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Among the dwarf shrubs, there are representatives of conifers that take root in almost any climate. Juniper Blue Star is an unpretentious plant with a spherical crown. The culture got its name for the unusual color of the needles - pale green with a smoky blue tint. This shrub with high decorative qualities can grow both in city parks and outside the city.
Description of Blue Star Juniper
It is a low-growing shrub that grows several centimeters a year. Its numerous shoots are densely covered with short thorny needles. Young seedlings up to a year have the shape of a ball, an adult plant takes the shape of a hemisphere or dome. It does not need additional shaping pruning. In spring and summer, juniper spines are smoky gray, blue, in autumn and winter they turn purple.
An overgrown shrub with scaly, colored needles will be a wonderful decoration for the landscape. Possessing excellent decorative qualities, the blue star scaly juniper exudes a strong coniferous aroma. Its essential oil is believed to have phytoncidal and disinfectant properties.
Sizes of BlueStar juniper
This plant is compact: the height of the blue star juniper is no more than 70 cm, the crown diameter does not exceed 1.5 m. This species is classified as dwarf. The small size of the shrub is compensated by the density of the needles and the close arrangement of the branches, they form a lush crown.
Winter hardiness zone of juniper scaly Blue Star
The plant is considered winter hardy. Recommended for growing in central Russia. In the northern regions, it requires shelter for the winter. It tolerates frost well under snow. Shrubs of the first year are sheltered for the winter even in the southern regions.
Blue Star Juniper Annual Growth
This variety is slowly growing, after planting, after 10 years, its height will be only 50-70 cm, the crown circumference is no more than 1.5 m. The juniper grows to a height of 5 cm per year, the shoots are added by 10 cm in 12 months.
Juniper Blue Star Poisonous Or Not
The plant is classified as a poisonous crop. When carrying out garden work: pruning, feeding, watering, gloves must be worn. It is important to protect children and pets from contact with Blue Star scuamate juniper.
Juniper Blue Star in landscape design
Lush branches of the bush allow you to create original compositions with its use. The blue-gray shade of the needles looks advantageous against the background of other evergreen coniferous and deciduous crops.
This plant will fit well into the design of rockeries, rock gardens, backyard lawns. Due to its compact size, Blue Star can be grown in pots and pots, which will be an excellent decoration for street windowsills, balconies, awnings.
In open areas and hillocks, low-growing juniper varieties are used in combination with other creeping, rocky plants.
In the photo, you can see how good several types of juniper look, including the scaly Blue Sky, framing stone and brick buildings, stairs.
If you wish, you can grow or purchase Bluestar juniper bonsai. This is a miniature, exotic, ornamental plant that can be used to decorate any design, not only outdoor. Bonsai is indispensable for landscaping loggias, roofs, terraces, balconies. It can be used to create miniature landscape compositions in winter gardens and home premises.
This shrub is grown from seeds or cuttings. The seeds are obtained from dried and crushed juniper fruits. Cuttings are taken from a young plant, the bark of which has not yet become stiff and brown. It is important to consider that the germination of juniper seeds is weak, so you need to prepare a lot of them.
Planting and caring for Blue Star junipers
For the rooting of the culture, open areas are chosen, well-lit by the sun's rays. In the shade of buildings and tall plants, the juniper becomes faded and loses its needles. In the absence of ultraviolet light, the Blue Star becomes like an ordinary wild juniper with pale green needles. It is also important for this decorative culture that the area is well ventilated.
Seedling and planting plot preparation
Juniper Blue Star grows well and takes root in soils with any composition, except salty and excessively moist. If clayey soils prevail on the site, the plant must provide high-quality drainage. You can also mix equal parts of soil with sand and peat. Humus and clay are introduced into sandy and rocky soils.
Before rooting in the planting hole, seedlings should be in special pots or containers, the root is protected and moistened. Before planting, the plant must be carefully removed from such a container.
Planting rules for Blue Star juniper
Blue star juniper seedlings are planted in spring. In order for them to grow well, it is necessary to maintain a distance between several plants of at least half a meter. Ideally, so that the shoots can stretch freely, when planting in a group, the distance between the planting holes is made 2.5 m.
Landing Algorithm:
- First of all, they dig a planting hole with a palatine size larger than the rhizome.
- A layer of about 10-15 cm of pebbles or expanded clay is laid out on the bottom. This material will serve as drainage.
- The next layer, at least 10 cm, is fertile, fluffy soil with the addition of peat and sand.
- The seedling is removed from the container along with a clod of earth, while the roots should not be damaged.
- After the Blue Star is lowered into the planting hole, the roots are straightened. It is important to monitor the root collar: it should be above the ground or be level with it.
- Sprinkle juniper roots with a mixture of earth, sand and peat, they are taken equally.
After planting, the plant is watered abundantly, the soil is mulched. A week after rooting, watering is stopped and a small layer of soil is added under the soil.
Watering and feeding
The juniper juniperus squamata blue star needs watering only in summer, when there is no rainfall. Enough 3 watering per season. About a bucket of water is allocated for one shrub. If the high temperature lasts more than a month, the juniper needs to be sprayed. The procedure is carried out in the evening, after sunset, once a week. If there is sufficient rainfall in the climate zone where Blue Star grows, additional watering is not needed. Excess moisture is detrimental to the Blue Star.
Top dressing is applied to the ground, in early spring, during the period of bud swelling. The soil is dug up with nitroammophos, departing from the trunk about 15 cm, after the Blue Star is watered. In October, you can also dig up the soil with potash fertilizers.
Juniper over 2 years old does not need feeding. Growing on fertile soils saturated with trace elements, the Blue Star loses its rounded crown shape, the shoots grow and lengthen. An adult Blue Star plant only needs watering, removal weeds and loosening the soil.
Mulching and loosening
A juniper grows actively if there is air access to its roots. To do this, 2-3 times over the summer, it is necessary to carefully dig the soil around the trunk of the bush.
It is important to regularly remove all weeds; pests can start in their leaves. After that, the soil can be sprinkled with complex fertilizer for coniferous crops, watered. Then the soil is mulched with chips, sawdust, peat.
Blue Star Juniper Cut
In autumn, they carry out sanitary pruning of the shrub. Remove dead, dry, spoiled branches. During the procedure, attention is paid to parasites and diseases that can affect the plant. If there are signs of the appearance of larvae or spotting, the spoiled branches are removed and burned, the bush is treated with special chemicals.
The scaly blue star does not need a formative pruning of the juniper. It acquires a rounded crown shape in the process of growth.
Preparing for winter
In late autumn, when the garden is being digged, the soil around the juniper is also loosened. After it is covered with a 10-centimeter layer of peat to insulate the roots. The shoots are tied with loose rope or tape so that they can withstand the weight of the snow. After that, spruce branches are thrown onto the shrub to protect it from frost.
Reproduction of Blue Star juniper
This culture can be propagated by layering, seeds and cuttings. From the seeds, non-viable seedlings with weak decorative characteristics are obtained.
Cuttings can be obtained from an adult plant that is at least 5 years old. In late April or early May, strong branches with buds are chosen. They are cut and divided into small pieces of about 15 cm. Then they are placed in a growth stimulator for a day. After the twig is rooted in a mixture of peat and sand. As soon as the roots appear, the seedlings are transferred to the personal plot.
The shrub is often propagated by layering. They are fastened with staples to the ground in several places. As soon as the roots appear, the young plants of the Blue Star juniper are transplanted.
Pests and diseases of juniper scaly Blue Star
All varieties of junipers suffer from rust. It affects the branches, red spots appear, the bark dries and cracks in this place. Damaged shoots are cut and destroyed, the shrub is treated with special preparations.
In spring, fungal lesions can be found on juniper needles. In this case, the needles turn yellow, crumble. The shrub is sprayed with fungicides once every 7 days, until the signs of the disease disappear completely.
Juniper Blue Star can infect scale insects, aphids, ticks, moths. As soon as their larvae appear on the shoots, the shrub is treated with insecticides until the pests are completely destroyed.
The emergence of pests and diseases of the Blue Star juniper is not associated with leaving. Infection can occur from nearby horticultural crops.
Conclusion
Blue Star Juniper is a beautiful ornamental plant that adapts to any climatic conditions. It can be grown in temperate climates and even in northern regions. With minimal labor and money costs, you can get long-term landscaping of the site, even with heavy soils, on which it is difficult to grow other crops.
