For those who want to really beautifully and originally decorate the garden, you should pay attention to the Stricta juniper (Juniperus chinensis stricta). Native to China, Japan, Korea and Mongolia, this perennial evergreen has been bred by Dutch breeders. Not so long ago, a representative of the Cypress family became widespread throughout the world.
Growing and caring for Strickt juniper
Characteristics of culture
The Chinese strickt juniper is endowed with the following parameters:
- the plant in the form of a shrub does not lose its decorative qualities even in the winter season - it remains green and colorful;
- refers to dwarf varieties - the height varies from 2 to 3 m, the crown width is 1.5 meters;
- the shape is conical, the branches are upright, which facilitates maintenance during the pruning process;
- the annual growth is about 7 cm
- prickly needles, saturated green with a bluish-gray tint, with the arrival of cold weather they acquire a brown tone;
- cones are dark blue, with a slight bluish bloom, popular in cooking and folk medicine;
- the plant has a high frost resistance, but during prolonged severe winters it needs shelter.
The cost
You can buy seedlings in one of the country's gardening nurseries.
The price for one specimen from 15 to 20 m in length is 400 rubles, grown plants 1-1.2 m in height cost 3500-3800 rubles.
Landing rules
The successful cultivation of juniper depends on the quality of the planting material, the planting site and the composition of the soil.
Seedling preparation
You can buy seedlings of this culture in a specialized nursery, where you will surely get a real plant with all varietal traits and characteristics.
When buying it, follow some rules.
- Give preference to plants with a closed root system, since they will need to be planted in the spring. Juniper roots are very tender and dry quickly without soil.
- You can buy a seedling in a pot or with a lump of earth wrapped in burlap. This way you can plant at any time without adhering to specific deadlines.
- When choosing conifers, inspect them for disease and pest damage. A high-quality specimen on the roots and shoots should have an increase in the current year.
- In healthy seedlings, the branches are flexible, without cracks or breaks.
- Also, health is determined by the crown - needles of a rich and uniform green color. Any white or black blotches indicate poor quality planting material.
A place
For planting outdoors, you need to find a good place - in partial shade, but with access to the sun.
It is not worth planting the Chinese juniper Chinensis Streakta directly under the sun, because its needles are very sensitive to sunlight - they get burned, turn yellow and dry quickly.
You can plant it next to a gazebo, an arch entwined with grapes or near a tree. The main thing is that such a neighborhood provides protection from the scorching sun at midday.
Priming
The culture grows well in areas with slightly acidic soil. Places with calcareous or sandy loam soil are suitable.
The best composition, according to gardeners, is sod land, sand and peat, mixed in a 2: 1: 2 ratio.
Disembarkation technique
Planting is recommended in the spring
Landing is carried out in the spring - at the end of April or at the beginning of May, when the heat stabilizes and the threat of return frosts has passed.
Some gardeners prefer the autumn planting of conifers - in the middle or at the end of September, so that the seedlings have time to take root and take root before the onset of stable cold weather.
Planting technology consists of several stages.
- Pits are dug along the length of the underground part of the seedlings with closed roots. Usually it is dug 2-3 sizes larger than the volume of an earthen coma - about 70x70 cm.
- When planting in groups, it is important to maintain a distance of at least 50 cm. If you plant it thicker, the juniper bushes will drown out each other, lose their decorative qualities and may wither away.
- The hole is filled to a third of the depth with drainage - about 20 cm. Pebbles, rubble or pieces of broken brick are used. Drainage will eliminate the risk of root waterlogging.
- The nutritional composition presented above is poured upstairs. Fill it in half.
- Roots are laid on top, sprinkled with garden soil, compacted. When planting, it is important that the root collar remains 10 cm above the ground level, otherwise the seedlings may rot and die.
- Then the Chinese juniper is watered abundantly. At the rate of 5 liters of water per plant. Sprinkle peat on the near-trunk zone to protect the roots and soil from drying out.
- To protect it from burning by the sun's rays at lunchtime, the crown is covered with a non-woven material - burlap, agrofibre.
Care requirements
For the speedy rooting of ephedra in the open field, it is necessary to provide them with proper care and attention.
Watering
The description of the plant includes an increased demand for moisture, which will provide intensive growth of the crown and roots.
In dry summers, it is necessary to moisten the shrubs at least 3 times per season. Depending on the size, the water consumption is different - for a young seedling, 10-15 liters are enough, for an adult - 25-30 liters.
This coniferous culture does not grow well and loses its decorative qualities in drought and heat conditions, so the crown needs to be irrigated frequently - every day in summer.
Loosening
This procedure is carried out after each watering, but not deep, since the roots of the Strickt are located close to the surface.
To protect against drying out, a mound of peat soil is formed in the trunk area.
Top dressing
When planted in fertile soil, this plant does not require fertilization. If you already decided to fertilize it, then you should not use organic fertilizing - cow dung, chicken dung, which can cause severe burns.
Once a season in spring, shrubs can be spilled with a liquid solution of azophoska, nitrophoska or urea at the rate of 30 g per 20 l of water.
Such nutrition promotes intensive growth of green mass and roots.
Pruning
Trees undergo preventive pruning every year
Chinese juniper, which sometimes reaches 3 m in height, is widely used in landscape design.
The plant is cone-shaped, and the shoots grow upward - in the process of pruning it can be given any shape.
- A shaping haircut is carried out in the summer during the development of a young growth.
- In the spring, a sanitary haircut is required to remove areas broken off by the wind, damaged by diseases and frost.
Preparing for winter
For adult specimens, it is sufficient to provide a thick layer of mulch around the trunk zone. Sawdust, peat or wood chips are used. To protect against breaking off under a cover of snow or strong winds, the branches of a large plant are pressed against the trunk and tied with a rope.
Young specimens need shelter - first, laying mulch in the area of the trunk, then wrapping the shoots with roofing material, spunbod or agrofibre.
Diseases and pests
This juniper of Strickt has one of the most dangerous and common diseases - rust. Signs - the shoots swell, mucus appears in the places of the swelling.
Infection occurs instantly and passes to healthy specimens. Therefore, it is necessary to treat immediately at the first symptoms all cultures growing nearby.
The crown and the ground around the trunk are treated with a Bordeaux liquid solution at the rate of 100 per 10 liters of water.
The most inveterate pest is aphid. The spark drug will help to cope with it. In the fight against other parasites: spider moth and juniper sawfly, malofos and fufanon, respectively, help.
For prevention, it is necessary to use healthy planting material, follow the planting scheme, water, loosen, fertilize and remove weeds on the site in time.
Additionally, plants can be treated with fungicides - a solution of copper sulfate or Bordeaux liquid at the beginning of the growing season and in late autumn.
Reproduction methods
Reproduction is carried out in two ways, each of them has pluses and minuses.
Cones
The first method is considered laborious and time consuming. First, you need to pick the berries in autumn or summer, hold for several days at room temperature.
All the next 4 months, the plants are kept at 15-16 ° C.
Seeds are sown in seedling boxes with fertile soil, which is used to plant seedlings. Additionally, add one part of the soil from the root of the growing ephedra.
Expanded clay or pebbles are poured to the bottom, then the soil mixture. Grooves are pulled out at a distance of 5 cm, seeds are planted to a depth of 2-2.5 cm, with a distance of 4-5 cm. Then they are watered, placed in a warm place with diffused daylight.
Further care consists in regular watering, irrigation, loosening of the soil and ensuring a stable temperature within 19-20 ° C and humidity at 70%.
You can propagate juniper by cuttings
As soon as the seedlings grow up, they reach a height of 7-10 cm, build up a strong root system, they are transplanted to the site.
They are transplanted into open ground after the street heat stabilizes and the soil warms up to 10-12 ° C.
This culture does not like frequent substitutions, so you need to immediately find a place for permanent habitation. The planted seedlings are shaded from the scorching sun, regularly watered, loosened.
Cuttings
The method of propagation of conifers by cuttings is effective and fast. At the top of the crown, green cuttings 15-20 cm long are selected, all lateral shoots are removed and the bark at the bottom of the shoot is cut off.
For quick rooting, one of the stimulants is used - they are lowered with the cut part for half an hour. Then they are planted in a mixture of juniper needles and peat soil.
Landings are placed in a shaded place, providing shelter on sunny days.
Lighting training is carried out gradually. As soon as young shoots appear on the plants, they can be transplanted to the site.
The rules for planting and further care for rooted cuttings are the same as for seedlings.
Application in landscape
Juniper, which is about 3 m high, is often used as a background for many decorative flowering plants.
In landscape design, it is used to frame paths, decorate hedges. The ephedra with bright flowers on the alpine slides looks beautiful.
In the first years of life, miniature seedlings are grown as a pot culture at home, and with the onset of warm days they are taken out into the street, placed along the curbs, near gazebos, on balconies and loggias.
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Gardeners reviews
Gardeners who have been cultivating this culture for several years leave positive reviews:
- the Chinese juniper Strickta decorates any place in the garden and, with good care, retains its decorative effect all year round;
- many choose this plant due to the possibility of quick and easy propagation by cuttings - it is possible to get several new specimens at once for the garden landscape;
- after preventive treatments, the ephedra is practically not damaged by diseases and pests.