Juniper blue carpet planting and care in the open field

Juniper Blue Carpet is an evergreen coniferous shrub. It is characterized by a flat, highly branched crown. The variety got its name for its silvery-blue needles. Under favorable growing conditions, it can set dark blue berries.

Varietal characteristics

The description of Blue Carpet juniper is as follows:

• bush height 30-40 cm;
• width up to 1.5 meters;
• life expectancy is over 200 years.

Juniper juice has toxic properties, so it is best to carry out all care work with rubberized gloves.

The main value of the Blue Carpet variety is its unpretentiousness and rapid growth.

Planting and leaving

Planting and caring for the Blue Carpet juniper is not particularly difficult. The plot for its cultivation must meet the following requirements:

1. High level of illumination.
2. Lack of closely spaced groundwater.
3. Non-saline soil.

The best time to plant the Blue Carpet juniper in a permanent place is spring or early autumn. The size of the planting pit depends on the size of the acquired seedling. On wet soils at the bottom of the planting pit, drainage from a layer of rubble or broken brick must be arranged. After the end of planting work, it is advisable to mulch the near-stem circle of the plant with a layer of peat.

Care for the scaly juniper Blue Carpet after planting consists in systematic watering. Adult specimens are usually more drought tolerant than young ones, so they are watered only during severe drought.

Juniper responds very well to evening spraying of the crown with cool water.

Also, do not forget about the removal of weeds. To reduce the number of weeding, the near-trunk circle is covered with a layer of mulch from pine bark, chips or gravel. Every spring, junipers are fertilized with a special fertilizer for conifers. In its absence, you can also use a nitroammophos.

Juniper Blue Carpet can sometimes suffer from the rays of the bright spring sun. To protect the plant from sunburn, its crown is covered with a white non-woven covering material or a special green mesh since autumn. It does not require additional protection from winter cold. In most regions, it can withstand even the harshest winters.

The Blue Carpet variety does not need formative pruning. Exceptions are cases when diseased or dry branches appear on the plant. When growing a juniper next to deciduous plants, when preparing it for wintering, care must be taken to ensure that no deciduous litter remains in its crown. In the process of decay, it can damage the branches or even cause partial drying out of the bush.

Photo of Blue Carpet juniper in landscape design

A photo of the Blue Carpet juniper can often be found on specialized resources dedicated to landscape design. It is a fairly popular, affordable and unpretentious plant. It can be used in a wide variety of garden compositions.

Very often from the Blue Carpet they create spectacular single groups against the backdrop of the lawn. The only drawback of such compositions is the inconvenience of mowing the lawn around them. It is much more convenient to include juniper in other groups of conifers. For example, a creeping Blue Carpet can be planted in the foreground, and taller varieties of junipers can be placed in the back.

You can also create more complex compositions using other conifers, deciduous shrubs and herbaceous perennials. Blooming annuals also look good against the background of juniper. When creating such groups, the most important thing is to maintain the correct distance between the plants so that they can fully develop without overwhelming each other.

Thanks to its creeping shape, the Blue Carpet can be used for decorating slopes and also as a ground cover plant. It is also suitable for growing on an alpine slide or in a flat rockery. You can even decorate the shore of a garden pond with this juniper.

Blue Carpet goes especially well with the following plants:

• roses;
• garden geraniums;
• spring bulbous;
• herbaceous ground covers.

It is irreplaceable in urban landscaping. This variety is highly resistant to polluted city air and lends itself well to artistic shaping. If necessary, it can even be used as a container culture.

Correct planting of juniper - video

There is a great variety of evergreen conifers and shrubs in the world. Some species are used only for decorative purposes, while other plants produce fruits that can be eaten. Within the framework of this article, we will consider an ornamental plant of the cypress family - scaly juniper (a common Latin name for all junipers, juniperus squammata), its varieties, as well as planting and care issues.

Juniper scaly blue carpet

A feature of the scaly juniper Blue Carpet (Blue carpet) is its accelerated growth. By the age of ten, the height of the plant is more than sixty centimeters. The creeping juniper variety has needle-shaped blue needles. Reproduction takes place by seeds and cuttings. Landing in the latter way is preferable. The plant grows faster than from seeds and has a beautiful appearance.

Grows on any soil, but does not tolerate constant waterlogging. Blue Carpet tolerates drought well, likes sunny or slightly shaded places. In winter, it is impossible to cover the shrub with large snowdrifts due to the fragility of the branches. It is better to plant the shrub in a place protected from cold northern winds. Depending on the preferred composition, the plants are planted from fifty centimeters to three meters apart.

Shrub planting

The place for planting the plant should be chosen illuminated, but so that direct sunlight does not burn the branches. For planting, take a young bush, as it takes root better, preferably up to five years of age. Older plants have a long root that cannot be damaged.

Experts recommend planting plants in early spring when the snow melts. Landing at later terms can lead to sunburn and death of an unrooted plant. The soil should be of medium acidity, nutritious and not too clayey, otherwise there will be stagnation of moisture and the plant will die. It is not recommended to transplant the bush from place to place, the root system is disrupted.

For planting, a hole is dug slightly larger than the entire root. The bottom is filled with pebbles or gravel (up to twenty centimeters). Then a layer of a mixture of turf, peat soil and sand is poured. The entire root system is covered with the same soil. The soil around the plant is not crushed. After planting, it will gradually settle and then it will be possible to add a little mixture.

Reproduction of scaly juniper Blue Carpet can be done by cuttings and seeds. The last way is a long process. Therefore, the grafting method is used.

In spring, cuttings from 10 to 15 centimeters long are cut into an adult ten-year-old bush.At the bottom of the branches, the needles are removed and planted in a soil mixture of sand, turf and peat. The planting is covered with plastic wrap and left in a slightly shaded place for a month. From time to time the cuttings are watered. In early summer, after the roots grow back, the cuttings are planted in open ground.

Care

In winter the first year after planting, the plant should be covered due to the risk of freezing in severe frosts. It can withstand the lowest possible temperature up to - 29 degrees Celsius. Do not cover with a large layer due to the danger of branches drying out. In the summer, watering the bush is carried out no more than three times (in hot weather) in the evening. The optimal rate for an adult bush is 20 liters of water. It can be sprayed with water.

Basically, care consists of the following procedures:

• weeding;
• loosening;
• covering the soil with mulching material with a layer of up to 10 cm (humus, hay, straw);
• decorative trimming;
• removal of dry branches.

To form a lush crown, reinforced pruning of branches is performed. But you should not do dense planting of bushes due to the risk of damping and withering away of the needles.

Important! In early spring and before the start of active sap flow, the plant should be shaded to avoid sunburn of the needles.

Views

Scaly juniper is represented by a number of popular ornamental varieties..

1. Blue Carpet.
2. Prostrata.
3. Chinese.
4. Floreant (Floreant).
5. Virginia.
6. Meyeri.
7. Wilsonii.
8. Cossack.
9. Hunnetorp
10. Blue Star.
11. Rocky.
12. Blue Swede
13. Prince of Wales.
14. Golden flame.
15. Dream Joy (Dream Joy).
16. Loderi.
17. Blue Spider
18. Blue Alps (Blue Elps).
19. Horizontal.
20. Holger.

Under natural conditions, scaly juniper is poorly restored. This coniferous plant is long-lived. Depending on the variety, the lifespan ranges from 500 to 6 thousand years. The fastest growing and most popular type of creeping juniper is Blue Carpet.

Highly appreciated for its high decorative properties... The variety can be planted on rocky places, roofs. It is used for decoration of rock gardens, curbs, soil strengthening in gentle areas. When decorating a garden and planting other crops, it should be borne in mind that the branches of the shrub grow in width. Can be planted in partial shade, but cannot stand the absolute lack of lighting.

Juniper scaly

Conifers, which include the Blue Carpet juniper, are often used for landscaping parks, squares and gardens due to their decorativeness. This variety, despite its low growth, has an extensive spreading crown and grows strongly, covering the ground with a solid carpet. Growing this juniper and taking proper care of it is not difficult even for a novice gardener.

1 Plant description

The scaly juniper Blue Carpet (juniperus Blue Carpet) is an evergreen shrub. According to the description, this coniferous plant has a strongly branched horizontal crown of a silvery-blue color, for which it got its name. The needles of this plant have a pointed needle-like shape and reach a size of 1 cm. Under proper cultivation and favorable conditions, this plant variety forms dark blue berries with a whitish bloom.

Juniper Blue Carpet

For a year, the length of the shoots of the Blue Carpet increases by 8–10 cm, the plant reaches a height of 60 cm. The culture is characterized by unpretentiousness to conditions of maintenance and is easy to care for, therefore it is often used in landscape design.

The juice of this juniper variety is toxic. Therefore, all work with it must be carried out with gloves.

How to grow Blue Arrow juniper on your own

2 Planting a juniper

The area for planting and growing Blue Carpet juniper bush should be well lit. In a shady place, the outlines of the shrub turn out to be indistinct, it becomes loose and loses its decorative qualities. It can grow in any type of soil, but thrives best in fertile soil with good drainage. It is better to plant the plant in a permanent place in the spring or early fall.

Before planting shrubs on the site, it is necessary to prepare the soil with which the plant will be covered. To do this, mix:

• 2 parts of peat;
• 1 part of sod land;
• 1 part sand.

To plant a shrub, a hole is dug, the diameter of which exceeds the size of the earthen coma by 2-3 times, the depth should be 60-70 cm. A drainage layer of broken brick or expanded clay and sand 20 cm thick is placed at the bottom. fall asleep with prepared soil.

When planting a juniper bush, it is necessary to ensure that the root collar of the plant is not buried. This negatively affects growth and development.

Juniper planting

After planting, the juniper bush must be watered abundantly and the trunk circle must be mulched with a thick layer of peat. Then, for a week, it is watered with enough water every day for better plant survival.

How to grow Cossack juniper varieties Tamaristsifolia, Variegata, Rockery Jam

3 How to care for the plant correctly?

The Blue Carpet variety does not require special treatment. In dry weather, it should be watered twice a week. Since the plant does not tolerate dry air well, in addition to watering, it needs regular spraying. To exclude sunburn, the procedure is carried out in the morning or evening hours.

As a top dressing in the spring, complex mineral fertilizers or nitroammofoska are applied. In autumn, the Blue Carpet juniper is fed with potassium-phosphorus fertilizers.

Plants are pruned in spring. In this case, all dried or growing branches in the wrong direction are removed. For the winter, the juniper bush must be closed so that frost and strong winds do not damage the crown. For this, a special material is used. The root system is protected with a thick layer of peat.

Juniper Blue Star: features of cultivation and care

4 Features of reproduction

For decorative junipers, including the Blue Carpet variety, propagation by cuttings is characteristic. To do this, cuttings about 12 cm long are torn from the lower branches and the needles are peeled off from the lower end. For a day, the prepared branches are soaked in a solution of a root formation stimulator, and then rooted in a soil consisting of peat and sand.

Juniper cuttings

Containers with cuttings are covered with foil and placed in a shaded place. The coating is removed regularly, the cuttings are sprayed and ventilated. With proper care, rooting occurs within a month and a half. After 3 months, young plants can be planted outdoors, where they can overwinter. The complete formation of shoots occurs within two to three years, after which the bushes are transplanted to a permanent place.

5 Diseases and pests

Most often, this variety of juniper suffers from rust. When the first signs of the disease appear, the shrub must be sprayed with Arcerida solution. Processing is carried out 4 times, observing an interval of 10 days.

From pests, juniper can infect aphids, spider mites, miner moths or scale insects. To combat insects, you can use modern chemicals. To eliminate aphids, the bush is sprayed with Fitoverm twice a month. With the help of the "Decis" preparation, the miner moth is eliminated by spraying also twice a month. The spider mite is destroyed by "Karate", and karbofos effectively works against the scabbard.

The most important advantage of all conifers is the purification of the air from any pathogenic bacteria and organisms, thanks to the release of essential oils. The cypress family, including the scaly juniper Blue Carpet, feels great in squares and parks, gardens. It is a beautiful, evergreen plant with a small height of about 1.5 meters.

Outwardly, the Blue Carpet juniper looks like a creeping shrub that spreads along the ground. In the process of active growth, it forms dense, green thickets that have a decorative appearance. In total, there are more than 70 varieties of this shrub, and each of them has its own characteristics.The two main groups of juniper are acicular and scaly, but there are varieties that show signs of both groups.

Juniper varieties Blue Carpet

If you study the description of the Blue Carpet juniper, then it has blue, tough shoots, as well as soft, scaly needles. Its fruits are in the form of miniature cones, similar to blue berries. The lower branches grow almost from the root of the bush, they persist for years and create a natural, green carpet on the lawn, so Blue Carpet juniper freezing is extremely rare.

Juniper has a lot of varieties, among which a little more than a dozen remain the most demanded. For example, the size of the Blue Carpet juniper is more compact - only 0.6 meters in height. The Blue Star variety looks like a small tree with a dense, pin-shaped crown. Blue Chip is the slowest growing variety than the Skuamata Blue Carpet juniper, as it can reach a maximum height of 0.5 meters.

Blue Forest differs from others for its compact size and sparse branches. Blue Swede has a fluffy, compact crown, Ice Blue is a dwarf shrub, therefore it is no more than 50 cm high. The Blue Danube variety stands out with an open, green crown, and Blue Arrow is a conical, green shrub resembling an arrow. Of the options presented, the Blue Carpet juniper on the trunk remains the most popular, since it is not whimsical in care, does not require regular pruning, and is able to endure adversity in the form of severe frosts and drought. See also the article: Unique horizontal juniper Andorra Variegata.

Planting Blue Carpet juniper on the site

If a juniper is to be planted, then it is advisable to choose spacious, sunny places where there is fertile soil, there is no stagnation of water. Bushes are planted at a distance of up to 2 meters, given their size. The planting hole should be a maximum of 70 cm in depth and in diameter. At its bottom, a layer of drainage, sand and broken brick is made. Before planting a juniper in a planting hole, the neck of the bush should be pulled out over the ground.

For planting juniper, it is necessary to choose a slightly acidic or neutral soil with the addition of sand, peat and sod land. After planting a bush, it is watered abundantly for a week, until the plant has completely taken root. If the summer is dry, then the shrub must be watered periodically.

All junipers do not tolerate heat and dry air, so they need to be sprayed every day. Fertilizer should be applied in April or May. If a very young bush is planted, then it needs a shallow, periodic loosening of the soil.

In the spring, pruning of the scaly Blue Carpet juniper is performed as needed, that is, if there are dry or twisted branches.

For the winter, it is advisable to sprinkle the young bush with peat in a layer of 10 cm. Columnar varieties are tied with a rope for the winter in order to protect them from heavy snowfalls, wind and cold.

Reproduction of junipers vegetatively and by seeds

Since the juniper is considered a dioecious plant, it can propagate vegetatively and by seeds. If this is an ornamental form of a plant, then it is impossible to grow it with seeds, therefore, only cuttings of a juniper are used in order to divide the bush. The shrub can be female and male, their differences are determined by the type of crown. For example, the male specimen has a narrow, ovoid crown, while the female specimen is open and loose. In spring, male bushes take on yellow stripes, while female bushes form green, miniature bumps.

The fruits of the plant are rounded in diameter 0.8 cm, they ripen in early autumn. At first they are green, and a little later they turn blue with a slight white bloom. The aroma of the berries is spicy, but the taste is very bitter, there are three seeds inside the cone.Some gardeners think if the juniper is spore-propagating or not, and how to grow these seeds? To get the first shoots, the seeds are placed in boxes in the fall, and then they are taken outside for storage. In May, these seeds are sown directly in the beds, but the first juniper shoot will appear only next year.

Any decorative forms of juniper are propagated exclusively by cuttings. First, cuttings with a length of at least 12 cm are cut from an adult bush and cleaned from the lower coniferous branches. Further, all the old wood is removed and placed in water for a day with the addition of Heteroauxin or another growth stimulant. After that, the twigs are placed in a sand and peat soil where they are to take root. The planted cuttings are covered with foil and put in the shade. Periodically, the branches need to be sprayed and watered. If a strong, healthy bush was used for propagation, then cuttings of a juniper will show its results in 45 days, when the root system of young seedlings begins to develop. After two to three months, the rooted bushes are planted in a permanent place where they can winter. If necessary, young branches are transplanted to another place after 2-3 years, when they are fully formed.

Juniper Scaly Blue Carpet Care

What kind of care for a juniper is required? Since the juniper scaly Blue Carpet perfectly retains moisture, it is often unnecessary to water it, that is, 2-3 times in one season. However, if the summer is very hot, then it is advisable to water it 2 times a month. Normally, 10-30 liters of water is used for a large, adult plant. In the evening, it needs to be sprayed once a week. The most drought-prone Chinese and common juniper, the Virginia variety is more drought-resistant.

Young juniper bushes need constant loosening of the soil, but it should be shallow to avoid damage to the roots. Usually this work is done after weeding and watering.

It is very important after the planting of the Blue Carpet scaly juniper has been carried out, to mulch the soil with chips, peat, pine nut shells and pine bark, the average layer of mulch should be 8 cm.

In the spring, the mulch is raked away so that it does not lead to decay of the roots. Since the juniper grows very slowly, it does not need pruning. Basically, crooked, ugly branches and last year's dry forest are removed from the bush. For the first winter, young plants need to be covered, for the next one is not needed. Read the article: Spirea - planting, care and the best varieties for growing on the site.