Juniper Cossack: description, photo, planting and care. Juniper Cossack in the garden and at home Juniper Cossack plants similar in characteristics

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 - once I chose Cossack and did not regret it.

I have a ground cover dwarf variety of Arcadia growing, but there are other species, they will be discussed below.

The Cossack juniper is considered the most unpretentious, it survives frosts well, and its branches provocatively keep on weight, as if welcoming you. More often than others, gardeners plant it on personal plots, and designers use it for urban gardening.

A long-lived coniferous plant can occupy the same place for many years, giving a surprisingly voluminous appearance to the relief, and require practically nothing to care for.

The origin of this coniferous plant is due to the Cypress family. Under natural conditions, it grows in European, Asian mountains and foothills, sandstones, is found in the Urals and Siberia, that is, the temperate climate is favorable for its plant conditions.

creeping shrub, rapidly growing in breadth, occupying free space. The height, depending on the variety, can be different, both 30-40 cm, and reach 2-4 meters, if the form is tree-like (it is much less common).

The needles, like all junipers, are of two types - needle and scaly. If you rub it between your fingers, it smells characteristic. The needles are the basis of decorativeness, its fluffy, dense appearance resembles natural landscapes. The species includes varieties with green, gray-bluish and variegated (variegated) needles.

In spring and autumn, small rounded cones ripen on the bush, they are almost black with a bluish tint.

Important! Shoots, juniper berries are poisonous, contain volatile resins, so when working with it, you need to pay attention to safety and protection. Of course, do not let children pluck the fruits.

Cossack juniper is a dioecious plant, but there are varieties that do not bear fruit, they are classified as male. Useful Feature juniper - cleansing and disinfecting the air, and it is also undemanding to the state of the atmosphere, easily tolerates the gas content of urban space.

When and how is boarding

The plant is planted on the site in spring and autumn (in September). In the first case, you need to be in time before the start of sap flow.

Where is the best place to plant

juniper prefers sunny places with a low occurrence of groundwater, it does not tolerate wetting the roots.

In terms of compatibility, this plant looks good next to other conifers, perennial flowers, ornamental shrubs but not too bulky. Still, you should retreat a little from these, planting a Cossack juniper.

Requirements for the composition of the soil

There are no particular preferences, however, the soil is desirable neutral or slightly acidic.

If you have a lot of lime on the site, then when planting, be sure to add peat, sand, leveling the mineral composition.

Also, provide Cossack juniper with looseness, permeability of the soil, so that water easily seeps out, 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 root system was hidden in the substrate, and the plant itself had a healthy appearance. Some sellers sell both seedlings and cuttings.

Before planting, a juniper pot should be poured with plenty of water, or placed in a container, a pan with 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 pit - gravel or broken brick and sand (20 centimeters).
• We mix the excavated soil with peat or humus, add 200 grams of any complex fertilizer and put the mixture back into the planting hole. We water abundantly.
• We put the seedling and sprinkle it with earth to the root neck, compact around.
• The landing site must be watered and mulched with sand and peat or, for example, coniferous shavings, crushed bark.

The landing 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 will not cause much trouble, but you will not leave it without attention. AT summer days it must be watered abundantly, under an adult bush we bring 20-30 liters of water at a time. But only 3-4 times during the summer-autumn. In the heat, you need to regularly spray the needles, 1-2 times a week, in the evening.

Moisturizing is especially important during the period of survival (root growth). You also need to make sure that mulch is always present under the plant.

Another condition for maintaining decorativeness is pruning adult bushes. This is a sanitary cutting of dry and damaged branches in early spring, as well as a formative removal of shoots in autumn or spring.

It is necessary to decorate the crown to give a holistic look, to get rid of branches growing in an unnecessary direction or strongly outstripping the rest of the plant in growth. Juniper Cossack 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 you do not need to shred it for no reason. It is permissible, for better branching, to cut off 2-2.5 centimeters.

Top dressing is applied once a year, you can use Nitroammophoska, where all the components necessary for fertilizer are collected. The spring period at the beginning of the growing season is just right for this.

Sometimes, but very rarely, juniper is exposed to diseases such as rust, Alternaria, Fusarium. It is recommended for prevention and during illness to treat the needles with fungicidal preparations, to destroy the affected branches.

We use Bordeaux liquid for juniper or just copper sulphate, other copper preparations. Pests on poisonous, odorous branches are never observed.

To stimulate growth and prevent fungal and bacterial lesions, the branches are sprayed with phytosporin, both the crown itself and the space under the bushes.

Shelter for the winter is not required for the Cossack juniper, however, for the first 2 years it is better to cover the young bushes with spruce branches of fir and fir trees, and cover the near-trunk part with peat.

reproduction

Like all junipers, the Cossack is propagated by seeds, layering, cuttings, and grafting.

Consider the most popular options that you can easily implement yourself.

cuttings

It is carried out strictly in the spring, for which a part of a semi-lignified shoot with a heel (part of the bark) is cut off with a sharp knife. Shank size 15 cm. It is necessary to dip the bottom in any root former, and deepen the cutting by 3 centimeters into 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 for a long time and weakly, so it is not recommended to plant such shoots in open ground until next year. Therefore, we leave the stalk to winter in the greenhouse.

Side layers

At any time, you can get a new seedling with the help of 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 escape must remain above the ground.

We water the mound above the hairpin and spud from time to time. In this state, we leave the layering to take root for a period of six months to a year.

seeds

This is a long process, but individual gardeners love to experiment and can achieve results. Seeds require mandatory stratification, so they are removed from cones in the fall, planted in boxes with a substrate and buried in the garden for the winter.

Or left in a greenhouse. Shoots can appear both in a year and in three. Also, before planting, juniper seeds are treated with sulfuric acid for 10-15 minutes.

What are the varieties of Cossack juniper

Arcadia

Frost-resistant horizontally growing shrub 30-40 centimeters high. Crown coverage reaches 1-1.5 meters. The needles are bright green, light.

glauka

The bush has a height in the adult state of 100 centimeters, a diameter reaches 200 cm. The blue-green needles become red in winter.

Variegata

The juniper shrub grows up to 1 meter and covers an area of ​​up to 250 centimeters. It differs in needles of two shades: green needles are adjacent to white-cream specimens. This species grows for a long time.

Rockery Jam

Exceptionally winter-hardy, long-lived, grows very slowly. Interestingly, at a height of half a meter, it grows around the neighborhood by more than three meters. The needles are blue-green, green on young shoots, but the bark is reddish.

The place of the Cossack juniper in the landscape

In the garden and park ensemble, this plant occupies not the last place; with its help, outlandish compositions are created.

Will look organic Japanese garden or in rockeries, where it will wonderfully coexist with multi-colored heathers, dwarf firs.

Spirea shrubs, astilba, paniculate hydrangea, dwarf barberry will favorably emphasize the modesty and monotony of the juniper.

If you planted Cossack look on the lawn, do not be too lazy to fill the space around with pebbles, granite crumbs, sand - this design is very impressive.

One of the favorite plants of landscape designers is the Cossack juniper. Unpretentious in care evergreen shrub often used in groups or single landings in suburban areas and in park areas. light-loving plant undemanding to care for, does not require a transplant, survives well both drought and harsh winter.

Juniper Cossack Tamariscifolia

There are many types of juniper, more than 70 varieties. Given its popularity and undemanding care, breeders are developing new varieties of shrubs. Only recently, more than a dozen new types of juniper have been bred. Among the most famous:

• Variegata - low, only 1 meter in height, shrub with dense branches. Among the green needles, cream-colored twigs are often found. For such an interesting look. landscape designers choose this variety of juniper to create compositions with stones in rockeries, rock gardens.
• Rockery Gem is a variety of Cossack juniper bred in Holland, undersized bush(grows up to 50 cm, despite the fact that its spreading branches extend above the ground 3 meters wide). Greyish-green needles are prickly.
• Cupressifolia is also a low-growing variety, spreading its branches up to 4-5 meters around. Perhaps one of the most winter-hardy - even - 45ºС he does not care.
• Femina is a variety unusual in its decorativeness - its shoots spread along the ground by 5-6 meters, and their ends rise above the soil cover, like many small bushes.
• Erekta - upright variety juniper grows up to 2 meters, the branches have a pyramidal shape. This species is unpretentious in care, feels great in the heat, does not require abundant watering. The top of the bush has a pyramidal shape.
• Tamarisciphonia - a meter wide shrub spreads its branches up to two meters. Its needle needles have a dark green tint, with a slightly grayish bloom. A variety popular in European parks is attractive for its aroma - it freshens the air and has bactericidal properties.
• Blue Danub is another variety of Cossack juniper, low - only up to half a meter above the ground, and the branches extend, covering the soil, for several meters. Gray-blue needles attract landscape designers with their appearance and rapid growth - up to 20 cm per year - often this variety is used to create a background for flower crops along garden and park paths. The variety is winter-hardy, and withstands frosts down to -40ºС.

All varieties are decorative, they are loved by both gardeners and landscape designers. In addition, some types of juniper do well in room conditions They are grown as houseplants.

How to plant and care for juniper

Juniper Cossack Variegata

Cossack juniper is planted in the spring in a dry area, well lit by the sun. In the shade, it will quickly lose its decorative effect.

Considering that the shrub does not need to be transplanted and can grow in one place for up to 30 years, plan to place it immediately in the place where your rockery or

You can plant single shrubs or a group consisting of different types juniper. In this case, keep in mind that the distance between the bushes must be left at least half a meter when planting.

Cossack juniper does not impose special requirements on the soil - stony, oily, and acidic soil is suitable for planting it.

When preparing the soil, lay drainage at the bottom of the dug hole - small pebbles or broken bricks are suitable for it. With increased acidity of the soil, add dolomite flour, lime.

Place the juniper roots, laying them horizontally (so the hole needs to be prepared twice as large as the root system of the plant). Cover the roots with sand, then with earth, leaving the root neck on the surface. The very top is sawdust, tree bark, which are needed to protect the bush from weeds. They will also help retain the moisture needed by the plant.

Video "Planting and caring for juniper"

If the summer is dry, water the shrub more often, on hot sunny days it is better to shade it. The juniper will like spraying the crown with water - it will refresh it, it will favorably affect the external decorativeness of the shrub. You can do this every week in the summer, in the evening, when the heat of the day subsides. It is necessary to spray so that not only the needles, but also the bark of the shrub are wetted. This stimulates the growth of fresh twigs with young needles.

It is not necessary to feed him, but if desired in early spring can be applied under the roots complex fertilizers or nitroammophoska.

For the winter, young bushes are best covered well. During the growth period after watering, loosen the ground for a better supply of moisture and oxygen to the juniper roots. Remove weeds that prevent the plant from growing, cut dry, dead shoots with secateurs.

Such simple care will allow in a few years to get on the garden or suburban area beautiful ornamental plant.

Pruning and shaping the bush

For better growth and giving the juniper a decorative look, it is carried out sanitary and formative pruning. Initially, it is done 1-2 years after the planting of the shrub - damaged, withered shoots are cut out.

Formative pruning is desirable to be carried out annually, twice - in April and August, or early autumn, in September. Juniper is a poisonous plant, so all work must be carried out using protective equipment to avoid direct contact with harmful substances. Thoroughly wipe the secateurs and scissors after work.

Giving the bush a shape is carried out by pinching off the tips of new shoots - this will form a fluffy bush. Incorrectly growing shoots are given direction, tying them and stimulating growth in the right direction.

You can shape the shape of a bonsai-style shrub by pruning to direct the growth of the branches in the right direction. They usually cut off 10-20% of the annual growth.
After trimming, the wound can be covered with resin, treated with stimulants such as "Zircon", "Epin".

Juniper on the window

Grown in an apartment dwarf varieties juniper. This decorative tree will not only decorate the house, it is also known for its fungicidal properties - it will not allow pathogenic fungi to develop in the apartment and save walls and indoor plants from them.

Even small tree needs attention at home. Juniper loves sunlight, so place the pot on the south, southwest, southeast sides. The soil for planting should be light, you can take for this in equal parts peat, soddy soil, lime, sand. Be sure to drain the bottom of the flower container - sand, small stones, broken brick, a few pieces of coal.

Water the plant once every 2-3 weeks, in summer - more often, as the soil dries. There is an opportunity - take the pot out into the garden or put it on the balcony. Spray the bush regularly so that the needles do not dry out.

Cossack juniper at room conditions is often formed into bonsai, to give it a shape, you need to tie up the shoots with wire, directing their growth. By planting a juniper at home, you will get a beautiful and useful plant that will purify the air in your apartment for several meters around.

Diseases and pests

If you notice that the juniper has turned yellow after winter, it may be affected by a fungus. Of the diseases, the plant can most often be prone to rust. The harmful fungus Gymnosporangium can infect pears and junipers, it is not dangerous for other plants, so do not plant juniper bushes in the immediate vicinity of pear trees.

Plant affected by rust

The lesion looks like small, up to 5 mm tinder fungi on branches, trunks, cones. In order to get rid of the fungus, all affected parts of the plant must be removed so that the spores do not germinate and infect nearby bushes. At the end of summer, treat the diseased plant with a fungicide solution that destroys this species fungus.
It is possible, without waiting for the disease, to process juniper bushes and pear trees"Topaz" - from the second half of July to mid-September, 2 times a month.

Brown Shutte is a disease that affects juniper. If high humidity is present, the bush may be affected by the Herpotrichia fungus. A semblance of a grayish, then a black-brown web appears on the plants, which gradually entangles the entire bush. Weak thin branches die off, and spores persist in diseased needles. To combat the disease, diseased branches are removed, the bushes are treated with Bordeaux liquid.

Fusarium can affect the roots of the Cossack juniper - they rot, the needles turn yellow, since nutrients from the soil do not penetrate into the crown. The plant dries up. As a preventive measure, before planting, the roots of the plant are soaked in Vitaros or Baktofit. If the disease nevertheless struck the shrub, water it with "Fitosporin-M", "Gamair", you can also spray the crown with a 0.2% solution of "Fundazol".

Among pests for juniper, scale insects and spider mites are dangerous. When they are found, the plant is treated with conventional insecticides.

Video "Why the juniper turns yellow and dries"

Transplant and reproduction

Cossack juniper propagation methods:

1. seeds;
2. layering;
3. cuttings.

The easiest way to breed juniper is by layering. All you need is to make a small incision on a young branch near the ground, tilt it to the ground and sprinkle it with earth. After about six months, roots will appear on the branch, then the branch must be cut off from mother plant, transplant to a prepared place.

Juniper is planted with cuttings in spring or closer to autumn. To do this, cut off a stalk with a piece of bark, place it in the ground, drop it 5-7 cm. Rooting occurs within 3 months, throughout this period, young plants need to be watered, sprayed and shaded from direct sun rays.

Propagation by seeds is not an easy process.. Seeds are pre-stratified, keeping under certain conditions.

To obtain seeds in October, ripe cones of black-violet color, covered with a wax coating, are selected. The seeds are removed, placed in an acid solution for half an hour, and in the first snow they are planted in prepared boxes and buried. In the spring, the seeds are dug up and planted in the ground. They will germinate only in a year, so it will take a long time. Because of this, this method of reproduction is used extremely rarely.

Replanting juniper, as already mentioned, is undesirable - the bushes take root very poorly, they often die. If there is such a need, first check the damage, traces of the disease on the bush. If they are - better bush don't touch it, it will die.

Six months before transplanting, the bush must be dug up, cutting the roots. Prepare the soil in a new place by digging up a bush, immediately process it with Kornevin and plant it in a new place. Be sure to fertilize the transplanted bush. When transplanting, consider the direction of the cardinal points of the old place - they must be observed, then there is still a chance that the juniper will take root.

The benefits and harms of juniper

juniper berries

Juniper is a poisonous plant, so even when planting, caring for it, you need to be careful, work with gloves, and the tools are scissors, the pruner should be thoroughly washed and processed after working with the bush.

Nevertheless, its wood is used in the economy, and foliage (needles) and berries are used in medicine.

• At home, the branches of the plant are laid out in a closet with clothes, essential oils will scare away harmful insects, mol.
• Soft juniper wood is used for wood carving, mugs, jugs, tubs for salting are made from roots and shoots.

In medicine, juniper is not taken orally, but ointments and infusions for external treatment are used:

• Infusion for removing warts. Pour 1 tbsp. a spoonful of juniper leaves and berries 300 ml of boiling water, leave for 1 hour, after straining, make lotions on warts once a day at night for a week.
• Ointment for lichen, scabies. Scroll juniper leaves in a meat grinder, mix in a ratio of 1: 3 with butter. Leave for 12 hours in the refrigerator, then 2 times a day for 5 days, apply to the affected areas.
• Powder from purulent wounds. Grind dry juniper leaves, sprinkle festering open wounds twice a day until the wound begins to heal.

Juniper in landscape design

The ornamental appearance of the shrub has made it popular with gardeners and landscapers. It is often used both on its own and when creating compositions with other plants.

1. Juniper harmoniously fits into the Scandinavian style, which implies strict lines, restraint, and the use of stones. In addition to it, heathers, mosses, lichens are used in styling. Juniper varieties with yellowish hues of needles set accents in such compositions.
2. English landscape style - round-shaped juniper bushes complement the overall composition. For this design, varieties with soft needles are taken.
3. The Japanese style uses bushes of the correct form. They are planted near rocky compositions along with heathers of various shades - red, blue, white, orange or yellow.

Junipers look interesting on a neat, well-groomed green lawn. On rocky areas they are often used in compositions with barberry, heather. You can plant them on lawns in front of country house together with other coniferous plants - spruce, weeping larch and others.

Coniferous plants, which include juniper, attract with their evergreen view. When creating such a flower bed on your site, take contrasts as a basis - shapes and colors. Juniper is able to become the basis of such a composition.

Rhododendron, various heathers, boxwood will harmoniously fit next to it.

Using juniper to create rockeries

Can be used for composition coniferous flower beds perennials - ferns, grasses. Designers combine all this with sedum, bryozoan, phlox, thyme, and other plants.

The basis for such a flower bed is lawns or rock gardens, where the stones will complement coniferous composition, and the decor will be the bark.

Cossack juniper is an unpretentious and decorative type of shrub, you can grow it in your suburban area, it will create accents, complement the landscape, and become a bright spot of color. Both in summer and in winter, it does not lose its decorative effect, beauty, for which gardeners and designers love it.

Juniper Cossack (lat. Juniperus sabina) – coniferous shrub, the most common species of the genus Juniper of the Cypress family. In the wild, this species is found in forests and groves. steppe zone, on sand dunes and rocky slopes of Asia Minor and Southeast Asia, Central Europe, Caucasus, Primorye, Ural and Siberia.

Planting and caring for Cossack juniper (in brief)

• Landing: in the spring, before the start of sap flow, or in September.
• Lighting: bright sunlight.
• The soil: well-drained, light and loose, in an area with deep groundwater.
• Watering: infrequent even in drought: 2-3 times during the summer with a water consumption of 10 to 30 liters per plant, depending on its size and age.
• Air humidity: in heat and drought, once a week in the evening, the plant is sprayed with non-cold water.
• Top dressing: in April or May - with a solution of Nitroammophoska or Kemira-Lux.
• Pruning: sanitary cleaning or shaping pruning, as necessary, is carried out in spring or autumn at an air temperature in the garden of 4 ˚C.
• Reproduction: seeds, layering, grafting, cuttings.
• Pests: do not amaze.
• Diseases: brown shutte, nectriosis of the bark of branches, biotorrel cancer, alternariosis, drying of branches, fusarium and rust.
• Properties: the shoots of the plant contain the poisonous oil sabinol.

Read more about growing Cossack juniper below.

Juniper Cossack - description

Juniper Cossack is a dioecious creeping shrub up to one and a half meters high, rapidly growing and forming dense thickets. Sometimes it grows as a tree with a curved trunk and red-brown peeling bark, reaching a height of 4 m. The poisonous shoots of the plant contain essential oil. The needles of the Cossack juniper are of two types: needle-shaped, soft, pointed, upright, bluish-green, 4-6 mm long, with a clear median vein on the shoots of young plants growing in the shade and imbricately located scaly on adult junipers. When rubbed, the needles of this species, which persist for three years, emit a characteristic pungent odor.

The cones of the plant are small (5-7 mm), drooping, round-oval, brown-black in color with a bluish bloom, most often two-seeded. Seeds ripen in autumn and spring. Cossack juniper is photophilous, tolerates drought well, is not particularly picky about the composition of the soil and is resistant to gases and smoke. This species has been cultivated for a very long time.

Planting juniper Cossack

Choose a sunny site for juniper with deep groundwater. If you plant it in the shade, it will grow loose and shapeless. Keep in mind that open-rooted seedlings can only be planted in April or September, while planting material can be planted in a container for almost the entire growing season. However, the best time for planting Cossack juniper is spring.

When buying seedlings, you should carefully examine their needles, and if you find the slightest signs of disease or pest damage, it is better to refuse to buy. Do not purchase seedlings with dry or rotten roots.

Before planting, seedlings in a container should be watered abundantly so that the roots are saturated with moisture, and open roots should be kept in water for several hours, and then treated with a root stimulator. During planting, a distance of at least half a meter is maintained between seedlings.

Depth landing pit depends on the size of the root system and earthy coma seedling. Cossack juniper needs a pit, the size of which will exceed the volume of the root system by 2-3 times. To fill the pit, prepare in advance a soil mixture of peat (2 parts), soddy soil (1 part) and sand (1 part). It is desirable to add fluffy lime or dolomite flour to this mixture, although cement dust, lime puff, and simply ground limestone are suitable for liming. The approximate consumption of lime material is 80-100 g per pit measuring 50x50x60 cm. A layer of drainage material 15-20 cm thick is laid on the bottom of the pit, then a layer of soil mixture on which a juniper seedling is placed so that after planting its root collar is 5 -10 cm above ground level. The pit is filled with soil mixture, the surface around the seedling is compacted and watered abundantly. When the water is absorbed, a layer of peat, pine bark or compost 5-8 cm thick is laid in the trunk circle.

Cossack juniper care

How to grow Cossack juniper on the site

Planting and caring for the Cossack juniper is carried out in accordance with the agricultural practices of coniferous plants. Juniper watering is required only in dry times, and even then infrequently - only 2-3 times during the summer. Water consumption - from 10 to 30 liters per plant. In heat and drought, it is advisable to spray the bush once a week in the evening. The soil around young plants is loosened shallowly after watering, while removing weeds.

Nitroammofoska, applied in April or May at the rate of 30-40 g per m², or a solution of 20 g of Kemira-Lux in 10 liters of water, is suitable as a fertilizer for juniper. For the winter, heat-loving plant varieties are mulched with peat, foliage or other organic matter, but in the spring this mulch must be removed to avoid rotting of the root neck.

Cossack juniper transplant

It is better to transplant Cossack juniper at a young age, since an adult plant is difficult to take root in a new place due to the fact that when digging out, the overgrown root system is severely injured. Cossack juniper is transplanted in early spring, as soon as the snow melts, however, it is necessary to prepare a bush for transplantation at least six months in advance: the plant is dug around the perimeter of the crown projection, cutting too long roots vertically. They do this so that before the transplant, the bush has time to form a compact root system in the area limited by you and transfer the transplant not so painfully.

A pit in a new place is prepared in the same order as for the initial planting, taking into account the size of the root system of the bush. Transplanted only healthy plants without signs of any disease. Before digging up the juniper, tie a ribbon on one of the north-facing branches, because when transplanting, it is necessary to maintain the north-south orientation. Before transplanting, the seedling is dug as deep as possible in order to preserve as many roots as possible. The excavated bush is transferred to big piece dense polyethylene and treat its root system with a root formation stimulator, after which they drag the plant to the planting site, place it in a pit and fill the voids with a previously prepared soil mixture. The surface around the bush is carefully trampled down, then a side is made around the perimeter of the landing pit and two buckets of water are poured under the bush. When the water is absorbed, the trunk circle is filled with humus from under the juniper or forest litter, and along the edges of the pit at an equal distance from each other, three strong pegs are deeply driven in with a slope from the seedling and a bush is tied to them.

The crown of the Cossack juniper is treated with fungicide solutions until the plant takes root. Do around the perimeter trunk circle groove and pour a bucket of water into it twice a week: water should not fall on either the needles or the stem of the plant. As a fertilizer, Epin's solution is used on the leaves, in the heat the juniper is covered from the scorching sun with burlap, and in the evenings the crown is sprayed with water.

Diseases and pests of Cossack juniper

Juniper, like no other plant, is susceptible to rust, so do not plant it close to apple trees, pears and other members of the Pink family. A sign of rust is the formation on the shoots of a plant of small, half a centimeter in size, reddish-colored formations resembling tinder fungi. If you notice such growths, the shoot must be removed immediately by cutting it a few centimeters below the affected area. After that, you need to treat the plant with a fungicide solution. In order to prevent the treatment of juniper with Topaz or another fungicide of similar action, it is carried out from mid-July to mid-September every two weeks.

Juniper hits and fungal disease fusarium, or tracheomycosis wilt, causing rotting of the root system. The fungus penetrates the roots of the plant and fills them, as a result of which the roots turn brown, the supply of nutrients to the crown stops, the needles turn yellow, starting from the lower shoots, turn red and fall off, and the bush itself dries out. Most of all, young plants suffer from tracheomycosis. It is difficult to detect this disease at an early stage because it proceeds in a latent form, and when the lesion is detected, it is usually too late to take action. At the first symptoms of wilting, it is necessary to pickle the soil in which the juniper grows with a solution of Fitosporin-M, Alirin-B or Gamair. As a preventive measure and to eradicate infection, plant treatments and soil shedding with a solution of Fundazol are used. Plants that cannot be saved are uprooted and burned, and the soil in which they grew is shed with a fungicide.

Brown Shutte develops on the Cossack juniper in winter, and in spring you suddenly find yellow and brown needles on the branches freed from snow, entangled in a gray cobweb mycelium, which eventually becomes black-brown and sticky. Thin branches die off, but the dirty-brown needles do not fall off for a long time. It is necessary to remove the affected areas from the plant as soon as possible and treat the bush with one percent Bordeaux liquid, preparations HOM or Abiga-Peak. Most likely, one treatment of the problem cannot be solved: it will be necessary to re-spray in a week or two, and maybe more than one.

Drying of juniper branches caused by several types of fungi. The disease manifests itself by drying out of the bark and the formation of brown and black fruiting bodies on it, then the Cossack juniper turns yellow and dries out. The thickening of plantings contributes to the development of the disease. It is necessary to remove diseased branches, and treat cuts and wounds on the bark with one percent copper sulphate, followed by smearing them with garden pitch, Rannet paste or oil paint on drying oil. Plant residues must be burned, and carried out in spring and autumn preventive treatments juniper Cossack and the soil under it with a one-percent Bordeaux mixture or HOM and Abiga-Peak preparations.

Alternariosis of juniper Cossack can be identified by the browned needles and the formation of a black velvety coating on it. The needles fall, the branches dry.

Biotorrel cancer affects the Cossack juniper with mechanical damage to the branches. The fungus penetrates the tissues of the bark, from which it turns brown, dries and cracks, then longitudinal ulcers form on the wood, and it gradually dies off. The needles on the juniper turn yellow and dry.

Nectriosis of the bark of branches determined by the formation on the affected bark of many red-brick pads with a diameter of up to 2 mm, gradually darkening and drying out. The development of the disease causes the death of the bark, yellowing and falling of the needles and the drying of the whole plant.

The methods of dealing with alternariosis, biotorell cancer and nectriosis are the same as with the drying of branches.

As for pests, they do not bother the poisonous juniper.

Pruning juniper Cossack

Cossack juniper shearing should be carried out with the utmost care, since its shoots contain poisonous sabinol oil. There have been no fatalities, but itching and pain in the area of ​​scratches received during pruning can bother you for a very long time.

By by and large, this type of juniper needs only sanitary cleaning - removal of dry, frostbitten, damaged, diseased or thickening shoots and branches. Formative pruning is used to change the direction of growth of branches, stop their growth or give some special form. When and how to cut Cossack juniper? It is best to do this in spring or autumn, when the average daily temperature is 4 ºC. Provided that the annual growth of the plant does not exceed 10 cm, you can shorten the shoots by only 2 cm. But it is much more efficient and safer not to cut, but to pluck the tips of the shoots: in this way you increase the branching of the crown, and the bush becomes more magnificent.

Cuttings are universal, but not the most successful way breeding for all species and varietal forms of juniper. best time spring is considered for cuttings. Harvest cuttings in cloudy weather. Used as cuttings upper part semi-lignified shoots, and it is very important that these shoots do not grow in a vertical direction. The stalk is separated with a sharp knife, leaving a heel on it - part of the branch or shoot from which the stalk has grown. There should be a piece of wood on the heel. The cuttings are freed from twigs and needles to a height of 3-4 cm from the heel, they are immediately planted in a loose, permeable substrate, consisting of equal parts of a large river sand and peat, and water the substrate with sodium humate or heteroauxin to accelerate the formation of roots on the cuttings. As a container, wooden boxes with drainage holes are used. The cuttings are immersed in the ground by 3 cm and at an angle of 60 º. Contain cuttings in a greenhouse with high humidity. Before the start of bud break, the temperature of the content should be in the range of 16-19 ºC, and as soon as the buds open, it is increased to 23-26 ºC. Keep cuttings out of direct sunlight, water them regularly and spray at least 5 times a day. Rooting of cuttings occurs in 50-90 days, but do not rush to transplant them, because the first roots are very weak and easily damaged. Leave the seedlings in the greenhouse until next spring so that their root system develops and becomes stronger.

Juniper Cossack creeping is easily propagated by layering, and this can be done throughout the growing season. Use freshly matured, but not yet lignified branches for rooting. First you need to prepare the soil around the bush: dig it up, adding acidic peat and river sand, and moisten it. The branches are cleared of needles to a height of 10-20 cm from the base, the cleaned part is pressed against the ground and fixed in this position. From time to time, the pinned section of the branch must be spudded, at the same time, the top of the shoot must remain above the surface. Layers take root from 6 to 12 months. When new shoots form and grow stronger on them, they are separated and transplanted to a new place.

Particularly valuable varieties of Cossack juniper are propagated by grafting: a varietal cutting is grafted onto a seedling of common juniper. The cut varietal stalk is pressed tightly against the stock and the junction is tied with a transparent elastic band. But more often, gardeners use the method of rooting cuttings or cuttings, since grafts to rootstocks rarely take root.

Juniper Cossack Tamariscifolia

or Tamaris – undersized shrub up to 1 m high and a decorative evergreen crown up to 2 m wide, with ascending or outstretched branches, covered mainly with needle-shaped gray needles, collected in whorls of 3 obtusely pointed, slightly bent, with a white stripe on top of the needle. In cultivation, this juniper, known since 1730, can live up to 30 years.

Juniper Cossack Variegata

reaches a height of 1 m with a crown diameter of 2.5 m. It grows more slowly than the main species. It has flattened shoots with curved tops, the scaly needles have a white-and-white color.

Juniper Cossack Rockery Jam

is a dwarf form of the species up to 50 cm high, while the crown diameter of the plant reaches from 2 to 3.5 m. The bark of Rockery Jam is reddish-gray, the shoots are dark green, the needles are blue-green, prickly, needle-shaped and scaly. This juniper grows slowly, lives for a long time, and is characterized by high winter hardiness.

Juniper Cossack Nana

- male dwarf form up to 80 cm high with short shoots and tightly pressed branches. The needles of the plant are dark green, mostly scaly. The form is characterized by high heat and drought resistance.

Juniper Cossack Mas

- this form looks like male plant, but fruits can be found on very old specimens. The height of Masa is not more than 2 m, but the diameter of the crown can reach 7-8 m. The bark of the plant is reddish-gray, the needles are prickly, mostly needle-shaped, bluish on the upper side, green below. In winter, the needles acquire a purple bloom. This form grows quickly: the annual growth in height is 10, and in width 20 cm. The plant is durable and frost-resistant.

Juniper Cossack Blue Danub

- a decorative form of Austrian selection, obtained in 1961: a wide and low plant with curved tops of branches. The needles are often scaly, but inside the plant they are needle-like, light bluish-blue.

Juniper Cossack Glauka

- sprawling shrub no more than 1 m high, and up to 2 m wide, with scaly and needle-shaped blue-green needles, which acquires a red-green color in winter. The cones of this form have a bluish tint.

Juniper Cossack Arcadia

- a horizontal shrub only 40 cm high and more than one and a half meters wide, with soft, long and bright light green needles. The shoots of the plant are located almost horizontally. The form is highly winter hardy.

Juniper Cossack Brodmur

- the male form, similar to Tamaris, but with stronger and more delicate shoots with small gray-blue needles. The crown is flat, up to 3.5 m wide, but with a vaulted middle.

Juniper Cossack Buffalo

- also a form similar to Tamariscifolia, but wider and lower, with light green needles. Buffalo has exceptional winter hardiness.

Juniper Cossack Kupressifolia

- the female form, which is a low-growing creeping shrub up to half a meter high with a wide crown, open shoots, bluish-green needles, often scaly, pressed, but needles can also be found inside the lower part of the crown. This winter-hardy plant bears fruit abundantly. In culture, it has been known since 1789.

Juniper Cossack Erekta

reaches a height of 2 m. Its obliquely ascending branches form a pyramidal crown. The needles of the plant are dark green, mostly scaly. Erekta is heat resistant and tolerates dry air well. This form was bred in Holland in 1891.

Juniper Cossack Fastigiata

- a plant with a narrow-columnar crown 5-6, and sometimes 8 m high. Its needles are green, mostly scaly.

Juniper Cossack Femina

- female form up to 1.5 m high with a crown diameter of 4-5 m, with reddish-gray bark and dark green shoots. The needles are dense, dark green, mostly scaly, poisonous, with bad smell. Femina grows for a long time, but is frost-resistant and durable.

. If you want to arrange a lawn next to the building, then other coniferous plants can become the best neighbors for the Cossack juniper - undersized spruce, weeping larches or mountain pines.

Large-leaved perennial trees and large garden flowers are not combined with juniper.

Modern landscape compositions rarely do without luxurious bushes of Cossack juniper. Planting a plant and caring for it is not difficult, but the conifer, especially in groups, looks very impressive. An evergreen creeping shrub ennobles any home garden and spreads a fresh and pleasant aroma.

plant description

The unpretentious coniferous shrub of the Cypress family fell in love with gardeners for its high decorativeness and resistance to frost, drought and air pollution with smoke and gases. Creeping juniper loves bright places, is undemanding to the type of soil, grows rapidly, forming picturesque thickets. In nature, juniper is common in Europe and Asia.

Usually the bushes of the Cossack juniper are low, up to 1.5 m, with shoots creeping along the ground and spreading roots. Young plants and branches that are in the shade are distinguished by needle-shaped pointed needles, up to 6 mm in length. On old bushes, the branches are covered with scales, layered on top of each other, like tiles. The essential oil of pine needles has a pungent odor.

Essential oils and juniper cones are poisonous!

Juniper Cossack - a dioecious plant, male (oval earring) and female (inflorescence) flowers are located on different bushes. The fruits are small, up to 7 mm, brown-black cones with a bluish bloom. The fruit contains 3-4 seeds that contain poison.

Shrub varieties

Now there are more than 70 varieties of creeping juniper, which differ in the color of the needles or the shape of the crown. The most popular are rapidly spreading in parks and gardens.

• Tamariscifolia

A low plant, up to 1 m, with a crown width of about 2 m. On open branches, vertical shoots with dark green bluish needles. The variety has been cultivated since the 18th century, has been growing for 30 years.

• Variegata

Bred in mid-nineteenth century. It is distinguished by a compact, up to 1.5 m in diameter and 50 cm in height, funnel-shaped flat-round crown. Shoots flattened with beautifully curved tops and individual cream-colored needles on a general bright green background. It grows rather slowly - by 10-15 cm per year. It is successfully used in rockeries.

• Rockery Jam

Dwarf shrub, up to 0.5 m in height, with a crown diameter of up to 3 m, bred in Holland. This variety of Cossack juniper is characterized by blue-green prickly needles and slow development in height. A ten-year bush rises to 20 cm, the crown extends to 2 m.

• Blue Danub

This variety of creeping juniper was bred in Austria in the middle of the 20th century and conveys in its name the pearl of the nature of this country - the Blue Danube. The light bluish-blue needles of the shrub with curved tops cover an area up to 3 m in diameter. Shoots reach a height of 30-50 cm, sometimes even higher.

• Erekta

A tall bush of drought-resistant Cossack juniper, bred at the end of the 19th century in Holland, grows up to 2 m. Obliquely growing vertical branches with dark green scales create the shape of an inverted pyramid.

Monotonous view of plantings from one juniper, although different varieties, can have a depressing effect on the mood. They must be diluted with decorative leafy or flowering plants.

Other undersized varieties

Among the most common low creeping bushes of the Cossack juniper are found:

• Arcadia - winter-hardy, with horizontal shoots forming rollers, light green needles, crown width 1.5 m;
• Broadmoor - gray-blue needles, crown width 3.5 m, flat shape in the center becomes vaulted;
• Kupressifolia - abundantly fruiting female form with green-bluish needles;
• Nana is a drought-resistant male form, grows up to 0.8 m, dark green in color.

Tall varieties

In addition to juniper Erekta, there are many other tall shrubs.

• Fastigiata - narrow-columnar bright green crown reaches 6-8 m.
• Femina - a frost-resistant and durable female form grows up to 1.5 m. It is distinguished by dark green, dense, unpleasantly smelling needles, extending to 4-5 m.
• Mas is the male form of juniper, but older bushes bear fruit. Height up to 2 m, width - 5-8 m. From above, the needle needles are bluish, green below, in winter it becomes slightly purple.
• Glauka - rises to 1 m, spreads up to 2 m. The needles are blue-green, in winter with a reddish tint.

decorative purpose

AT garden design use all types of creeping juniper, because it has undeniable decorative qualities. Such landings create a special comfort and are distinguished by an elegant form. Various shades of greens of several varieties brought together also look attractive.

There are many uses for juniper:

• planting on the edges of the garden and on lawns;
• ground cover plantations of undersized varieties on slopes;
• creation of hedges, screens or decoration of buildings, fences from tall species;
• element scandinavian style- against the background of large stones or buildings covered with moss, in the vicinity of the plots;
• tall varieties in bluish-silver tones - a good background choice for a discreet English garden;
• undersized, monochromatic bushes will fit into the bizarre forms of a Japanese garden;
• strict solemnity will be given to the garden by planting juniper along with firs, pines, larches.

Juniper Cossack is not combined with trees in which large leaves, and with large flowers.

How to plant juniper?

For all types of Cossack juniper, it is necessary to choose a sunny place without close groundwater. A slight shadow is acceptable for several hours.

Juniper is also planted in September, but best timing landings in April. The roots of seedlings are soaked in water and treated with growth stimulants. The most suitable soil acidity is 4-7 pH.

The landing algorithm is as follows:

1. dig a hole that exceeds the size of the roots by 2-3 times;
2. part of the excavated soil is mixed with 2 parts of peat, 1 part of sand and 100 g of lime or 200 g of dolomite flour are added;
3. drainage is laid at the bottom of the hole with a height of 15-20 cm;
4. the plant is placed so that the neck rises 5-10 cm above the soil;
5. after the earth has been compacted, it is watered abundantly and sprinkled with a thick layer of peat on top.

Leave at least 0.5 m of space between juniper seedlings.

Watering and fertilizing

The seedling must be carefully cared for.

• After planting, in May, they feed 30 g of nitroammophoska per 1 sq. m or dissolve in 10 liters of water 20 g of the universal fertilizer "Kemira-Lux".
• Juniper top dressing is repeated every spring.
• For better care recommended foliar top dressing drug "Epin".
• In spring and summer heat, 10-30 liters per plant are watered 2-3 times per season, making a groove around the perimeter of the hole.
• In the evening, after the sun, the juniper crown is sprayed with water once a week.
• It is advisable to shade young seedlings at temperatures above 35 degrees.
• For preventive care, the crown is periodically treated with fungicides.
• For the winter, seedlings are covered with mulch.

pruning

Amateur gardeners should remember that in all parts of the Cossack juniper there is poison - the essential oil of sabinol. Scratches obtained during pruning can hurt for a long time, itching will be felt.

Pruning is carried out in spring or autumn at a temperature of +4 0 C.

• For shrubs, sanitary pruning is carried out, removing dry or damaged branches.
• Formative pruning of juniper is possible for an aesthetic appearance of the crown: in the process, they change the direction of the branches, stop the growth of shoots, or create a certain silhouette. Cut off no more than 2 cm of the shoot.

The effect of crown branching is observed when pinching the tips of the shoots.

Diseases and pests

Preventive treatments of bushes with fungicides are designed to protect young plants from fungal diseases, to which they are often susceptible.

• To avoid infection with rust, juniper is not planted next to plants of the Pink family.
• The roots of young plants suffer from fusarium, the needles turn yellow, the shoots wither. The crown is sprayed with "Fundazol" and the soil is watered with the same solution.
• Juniper bushes die in winter from brown shutte: black sticky mycelium is noticeable on brown needles. The affected parts are removed, the plant is sprayed with Abiga-Peak, HOM.
• Juniper is also affected by alternariosis, nectriosis, bark cancer and other diseases, which are most often expressed by yellowing and falling of the needles. Treatment with antifungal drugs is effective.

Pests usually fly around poisonous shrubs. Sometimes scale insects and spider mites settle, which they fight with insecticides.

A well-placed shrub or a whole juniper grove will decorate the garden. The plant is able to purify the air and requires very little attention.

Here are photos and varieties of Cossack juniper, its description, features of planting and care.

General description of the Cossack juniper (photo on the left). Typical signs of the species: shrubs with trihedral trunks, thicker shoots, smelling of resin when rubbed, small fruits.

Juniper Cossack is called a plant of rocks. Its homeland is the European part of the CIS (former USSR). In particular, this species grows in the mountains, on hills, scattered sands, less often on riverine sands. Among the territories of natural distribution are the mountain slopes of the Crimea, the Caucasus, Western Europe, Northern Mongolia, the Southern Urals, as well as the steppes of Siberia and Kazakhstan.

Juniper Cossack - in nature it is a frost-resistant undersized creeping shrub with outstretched or sometimes raised branches. Trihedral trunks grow in a horizontal plane, it is very rare to see a plant in the form of an upright shrub. The bark is gray-reddish, smooth on the trunk and branches. The shoots are rounded, have a thickness of 8 to 1 mm and are dark green in color. The smell of crushed needles is very sharp, the color is green-blue, but in winter the color changes to pinkish-brown (see photo).

Typical representatives of the Cossack juniper species have prickly needles, which cannot be said about all of its decorative varieties. The color of the needles is green-blue. Needle-shaped soft leaflets are found only on young or old plants at the bottom of the branches. They are 2.5 to 8 mm long, convex below, concave above, have a keel on the back, a resin gland and a whitish stomatal strip separated by a green median vein. However, in adulthood, most leaves are scaly, linear-lanceolate, rhombic or oval in shape, with sharp or blunt tips, 1–2 mm long, have a keel and a resinous gland on the back. Cones drooping, located on short shoots, usually hanging down. They can ripen from 1 to 6 seeds, but most often there are 2 of them. Seeds are oval in shape with a well-defined keel.

There are several forms of Cossack juniper found in nature. These are narrow - columnar specimens up to 8 m tall; tall spreading plants with pointed leaves; high wide shrubs with obliquely ascending branches, low creeping shrubs with a bluish color of needles; plants, partially painted in white - yellow and etc..

Planting and caring for Cossack juniper. Almost all varieties grow well in urban conditions and are recommended for landscaping cities and parks. The vast majority prefers sunny places. In the catalog of plants, one variety is noted that tolerates penumbra conditions - this is the variety "Tamariscifolia". All varieties of Cossack juniper are not demanding on soils and their level of moisture. The rest of the principles of planting and caring for the Cossack juniper are identical to all junipers and are described on the page: planting and caring for juniper.

Frost resistance of varieties of Cossack juniper. Almost all plants painlessly tolerate frosts down to -34.4 C ° (zone 4). Varieties "Broadmoor" and "Arcadia" (down to -28.8 C°) are noted for somewhat lower frost resistance. This means that in colder areas, it is better to cover them in winter, plant them in more protected places, or purchase zoned plants.

Decorative varieties of Cossack juniper with a photo.

Juniper Cossack Arcadia (Arcadia)(see photo below) - a dense low shrub with grayish-blue needles. The leaves are almost completely scaly. Suitable for small gardens. For a period of 10 years, it has a height of 30 cm and 1.5 - 2 m in circumference. Maximum height up to 50 cm, circumferential width up to 4 m.

Juniper to. Blue Donau (Blue Donau)(see photo below) - a fast-growing, fairly sprawling shrub green - blue color. In the first ten years, it grows up to 1 m high and has a diameter of about 1.5 m. Maximum performance sizes: 1 m and 5 m (height and diameter).

Juniper k. Broadmoor (Broadmoor)(see photo below) - bluish-green undersized creeping variety with branches extending from the trunk in a horizontal plane. The shoots are tiled to each other, the needles are small-needle. It is fast-growing, has a height of up to 20 cm at the age of ten and a width of about 2 m. Maximum heights: up to 30 cm (15 years). It is widely used to strengthen slopes, slopes, ravines.

Juniper to. Glauca (Glauca)(see photo below) - sprawling fast-growing shrub growing 1.5 m in the first 10 years and the same size in diameter. The color of the crown is blue - green, in winter it changes to red - green. Along with scaly leaves, it also has needle-shaped ones.

Juniper to. Mas (Mas)(see photo below) - spreading shrub of gray - green color with an average growth rate. Ten-year-old specimens are represented by plants 50 cm high and 1.5 m in diameter. The shoots are roller-shaped. The main branches extend horizontally, while the side branches are somewhat raised. Recommended for use in urban and suburban gardening. Grows to about 1m in height.

Juniper to. Rockery Gem (Rockery Jam)(see photo below) - low (up to 50 cm in adulthood) wide shrub with bluish-green needle needles, scaly along the periphery. The branches are horizontal. At 10 years old, its height is 20 cm, and its width is up to 2 m in diameter. It can be used as a ground cover.

Juniper to. Tamariscifolia (Tamariscifolia)(see photo below) – dwarf shrub with small-needle needles of gray - green color. At first, the branches spread along the ground, but with age they rise to a height of 1 m. In the first 10 years, the height of the plant does not exceed 30 cm, and the width is 2 m. The needles are soft, non-thorny. Planting density for ground cover purposes: 2 - 3 pcs. per 1 sq. m. In adulthood, it grows to a height of 80 cm and usually has a domed shape.

Juniper to. Variegata (Variegata)(see photo below) - a dwarf shrub of two-tone color (green and white). At 10 years old, it has a height of about 40 cm, a diameter of 1 m. The branches are outstretched, curved at the tips. Growth is slow maximum height up to 50 cm.

Thematic pages: coniferous trees, coniferous shrubs.