Homemade juniper: features of growing a coniferous plant

Juniper - one of the most common plants on earth, a relative of Cypress. More than 60 species of shrubs grow in different latitudes of our planet from the most northern to the tropics.

Content:

• Features of the structure and healing properties of juniper
• Coniferous plant propagation technique
• Cypress tree care rules
• Juniper pruning
• Protection against diseases and pests

Features of the structure and healing properties of juniper

The species of juniper plants are found in the quality of both trees up to 20 meters high and creeping shrubs. They belong to the dioecious evergreen representatives of the flora.

The grayish-brown branches of the plant and the trunk are completely covered with thin needles or needles that look like scales. The female fruits of the juniper are about three centimeters long with scales collected in a berry usually blue, sometimes reddish-brown. Thanks to their spicy scent, they are used as spices.

Pollination of juniper usually takes place in spring, less often in early autumn.

The medicinal qualities of juniper include:

• The cone berries of the plant contain many terpenes, tannins, which help to stimulate the urinary tract and enhance their ability to filter fluids.
• Juniper resins help in the treatment of many skin conditions.
• The flavonoids contained in the plant successfully fight various viral diseases.
• A handful of fresh berries will help with stomach ulcers, and a decoction of them cures rheumatism, puts the liver in order.
• Inhaling the aroma of the plant, a person calms down, sleeps well.
• Even in ancient times, young mothers used infusion of juniper to increase lactation.

The appearance of a homemade juniper, the aromas emanating from it, attract many to acquire a plant to decorate their home or garden.

Coniferous plant propagation technique

To get homemade juniper seedlings, the best way would be grafting... Young branches are cut during the year, you can even do this in winter. Cuttings are harvested from the thickened part of the bush, then the needles are carefully removed from the lower part of the branch.

The prepared branches are planted in a soil substrate, followed by a spillage with the Zircon preparation, which will help the branches to take root and take root in about a month. Cuttings should not be placed in water for rooting, because they will simply die due to peeling of the bark.

Many are trying to propagate a bush seeds, but this is very difficult and not always effective.

Seeds are sown in prepared containers in the fall and brought out into the cold so that they are cold hardened. Spring seeds juniper transplanted into other boxes, which are also left in the open air. If everything goes well, the seeds will sprout in a year. For life they need more sun, high quality glaze and feeding... If you have patience, the tree will grow slowly but surely.

Cypress tree care rules

Homemade juniper can be grown both in an apartment and on a plot near the house. For the life of a juniper in an apartment, the following conditions must be created:

• The shrub loves coolness and does not tolerate heat, so the ideal option for it is a window sill in the northern part of the apartment.
• The plant also does not like intensive watering, otherwise it will lose all the leaves.
• As much air as possible is simply a necessity for juniper... In the summer, you can take a pot with a tree outside.
• Dry air and dust in the room where the juniper grows is unacceptable. Therefore, it is often necessary to spray the plant.
• Minimal amount feeding ideal for bush.
• Transplant shrub produced as needed in March or November.

The plant is difficult to take root in city apartments, although there are species that best tolerate city conditions. These are such types of juniper as Chinese with almost white needles, or gold-colored, or variegated needles. The bushes of this species are compact and grow for a long time. For planting on a garden site for a juniper, they choose open, not too sunny places, adding needles, river sand and a little mineral dressing to the soil.

In order for the plant to take root, during the first wintering it must be covered with spruce branches or a layer of mulch.

Evergreen bushes are rarely watered - once a month. And here spray better in the morning and evening, then the plant will delight with delicate needles.

Juniper berries are harvested every three years. Syrups, preserves, tinctures are prepared from them. Dried they are good as a seasoning for meat, soups, they are added when pickling cabbage. But too many juniper berries can ruin the dish, they need to be put from two to five per kilogram of product. Juniper bushes of different colors and shapes fit well into the garden landscape.

Juniper pruning

Despite the fact that the juniper grows slowly, it is necessary to remove dried and gnarled branches from it every year. Pruning shrubs are carried out when they are formed from it hedge... Before taking up this procedure, you need to carefully consider the actions, otherwise it will then be difficult to restore the structure of the tree.

The shape for creating the contours of the bush can be chosen different from a pyramid, a ball to a cone.

The creeping shrub is pruned every year to keep it compact. They start by cutting off the young growth that has appeared. The upper part of the plant is harvested to a greater length than other branches. This all contributes to the splendor of the tree and the strengthening of its health.

Protection against diseases and pests

An unpretentious shrub can sometimes get sick, most often with such a fungal disease as brown mold. It usually develops in hot and rainy summers, affecting young undergrowth. To prevent the appearance of an ailment, planting plants must be thinned more often, and diseased branches must be removed.

Rust diseases, caused by various types of fungi, infect needles, shoots, which leads to their death.

For therapy, diseased plants are cut out, and the rest are fed with immunostimulants and processed fungicidal preparations, Bordeaux liquid solution.

Plant pests include:

• The scale insect and its larvae, which appear in the middle of summer and stick to the plant, destroy the fruits and needles of the juniper. This leads to the falling off of the needles and drying out of the branches of the bush.
• For the juniper sawfly, it is characteristic to eat away plant tissues from the inside. To get rid of the pest, it is necessary to dig more often the trunk circle of each tree.
• The caterpillars of the shoot moth eat with pleasure the shoots of the home juniper. They can only be saved by spraying with insecticidal agents, as well as preparations based on mineral oils.

Any deviation in the development of a homemade juniper requires attention and quick and timely action.

More information can be found in the video.