Many summer residents want to make a coniferous corner in their garden plot in order to breathe as much healing air as possible. We also organized such a place on our small area. One of the plants we planted there was Cossack juniper.
Description
This creeping evergreen shrub- one of the most unpretentious representatives of the genus. Its height can reach 1.5 m, and its width, scary to think, 20 meters or more. Due to its undemandingness to soil composition, heat and frost resistance, and pronounced phytoncidal properties, it is very often used for landscaping. landscape designers. The bush retains its decorative properties at any time of the year. Even in winter, when its green branches effectively emerge from under the snow.
Cossack juniper can be used for single plantings (as we did), for creating hedges and compositional group plantings.
Remember that the juice of this plant and berries are moderately poisonous. For this reason, it is worth choosing non-fertile male specimens for planting.
Landing
For planting, it is best to prefer a dry, sunny, deep-lying area. groundwater. We planted in the fall of 2014, but, according to reviews from many summer residents, planting can be successfully done in the spring.
When purchasing a seedling, make sure that it retains a root ball of soil, otherwise it may not take root. For this reason, container plants do better.
If you plan to grow several Cossack junipers on your site, you should maintain a distance between them of at least 1.5 m.
The dimensions of the planting hole should be approximately 2 times the volume of the root ball. A layer of broken bricks, sand and stones should be poured onto its bottom to serve as drainage. If the soil in the area is acidic, add additional dolomite flour or ash. The roots should be spread evenly over the surface of the pit. Bury the seedling so that root collar was located exactly at ground level.
Care
From experience I can say that our juniper does not require any care and grows well. For the first 2 seasons, the bush spreads along the ground, getting lost against the background of other plants, but in the third year it begins to actively grow also in vertical position. In particular, the edges of its branches rise upward.
Periodically, the surface layer of soil under the bush can be slightly loosened. This is done in order to avoid the formation of a dry surface crust (there is no such problem with mulching). In dry weather, it is advisable to water the bush periodically. We practice sprinkling with a hose in evening time- no more than 1 time per week.
We use practically nothing from fertilizers. If there is a desire, in early spring You can feed Cossack juniper with nitroammophoska.
IN winter time our small bush is completely covered in snow.
Reproduction
To repeat all the characteristics of the parent tree, Cossack juniper is propagated using cuttings. They are cut from perennial shoots, preserving the “heel” in cloudy weather at the end of April. It is best to root them in greenhouses. The survival rate is high. IN open ground It is recommended to plant seedlings at the age of 2 years.
Layers that spread along the ground and take root on their own in the area are also well suited for juniper propagation. Having carefully cut off and dug up one of these cuttings with roots, it is transferred and buried in another place.
There is also the option of propagation by seeds, but their germination takes a lot of time, so we will leave it to enthusiasts.
Trimming
In 2.5 years we have never pruned the Cossack juniper. There are no dry or diseased branches yet, and I don’t want to cut healthy shoots from an actively growing plant.
Some summer residents form Cossack juniper in the bonsai style, giving the crown a characteristic shape.
To increase fluffiness and branching, they also often resort to plucking the tips of new shoots.
The main thing is, if you decide to prune, do not forget to treat the plants after the procedure with growth stimulants (Zircon, Epin, etc.).
Pests and diseases
From the second half of summer until the beginning of September, it is recommended to periodically treat Cossack juniper with fungicides in order to prevent pear rust, of which it is a carrier. For the same reason, it is not advisable to plant pear and juniper next door.
Cossack juniper is a fairly unpretentious and widespread representative of its genus.
Looks good at any time of the year, does not change its decorative effect even in winter.
How to care for a plant
Cossack juniper requires not only correct landing, but also appropriate care. The plant is unpretentious and easy to care for, but requires regularity.
Did you know? Often with the help of juniper they give nice smell juices, compotes and fruit drinks.
Watering and spraying
Thorough watering is especially necessary on hot, dry days. Spraying the crown has a very good effect on the condition of the plant and its appearance. 
Conduct this procedure should be in the evening, at least once a week. You need to make sure that the bark of the branches is moistened, and then the Cossack juniper will show its true beauty.
Fertilizer and feeding
Only young plants need to be fertilized, because adults additional feeding dont need. It will be useful to add mineral complex in low concentration. 
This must be done in the spring, after the snow has melted. So, it is necessary to add (30 g per 1 sq. m of the root zone).
Trimming
Pruning Cossack juniper is not necessary, but if you decide to do it, you should start when the plant is at least 2 years old. Dry and damaged branches should be cut with scissors or special pruners. 
This procedure is carried out twice a year.: in April and September (however, the average daily temperature on this day should be at least 4 °C). This must be done with gloves to protect your hands from toxic substances and dirt.
How to propagate Cossack juniper
There are three methods of propagating Cossack juniper: using cuttings, seeds and layering.
Many people would like to see evergreens and beautiful trees- junipers. Despite their decorative nature, you won’t have to take much care of them. The real difficulty is the moment of landing or transplanting. In this article we will tell you when to replant juniper and describe how to carry out this procedure.
Junipers are coniferous plants, the genus of which includes about 75 species and a large number of decorative varieties, which were derived from them. Junipers are very diverse: from tall trees, similar to cypress trees to spreading, creeping shrubs.
In general, these plants, once established, are not picky. They love bright sun (except for Chinese juniper), but grow well in light shade; most species are drought-resistant and not demanding on soil nutrition. Frost resistance different varieties and species vary greatly. This must be taken into account when planting this tree in your region. The plant lives for quite a long time - up to 600 years.
All junipers, in addition to their advantages - originality, beauty, ease of care - have one common disadvantage: they, like all coniferous plants, do not like replanting, and take a long time and hard to take root in a new place. If a transplant is unavoidable, then it must be done correctly.
It is best to replant juniper in at a young age, up to 3 years. The growth of such a plant does not exceed 1 m.
Transplanting an adult plant is fraught with many difficulties. Their root system It is well developed, so it can easily be damaged when digging. Plus, in a new place it will be difficult for the plant to adapt and take root. If the juniper cannot be left in its place, then you need to initial stages preparation:
- A year before the proposed transplant, you need to dig a circle around the tree at a distance of 40 cm from the trunk with a shovel (the depth of the slot should be 40-50 cm). This stimulates the development of new roots in a confined space.
- Choose another place, but it should be as similar as possible to familiar conditions growth. If the new location is not suitable for the plant, the juniper will become dull and the number of green needles will decrease significantly.
- Polarity must be observed. Juniper should be planted in the same position relative to the poles in which it grew before transplanting.
Transplant timing
Many people are interested in when to replant juniper so as not to seriously injure it. Professional gardeners They claim that replanting can be done at any time of the year, but it is still better to do it in the fall. During this period it remains high humidity, which promotes good survival and increases the percentage successful transfers coniferous plants.
It is a fairly common belief that juniper can be replanted in the spring. However, at this time the air humidity is not as high as in autumn. Under such conditions, juniper needles easily give up liquid, and the root system, which is placed in new conditions, is not always able to extract moisture in required quantity. As a result, the plant may wither and die from simple dehydration. If you still decide to replant in the spring, then it is better to do this in late April - early May.
At summer transfer juniper is losing more more moisture, so the procedure rarely ends successfully. We strongly do not recommend replanting the plant in summer.
So, we figured out that it is best to replant juniper in the fall. The ideal time for this is September.
How to transplant juniper correctly
Juniper transplantation must be carried out according to all the rules. The instructions are:
Care after transplant
Juniper is quite hardy and tolerates heat, cold and severe drought. Special care he doesn't demand it. But the transplanted juniper will have to be looked after a little.
In the first year after transplantation, especially in dry times, the soil under the seedling must be moistened at least once a week. The root system, which is not yet strong enough in the new place, will not be able to take water from dry soil. After a year, the tree may not need to be watered at all.
In addition to watering at the root, tree needles can be sprayed with water. This procedure will increase the density of the needles and make their color more saturated.
After transplanting juniper in the fall, it needs to be fed in early spring. This will enhance the growth of the seedling and improve it external qualities. Any polymineral complex is suitable for feeding. For example, nitroammophoska. Before applying fertilizer, be sure to include instructions for use. It is important not to “overdo it” with fertilizer, as junipers do not like this.
After transplantation, plants need to be covered before winter cold. This must be done for at least 4 seasons. First, the branches need to be carefully tied to the trunk, created around the juniper wooden frame and pull the covering material on top. The protection must be removed with the arrival of spring, but this must be done gradually so that the plant can adapt to open air conditions.
Juniper is a stunning plant. It will not only give the garden uniqueness and beauty, but will also permeate the air essential oils, which is especially important for the health of people living nearby. If you approach transplantation and further care correctly, then everything will end well for the seedling, and it will take root in its new place without any problems. Do not forget that experienced gardeners It is recommended to replant juniper only in the fall. This best time to carry out this procedure.
Coniferous shrubs are very popular in modern landscape design. Cossack juniper is the most common and unpretentious representative of his family. This plant is used not only in gardens and parks, but also at home.
These creeping coniferous shrubs of the Cypress family attract many with their decorative qualities, as well as resistance to drought, frost and polluted air. His habitat habitats - Asia Minor, Southeast Asia, the Caucasus, the Urals, Siberia and Primorye, Southern and Central Europe.
Description of the plant
According to estimates in a number of joint projects botanical gardens There are more than 70 species of juniper. As a rule, they all differ in height, crown shape and needle color.
Cossack juniper is described as follows:
Essential oil of Cossack juniper contains toxic substances, such as sabinol, sabinene and other terpene derivatives. If there are small children in the family, then you should wait to grow this plant.
Planting and care
First of all, you need to decide permanent place for landing. This type of juniper is light-loving, and if it is planted in the shade, it may lose its decorative properties. In addition, you need to maintain a distance of up to half a meter between plants.
Planting and caring for Cossack juniper have a number of features:
When purchasing, you should carefully examine the needles of the plant. At the slightest sign of illness, it is better to refuse to purchase this specimen.
Pruning, shaping and propagation
Pruning Cossack juniper should be done carefully and thoughtfully. As a rule, he does not need such manipulations, but with the help garden shears To trim bushes, you need to promptly remove damaged, infected and dry branches. They resort to pruning when they want to change the direction of branch growth, stop growth, or give a special decorative shape.
The formation of Cossack juniper is carried out in spring and autumn, while average daily temperature air should be +4°C. During the year, Cossack juniper can grow up to 10 cm, and the permissible pruning rate in this case should not exceed 2 cm. The plant, as a rule, does not need to cover wounds. If there is severe damage, the cut can be treated with resin or sprayed with Epin.
Plucking the tips of new shoots is a safer and less harmful way of forming a crown than pruning. This way you can enhance branching and make the bush more lush.
There are 4 ways to propagate Cossack juniper:
- By seeds - this is a rather complicated method, which is rarely resorted to due to forced stratification. The seeds of the plant are kept for a long time in special conditions to stimulate germination.
- Cuttings - this method is best used in April or August. The weather should be cloudy for several days so that the bright sun does not harm the cuttings and the original plant.
- Layering - this method is great for creeping forms of plants with young shoots. Individual branches are fixed to the ground with wooden pins, and the soil around is hilled up and watered from time to time.
- Vaccinations - this method does not always pay off. Elite variety the plants are grafted onto an ordinary one, wrapped in film and waited for engraftment.
How to propagate Cossack juniper is a personal decision of a specialist or amateur gardener. However, it is important to do everything so as not to damage the original plant.
Landscape design
The plant is actively used in organizing relief on different types slopes, for decorating rocky hills, lawns, . It can be used as a separate decorative element(tapeworm) or in group plantings that serve as a background or frame for the lawn.
As you can see in the picture below, Cossack juniper goes well with brighter perennial crops. At the same time, it should be borne in mind that these coniferous plants do not combine with lush vegetation that has large inflorescences.
Quite often, Cossack juniper is used in English (landscape) style landscape design. As a rule, they choose large varieties this plant with correct form crowns and subdued colors of needles. Juniper in English garden designed to complement the landscape, and not to focus attention on itself.
Strict varieties of this plant are also popular in compositions in Japanese style. They contrast perfectly against the background bright colors and colorful details of the oriental garden. When designing such compositions, designers advise planting juniper plants close to, which can be of various shades, as well as next to rocky hills.
If you plant this plant with skill and taste, and also care for it properly, then it will be able to provide aesthetic pleasure for many years.
Video about the propagation of Cossack juniper
Coniferous plants add naturalness to the garden, and I like to create compositions that are close in appearance to wild nature. On the far alpine slide all the space is devoted to juniper - I once chose Cossack and did not regret it.
I have a groundcover growing dwarf variety Arcadia, but there are other species, which will be discussed below.
The Cossack juniper is considered the most unpretentious, it survives frosts well, and its branches cheerfully hold their weight, as if welcoming you. More often than others, gardeners plant it on personal plots, and designers use it for urban landscaping.
Long-lived coniferous plant It can occupy the same place for many years, giving a surprisingly voluminous appearance to the relief, and require practically nothing for maintenance.
This coniferous plant owes its origin to the Cypress family. IN natural conditions grows in European, Asian mountains and foothills, sandstones, is found in the Urals and Siberia, that is temperate climate its conditions are favorable for the plant.
Creeping shrub, quickly grows in breadth, occupying free space. The height, depending on the variety, can be different, ranging from 30-40 cm, or reaching 2-4 meters if the form is tree-like (much less common).
The needles, like all junipers, are of two types - needle-shaped and scale-like. If you rub it between your fingers, it has a characteristic smell. The needles are the basis of decorativeness; their fluffy, dense appearance is reminiscent of natural landscapes. The species includes varieties with green, bluish-blue and variegated (variegated) needles.
In spring and autumn, small round cones ripen on the bush; they are almost black with a bluish tint.
Important! Juniper shoots and berries are poisonous and contain volatile resins, so when working with it you need to pay attention to safety and protection. Of course, do not let children pick the fruits.
Cossack juniper – dioecious plant, but there are varieties that do not bear fruit, they are classified as male type. Useful feature juniper - purification and disinfection of air, and it is also undemanding to the state of the atmosphere, easily tolerating gas pollution in urban space.
When and how to board
The plant is planted on the site in spring and autumn (September). In the first case, you need to be in time before the sap flow begins.
Where is the best place to plant
Juniper prefers sunny places with low groundwater levels; it does not tolerate wet roots.
In terms of compatibility, this plant looks good next to other conifers, perennial flowers, ornamental shrubs, but not too massive. You should still retreat a little from these when planting Cossack juniper.
Requirements for soil composition
There are no particular preferences, however, the soil is preferably neutral or slightly acidic.
If you have a lot of lime on your site, then when planting you should definitely add peat and sand, leveling the mineral composition.
Also, provide the Cossack juniper with loose, permeable soil so that water can easily seep in and oxygen from the air has free access to the roots.
How to choose a juniper seedling
Planting material should be purchased exclusively in specialized stores. When purchasing, you need to pay attention to the fact that the root system is hidden in the substrate, and the plant itself has a healthy appearance. Some sellers sell both seedlings and cuttings.
Before planting, the pot with juniper should be spilled with plenty of water, or placed in a container with a tray of water for several hours.
Planting process
- Dig a hole 70 centimeters deep, the coverage should be twice the size of the roots.
- We lay drainage at the bottom of the hole - gravel or broken brick and sand (20 centimeters).
- Mix the excavated soil with peat or humus, add 200 grams of any complex fertilizer and put the mixture back in landing hole. Water generously.
- We place the seedling and sprinkle it with soil up to the root collar, compacting it around.
- The planting site needs to be watered and mulched with sand and peat or, for example, pine shavings or crushed bark.
The planting step should be 1.5 meters, and if it is planned to form a hedge, the distance is reduced to 50-100 centimeters.
Juniper care
This plant won’t cause much trouble, but you won’t leave it without attention. On summer days, it needs to be watered abundantly; under an adult bush we apply 20-30 liters of water at a time. But only 3-4 times during the summer-autumn. In hot weather, you need to spray the needles regularly, 1-2 times a week, in the evening.
Moisturizing is especially important during the establishment period (root growth). You also need to ensure that there is always mulch under the plant.
Another condition for maintaining decorativeness is pruning adult bushes. This is sanitary cutting of dry and damaged branches in early spring, as well as formative removal of shoots in autumn or spring.
It is necessary to decorate the crown to give it a holistic look, to get rid of branches growing in the wrong direction or growing far ahead of the rest of the plant. Cossack juniper easily tolerates pruning; it is also grown using the bonsai technique.
Advice! Keep in mind that the annual growth of the plant does not exceed 10 centimeters, so there is no need to chop it up without reason. It is permissible, for better branching, to cut off 2-2.5 centimeters.
Fertilizers are applied once a year; you can use Nitroammofoska, which contains all the components necessary for fertilizer. Spring period at the beginning of the growing season is perfect for this.
Sometimes, but very rarely, juniper is susceptible to diseases such as rust, alternaria, and fusarium. It is recommended for prevention and during illness to treat the needles with fungicidal preparations and destroy the affected branches.
We use it for juniper Bordeaux mixture or simply copper sulfate, other copper preparations. Pests are never observed on poisonous, odorous branches.
To stimulate growth and prevent fungal and bacterial infections, the branches are sprayed with phytosporin, both the crown itself and the space under the bushes.
Cossack juniper does not require shelter for the winter; however, for the first 2 years, it is better to cover the young bushes with spruce branches of fir and spruce trees, and cover the near-trunk part with peat.
Reproduction
Like all junipers, Cossack juniper propagates by seeds, layering, cuttings, and grafting.
Let's look at the most popular options that you can easily implement yourself.
Cuttings
It is carried out strictly in the spring, for which a part of the semi-lignified shoot with a heel (part of the bark) is cut off with a sharp knife. The cutting size is 15 centimeters. You need to dip the bottom in any root former, and bury the cutting 3 centimeters in a mixture of wet sand and peat.
Leave in the greenhouse for rooting, this is about three months or a little less. The root mass of the cutting grows slowly and weakly, so it is not recommended to plant such shoots in open ground until next year. Therefore, we leave the cuttings to overwinter in the greenhouse.
Lateral layering
At any time you can get a new seedling using layering. We clean the lower branch a little from scales, pin it to the ground with a bracket, sprinkle it with soil and water it. The end of the shoot should remain above the ground.
We water the mound above the hairpin and hill it up from time to time. In this state, we leave the cuttings to take root for a period of six months to a year.
Seeds
This is a long process, but some gardeners like to experiment and can achieve results. The seeds require mandatory stratification, so they are removed from the cones in the fall, planted in boxes with substrate and buried in the garden for the winter.
Or left in a greenhouse. Shoots may appear in a year or three. Also, before planting, juniper seeds are treated with sulfuric acid for 10-15 minutes.
What varieties of Cossack juniper are there?
Arcadia
Frost-resistant horizontally growing shrub 30-40 centimeters high. The crown coverage reaches 1-1.5 meters. The needles are bright green and light.
Glauka
The bush has a mature height of 100 centimeters, the diameter reaches 200 cm. The blue-green needles become reddish in winter.
Variegata
The juniper bush grows up to 1 meter and covers an area of up to 250 centimeters. It is distinguished by needles of two shades: green needles are adjacent to white-cream specimens. This species takes a long time to grow.
Rockery Jam
Exceptionally winter-hardy, lives a long time, grows very slowly. Interestingly, with a height of half a meter, it grows in the surrounding area by more than three meters. The needles are blue-green, green on young shoots, but the bark is reddish.
Place of Cossack juniper in the landscape
This plant occupies an important place in the landscape gardening ensemble; with its help, outlandish compositions are created.
It will look natural in a Japanese garden or rock garden, where it will coexist wonderfully with colorful heathers and dwarf spruce trees.
Shrubs of spirea, astilbe, paniculata hydrangea, dwarf barberry will favorably emphasize the modesty and monotony of juniper.
If you planted a Cossack species on the lawn, do not be lazy to fill the space around with pebbles, granite chips, sand - this design is very impressive.