Content
The solid juniper is recognized not only as one of the most ancient plant species, but also valuable for landscaping. In Japan, it is considered a sacred plant that is planted near temples to ennoble the territory. Exotic beauty, unpretentious maintenance, adaptability to soil and climatic conditions have made the look interesting for transforming garden and park areas.
Description of solid juniper
Juniper solid belongs to the evergreen conifers of the Cypress family. This is a tall dioecious tree with a dense pyramidal crown covered with thorny green needles with a slight yellowness. The branches are triangular. Leaves 1.5 - 3 cm long, pointed and thorny.
Photos and descriptions of solid juniper vary, depending on growing conditions. Cultivated in domestic and urban settings, the plants are dense, narrow, columnar or oval in shape. This is especially pronounced in male specimens. The female representatives of the species have a rarer crown. On sandy soils and rocks located along the sea coast, the plant acquires a ground cover form with a creeping crown. Using a vegetative propagation method also makes it possible to grow it in the form of a bush.
The bark of the trunk is gray-brown in color, while in old trees it takes on a reddish-brown hue. At 30, the average plant length is 6.5 m, with a trunk diameter of 10 cm. On average, junipers grow no more than 15 m in height and can live up to three hundred years or more.
Distribution of solid juniper (juniperus rigida)
The species is widespread within Eurasia. It prefers drier, sandy, lime-rich and well-drained soils. The culture grows singly, less often - in groups, on rocky slopes and coasts. The largest population is located near Zmeinaya Gora on the Vorskla River and has about a hundred trees.
The plant is also common in Eastern China, in Japan from the island of Kiu Siu to Hondo, in Korea, as well as in the south of Primorsky Krai. Within the latter, solid juniper is rarely found, mainly in rocky areas, in limestone areas such as Su-chanu, Suzukhe, Daubikhe, Maykhe. You can also meet him on the coast of the Sea of Japan and in the valleys of the rivers included in it.
Why is juniper hard in the Red Book
On the territory of the country, there are about 1 - 2 specimens of solid juniper. This is primarily due to the fact that in ten years the plant has only 3 - 4 seed periods, while the yield outside this time is extremely low. Weakened and over 150 years old trees may not grow overgrown with cones at all between seed years. Difficulty in seed germination leads to poor seed regeneration of the species.
The extraction of limestone, in the zones of deposits of which the species is most abundant, is often accompanied by the death of rare plants. In areas of growth, as a result of frequent fires, complete destruction of undergrowth and seedlings is observed. In addition, solid juniper has valuable medicinal properties due to the content of essential oil, and its wood is not subject to decay. As a result, this also has a detrimental effect on the species: it is often subjected to felling. Due to the highly decorative properties, plants are actively dug up for landscaping landscapes.
In 1988, the solid juniper was included in the Red Book of Russia, although it belonged to the risk zone of extinction earlier: since 1978, it has already been listed in the Red Book of the USSR. Since 2002, the species has been included in the list of objects protected by the Red Data Book of the Primorsky Territory.
The plant is grown in 12 botanical gardens of the Russian Federation, it is under protection in the Lazovsky and Ussuriysky reserves.
Ussuriysky reserve:
Features of planting and care
Juniper solid is unpretentious in care and has high frost resistance. For a light-loving plant for planting, it is recommended to choose a semi-shady place without stagnant moisture.
Like other species of the genus, the culture is unpretentious to the soil and can grow both on sandstones and on stony ground, but it acquires the most remarkable forms when planted in fertile and moderately fertile lands.
In care, solid juniper requires regular weeding and several dressings per season. No watering required. For the winter, the branches of the plant need to be bandaged in order to avoid injury under the weight of the snow.
Cultivated solid juniper is propagated by sowing seeds and vegetatively, by cutting and planting young shoots in spring. In nature, seeds from cones are carried by the wind.
More information about planting and caring for junipers can be found in the video:
Diseases of solid juniper
If the winter is warm, the juniper begins to rot, and fungal diseases develop on the branches. To avoid this, the crown should be regularly inspected for damaged branches and cut off so that they do not infect other healthy ones.
Dense stands with abundant moisture are often prone to drying out of the branches. Such conditions are favorable for the development of fungi, which is why plants often undergo several infections at once.
The main danger for solid juniper, as for all conifers, is shute, or brown mold. It can begin to develop in the fall, and in the spring a brown bloom already appears. The branches gradually begin to turn yellow, and weakened plants may die completely.
Another common fungal disease is trachomycosis. The fungus lives in the soil and first damages the root system and gradually spreads along the trunk and branches. Fungal infections can also cause rust and alternaria. Affected by these diseases, the plants begin to dry out, and the needles in the infected areas turn reddish and brown.
Plant bark is also susceptible to disease. Juniper cancer develops as a result of the penetration of fungi into the trunk, where they begin to actively develop, provoking cracking and shedding of the bark.
Another common disease is nectricosis. With it, red-brown growths grow on the bark, which later darken and dry out. Any disease of the bark also inevitably leads to yellowing and drying of the needles.
Conclusion
The solid juniper can be called one of the best decorative species. The plant does not require special care, but it needs protection from fungi. Experts recommend: when using juniper in landscape design, it is necessary to provide it with conditions similar to its natural habitat. Then the plant has the most spectacular appearance, which is successfully used in the creation of compositions of the urban landscape, in parks and in private territories. The tree looks especially original when forming a bonsai.
