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A summer cottage cannot be imagined without conifers. But not every ephedra can survive the frosty Russian winters. The most cold-resistant is the juniper, which can have horizontal miniature forms, grow into a tall tree with tough and delicate needles. One of the most common varieties for the cold Russian climate is Virginia Gray Oul juniper.
Description of Gray Oul Juniper
The plant is slow-growing, during the season the shoots grow by 10-15 cm. During growth, the ephedra forms a spreading crown, covered with soft needles of a smoky-blue color. An adult shrub grows up to 3 m, forming a funnel-shaped crown up to 5 m in diameter.
The evergreen shrub can be grown in all corners of Russia, since the juniper of Virginia Gray Oul has high winter hardiness, it easily tolerates summer heat and polluted air.
Virginia juniper has a large number of positive qualities:
- early fruiting;
- propagation by cuttings, seeds and branches;
- drought and frost resistance;
- not picky about leaving;
- after formative pruning it retains the crown shape for a long time
Many gardeners have found negative qualities in the virgin juniper:
- slow growth;
- does not tolerate a transplant.
To have an idea of the variety, you must carefully read the description and view the photo of the Gray Oul juniper.
Juniper Gray Owl in landscaping
The variety is widely used for landscaping a summer cottage. It is planted for the preparation of coniferous compositions or as a separate plant. The decorative look of the crown can be created through formative pruning.
Thanks to the detailed description, everyone can decorate the site with the Virginia Gray Oul juniper, since the shrub has 4 frost resistance zones.
Evergreen juniper Virginia Gray Oul will decorate the garden in summer with light blue needles, in autumn - with gray berries, in winter - with lilac spreading shoots.
Planting and caring for Gray Oul juniper
Juniper Virginia Gray Oul is an unpretentious variety. It can grow on any soil, in all weather conditions, in a sunny or shady area. But if you create favorable conditions, the shrub will show itself in all its glory and will become an irreplaceable decoration of the suburban area. Before buying a juniper seedling Virginia Gray Oul, you need to familiarize yourself with the characteristics of the variety.
Seedling and planting plot preparation
Seedling of juniper virginiana Gray Oul must be purchased in nurseries or from trusted suppliers. The shrub is sold with an open root system and in containers. When buying a variety, you need to know certain rules:
- The younger the plant, the faster it adapts to a new place.
- Seedlings with open roots, planted in spring and autumn, with closed ones - from spring to autumn.
- The root system should be well developed, without signs of rot and mechanical damage.
- The needles should have a rich color, without signs of disease.
Before planting a plant, you need to select and prepare a place. Since the variety forms powerful and rapidly growing roots, a spacious, large area must be allocated.
A plant in one place can grow up to 50 years old and does not tolerate transplantation, so the site is chosen sunny, with well-drained soil. If you plant a plant in the shade, then the Virginia Gray Oul juniper will lose its decorative effect. The best soil for planting is sandy loam or loam. If there is heavy clay soil on the site, the plants lighten it with peat and river sand before planting.
Virginia juniper tolerates drought well, but in moist soil, the root system quickly decays and the plant dies. Therefore, it is necessary to bypass areas with surface groundwater.
Landing rules
After the seedling has been purchased and a place has been chosen, you can start planting. To do this, dig a landing hole 2 times wider and deeper than the diameter of the earthy coma. The bottom is covered with a 15 cm layer of drainage, complex mineral fertilizers are added, and sprinkled with nutritious soil.
Juniper virginiana is installed in the hole so that the root collar is located at ground level. Next, the bush is carefully sprinkled with earth, tamping each layer to prevent the formation of an air cushion. The top layer is compacted and spilled abundantly.
Many novice gardeners, when planting a juniper of Virginia Gray Oul, make mistakes:
- Breaking the earthen coma - when the roots are exposed, the plant will not take root well, development and growth will stop.
- Small landing hole - the root system of the virgin juniper is powerful and for rapid growth between the walls of the fossa and the earthy clod, a palm must enter.
- Deepening of the root collar - the plant stops growing and develops, as a result of which it dies.
Juniper Virginia Gray Oul is an unpretentious variety. But in order to get a beautiful plant, one should not neglect the basic rules of care: watering, top dressing, formative and sanitary pruning, loosening and weeding.
Watering and feeding
Since the juniper Virginia Gray Oul is a drought-resistant variety, watering is carried out only in dry summers, once every 30 days. To obtain a sufficient amount of moisture, up to 2 buckets of water are spilled under each adult plant. Also, the plant will not refuse to spray weekly in the evening.
For better growth and development, Virginia juniper must be fed twice a season. In the spring, nitroammofosk is introduced, in the fall, phosphorus-potassium dressings. In order not to burn the root system, fertilizers are applied in combination with watering.
Mulching and loosening
To provide oxygen access to the roots and prevent the formation of an earth crust, after rains and watering, the soil must be loosened and mulched. Mulch will retain moisture, become an obstacle to the growth of weeds, prevent overheating and freezing of the roots, and will serve as additional organic fertilizing. Peat, sawdust or a pine needle are suitable as mulch.
Trimming and shaping
Virginia Gray Oul can form a crown well without pruning, but to give the shrub a decorative look, it must be regularly pruned. Since the plant is slow-growing, pruning must be taken extremely responsibly. Otherwise, in case of an error, the shrub will take a long time to recover its strength. For the juniper of Virginia Gray Oul, it is enough to carry out sanitary pruning once a year, removing dry and damaged branches.
Preparing for winter
Virginia Gray Oul is a frost-resistant variety, so it does not need shelter for the winter. Only young seedlings should be protected from frost.To do this, the shrub must be prepared for the cold weather:
- A month before the onset of frost, the bush is abundantly shed and fed with phosphorus-potassium fertilizers.
- The ground around the plant is covered with spruce branches, and the crown is hidden under the covering material.
Reproduction of juniper virginsky GreyOwl (Gray oul)
Gray Oul can be propagated in 3 ways:
- cuttings;
- seeds;
- taps.
Seed propagation is a laborious process, not everyone can do it. Therefore, in order to propagate the variety, it is better to use other methods.
Cuttings are an easy and effective way of propagation.
- In August, lignified, young cuttings are cut.
- The harvesting is carried out in cloudy weather.
- The cut is performed with a sharp, sterile instrument.
- The stalk is treated with "Kornevin" or "Epin".
- Prepared shoots are buried in a nutritious soil, spilled and removed to a warm place. The optimum temperature for rapid root formation is 16-20 ° C.
- After the appearance of new foliage, the temperature is raised to 26 ° C.
- Rooting cuttings are very demanding for watering, so spraying is carried out once a week.
- A new young plant is planted in a permanent place a year after the emergence of roots.
Reproduction by branches is the simplest way that does not require additional expenditure of effort and time.
- The soil around the bush is carefully loosened and fed.
- The lower shoot is cleaned of needles, laid on the ground and fixed with a metal bracket.
- Sprinkle the shoot with earth, spill and mulch.
- In the spring of next year, the rooted seedling is separated from the mother bush and transplanted to a prepared place.
Diseases and pests
The variety is immune to many diseases, but if agrotechnical rules are not followed, it can become infected with Alternaria and necrosis. These fungal diseases can be recognized by the black bloom on the needles. As a result, it falls off, and the shoots dry out. You can get rid of diseases by treatment with a copper-containing preparation.
In order not to face problems, it is necessary to regularly carry out preventive measures:
- loosening and weeding;
- sanitary pruning;
- burning cut branches;
- at the first signs of disease, treat the plant with Fitosporin.
Conclusion
Versatility and unpretentiousness is an ideal characteristic that allows you to grow Virginia Gray Oul juniper for landscape design. Thanks to the blue-gray needles, the plant looks great with other conifers, in rose gardens, in flower beds with bright perennials and next to ornamental shrubs.
