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The Blue Alps juniper has been used for landscaping for many years. It can be found in the vastness of the Caucasus, Crimea, Japan, China and Korea. The variety is undemanding to care for, so even a beginner can cope with growing in a summer cottage.
Description of Blue Alps Juniper
Juniper Blue Alps belongs to the ornamental coniferous evergreens. This is a shrub belonging to the Cypress family, which is popularly called "veres". The plant is considered a long-liver. In favorable conditions, its life span ranges from 300 to 6000 years.
Description of Chinese Blue Alps Juniper:
- The color of an adult shrub is emerald with a silvery-bluish tint.
- The branches are powerful, lush, with massive, stiff thorny needles, stretching upward. Pointed needles, small, up to 1 cm in length.
- The plant can be either monoecious or dioecious.
- During fruiting, black-green cones with a whitish bloom appear on the tree. The diameter of the cones is 5 - 10 mm, they consist of 4 - 8 scales and contain 2 - 3 seeds.
- The height of the Blue Alps juniper by the age of ten is about 3-4 m, and the crown diameter reaches 2 m.
- Branches grow by 10 - 20 cm per year.
Juniper variety Blue Alps has high frost resistance, unpretentious care, photophilous, can be grown on poorly fertile, dry soils.
Juniper Blue Alps in landscape design
As you can see from the photo, the Blue Alps Chinese juniper is a neat and compact tree, thanks to which it is often used in landscape design. Its textured emerald needles and dark cones like snow-covered dark cones attract the eyes of others.
It looks great both alone and in the vicinity of other coniferous and deciduous low-growing plants, stones.
A kind of "hedge" can be built from a shrub, for which it must be regularly trimmed, gradually giving the desired shape. The Blue Alps juniper is also widely used as a garden bonsai.
The Blue Alps variety is often planted in rose gardens, rock gardens and rockeries, on terraces and lawns. The plant is adapted to growing in a gas-polluted environment. It can be found both in the ennobled urban areas and in the flower beds of suburban summer cottages.
Planting and caring for Blue Alps juniper
When buying seedlings, it should be borne in mind that a plant with an open root system is transplanted only during a certain period, from late April to early May. Seedlings with closed roots are more viable, so they can be planted throughout the season.
Seedling and planting plot preparation
A bright, ventilated, sun-heated place is suitable as a planting site. If the plant is constantly in the shade, the needles begin to turn yellow and fall off.However, getting a juniper under the bright midday sun rays is also undesirable.
The soil must be nutritious and well hydrated. Basically, light soils with a neutral or slightly acidic reaction (5 - 7 pH) are used: sandy loam, loamy.
The first step is to dig a planting hole. Its volume depends on the length of the roots of the existing seedling. Typically, it should be 2 times the size of the root ball, as the roots need room to grow further. The bottom of the pit is filled with drainage: crushed stone, expanded clay or broken brick. Layer thickness - at least 20 cm.
If the soil in the garden area is too dense and clayey, the pits are filled with a nutritious substrate:
- humus (2 parts);
- peat (2 parts);
- sand (1 part);
- some feeding for conifers.
The soil must be pre-moistened, and the seedlings themselves must be treated with root stimulants.
Landing rules
When planting Blue Alps juniper, you need to adhere to the following rules:
- The distance between seedlings is at least 0.5 - 2 m.
- The seedlings are placed in pre-prepared pits to a depth of about 70 cm.
- The size of the landing pit is on average 0.5 - 0.8 m.
- It is important not to deepen the root collar much, leaving it on the surface.
- From above, the earth is sprinkled around with a thick layer of mulch, consisting of moss or sawdust.
- After planting, the Blue Alps juniper requires abundant watering for a week.
- Landing in lowlands, places of stagnant water is not recommended.
- Neighborhood with climbing plants is unfavorable.
- Immediately after planting, it is recommended to shade the juniper from exposure to direct sunlight, since they can burn the still immature seedling.
Watering and feeding
Blue Alps juniper care includes feeding and watering.
Watering is carried out infrequently, during dry summer seasons 2 or 3 times, 10 - 30 liters per plant. Juveniles need to be watered more frequently.
Once a week in the evenings, Blue Alps juniper is sprayed with cool water, since dry air adversely affects it. This procedure is called sprinkling.
Feeding is carried out, as a rule, 1 - 2 times a year. Despite the fact that the plant is unpretentious and can develop without additional fertilization of the soil, regular feeding helps to accelerate growth rates, improve the appearance and strengthen the needles.
Mineral dressing is alternated with organic. Organic is used to prepare junipers for the winter season. In the spring, before the start of the active growth phase, gardeners recommend using nitrophoska as a mineral fertilizer at the rate of 30-50 g per plant.
Mulching and loosening
To provide access to oxygen for the roots of juniper, it is necessary to perform frequent shallow loosening of the soil around the trunk. Loosen the soil once a month, being careful not to damage the juniper roots. It is better to do this after the ground is moistened, and all the plants that provoke diseases weeds weeded.
After planting, the soil around the Blue Alps juniper is 4 - 7 cm covered with a layer of mulch made from peat, pine bark, moss, nutshells or sawdust. Mulching is also carried out for the winter period. After that, in early spring, the mulch layer is removed, since it can provoke rotting of the root collar.
Blue Alps Juniper Pruning
Since the Blue Alps juniper does not grow too quickly, it is important to carefully trim it and use well-sharpened tools. Pruning makes the crown thicker.
The first pruning is done before the juniper enters the active growth phase, in March or early April. The main thing is that the air temperature does not drop below 4 degrees.
For the second, August or early September is suitable, since before the onset of frost, a dense bark should already form on the young shoots.
All dry, damaged branches must be removed and gradually form the desired type of crown: spherical or elongated. However, no more than 1/3 of the annual growth can be cut off.
Preparing for winter
Despite the fact that the Blue Alps juniper is famous for its winter hardiness, it is recommended to cover young seedlings for the winter with spruce branches to provide protection from snow and wind.
Frost resistance increases with age. Adults mulch, and those that grow alone are surrounded by temporary protection, which allows them to protect the branches from breakage. To do this, they are pressed against the trunk with a tape or rope.
Reproduction of Blue Alps juniper
The Chinese Blue Alps juniper plant is propagated in several ways. The main method is vegetative, using cuttings.
Cuttings | Seed reproduction |
Blue Alps juniper cuttings are carried out before the first buds appear. Cuttings about 10 - 12 cm in length are separated together with the "heel", treated with root growth stimulants and planted in a mixture of black soil, sand and needles, taken in equal proportions. A drainage layer of at least 10 cm is placed at the bottom. Cuttings are planted to a depth of 2 cm in the moistened soil. For maximum efficiency, you can build a greenhouse. Juniper sprouts need regular ventilation and sprinkling. Rooting takes place after about 2 months. | With the seed method of propagation, varietal characteristics are poorly transmitted. During spring sowing, stratification is performed, after which the seeds are planted in the same mixture. The next year, the first seeds begin to sprout. Upon reaching the age of three, they are planted in the ground. Freshly harvested juniper seeds can be sifted directly into the open ground before winter, after having subjected them to scarification (immersed in sulfuric acid concentrate for 30 minutes). |
Diseases and pests of the Chinese juniper Blue Alps
Blue Alps Juniper Diseases:
- Fungal damage caused by excessive soil moisture. The disease is most common in juveniles. The fungus in the soil is activated in conditions of high humidity, leading to the death of the plant. First of all, the roots of the juniper suffer, after - the vascular system: the bush shrinks, starting from the crown. Juniper cannot be cured. It must be destroyed and the soil replaced.
- Rust, accompanied by the appearance of brown seals on the branches. If signs of disease are found, the diseased branches should be removed and destroyed using sterile garden shears. Treat the juniper with a fungicide.
- Alternaria, a symptom of which is the appearance of brown and yellowish needles. As a rule, the reason is a lack of ventilation between trees, too dense planting. The disease begins in the lower branches; if you do not take action, the entire juniper shrub can die. The affected parts are removed, the sections are disinfected.
Pests:
- angle-winged moth;
- juniper scale;
- snails;
- red ants;
- juniper lyubate.
Fight insects with a variety of insecticides. During processing, not only the plant is shed, but all the soil around it. After 2 weeks, the procedure should be repeated, since there may be larvae in the soil at different stages of development.
Conclusion
Juniper Blue Alps is undemanding to care for. It will delight its owner with bright emerald foliage all year round. Due to its decorative appearance, the plant is widely used among gardeners and professional landscape designers.
