One of the best decorative elements in garden landscaping is the Khybernik juniper. The evergreen plant was bred over 200 years ago in Ireland and has become widespread throughout the world. This is one of the most successful developments of breeders, which has become a unique variety of common juniper.
Features of growing Khybernik juniper
Characteristics of culture
The full name is Khybernik's juniper (Juniperus communis hibernica). The description of the variety includes several features.
- The crown is beautiful, dense, columnar, with long, tight-fitting shoots. It is characterized by intensive development - in a year the growth is about 15 cm. Upon reaching 4 m, growth stops and begins to develop in breadth. The maximum diameter of the aboveground part is 1.5 m.
- The central conductor and branches are red in young specimens; with age, the bark becomes dark brown and contains numerous detachments.
- The needles are thin, not sharp. Depending on the season, their colors are different - greenish-gray in summer, emerald in winter.
- The fruit is a cone berry, spherical, with a circumference of 0.5-1 cm. The ephedra begins to form the first cones in the second year of life. Unripe have a green color, ripe - gray-black. Each coneberry contains three seeds.
This plant is suitable for growing in regions with a temperate climate, therefore it is cultivated mainly in the European part of our country.
In the wild, it can live for about 300 years; in household plots, depending on conditions and care, life expectancy varies from 20 to 30 years.
Landing rules
The health, growth and decorativeness of a plant depends on the planting site, soil and further care.
Selection of seedlings
You can buy planting material in a specialized nursery, where you will additionally get advice on caring for the plant.
The best seedling is 3-4 years old with closed roots. You can buy bushes with an open root system, but they must be planted immediately after purchase, otherwise the delicate roots will quickly dry out and the culture will die.
Alternatively, you can buy copies in containers or with an earthen lump wrapped in burlap.
When choosing, you should adhere to some rules:
- carefully examine the aerial part - all shoots should be reddish, without breaks, cracks, rot and mold;
- the needles in healthy seedlings have a greenish-gray uniform tone;
- the crown contains small shoots that indicate the vitality of the plant.
A place
This is a sun-loving culture, so you need to plant it in a sunny place with the possibility of shading at midday.
A site next to tall trees, along the fence, near the arch is a good choice. If planted in the shade, the needles will grow faded, and the crown is not too thick and will look disheveled.
They choose a place protected from winds and with a deep passage of groundwater. This plant does not tolerate dust and gas pollution, so try to find a planting site away from the road.
The soil
Khybernika's columnar juniper loves to grow on slightly acidic and not alkalized soil. If necessary, the soil can be deoxidized - add 350 g of dolomite flour, chalk or hydrated lime per 1 m².
If you plan to plant on loam, you need to ensure good drainage with sand and peat - 2 buckets per 1 m².
Technique and timing
It is recommended to plant seedlings in late spring.
The optimal time for planting seedlings is the end of April or early May. When grown in the southern zone, the plant can be planted in early autumn (early or mid September).
The disembarkation process consists of several stages.
- Pits are dug a little more than the diameter and length of the root system of the seedling. The distance between the holes is at least 0.5 m, in a row - 0.6-0.7 m.
- A third is filled with a drainage layer. Pebbles, brick chips or rubble will do.
- Then a nutrient mixture is prepared from turf, peat, sand and clay. All components are taken in equal quantities.
- Planting is carried out two weeks after the preparation of the holes, so that the soil has time to settle.
- The roots of the plant are lowered, sprinkled with the remaining fertile composition, compacted and watered. Water consumption per seedling - 5 liters.
Care rules
After planting, the juniper needs shading from the scorching sun, otherwise the bushes will quickly turn yellow and die from burns. Agrofibre and burlap are used as shelter.
Watering
They water it often, but in moderation, so that the seedlings take root faster and begin to build up the aboveground and underground part.
In the summer, the bushes are irrigated at least 1 time per week - so they are saturated with moisture and will look bright and beautiful.
Mulching and loosening
To protect the soil and roots from drying out, the soil around the trunk is mulched with peat, sawdust or garden soil.
Frequent loosening is also necessary - one day after watering. A surface procedure is carried out, since this plant has roots close to the upper layers of the earth. This process will provide good moisture and oxygen access to the roots.
As they grow, weeds are removed, which drown the plantings and take away nutrients from them.
Top dressing
Use fertilizers for decorative conifers - Kemiru-universal or nitrophoska solution (35 g per 1 m²).
Apply 3 times per season: in early spring, in the middle of summer and in autumn (one month before the onset of cold weather). For plants planted on rocky and sandy ground, food is increased up to 5 times.
Crown formation
To protect against various infections, pests, improve decorative qualities, juniper needs regular pruning.
- A shaping haircut is carried out in the summer, so that the cut branches have time to get stronger by the cold.
- A sanitary procedure is also required - it is done in early spring. All areas damaged by frost, winds and diseases are removed. To avoid infection, the cut sites are irrigated with a solution of copper sulfate.
Preparing for winter
The culture is able to withstand a short-term drop in temperature to -17 ° C. Shelter for the winter for adult conifers is not required, only the hilling of the near-trunk zone with peat, sawdust or garden soil.
Young plants are first mulched with peat, then twigs are tied to the central conductor with twine, and covered with spruce branches.
Diseases
Examine plants regularly for signs of disease
To protect against disease, trees should be regularly inspected for rust, the most common disease. It manifests itself in the form of reddish or brown growths on the surface of the trunk, shoots.
The fungal infection quickly spreads to nearby growing crops, therefore, a cardinal treatment of the entire area with Bordeaux liquid or a solution of copper sulfate is required.
Severely affected conifers are removed, burned, and the place of their growth is spilled with a strong solution of potassium permanganate.
Fusarium is another dangerous sore. In infected specimens, the roots die off, and the aerial part turns yellow, as a result the plant dies.
Infected plants are to be dug up - their roots are cut to a healthy part, then sprayed with Baktofit or Vitaros. The soil is spilled with a solution of Gamair or Alirin-B.
Pests
Often Khybernika is damaged by aphids, caterpillars. Several means will help to destroy parasites - Fundazol, Aktara, Actellik or Hom.
To protect against the sawfly, which leads to yellowing, then drying and falling of the needles, insecticides are used, as well as digging in the root space.
Affected plants can be rescued in several ways - by attracting birds that eat the insect, placing adhesive plates in different parts of the tree, and picking up pests by hand.
The needle mite helps to reduce decorativeness - the needles exfoliate at the tips, turn yellow and dry out. Modern drugs - Akarina or Karate - will help to cope with this parasite. From folk remedies, a warm soapy solution is used with the addition of horseradish, mustard or garlic.
Reproduction
The description of a coniferous tree includes 2 methods of reproduction - with the help of cuttings and seeds.
The second method is less effective and is more often used by breeders to improve the qualities of a plant or to obtain a new hybrid form. Therefore, it is worth dwelling in more detail on the first option.
Cutting is the most versatile method and produces good results. The breeding procedure is carried out in the spring.
Preparing cuttings
In cloudy weather, lignified apical cuttings from a healthy adult plant are cut. Cut with a sharp and sterile knife along with a piece of old wood.
Slightly above the heel, the bark and all processes are removed at a distance of 2-3 cm. The cuttings are planted immediately after cutting so that they do not dry out and die.
Landing technique
For planting, seedling boxes are used, filled with a nutrient substrate of peat and coarse-grained river sand (1: 1). For the outflow of excess moisture, several holes are made in each container so that water does not stagnate.
The cuttings are planted to a depth of 3-3.5 cm, then sprinkled with earth, lightly crushed and watered with a stimulating solution - Kornevin or Heteroauxin.
Care
Evergreen shrub looks beautiful in the landscape
The plant is placed in a warm place with diffused daylight and a temperature of 16-19 ° C. After the first vegetative buds appear, it is increased to 23-25 ° C.
All subsequent care consists in regular watering, irrigation, weed removal and surface loosening.
Rooting occurs 60-90 days after planting the shoots. The roots are too thin and delicate, so do not rush to transplant the conifers to their permanent habitat in the garden. This procedure is best done next autumn in a year.
Application in landscape design
Due to the high decorativeness of the Khybernik juniper, which persists throughout the year, it has earned popularity in garden landscape design:
- it is planted along alleys, curbs, near gazebos, arches, in the outback of personal plots;
- used as an element complementing the flower combination in rabatkas, on alpine slides, in mixborders;
- planted next to other low-growing deciduous plants, creating a multi-level composition - on top of a juniper, in the lower rows of mosses, heather, etc.;
- often used to create a hedge and cultivate paths in the garden;
- cereals, roses, oaks perfectly take root with this ephedra;
- evergreen needles go well with tall decorative deciduous trees and shrubs.
When planting in groups, it is important to take into account the height and size of the crown of all crops, as well as the requirements for the composition and fertility of the soil, so that everyone is comfortable growing in the same area.
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Gardeners reviews
Most gardeners are just delighted with the needles of Hibernik:
- the columnar tree does not take up much space on the site, it takes root well with other decorative deciduous and flowering plants;
- evergreen ephedra pleases the eye not only in summer, but also in winter, so this is an excellent solution for replacing deciduous shrubs and trees in the off-season;
- flower growers of middle and northern latitudes note good growth and development even in severe winter conditions, the main thing is to ensure high-quality insulation.