Evergreen flora representatives are able to decorate garden and park areas year-round. And spring conifers also saturate the air with a strong aroma of resin. When deciding to plant such plants on a personal plot, you should pay attention to the juniper "Old Gold", captivating with the beauty of needles.
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Description juniper juniper medium "Old Gold"
Based on the description of the plant, which emphasizes its high attractiveness (golden color of needles, dense flat crown, compactness), the variety can be called one of the most promising in landscape design.
The shrub belongs to the Cypress family and is ranked as a slow-growing plant with a slight annual growth. After 10 years, it reaches a height of only 50-60 cm with a crown diameter of about 1 m. Since the variety is frost-resistant, it can be cultivated in various agro-climatic zones.
On a note! The maximum possible size of the conifer is 3 m in diameter and 1.5 m in height.
Planting and plant care
Allocating a place for the conifer should give preference to the sunny areas of the garden. Although you can plant juniper in the area with a slight shadow. The most suitable soil should have a neutral or slightly acidic reaction.
Step-by-step instructions for planting:
- A pit is prepared twice as wide as the root system and with a depth of 70-80 cm.
- A drainage layer about 25 cm thick of brick chips or expanded clay, crushed stone is placed.
- Up to half the pit is covered with a nutrient substrate of peat, sand and turf in a ratio of 2: 1: 1.
- The juniper falls, it is filled up with soil.
- The trunk circle is compacted and watered abundantly.
On a note. The distance from surrounding plants should not be less than 1 m.
An integrated approach and compliance with all agrotechnical requirements for the cultivation of Old Gold juniper guarantee a long-term preservation of the decorative shrub and, as a result, the beauty of the garden composition. Moreover, caring for the conifer is not difficult at all.
Juniper does not need frequent watering, since waterlogging can cause its death due to the development of rot. Humidification may only be required during periods of prolonged drought. The total number of irrigations during the growing season should not exceed 4 times.
In the first few years after planting, there is no particular need for top dressing, since the plant is characterized by slow growth and low consumption of nutrients that were introduced into the soil during planting. In the future, it is enough to enrich the soil with complex fertilizers every spring.
Despite frost resistance, shelter will be needed for young specimens that are still weakly rooted. The main thing is to mulch the trunk circle well. As mulch, you can use peat, sawdust or fir spruce branches.
The scheme and technology of cutting shrubs of the Cypress family
Since this juniper variety is characterized by very slow growth rates, it does not need intensive pruning, like many types of thuja. It is enough for 2-3 years after rooting to conduct forming pruning - remove all branches that are knocked out of the crown. And then, every spring, remove diseased, damaged and growing shoots inside.
Protection against diseases and pests
The evergreen shrub has a fairly strong immunity, but it can also be affected by pests and diseases. Among the latter, gardeners note rot and rust.
To prevent the development of the first, it is enough to water the bush correctly. The situation is more complicated with rust: it will not be possible to completely get rid of it after the appearance. As a prophylaxis, spraying with copper-containing preparations should be carried out every spring. It is also important to plant uninfected seedlings.
Of the pests on the conifers can parasitize: spider mite, onion moth and scale insects. The most effective means of protection are insecticides, which must be used in strict accordance with the manufacturer's instructions. For quality products, you should contact licensed points of sale, where consultants will help you choose the most suitable product.
Juniper in landscape design
Juniper medium "Old Gold", which saw the light in the middle of the last century in Holland, has found wide application in landscape design:
- it is planted on green lawns to form coniferous inclusions in compositions with pyramidal arborvitae or rocky juniper;
- often it adorns the lower tier of the Alpine hills in combination with other evergreen deciduous shrubs, for example, Thunberg barberry;
- Old Gold Junipers are decorated with raised flower beds in front of the entrances to both residential buildings and administrative buildings.
Thanks to endurance and unpretentiousness, Old Gold juniper can please for many years, decorating even the fallen snow with gold of its dense needles.
