Juniper Green Carpet

Juniper Green Carpet belongs to coniferous shrubs. The name of the variety can be literally translated as a green carpet. And this is quite justified. After all, a bush can create a dense lawn of shoots, the height of which is no more than 20 cm. The crown has a flat shape and smoky color. The needles are soft, light green. Good for decorating gardens, lawns, alpine slides.

Juniper Green Carpet: variety description

Juniper Green Carpet: photo

There is no central stem in the crown structure. Branches grow horizontally. A virtually fluffy weave is created that is almost parallel to the ground. Common juniper Green Carpet belongs to the dwarf species of juniper. The bush has a height of up to 0.2 m. An annual growth of up to 15 cm. By 10 years of life, the bush can reach a maximum height of 1.5 m. In general, a juniper of this variety can live for more than 200 years. The variety is distinguished by soft, cup-shaped needles collected in rosettes. Young shoots have a reddish bark, which will change its color to brown over the course of age. The fruits are small in size, covered with a bloom of a bluish shade of blue berries. In the year when the plant is planted, the first ovaries begin to form.

Juniper Green Carpet in landscape design

The Green Carpet variety is distinguished by its unpretentious care, and is decorative throughout the year. It is thanks to these characteristics that this variety has earned its popularity among many summer residents and gardeners in order to decorate gardens, lawns and parks. Very often, designers use this variety to create long-lasting, vibrant lawns that don't need mowing and weeding. Due to the fact that the branches are densely intertwined, the weed will not be able to germinate. It is possible, depending on your desire, to carry out height modeling. When carrying out special pruning, you can create from small bushes, bushes of slightly higher height.

It is also important to note that, depending on the age, the needles may have a different color. The root system of the plant is not too deep. It spreads in different directions, and also has the property of bonding soil layers. Most often, this property is used to strengthen slopes, edges, ravines. If you plant a juniper of this variety on an alpine slide, then you can perfectly fasten the entire structure in order to keep the artificial mounds from possible erosion. It is good to use the variety of this juniper in order to decorate rocky slopes, hills, heather glades. The presence of this variety in a flower bed or alpine hill will help to favorably set off a low flowering plant that has bright small buds. The combination of Green Carpet juniper with barberries, herbaceous carnations looks good. It is also good to plant different varieties of juniper that have different colors, thereby creating an easy transition from one color to another. Conifers that develop vertically, as well as a deciduous or flowering bush will be a good combination.

Common juniper Green Carpet: planting and care

Although we said that this variety is unpretentious in care, but if you want your plant to develop correctly, you need to take into account some of the nuances that are associated with the place where the juniper bush will grow:

• Sandy loam, sandy, calcareous soil is considered ideal for growing juniper.
• The acidity of the soil should be somewhere between neutral and slightly acidic.
• It can tolerate shade well, but it is better to plant in a well-lit area.
• Can be planted with tall plants. But only if the shadow of a tall plant falls on the juniper for no more than 2 hours.

Juniper does not tolerate drafts and moisture stagnation. The Green Carpet variety is classified as a viable species. If the growing conditions are far from ideal, the plant may not die, but development should not be expected from it.

We prepare seedlings and planting area

In order for the cultivation of juniper to be successful, it is advisable to carry out a series of activities before planting. A good and correct seedling can only be purchased from a proven nursery. For this reason, the roots are most often placed in a container with water, this will prevent the roots from drying out. Before buying, you must carefully examine the plant, needles, so that they are not brittle and yellow. The chosen place for planting necessarily needs to be dug up, collecting various garbage and weeds, and check the degree of acidity of the soil. If necessary, then liming or acidification of the soil. Also, before planting, it is necessary to prepare the material that will be needed for mulching.

Landing correctly

If the seedling has an open root system, then planting is best in spring, immediately after you purchase. It is best to choose mid-April to the first half of May. If you do this later, there is a risk of sunburn. If you purchased planting material in a container, then plant it gently in the spring or in October. If you plant at a later period, then there is a risk of freezing. Planting the plant should look like this:

• If you are going to plant several bushes, then the places for planting holes should be marked in advance. If you want to get a continuous lawn, then you can plant plants, keeping a distance of about 1 m. In order to form separate spreading bushes - keep up to 2 m distance.
• Lay drainage at the bottom of the pit, in a layer of 10 cm (it is possible to use crushed stone, expanded clay, white brick).
• Up to half of the hole, you must add a pre-prepared substrate, which contains: coarse sand, peat and soil that was collected in a coniferous forest.
• It will be nice if you can prepare the seats a little earlier. If this is done about 15 days before planting, the soil will be able to settle down a little, which will reduce the risk of damage to the root system.
• During planting, the plant must be planted in the very center of the hole, using the prepared substrate, it is necessary to lightly sprinkle the root system.

due to the fact that the Green Carpet juniper does not really like frequent transplants, therefore, the choice of a place for growing a bush must be very carefully considered. After planting, it is necessary to water the plant very well and cover with a layer of mulch. You do not need to expect that during growth, the juniper can please you with its green shoot. If you notice that the plant does not change its color, then the plant was able to take root.

We water and fertilize.

A plant that is fully rooted does not need special care. the regime of watering and feeding is considered free. How to care for a plant:

• After planting for 1 month, there is no need for watering and fertilization.
• During the first watering, it is necessary to add 40 g of nitroammophoska (dose for each individual bush).
• Further watering will be needed only in case of prolonged dry weather.
• In order for the needles to retain their beauty, it is necessary to spray with a spray bottle, about 1 time in 10 days.
• You can apply top dressing only once, using a special mixture for coniferous crops. It is best to apply top dressing in the spring, in order to stimulate the active growth of the plant.

We carry out the procedure of mulching and loosening.

Juniper of this variety is classified as a cover crop. Having reached adult growth, the juniper does not need to be loosened at all or use a layer of mulch for protection. The branches of the bush are able to independently protect the soil from possible drying out, which in the future can lead to the formation of a crust. A young plant needs a small amount of attention and care before the crown is formed. also the plant will behave well. The plant is well able to tolerate soil cover with pine sawdust, coniferous bark. Using this method, you can notice how the protective table should be no more than 5 cm.

We perform trimming and shaping.

Like any other plant, the juniper needs sanitary pruning. You need to remove all branches that are dry, damaged, and also if there are traces of some kind of disease or pest attack on the shoots. You do not need to leave the cut branches, they need to be taken outside your summer cottage and burned. To increase the growth of the bush, it is necessary to remove the branches that are located at the edges, as well as limiting the growth around the circumference. Thus, you can make the bush thick, and it can increase in growth, reaching about 30 cm.

We prepare the plant for the winter period.

The variety has good frost resistance. It can withstand frosts down to -40 degrees. The variety can tolerate well the cold of the central zone of our country. It is only necessary to cover a young bush, which is no more than 1 year old. The soil near the bush must be mulched with a layer of about 10 cm. The planting can also be covered with lutrasil or special breathable agrofibre, while pressing it along the edges of the bush to the ground.

How to properly propagate a plant.

The classic method for propagating a plant is cuttings. For pruning, you need to choose a healthy shoot, at least 10 cm long. Pruning should be done with a sharp, sterile tool. Then it needs to be sent for rooting. Germination can be done at home (in a pot) or cuttings can be immediately planted in open soil. Many summer residents say that the simplest method in order to get seedlings is with the help of layering. It is necessary to press the creeping whip to the soil using special staples or stones. After 1 year, the resulting seedling can already be separated from the mother stem. This type of seedling is considered more tenacious and easier to adapt to a new habitat.

Potential diseases and pests.

The variety has good immunity against many garden diseases. As for viral and bacterial diseases, they are rarely found in this coniferous culture. As for fungal diseases, they can occur as a result of abundant watering, poor lighting, poor ventilation of the bush. Those parts of the bush that were susceptible to disease must be cut and destroyed, and the bush itself will need to be sprayed with fungicidal preparations. With the onset of spring, for the purpose of prevention, you can carry out treatment with the Bordeaux mixture or apply a store-bought fungicide. Before the growing season, too much light can harm the young plant. At the end of February, the sun can burn the needles of the plant and discolor it.When you notice that there is a lot of sunlight, even in winter or spring, then the bush must be covered with a non-woven garden material. At the same time, it will be nice to water the plant. Pests also don't bother the juniper too often. But if the plant has been weakened due to heavy rains or heat, then from other plants, the juniper can be attacked by spider mites, scale insects or aphids. To avoid such a situation, it is necessary to spray with special complex insecticides.

Juniper of the Green Carpet variety is distinguished by its unpretentious care and good qualities for landscape design. The bush has an unusual shape, the needles are of particular beauty and fluffiness, well suited for both single and group planting. The plant is rarely exposed to diseases, frequent watering and special care are not required. Due to the fact that the variety has a slow growth, this has a good effect on the landscape design, it is possible to produce a formative pruning only once a year.