Evergreen coniferous shrubs are often grown by gardeners to decorate their home gardens. Juniper can be propagated in different ways. One of the most popular options is grafting.
How to propagate a juniper: we perform the procedure at home
Breeding features
Representatives of conifers, which include juniper, are long-livers. Their main difference is that the vegetative stage of fruiting occurs much later than in other plants.
The first cones appear at 9-10 years of age, they ripen for 2-3 years.
In their natural environment, dioecious conifers, which have female and male cones, reproduce by seeds and spores by spreading them in nature over long distances by winds and birds.
The seed method is suitable for ordinary varieties and is not suitable for decorative seedlings, because does not retain its original qualities.
Artificial conditions require long-term stratification - holding in the cold. The sprouts obtained from seeds often do not take root well due to the underdevelopment and weakness of the root system.
The cuttings method is best suited for propagation of junipers, it is faster and easier, moreover, it can be done at home. Main advantages:
- the obtained seedlings show intensive growth and development rates, reaching the size of an adult plant 3-4 years earlier than seedlings from seeds;
- the next generation retains the quality characteristics of the mother tree;
- the adaptation period for cuttings to new growing conditions is reduced;
- resistance to environmental factors in the resulting young seedlings is higher;
- the method gives a high rooting rate and is suitable for all varieties.
Dates
Reproduction of juniper can occur all year round, throughout the season, not excluding winter.
- In the summer - branches and layering. Mostly propagated by creeping, creeping varieties, but this is not the best period for obtaining seedlings from prickly horizontal varieties, harvesting is carried out no later than July so that the plants have time to take root by winter and not freeze.
- Autumn is suitable for the seed method.
- In winter, it is better to use cuttings, planting planting material in a heated room. It is prepared from the first days of February to be planted next month.
- In spring, they are rooted with branches or propagated by layering with lateral shoots fixed in the horizontal direction.
Description of technology
We breed junipers in small pots
There are certain varieties of juniper that are best propagated by cuttings. It:
- Meyeri;
- Holger;
- Kurivao Gold;
- Mint Julep;
- Mordigan Gold;
- Wiltoni;
- Dream Joy;
- Lime Glow;
- Gold Coast;
- Smash hit.
Substrate preparation
For rooting of blanks, a soil mixture is made from humus and peat taken in equal proportions. It is allowed to add river sand, crushed charcoal and perlite.
Lime, lime flour and ash powder help to neutralize excess acidity.
Preparing cuttings
Harvesting of planting material is carried out throughout the garden season, starting in early spring and pumping in late autumn, but the most suitable time for this is April-May.
As a donor tree, specimens of 8-10 years old are suitable, in which varietal characteristics have already formed.
The shoots are harvested from not yet lignified green juniper branches, taking into account the peculiarities of the species:
- for columnar varieties - from those growing in the upper part;
- for spherical varieties - from those growing on the sides.
The average length of the cutting to which the shoot should be cut is about 0.15-0.2 m. The maximum possible length is 0.25 m. The fence is carried out together with a part of the bark, the so-called heel.
For creeping juniper varieties, cuttings are removed from vertically arranged branches.
The best time for cutting planting material is early in the morning. Before planting, cuttings in the lower part (about 4-5 cm) are cleaned of needles and bark and kept for 0.5 days in an aqueous solution of Epin. In the upper part of the shoots, the needles are left for aeration.
Rooting
For rooting, creeping juniper varieties are planted in a prepared nutrient substrate at an angle of 45 ° C, other varieties - in a vertical direction.
In the soil I make depressions 3-4 cm wide up to 1 cm, inserting a stalk into the hole, sprinkle it with earth and water it. From above, the sprout is covered with polyethylene or a jar.
When placing the shoots in a single container, it is necessary to maintain a distance of 5 cm or more.
One of the ways to root twigs harvested in winter is to plant them in a layer of sphagnum moss, which is pre-soaked in water:
- for the role of a container, take a fabric strip on which the soaked moss is spread;
- sprinkle the cuttings with Kornevin from below and lay them out so that the tops are above the level of the fabric strip, and the lower part is on a sphagnum pillow;
- a strip of fabric is folded in half, covering the bottom of the blanks, and rolled up, fixing with an elastic band;
- the roll is wrapped in polyethylene and put in a cool place until spring, until the shoots give roots.
How to stimulate rooting
Cuttings can be done at home
It is possible to root cuttings at home with stimulating drugs, but in order to increase the survival rate and shorten the period of root formation, it is better to use root formation stimulants.
Means that activate the development of the root system:
- Kornevin. Developed on the basis of indolylbutyric acid. The dosage is 1 g per 1 liter of water.
- Epin. In addition to activating root formation, serve as a means of increasing immunity. The dosage is 0.5 ml per 1 liter of water.
- Heteroauxin. Refers to phytohormonal preparations based on indoleacetic acid. Dosage - 1 table. For 1 liter of water.
- Zircon. Complex composition from a mixture of hydroxycinnamic acids. The dosage is 1 ml per 1 water.
Folk remedies include:
- sweet water;
- potato tubers;
- baker's yeast.
Planting cuttings in open ground
The first roots appear on the 25-30th day after planting, and rooting occurs after 2-3 months.
However, it is possible to transfer it to open ground only at the end of the formation of the root system, which usually occurs in the 3rd year. Actively growing new green shoots will tell you about the successful development of roots.
Rooted seedlings can be transplanted earlier than the recommended time for cultivation in a greenhouse.
Transit times vary by region. It is planned so that by the time the first frost occurs, the plant has already managed to adapt to new growing conditions.
Usually, gardeners try to carry out the procedure immediately after the snow melts, as long as there is no risk of burning out the needles in the active sun.
The best place for planting cuttings will be a site well lit by diffused sunlight from the southeast or southwest side with moderately moist soil.
In the open ground, the sprouts are transplanted together with an earthen lump in order to avoid injury to the roots that are not yet fully strengthened, deepening along the root collar. The substrate for the planting pit is made from the same components as for rooting.
A hole is dug to a depth of 1.0 m or more, starting from the size of the earthen coma - 2-3 times its diameter. A drainage system is required.
REPRODUCTION OF JUNIPER WITH GREEN SHEARS
Thuja / juniper propagation by cuttings.
Reproduction of juniper cuttings in winter
Seedling care
At the initial stage, the cuttings need to create favorable conditions:
- the optimum temperature is 18-23 ° C, at lower rates, the roots begin to rot, and at higher rates, the soil will dry out;
- diffused light, without direct hit on landings;
- periodic ventilation;
- watering - as the soil dries up, usually once a week.
After transplanting into open ground, young seedlings are protected from direct sunlight by shading and shelter, as well as from frost in winter by mulching with spruce branches.
Drought-resistant juniper is watered every 30 days. After 2 years from the moment of planting, they begin to feed it with organic or mineral fertilizers, applying in the summer one-time under the bush at the rate of 45 g for each m².