Rocky Juniper - Description, Benefits And Care

2024 Author: Josephine Shorter | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 21:43

Rocky juniper

Rocky juniper is a plant belonging to the genus Juniper, the Cypress family. It is found naturally in North America, Canada, the United States and northern Mexico. The plant prefers rocky rocks and mountain slopes. Compared to other types of junipers, rocky juniper in the natural environment is quite rare, but is actively cultivated by people.

Rocky juniper - the plant is not large, it rarely exceeds 13 m in height. The crown begins to form almost from the very base of a shrub or tree, the crown shape of young junipers is conical. As the plant matures, the crown acquires a rounded shape. The bark is dark brown in color, the shoots are greenish-blue.

The needles of the plant are presented in a wide range of colors. There are rocky junipers of bluish-blue, blue-gray, dark green color. The leaves are in the shape of a needle, in length they can reach 12 mm. The cones are rounded, dark blue, covered with a bluish bloom on top. Seeds are formed at the end of the second year of the plant's life. Each coneberry usually contains two seeds.

In total, there are about 20 varieties of rock juniper, the most common of which are: Skyrocket, Blue Airrow, Blue Hafen, Mondlow, Wichita Blue, Silver Star.

Content:

• The use of rocky juniper in landscape design
• Features of care and planting of rocky juniper
• Useful properties of rocky juniper

The use of rocky juniper in landscape design

The rocky juniper has an attractive shape, therefore it is actively used in landscaping city parks and squares; it can often be seen near administrative buildings, as well as on private estates.

This juniper variety is planted to create a hedge, used in heather gardens, and included in various compositions. Due to the fact that the color of the needles of the plant varies widely, it is used to create landscapes in all kinds of styles. Columnar and pyramidal shrubs with blue needles are especially popular.

Features of care and planting of rocky juniper

Rocky juniper does not have special requirements for the soil. The plant feels good in urban conditions, it is not susceptible to gas pollution and smoke. Also, the shrub is not afraid of heat and requires a lot of sunlight.

Those plants that have a vertical crown must be protected from strong winds. Therefore, to plant a tree, you need to give preference to quiet and sunny areas.

A slight shading of the plant is possible, but if you place it in deep shade, this will negatively affect the condition of the needles. The crown of the tree will become bare, as a result, the decorative qualities of the juniper will be lost. At the same time, the plant itself will weaken and may even die.

It is good to plant junipers on rocky soils with the inclusion of sand and gravel. The plant needs high-quality drainage, since even a slight stagnation of moisture will negatively affect the state of the root system, and therefore the tree itself. It is important that the soil salt content is kept to a minimum.

If you plan to plant a plant from a container, then you must first moisten it. For this, the earthen lump is placed in water for 2 hours. The pit for planting such a plant should be at least 2 sizes of an earthen coma in depth.

The rocky juniper does not have any special care requirements. Periodically, loosen the soil under the tree a little. This must be done after watering the plant. At the same time, you need to weed the ground and remove all the weeds. The juniper is mulched immediately after transplanting, using peat or pine bark for this purpose. The soil for planting should consist of 2 parts of peat, 1 part of sand and 1 part of sod land.

Different breeds of rocky juniper are frost-resistant, therefore, when choosing a plant for a specific site, climatic conditions must be taken into account. As for feeding, it should be carried out during the active vegetation stage of the plant, which occurs in April and May. You can use the fertilizer "Kemira-universal". For 10 liters of water, 20 g of the product will be required.

During wintering, the rocky juniper must be pulled together with fishing line, which will avoid crown fracture after a snowfall. In addition, you need to ensure that a lot of snow does not accumulate on the branches in winter.

As for pests, the greatest danger to the rocky juniper is the sawfly, scale insects, scale insects and aphids. In addition, the shrub is susceptible to rust. To get rid of this fungal disease, fungicides are used.

Useful properties of rocky juniper

Rocky juniper, like other species of coniferous shrubs, has pronounced phytoncidal properties. He is able to disinfect the air around him, so such a plant will serve not only as a decoration, but also as a natural deodorizing agent.

The wood of the plant is used to make pencils. However, the main purpose of the rocky juniper is landscape decoration.

The author of the article: Sokolova Nina Vladimirovna | Phytotherapist

Education: Diploma in "General Medicine" and "Therapy" received at the Pirogov University (2005 and 2006). Advanced training at the Department of Phytotherapy at the Peoples' Friendship University of Moscow (2008).