Evergreen Juniper "Skyrocket" is very easy to care for. Even a novice will cope with its cultivation.
Material Content:
Description of juniper variety “Skyrocket”
Juniper Skyrocket features rapid growth. If you make a description of the variety, then it has elegant shoots growing up. By 10 years, the plant reaches 3 meters in height. Juniper shoots are adjacent to the trunk, the color of the needles is juicy, blue-green.
The variety has increased winter hardiness, is widely used to decorate small household plots in plant compositions. It tolerates summer heat.
Juniper rocky "Skyrocket" has small needles and a very deep root system. Gives fruit - cones.
Outdoor planting and care
This juniper variety is called a "heavenly rocket." The plant has no particular soil preferences. But it is best to grow juniper on loam with weak acidity. The roots of the plant are very strong, and they fix it well even in very light soil.
Juniper planting begins with the selection of a suitable site. In nature, the plant grows on rock formations, in places protected from the wind. Therefore, the Skyrocket should be planted in a non-blown area. But the most important thing for the variety is lighting - it is advisable to choose a site in the sun.
Experts advise planting seedlings that have already reached meter height. So young plants quickly adapt to new conditions.
Juniper planting step by step:
- First, the earthball must be saturated with moisture. For this, a container with a seedling is spilled plentifully.
- For planting, they dig a hole 2 times the size of the root system. The depth of the hole should be at least 70 cm.
- Drainage is laid at the bottom of the pit - broken brick, expanded clay, gravel.
- Together with the root lump, the seedling is lowered into the hole, leaving the neck just above the soil level.
- The voids around the rhizome are filled with a mixture of peat and turf, taken in equal quantities. Tamp the soil and spill it.
- When the land sags after watering, it is necessary to add soil, and then mulch the seedling with peat in a layer of 5 cm.
Agrotechnics of cultivation and care
The plant is distinguished by good tolerance of urban conditions and ease of cultivation. But in the first years after planting, juniper can grow too slowly. Abundant watering, at least once a week, is very necessary for young plants. If there is strong heat, the plants must be sprinkled.
Culture is infrequently fed. It is enough to bring nitrophos in April. Fertilizer is simply sprayed in a circle around the barrel.
Mandatory weeding and loosening of the soil. It is more convenient to carry out these procedures on wet ground the day after watering. After loosening, the soil is mulched.
One of the main steps in the care of juniper is its pruning. Once, in the spring, before sap flow begins, you should use a sharp secateurs to free the shrub from frozen shoots and broken branches. If the branch is bent, it must be tied up - so it will quickly recover. It is possible to carry out a forming crown pruning, in which all shoots spoiling the decorative appearance of the bush are removed.
How to care in winter
The rules for caring for a plant in winter depend on its variety. If the juniper has a columnar crown, then after snowfall it is necessary to shake off the snow, since the branches can break. Before snowfalls, such varieties are pulled together with twine.
It is better to cover young plants of dwarf varieties for the winter with spruce branches. It is imperative that you mulch perinar circles to protect the roots from freezing.
Juniper propagation
Juniper can be propagated by cuttings or young layering, as well as grafting. Cuttings are carried out in the spring. Semi-lignified shoots with a heel are cut into cuttings (a piece of bark from the branch from which the cuttings were cut). Root cuttings need in the greenhouse. Depending on the variety, after about a month and a half, cuttings should take root. Such plants are planted in the garden only after three years.
Only creeping varieties can be propagated by layering. To do this, the shoot is cleaned of needles and fixed in the soil. After a year, the layers will be completely rooted, it can be separated.
On a note! Vaccination is the most difficult method of reproduction, requiring professional knowledge.
Protection against diseases and pests
This evergreen shrub can become infected with the rust caused by the fungus. Outgrowths appear on the branches, the plant loses its attractive appearance, its branches begin to dry out. It is necessary to immediately cut off the affected parts of the shrub, and then treat the culture with Vectra or Tilt.
The appearance of such a disease as fusarium wilt is also possible. If the plant is grown on too dense soil in damp, then this disease is likely to occur. Symptom of the disease - the needles begin to change their color to red.
For the treatment of the disease, it is necessary to change the upper layer of soil in the peritoneal circle to fresh, as well as to spray juniper with Fitosporin or Maxim preparations.
Moth and aphids can harm the bush. It happens that junipers are attacked by scale insects. The best protection against the appearance of insect pests is spraying with Fitoverm.
Landscaping Ideas
Landscaping a garden without conifers will be boring even in summer. Junipers decorate personal plots, squares and territories of various institutions. This plant can be used to create hedges, planted separately on the background of the house or fence.
A perfect backdrop for flowering plants is the lush wall of junipers. Virginia juniper looks especially beautiful, which will be the main decoration of the site all year round.
Growing junipers on your site is not as difficult as it might seem. Despite their rather exotic look for our latitudes, these conifers feel great even in regions with harsh winters and are very responsive to care.
