Juniperus Hibernica: plant characteristics, care rules

Juniperus Hibernica - shrub pyramidal shape, reaching a height of 4 meters. Its needles in their color range from gray-green tones to bluish-green hues. The plant has sharp, but not prickly small needles. This variety of juniper is frost-resistant and at the same time it perfectly tolerates penumbra, but the bright sun is very difficult to perceive by the plant. Greens can suffer from direct sunlight. The presented variety of juniper perfectly tolerates any soil, the main thing - it should have a minimum salt content.

Planting rules

Many landscape designers use the juniper of Hibernik when decorating garden areas. Planting and caring for this plant is not difficult, so even a young amateur horticulturist will easily cope with this task. As noted earlier, this variety of juniper with respect to soil nutrition is unassuming, but the optimal mixture of land will be a combination of peat, sand and needles in equal proportions.

In order for the plant to become well established, it is necessary to choose young trees that are sold with a closed root system. The optimal time for planting is April or May, but you can plant it in autumn, before the first frost, preferably in September.

The planting site must be open, with maximum light access. If you plant it in strong shading, the juniper of Hibernica will lose its decorative appeal.

The size of the pit for a juniper depends on the size of the rhizome plus an additional 15-20 cm, which is filled with nutrient soil. When planting a plant, it is sufficient to keep the distance between the bushes at least 1 meter. After planting, the soil around the trunk is mulched. A mixture of needles, sawdust and peat will be the best option. Watering under the root after planting is a prerequisite.

Care of a juniper

The Juniper Juniper, whose photo is presented below, does not require careful and scrupulous care, but to make the plant feel most comfortable, pleasing with its appearance, it is worthwhile to adopt some rules.

1. In spring, the bush should be fed with nitroammophous, bringing in 35-45 grams per square meter.
2. The very same circle with the trunk regularly cleaned of weed, loosen it, but you can mulch a mixture of needles and peat.
3. To form a bush, pruning is done, giving it a conical shape. In this case, do not forget about the regular pruning and removal of dry branches as preventive measures.
4. Juniperus Hibernica requires regular watering, but so that the water does not stagnate. Make 2 buckets of water for each bush 2-3 times a week (including weather). At the same time, an adult, a formed bush is less demanding of moisture - it is enough to water it once a decade, and in hot weather - every 5 days.
5. So that the plant is pleased with its beauty, spray the bush out of the hose, flushing dust off it and moistening the air, as juniper does not tolerate dry air and dirt on needles.

Methods of reproduction

Juniperus of Hibernica can be propagated by seeds, by cuttings or by cuttings, while the latter method is the most optimal and preferred. The plant can be propagated by cuttings all year round, although it is best to do this in the spring months. At the very beginning, the stalks are rooted in the greenhouse, if it is spring, and in winter - in the greenhouse, having first withstood the cutting in water, the temperature of which is 16-19 ºC. The main thing in this case is regular spraying, keeping the substrate moist and scattered lighting.

Juniperus Hibernica, the description of which we give in this article, can be planted in layers. This method is practiced by experienced horticulturists, the only thing that should be taken into account is that this is the propagation in the majority of the creeping, rather than the directly growing variety in the period of intensive growth and vegetation of the plant.

Reproduction by seeds is a long and complex process. Seeds give shoots only after a year, or even three after sowing, and therefore consider it as a promising way of breeding juniper is not worth it.

Pests and diseases of juniper

Diseases and pests that can affect the juniper of Hibernica are mushroom rust and gray mold. With the timely processing of the plant can be cured and saved, while it should be treated with chemical drugs designed to combat such pests.