Juniper old gold planting and care in the open field

Juniper medium "Old Gold" or Juniperus chinensis Old Gold deservedly belongs to the best varieties with golden foliage. The variety was obtained by the famous Dutch breeder Grothendorst in the middle of the last century. The bright color of the leaves and the dense flat crown allows the plant to remain highly decorative all year round. The variety is popular along with the medium juniper Pfitzeriana Glauca.

Feature and Description

Botanical description of juniper middle "Old Gold" declares the high attractiveness of the plant and the prospects for its use in landscape design. A compact slow-growing shrub ten years after planting does not exceed 50-60 cm in height with a wide diameter, correct crown shape per meter. The needles are very decorative, golden yellow in summer and brownish yellow in winter.

Due to its small size, the plant is ideal for growing as a container crop. The diameter of the crown of an adult juniper is 3 m with a height of 1.5 m. The shrub is characterized by a horizontal arrangement of shoots. Indicators of annual plant growth do not exceed 5.5-7.5 cm. Scaly and needle-like greenish-yellow crown looks very impressive, and good frost resistance allows planting and growing of juniper "Old Gold" in most regions of our country.

Juniper Old Gold: characteristics of the variety (video)

Also read: Conifers in the landscape design of a summer cottage: options and rules for composing compositions

For juniper, it is preferable to use areas represented by soils with a slightly acidic or neutral reaction. A nutritious soil mixture prepared from two parts of peat, one part of sifted sand and one part of sod soil should be poured onto the drainage layer. A good result is obtained by adding special complex fertilizers to the soil mixture. Immediately after planting, abundant watering is required, and, if necessary, shading the planting until the culture fully survives.

Care features

Strict adherence to cultivation technology and proper care allow you to get a healthy, durable and beautiful plant. Caring for the plant is not difficult and involves the observance of the following recommendations:

• it must be remembered that junipers absolutely do not tolerate excess moisture, and excessively abundant and frequent watering can cause disease and decay of the root system;
• watering should be carried out during the dry period, but no more than two or three times during the entire growing season;
• cut juniper bushes should be very careful, due to the slow growth and long recovery of the plant;
• all dry branches are subject to mandatory removal, as well as branches that interfere with the full growth of the bush;
• when forming a hedge, it is necessary to carefully but carefully remove all protruding shoots.

Despite the fact that this popular representative of the Cypress family has rather high frost resistance, seedlings in the first year of planting must be covered for the winter.

Application in landscape design

The middle juniper is a hybrid form obtained by crossing the Cossack and Chinese junipers. This species is one of the unpretentious and most reliable for cultivation in the soil and climatic conditions of the middle zone of our country. Junipers are durable and can grow for several hundred years under favorable conditions.

Types and varieties of junipers (video)

All conifers used in modern landscape design are characterized by such an important feature as slow growth. The Juniperus chinensis Old Gold variety, with its very showy golden needles, contrasts strikingly with the emerald green of many ornamental plants. These shrubs are in great demand in landscape decoration. This type of juniper is used not only in compositions, but also as tapeworms, the plants look great against the background of lawns or a properly designed alpine slide. The medium juniper is perfect for creating a hedge. And proper care of plants will ensure the durability of living decorative compositions.

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What plants are suitable for decorating any garden, while not requiring complex maintenance? Unpretentious junipers! With their help, even complex design ideas can be realized, because a juniper is a combination of graceful shapes, plasticity and bright color! One of the best varieties is Old Gold juniper. Its golden foliage and flat crown adorns the garden all year round! We offer you to get acquainted with the peculiarities of growing this coniferous shrub.

Juniper description

This variety was bred by the famous breeder from Holland - Grothendorst, crossing the Chinese and Cossack varieties. This happened back in the middle of the last century.

Juniper Chinensis Old Gold grows slowly and compactly - even after 10 years its height does not exceed 60 cm. But in width it spreads a meter. Annual growth is about 6 cm in height and at least 15 cm in diameter. The calling card of this shrub is its grace and ease of care. And the appearance of this variety is extremely attractive. By the way, according to the botanical description of the juniper chinensis Old Gold, this plant can cleanse the air of pathogenic bacteria and even rid the garden plot of insects. Under favorable conditions and proper care, the juniper can decorate the site for more than one hundred years!

Sapling selection

When purchasing a juniper seedling, pay attention to its condition. Twigs and needles should not be overdried. In addition, in no case should there be fungus and mold on a young plant. The planting material should be sold together with the earthen lump in which it grew.

Please note: Plants grown for sale in the garden tolerate transportation and replanting more easily than their forest “cousins”.

Choosing a place for planting juniper

Having decided to plant this ornamental plant on the site, pay special attention to choosing a place for it. Old Gold loves well-lit areas. It is not worth planting it in places with shade, otherwise the juniper may lose its bright golden hue and indescribable charm. Special requirements for this shrub and for the soil. He prefers earth with a neutral or slightly acidic reaction.

Landing rules

In order for the plant to take root well, you need to plant it according to certain rules. First of all, you need to prepare the landing pit. Its depth should be about 60 cm.A drainage layer, 15-20 cm thick, should be laid out at the bottom of the pit. Broken brick and sifted sand are suitable for this. Put the soil mixture on the drainage layer. To prepare it, you need to mix two parts of peat and one part of sod soil and sand.

Watch out for the root collar of the juniper, it must not be buried. Within a week after planting in the ground, the shrub must be watered abundantly. Light shading will not hurt either - until the plant has completely taken root. If you plan to plant junipers in a group, you should maintain a distance between young plants of about 0.5-1 meters.

Juniper Old Gold: care description

Every gardener knows that the juniper of this variety needs watering during dry times. This is best done in a way called "sprinkling", so the plant gets enough moisture. But you need to be careful - an excess amount of water can lead to rotting of the roots of this member of the cypress family. Young plants also require shallow loosening.

Diseases and pests

Like other green "inhabitants" of the garden, juniper is susceptible to a number of diseases. Some pests, for example, spider mites, scale insects and shoot moths, are also dangerous for him. Chemical preparations "Iskra", "Karbofos" and "Fitoverm" will help to get rid of this misfortune.

Afraid of Old Gold juniper and rust. This disease is difficult to treat, but it is much easier to prevent it. To do this, simply do not plant fruit plants next to it, especially black currants.

Fertilization

Most of the fertilizers are recommended by gardeners to be applied to the soil once a year - in late April - early May. At the same time, it is important to remember that it is better not to feed an average Old Gold juniper than to overfeed. And not all fertilizers are suitable for this magnificent plant. You can use mineral complexes, for example "Nitroammophos". Concentration should be low - 30 grams per 1 sq. M. the root zone of the plant. Never use manure and other organic nitrogen fertilizers for feeding. Immediately after adding nutrients, it is necessary to water the plant.

Pruning

For a plant to beautify the garden all year round, it needs pruning. Dry, diseased and broken branches need to be removed. Be extremely careful - the plant will take a long time to recover.

It is generally accepted that it is necessary to form the crown of conifers in the summer. But in the case of the Old Gold juniper, this can worsen his condition. The fact is that a plant trimmed in the second half of summer simply does not have time to get stronger before the onset of cold weather. Any haircut is a serious stress for the shrubs of this variety, and therefore, before picking up the scissors, it is important to make sure that the plant is healthy and ready for the procedure.

If you decide to form a live juniper hedge, remove any sticking out shoots. This must be done carefully, but extremely carefully. In order for the juniper to recover faster after pruning, it is necessary to treat it with preparations containing copper.

Preparing for winter

Juniper average Old Gold has high resistance to cold weather, even tolerates Siberian frosts well. But in the first year after planting, he needs to be insulated. Before the onset of a cold snap, the plant can be sprinkled with peat - a 10-centimeter layer is enough. Young shoots should be covered with spruce branches.

By the way, closer to winter, the needles of this representative of the cypress family can acquire a light bronze tint. Do not be alarmed, this is one of the varietal traits. In the spring, the juniper will turn golden again.

Juniper Old Gold: a description of the application in landscape design

The spectacular needles of this amazing plant contrasts with the bright emerald foliage of all garden plants. Therefore, it is very often used in landscape decoration.By the way, it is planted not only in various compositions, the juniper also looks great in a single planting. Free-standing shrubs will decorate the lawns. Old Gold looks amazing as a hedge.

The low growth of the Old Gold juniper allows it to be used in the creation of alpine slides and rocky gardens. But you should not focus on this particular shrub, it should just give the composition a finished look.

Thyme, saxifrage, bryozoan are suitable as neighbors for juniper. The combination with other conifers also looks good. And the composition with yellow and orange spireas will turn the garden into a piece of paradise! But the lush crops next to the juniper do not get along. It is also worth giving up planting delicate roses, clematis and peonies next to this shrub.

Another interesting way of using juniper is gardening of terraces and roofs, balconies and loggias. In such cases, it can be grown in a spacious container.

Interesting fact

Both needles and juniper branches are poisonous, so they can pose a serious danger to human health. Care must be taken when pruning, planting, or caring for Old Gold junipers. And if juniper juice gets on the mucous membranes, it is necessary to rinse them with plenty of water as soon as possible!

• Type: conifers
• Full-bloom Period: May
• Height: 1.5-30m
• Green color
• Perennial
• Hibernates
• Shady
• Drought resistant

Unlike the southern and tropical regions, in the northern latitudes, conifers have a special place in the garden landscape - in the off-season and in winter, only they are able to revive the garden with their colors. Evergreen conifers are usually "garden soloists" due to the rich color of the needles, ranging from dark emerald to silvery gray and golden. Junipers, which have a wide range of crown shades and successfully complement the “all-season” garden, are no exception - a garden designed to be attractive at any time of the year. Planting and caring for a juniper is not an easy process - knowing the nuances allows you to grow an ephedra of high decorativeness, which fits favorably into landscape design.

• Choosing a variety of juniper for planting
• Sapling planting technology
• Growing juniper from seeds
• How to apply fertilizers correctly
• Winter care
• Location on the flowerbed: 8 beautiful patterns
• Types and varieties of juniper

Spherical, pyramidal, conical, weeping or creeping - the shape of the crown of a juniper can be any, which expands the possibilities of landscape design in the formation of compositions that are expressive in their geometry. By combining only conifers, you can compose an original garden, bright in originality and style: landscape or regular, avant-garde or classical, ethnic or modernist.

A rock garden created by combining juniper with other types of conifers will look great at any time of the year.

Coniferous plants gracefully decorate the garden, creating a calm and elegant landscape. Large cone-shaped or columnar junipers will be good in single or group planting, acting as the center of the landscape composition. A single juniper looks catchy in the form of a topiary. A single large plant is always a dominant feature in garden design, which is desirable to surround with smaller plants.

A group planting of a scaly juniper of the Loderi variety with its conical crown will advantageously complement the composition of rockery

Junipers with a geometric crown look good in regularly planned gardens, creating viewpoints and emphasizing the correct outline of the flower beds. In landscape gardens, cone-shaped and spherical junipers perfectly coexist with less "officious" perennial plants, and varieties spreading in shape will give a border, a rock garden or a reservoir of expressiveness.

They are often used in planting hedges (molded, free-growing) and mixborders, decorating the foreground of alpine slides and ridges, to delineate the boundaries of lawns or flower beds.

By combining molded and unshaped junipers with an exotic crown, you can create a spectacular rockery

Dwarf junipers in the form of compact bonsai and topiary are indispensable when laying a garden in an oriental style - they will advantageously decorate a stony composition and branching paths, advantageously combined with ground cover and low-growing plants: saxifrages, loosestrife, stonecrop, carnations, phlox and cereals.

Junipers with a beautiful crown color:

• bluish-silver rocky juniper of the Blue Arrow variety,
• bluish blue Meyeri and Blue Carpet,
• gray-gray rock variety Skyrocket,
• horizontal juniper of some species (Andorra Compact, Blue Chip) turns purple in winter,
• Pfitzeriana Aurea's sprawling golden-tone juniper looks great against the backdrop of the lawn.

The spectacular crown of junipers does not require frequent pruning, but varieties growing in the form of a hedge are cut regularly: in mid-summer and spring, removing dry and some lateral branches that protrude beyond the formed crown. If the juniper grows in the garden as a bonsai, then the haircut is performed in April-May and in October-November.

Choosing a variety of juniper for planting

When choosing a type of juniper for planting in the garden, you must have complete information about its characteristics: winter hardiness, plant size in adult form, crown shape and color, growing conditions and care. Junipers, which are brought to us from Western European nurseries, can be both sufficiently resistant to the severe winters characteristic of central Russia, and non-resistant, successfully growing without shelter only in the southern regions.

After acquiring a new coniferous plant (even frost-resistant), experienced gardeners recommend covering it for the first winter with spruce branches or burlap, tying up the branches in order to avoid sunburn of the needles and damage to the crown from snow.

The juniper of the medium grade Gold Coast, with golden needles, is an impressive contrast to the more emerald greens.

Employees of the botanical gardens of Russia have identified juniper varieties that are suitable and unsuitable for cultivation in domestic latitudes.

Winter hardy species of juniper (Juniperus):

• ordinary (J. Communis),
• Cossack (J. Sabina),
• scaly (J. Squmata),
• horizontal (J. Horizontalis),
• Siberian (J. Sibirica),
• Chinese (J. Chinensis),
• solid (J. Rigida),
• virginian (J. Virginiana).

Non-resistant types of juniper:

• Turkestan (J. Turkestanica),
• inclined (J. Procumbens),
• Zeravshan (J. Seravshanica),
• red (J. Oxycedrus).

Successful rooting and growth of a juniper largely depends on the quality of the purchased seedlings. When purchasing planting material, you should pay attention to the following points:

1. It is better not to buy plants with an open root system.
2. It is advisable to purchase a juniper in a container or with an earthen lump wrapped in burlap.
3. The root system and branches should show an increase in the current year.
4. There should be no cracks on the stem of the plant.
5. Fresh shoots should be flexible and unbreakable.
6. The color of the crown should be uniform, without brownish blotches and white flakes at the base of the needles.
7. It is recommended that you choose those plants that have been grown in a container, not outdoors, and then simply transplanted into a container.

Junipers with an open root system are planted in early spring or autumn, and seedlings with an earthen ball are planted throughout the entire period from spring to autumn. For the northern regions, planting in spring is optimal - this way the seedling will have time to take root in order to more successfully endure the winter.

Combining junipers with different colors of needles, you can form a hedge that is unusual in color and shape

Sapling planting technology

Due to their decorativeness, junipers are a good choice for a young garden, when a group of several conifers is able to fill the voids in the landscape immediately after planting and form an attractive composition. For planting light-loving junipers, an open, well-lit area of ​​the garden is selected, with loamy or sandy loam light soil - nutritious and sufficiently moist.

Living molded hedge made of silver-blue juniper will become a catchy element of garden landscaping

If the soil is clayey and heavy, then a mixture of garden soil, peat, sand and coniferous soil (loose soil with needles, collected under spruce or pine trees in the forest) is added to the planting hole. At the same time, the soil is preliminarily drained, falling asleep on the bottom of the planting pit with broken brick or sand. Junipers grow well on lean soils, they can easily tolerate drought, but stagnant moisture in the soil is destructive for them.

The most successful soil mixture for planting juniper: 2 parts of sod land, 2 parts of humus, 2 parts of peat, 1 part of sand. It is also advisable to add 150 g of Kemira-wagon and 300 g of nitrophoska to the mixture, as well as epin after planting (for optimal survival) under each seedling.

Horizontal junipers with a spread crown fit well into the design of the area near the pond

The dimensions of the planting hole depend on the size of the root system of the juniper, for example, for large species they dig a hole of about 60 × 80 cm.The plant is planted quickly so that the root system does not have time to dry out, but carefully so as not to damage the earthen ball or young roots. After planting in open ground, the juniper is watered abundantly and covered from direct sunlight.

The density of the placement of junipers on the site depends on the landscape composition - whether it will be a hedge, specimen or group planting. For junipers, the distance between seedlings when planting is selected in the range from 0.5 to 2 m. For a small garden, it is better to stay on compact species of juniper.

Growing juniper from seeds

When collecting juniper seeds for sowing, it is important to observe the time intervals - it is better to prepare not quite ripe seeds at the end of summer than finally ripe seeds in the fall. This will make it more likely to germinate. The collected planting material must be sown immediately, but you need to be prepared for the fact that, due to the hard shell, the juniper seeds will sprout only 2-3 years after sowing.

A group planting of Chinese junipers will revitalize the garden during the off-season and winter

You can plant a juniper dug in the forest on the site, having previously indicated the orientation of the parts of the world on its trunk in order to maximally simulate the features of its growth in the natural environment during transplantation. The lump of "native" land should be large, with a preserved top layer of humus.

How to apply fertilizers correctly

Subject to the selection of juniper varieties that are resistant to domestic climatic conditions, care for young plants is minimal - junipers almost do not get sick and are not affected by pests, do not require intensive feeding and spraying. In the future, it is enough just to ensure the watering of the juniper in dry years and 2-3 times per season to support it with nitrogen or complex fertilizers.

Different varieties of junipers have differently colored needles, but the needles of a bluish-blue hue look especially beautiful

In no case should you fertilize conifers with bird or cow humus - this burns the roots of the juniper, and the plant dies. Also, you cannot loosen the soil around the junipers - due to the fact that the root system of conifers belongs to the surface type, the nutrition of the trunk will deteriorate, and the plant will begin to wither. For a juniper, it is enough to mulch the soil with coniferous soil harvested in the forest.

Winter care

In winter, the formed crowns of junipers can disintegrate under the weight of snow, and some branches can break.To avoid such troubles, the crowns of molded junipers are tied in advance in the fall. Certain types of junipers are sensitive to changes in day and night temperatures in early spring, active winter and spring sun and require shelter in February-March. Needle burns lead to a change in the green color of the crown of the conifers to a brown-yellow hue and, therefore, to the loss of decorativeness of the juniper.

Plumosa horizontal juniper acts as a ground cover plant for a rock garden

If the buds of the ephedra remain alive during a sunburn, then the young shoots gradually cover the burnt places, but if the buds have died, then the branches affected by frost must be cut off to healthy wood and treated with garden pitch.

In order for the juniper needles to retain their brightness in winter, the plant must be regularly watered, fertilized in spring and at the end of summer with granulated baits, and sprayed with micronutrient fertilizers on the needles.

Gardeners practice these types of juniper shelter for the winter:

1. Snow. An excellent option for miniature and creeping forms - simply throw snow on the branches of the ephedra. But in case of heavy snowfall, it is recommended to make a protective frame.
2. Lapnik. They are fixed on the branches in tiers, moving from the bottom to the top of the juniper.
3. Non-woven and woven fabrics. Ephedra are wrapped in spunbond, burlap, kraft paper (in two layers), light cotton cloth and tied with a rope, leaving the lower part of the crown open. The film cannot be used - the plant will rot.
4. Screen. Installed from the maximum illuminated side of the plant.

Lutrasil is not suitable for sheltering a juniper - it lets in the sun's rays, and a shelter from cardboard boxes is also not entirely successful. According to the experience of gardeners, metallized insulation, used for laying laminate flooring, is excellent as a shelter for ephedra. To do this, in October (while the ground is not yet frozen), pegs are driven in around the juniper, and the plant itself is wrapped in a substrate in November.

The horizontal Bar Harbor juniper with a rounded crown effectively complements the solitary deciduous planting

Frost-resistant types of juniper that do not burn in the sun: Cossack, medium varieties (Hetzi, Old Gold, Mint Julep), Chinese Gold Star, Pendula and Pfitzeriana varieties. Subspecies of common juniper are badly burned in the winter and spring sun.

Location on the flowerbed: 8 beautiful patterns

Juniper Cossack is one of the most frost-resistant varieties, ideal for planting in central Russia

Hiberic's columnar juniper acts as a focal point in the flower bed

Several types of juniper can be combined on a flower bed: rocky, horizontal, Chinese - any combination will be successful

1. Thuja western "Holmstrup". 2. Barberry Thunberg "Red Chief". 3. Mountain pine "Mops". 4. Juniper medium "Old Gold". 5. Juniper Cossack "Tamariscifolia". 6. Ground cover perennials (bryozoan, stonecrop)

1. Rocky juniper "Blue Arrow". 2. Juniper rocky molded "Skyrocket". 3. Juniper scaly molded "Meyeri". 4. Mountain pine "Mops". 5. Juniper horizontal "Blue Chip". 6. Juniper leaning "Nana"

1. Chinese juniper "Blaauw" or "Blue Alps". 2. Thuja western "Stolwijk" or "Rheingold". 3. Thuja eastern "Aurea Nana". 4. Canadian spruce "Conica". 5. Thuja western "Tiny Tim" or "Little Champion". 6. Mountain pine "Gnom". 7. Colorado spruce "Glauca Globosa" or European "Nidiformis". 8. Juniper horizontal "Blue Chip" or "Prince of Wales". 9. Juniper horizontal "Wiltonii". 10. Dammer's cotoneaster. 11. Ground cover roses. 12. Flowers: petunia, subulate phlox, aubrieta, thyme, verbena. 13. Spirea "Snowmound"

Juniper with an original crown plays the role of an accent on an alpine slide

1. Molded Cossack juniper. 2. Siebold's sedum. 3. The sedum is caustic. 4. Iris dwarf. 5. Garden iris (bearded, medium-sized). 6.Primula ear. 7. Iberis is evergreen. 8. Sod meadow. 9. The hybrid was rejuvenated. 10. Soddy saxifrage. 11. Muscari tufted. 12. Spoon-leaf bell

Types and varieties of juniper

The decorativeness of the planting of junipers significantly depends on the correctly selected variety - its dimensions, taking into account the growth, the shape of the crown, the color and texture of the needles. Varieties belonging to the same species of juniper can vary significantly in their external characteristics - this is also worth considering.

Juniper scaly:

• Meyeri. Height 1 m, growth rate 10 cm per year. The needles are silver-blue. Mixborders and bonsai.
• Blue Carpet. Height 0.6 m, diameter 2-2.5 m. Creeping branchy crown. The needles are silver-blue. Unpretentious, growing rapidly. The lower tier of landscape compositions.

Juniper medium:

• Old Gold. Height 0.4 m, diameter 1 m. Wide rounded crown of yellow-gold color. Single planting on the lawn, in the rock gardens.
• Mint Julep. Height 1.5 m, diameter 2-3 m. Sprawling crown with curved branches and scaly green needles. Group planting, alpine slides, tamping of tall shrubs.
• Gold Star. Height 1 m, diameter 2.5 m. A low-growing shrub with a spreading crown and needles of a golden-green tone. Low cut or loose hedges, decorating gutters and drainage wells.
• Pfitzeriana compact. Height 0.8 m, diameter 1.5-2 m. Sprawling crown, needle-shaped green needles. Grows quickly, tolerates haircuts well. Curbs, clumps of evergreens with different colors of needles, molded and unshaped hedges, the organization of the lower tier in large-scale landscape compositions.

Red cedar:

• Hetz. Height 1 m, diameter 2-2.5 m. Growth 30 cm per year. Sprawling, rounded crown with scaly silvery-blue needles. Tolerates haircuts well. Single and group boarding.
• Canaerti. Height 5-7 m, diameter 2-3 m. Annual growth 30 cm. Columnar crown with dark green needles. Solitaire, bands, hedges.
• Gray Oul. Height 1 m, diameter 2.5 m. Growth 20 cm per year. Sprawling crown with scaly silvery-blue needles and purple shoots. Shaped compositions.

Juniper horizontal:

• Blue Chip. Height 0.4 m, diameter 2 m. A low-growing dwarf shrub with needle-shaped needles of a bluish-blue tone. Rock gardens, heather gardens, retaining walls.
• Blue Forest. Height 0.3 m, diameter 1.5. Creeping ground cover crown with blue needles. Strengthening the slopes, lower tiers of rock gardens, container planting.
• Andorra compact. Height 0.4 m, diameter 1.5 m. Flat-round cushion-shaped crown with blue-gray scaly needles. Low curbs, decorating the slopes and tiers of the garden.
• Andorra compact Veriegata. Height 0.4 m, diameter 1.5 m. Cushion-shaped crown with radiant shoots and bright green needles with whitish blotches on the tips of the branches. Mixed groups, rocky gardens.
• Wiltoni. Height 0.1 m, diameter 2 m. Branched ground cover crown with silver-emerald needles. Large groups, rock gardens, juniper lawns.

Juniper Chinese:

• Strickta. Height 2.5 m, diameter 1.5 m. Cone-shaped crown with greenish-blue needles. Single and group planting, growing in flowerpots.
• Obelisk. Height 3 m, diameter 1.2-1.5 m. Columnar crown with bluish-green needles.
• Monarch. Height 2 m, diameter 1.5 m. Asymmetric columnar crown. Single and group landings.
• Kurivao Gold. Height 2 m, diameter 2 m. Spreading openwork crown of rounded shape with green needles and young shoots of a golden hue. Single planting, mixed and coniferous groups, rock gardens.

Rocky juniper Skyrocket. Height 3 m, diameter 0.7 m. Annual growth 10-20 cm. Pyramidal crown with short bluish-green needles. Vertical accent in rock gardens, alley plantings, lawns, contrasting compositions and hedges.

Common juniper Hibernica.Height 3-5 m, diameter 1-1.2 m. Columnar crown with bluish-steel prickly needles. Solitaire on lawns, group plantings and compositions with deciduous species.

Juniper Cossack. Height 1 m, diameter 2 m. Sprawling crown with herbaceous green needles. Hedges, single and group plantings.

The variety of colors and shapes of junipers allows you to create spectacular landscape compositions, combining them with other coniferous and deciduous species of shrubs or trees, as well as flowers and other garden plants.

Juniper Old Gold is an ornamental low coniferous shrub, which, due to its interesting appearance and ease of cultivation, is widely used in landscape design. This unpretentious plant will allow you to realize the most complex and original ideas, decorating your backyard. In this article, we will give you a description of the Old Gold juniper variety, tell you how to plant and how to care for such a shrub.

Description of the variety

The height of adult needles usually does not exceed 60 centimeters, but in width such a juniper, when provided with appropriate care, can spread out to a meter in diameter. Old Gold it is distinguished by its rapid growth and annually adds 6 centimeters in height and at least 15 centimeters in width.

A feature of this variety is its bright golden color. The crown is extremely dense, which allows such plants to be used to form a spectacular hedge. Juniper is distinguished by its unpretentious care, therefore even a novice summer resident and every owner of a private country house can cope with its cultivation.

The correct choice of planting material

When choosing a seedling juniper should pay attention to the condition of the plants. The needles and branches on the needles should not fall off and look dry. Also inspect the young plant for mold and mildew on the bark. Such seedlings should be sold with an intact root system.

Advice. Purchase planting material along with an earthen clod, which will accelerate the survival of plants in a new place.

Juniper planting

This variety is a light-loving plant, therefore, sunny areas should be chosen for planting. But in the shade, decorative characteristics junipers are lost, and the bush loses its splendor. It should be said that it is undemanding to the characteristics of the soil and can grow with equal success on sandy and clayey soils. In this case, the needles feel best on sandy loam soils with a neutral or alkaline reaction.

It is possible to plant both individual trees and in groups at a distance of at least 50 centimeters from each other. The survival rate of the seedling directly depends on how correctly the planting pit is prepared. It is best to prepare such a pit in the fall, and plant the plants in the spring. The depth of the planting pit should be about 60 centimeters, and the width should be 30-50 centimeters. Drainage is poured into the bottom of the pit with a layer of 15 centimeters, carefully sprinkling the roots with fertile soil from turf and a small amount of humus with peat.

Planting seedlings, keep an eye on the location of the root collar, which should not be underground. The first few weeks after planting, the soil should be regularly and abundantly moistened. If possible, a slight darkening is performed, which is removed after a few weeks.

How to properly care for a juniper

This unpretentious culture will not require any complex care. Planting care means:

• Regular watering.
• Correct fertilization.
• Annual pruning.
• Warming and preparation for winter.

It is recommended to water the juniper once every two weeks. This is a moisture-loving culture, therefore, even a small coniferous plant takes about 10 liters of water.Planting is best watered in the evening or early morning. For such irrigation, settled and warm water is used.

Regular correct fertilization will allow you to achieve rapid growth of the juniper and its excellent decorative effect. Experienced gardeners recommend applying fertilizer to the soil once a year in April-May. We can recommend you to use ready-made mineral complexes, of which we recommend nitroammophoska. When using such a fertilizer, it is necessary to apply about 30 grams of mineral fertilizing to one square of the root zone.

Important. It is strictly forbidden to use manure or any other organic matter for feeding the juniper.

Juniper pruning this variety does not present any difficulty. Broken, diseased and dry branches will need to be removed regularly. This sanitary pruning can be done in early spring or fall. But to form the crown is best at the beginning of summer. With this formative pruning, all protruding shoots should be removed, while skeletal branches are not touched, the pruning of which can significantly weaken the plant, up to its death.

Juniper medium grade Old Gold it is distinguished by excellent indicators of frost resistance. Mature trees can even withstand extreme Siberian winters. However, in the first few years after planting, the young juniper will still require additional insulation. In this case, you can mulch the soil with peat, and cover young shoots with spruce branches.

Diseases and pests

Like any other plant, juniper is susceptible to various diseases. Problems can be caused by fungus and mold, which forms due to frequent and abundant watering. In the event that you notice characteristic dark spots on the needles and bark, you should reduce the amount of watering and treat the plantings with Bordeaux liquid.

Rust is often noted on Old Gold, which is extremely difficult to treat. As a preventive measure we do not recommend planting fruit plants and, in particular, black currants near this ornamental crop.

Of the common insect pests, we note the onion moth, scale insect and spider mite. The fight against these pests consists in the regular treatment of plantings with insecticides. We can recommend you to use the following agrochemicals:

• Fitoverm.
• Karbofos.
• Spark.

All such chemicals should be used in full accordance with the instructions. They can be used both to combat various insects and for spring spraying of plantings, which will be an excellent prevention against diseases and pests.

The use of juniper in landscape design

This coniferous culture contrasts perfectly with the bright emerald foliage of other garden trees. Old Gold looks impressive both in single planting and in various compositions. The height of adult needles is no more than 60 centimeters, which makes it possible to use it to create various rock gardens and alpine slides.

From neighbors for such a juniper, we can recommend bryozoan, saxifrage and thyme. Compositions in which Old Gold is combined with other coniferous cultures look original. Combinations of this variety of juniper with orange and yellow sprays look spectacular.

Also, this ornamental plant can be used for landscaping balconies, loggias and terraces. You can grow it in a large wooden bucket or plastic tub..

Conclusion

Juniper of the Old Gold variety is an ornamental coniferous crop that is easy to care for and, due to its attractive appearance, is widely used in landscape design.

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