Simple and beautiful! These are the thoughts that come when you see a stylish garden with coniferous crops. And the most popular element of such a garden is the horizontal Lime Glow juniper. Its scientific name is Juniperus Horizontalis Limeglow. In translation, it means Lemon glow - the name was given to the variety for the original color of the needles.
Juniper horizontal Lime Glou
In 1984, American breeders crossed several wild ground cover species. The new variety of juniper turned out to be undersized, with an amazing lemon-yellow crown that changes color depending on the season.
Brief information about the variety
- Colour: lemon yellow.
- Height: about 40 cm.
- Crown width: 1.5 - 2 m.
- In which regions is it growing: in all, except for the Far North.
- Landing features: in the sun, at a distance of 2 m from each other.
- Immunity: to fungal diseases, rust, subject to agricultural cultivation techniques.
- Life span: over 400 years old.
Growing regions
Lime Glow's parents grew up in the harsh conditions of North America and Canada, they transferred frost resistance and drought resistance to the new variety.
The plant easily tolerates frosts down to -39 °, it can be planted in all regions of Russia, with the exception of the Far North.
Description of the plant
The needles of a young juniper are bright light green. With age, yellow highlights appear in the color.
In summer, the needles are lemon yellow, by autumn frosts they acquire an orange hue, and in winter they turn bronze.
Seasonal color change occurs only with sufficient illumination of the shrub. In the shade, the juniper has a usual green color, without spectacular transitions.
Lime Glow belongs to the dwarf species. Annual growth in height is 7-10 cm.
By the age of 15, the shrub reaches a maximum height of 40 cm and further grows only horizontally, forming a symmetrical funnel with a diameter of 1.5 - 2.0 m.
Skeletal branches are the first to stop developing, forming the center of the funnel. The ends of the creeping branches are slightly bent upwards. This structure of the bush provides smooth, beautiful curves. Small scales form a soft lush crown.
Landing
Lime Glow is a long-liver, its life span is more than 400 years, it can grow in one place for several centuries.
For a plant to fulfill its potential, you need to choose a healthy seedling and provide it with comfortable living conditions.
Sapling selection
It is better to buy seedlings in nurseries.
Saplings are not very cheap, but it is not worth saving and buying them from random sellers in the markets.
The probability is high:
- purchase a plant of a different variety;
- get a sick copy;
- meet an incompetent salesperson.
All this can lead to the death of the seedling or a long adaptation period. Therefore, it is safer to purchase them in proven specialized garden nurseries.
You can also purchase from the online store. It is recommended to carefully study customer reviews about the level of service, methods and time of delivery, and the possibility of returning in case of poor quality delivery.
Root system
Plants are sold:
- with a closed root system (ZKS), in containers;
- with an open root system (OCS).
For seedlings with ZKS, survival rate in a new place is almost 100%.
Plants with ACS should be sold with roots wrapped in damp burlap or covered with a clay "chatterbox".
When buying, you need to check the root system.
For ZKS - try to pull the seedling out of the container. If the bush is easily separated from the ground, then one of two things:
- they just put him in the ground;
- the roots are rotten and do not hold the plant in the container.
It is not recommended to buy such a seedling;
For OKS, examine the roots. Live should be without thickening, elastic. When pressed, mucus is not released from them.
Crown
Normal crown without bald spots, with shiny needles that do not crumble when touched.
If the seedling is more than 3 years old, then it should already have specific characteristics: lemon-yellow shades of branches.
Examine the stems carefully for pests. They can be judged by the presence of:
- cobwebs;
- thickening on branches and trunk;
- damage to the bark and needles.
Site preparation
Choose a sunny spot for landing
Lime Glow belongs to shade-tolerant plants - the bush can grow in partial shade, but in this case its spectacular color will disappear, the juniper will have a specific form, but the color is about ordinary green.
It is better to choose a sunny place for planting, without a close approach of groundwater. The plant does not tolerate strong winds, you need to provide protection from drafts.
The soil is needed light, with a significant admixture of sand.
Optimal composition:
- 2 parts of peat;
- 1 part sand;
- 1 part of sod land;
- 1 tablespoon complete compound fertilizer
The acidity index is from slightly acidic to neutral.
Landing technology
For a single planting, you need to dig a hole 60-80 cm deep and 15 cm in diameter more than an earthen lump.
For a group, they dig a trench of the same depth, and the optical distance between plants is at least 10 cm, otherwise the symmetry of the bushes will be broken.
An adult juniper does not tolerate transplanting well, because the central root goes deep into the ground and is damaged.
At the bottom of the pit, 20 cm of drainage is poured:
- broken brick;
- expanded clay;
- pebbles.
If there is a danger of groundwater approach, then the layer is made thicker, up to 40 cm. Accordingly, the hole is dug deeper.
The harvested soil (20 cm) is poured onto the drainage and spilled well with water.
After absorbing water, a seedling from the ZKS is planted by transshipment.
A seedling with ACS is pre-soaked in a root solution for several hours. Then the roots are straightened and placed in a planting pit. Fall asleep with the remaining soil so that the root collar is at ground level or slightly higher.
The earth around them is compacted, a roller 5-7 cm high is formed along the perimeter of the lunches to preserve water during irrigation.
In conclusion, watered abundantly in several stages, as moisture is absorbed.
Care
According to the description, the Lime Glow juniper is an extremely unpretentious plant, but it will reveal its decorative properties only when the appropriate conditions are created for it.
Watering
The variety is drought-resistant, watering is important only for young plants with an undeveloped root system.
In the first week of planting, the seedling is moistened every day, then - as the surface layer dries.
Watering should be infrequent, but abundant, especially in the heat: active evaporation of moisture goes through the needles, and its lack must be replenished.
For a juniper, it is not drought that is terrible, but constantly wet soil - in such conditions, the roots can rot.
In the heat, the sprinkling method is mainly used - from a shower, a watering can or a spray bottle. This procedure stimulates the secretion of phytoncides by the needles, which freshens the air and repels blood-sucking insects.
Top dressing
Juniper doesn't like fertilizers
Juniper does not like organic-rich soil. Its branches are stretched, the shape of the crown is disturbed, immunity to fungal diseases decreases.
For the first 2 years, the bush is not fertilized with anything at all, those components that were introduced during planting are enough.
Starting from the third year, phosphorus-potassium supplements or complex fertilizers with a low nitrogen content are applied every spring. It is optimal to use special fertilizers for conifers.
Strongly not suitable: fresh manure, poultry droppings, not rotted compost and nitrogenous substances (excess will lead to the death of the plant).
Mulching and loosening the soil
Removing weeds is not the most relevant operation for ground cover junipers, which include Lime Glow: the dense crown does not allow harmful plants to develop under it.
But you can completely stop their growth by mulching the trunk circle.
As a result:
- moisture is retained in the soil;
- the development of weeds stops;
- the soil crust is eliminated, which interferes with the respiration of the roots;
- decorativeness increases.
You can mulch with peat, sawdust, bark, coniferous litter, decorative pebbles, nut shells, cones. Loosening of the surface layer of the soil is especially important for young plants, it activates the growth of seedlings, providing aeration of the root system.
Haircut and trim
The ideal natural shape of Lime Glow does not require a shaping haircut.
Pruning more than once a year or more than 7 cm is painful for the plant. The quality of the needles changes: it becomes dull, and with the massive removal of branches it can change color.
Sanitary pruning, which removes damaged parts, is essential. The operation is carried out only with a sharp disinfected instrument, in cloudy weather.
If the branch is cut close to the main stem, then the wound is treated with garden pitch.
Preparing for winter
Lemon shine has a high frost resistance, the bush can withstand frosts down to -39 °.
Only plants of the first year of planting are sheltered for the winter. To do this, they are covered with mulch at the onset of stable frosts, covered with spruce branches. Adult specimens are covered with snow.
Reproduction
The plant is easy to propagate by layering
The juniper is propagated in three ways:
- seeds;
- cuttings;
- layering.
Seed reproduction is the most laborious, time-consuming and unpredictable. Pine berries ripen every 2 years, but not all of them have viable seeds, seedlings do not inherit all species properties.
Easier to propagate by cuttings. To do this, in an adult (8-10 year old) plants are cut at an angle of a branch 10-15 cm long so that a dormant bud remains at the base.
From below, the stalk is cleaned of needles to a height of 5-7 cm. Then it is placed in a loose wet substrate and covered with a plastic bag.
After 2-3 months, roots are formed, this is a signal that it can be transferred to a separate growing pot. The seedlings are transplanted to a permanent place after 2 years.
For reproduction by layering, it is enough to dig in one or more lower branches, peeled from bark. After 3 months, the branch with the roots is separated from the mother plant and planted in a new place.
Diseases and pests
Lime Glow inherited resistance to diseases and pests from its wild ancestors, and if you do not violate the agricultural technology of its cultivation, then it practically does not get sick.
Preventive measure is the regular removal of all fallen needles, branches from under the bush, replacement of vegetable mulch.
Juniper can be affected by rust, fusarium. For treatment, Bordeaux liquid or fungicides are used.
Of the pests on the ephedra, you can see aphids, spider mites, scabbards, which are collected by hand and treated with soapy water or insecticides.
Use in landscape design
Lime Glow is used in combination with undersized flowers of purple, blue or yellow.
In the foreground, juniper looks great with barberry, panicle hydrangea, heather.
Effectively, the variety looks like a ground cover plant on the site, forming a lemon carpet.
Reviews
Gardeners celebrate the decorativeness of the mojewer at any time of the year. They like that a symmetrical and dense crown does not need to be cut additionally, covered for the winter, and protected from sunburn.
Landscapers point out that the dignity of the variety is slow growth, preserving the intended composition for a long time.
Beginners appreciate this plant because of its minimal maintenance, unpretentiousness and high immunity to diseases.
Juniper horizontal Lime Glou / Juniper planting and care / conifers
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Most attribute them to disadvantages: the high price of seedlings and poor survival of adult specimens during transplantation.
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