properties on slightly acidic soils with moderate moisture. Prefers illuminated places, then the color appears better and does not change at any time of the year.
The evergreen juniper variety is frost-resistant and can tolerate short-term drought.
Juniper is specially placed around administrative buildings, hospitals and schools, as it emits phytoncides that can purify the air.
Coastal juniper Emerald Sea (Emerald Sea)
This variety of juniper is distinguished by a spreading crown, which is formed by long, creeping branches. An adult tree cannot be taller than 30 cm, but the crown is simply amazing - it grows up to 2.5 m in diameter.
The modified leaves (needles) are bluish-green, soft rather than spiny. In winter, the decorative effect is slightly lost, and yellowing of the needles is observed. The plant is frost-resistant and can grow in almost all soils. But dense soil and stagnant moisture are not allowed when growing Emerald Sia plants.
Planting and caring for coastal juniper
It is advisable to plant all types of coastal juniper in well-lit places; openwork shade is also suitable. In these cases, the decorative quality of the needles is preserved.
Preparing seedlings and planting area
The best are seedlings grown in containers. Such plants quickly take root and begin to grow. Plants must have a needle color appropriate to the variety and a well-developed root system. It is not allowed to use seedlings with numerous branches damaged and signs of rot on the roots.
Immediately before planting, water the soil in containers generously to make it easier to remove the plant along with the lump of earth.
Before planting all types of juniper, the soil is dug up, after adding peat, sand, and turf soil in a 2:1:1 ratio.
Landing rules
Now you need to figure out how to plant plants correctly:
- Planting holes are located at a distance of at least 1.5-2 m, since adult plants of almost all varieties have a fairly large crown diameter.
- To determine the size of the hole, you need to focus on the root system of the seedling: it should be 2 times larger. The depth of the seat is from 50 to 70 cm.
- The bottom of the pit is filled with drainage: broken red brick, coarse pebbles and sand. The drainage layer must be at least 20 cm.
- Place a seedling in the center and sprinkle with the prepared soil mixture. The root collar must remain above the surface!
- Immediately after planting, the coastal conifer seedling is watered so that the water penetrates to the depth of the root system.
- On the second day, mulch the soil to retain moisture.
Watering and fertilizing
Young plants need regular and abundant watering only in the first 7 days after planting. In the future, the procedure is performed only if there is no rain for a long time in the summer. But sprinkling is necessary for plants, since dry air can cause changes in the color of the needles.
As for fertilizing, they use special fertilizers for conifers or nitroammofoska, "Kemira-universal", which are applied in the spring.
Mulching and loosening
To preserve moisture, all juniper plantings must be mulched. You can add sawdust and wood chips up to 8 cm high into the tree trunk circle. Loosening is also a mandatory procedure, but it is superficial, it is done after watering.
Trimming and shaping
Coastal juniper requires sanitary and formative pruning. The first of them is carried out to remove damaged and dry branches. As for the shaping haircut, it is performed early in the spring before the sap begins to flow. You can only cut off a third of last year's growth. The sections are treated with a fungicide, then the plant is fed.
Preparing for winter
Despite their high frost resistance, plants still need protection. The tree trunk circle is sprinkled with peat, the layer of which should be at least 10 cm. Young bushes are covered with spruce branches.
Reproduction
New seedlings can be obtained:
- seeds;
- cuttings.
For seed propagation, only fresh seeds are used and immediately sown before winter. Planting material is difficult to grow and requires scarification. The seeds are treated for 30 minutes with concentrated sulfuric acid. Seedlings appear the following year in spring.
In early spring, short cuttings with side heels are cut and immediately rooted. This is best done in a greenhouse, since it is still cold in spring. Transplantation is carried out after a year, when a good root system is formed.
Diseases and pests
According to the description and reviews of gardeners, coastal juniper, including the Golden Wings variety, is resistant to many diseases.
But it is not always possible to avoid:
- fusarium and rust;
- drying out of branches;
- Alternaria and bark necrosis.
It is necessary to carry out preventive treatments or treatment with fungicides or products containing copper.
Among the pests, it is worth noting the possible invasion of spider mites, aphids, juniper leafminer moths and scale insects.
To prevent plantings, they are sprayed with insecticides in spring and autumn.
Conclusion
Coastal juniper can decorate any garden, especially since the plants live for a very long time. In addition, all parts of the bush are useful and can be used to prepare medicines.
