Daurian juniper: description and photo

The genus Juniperus (Latin Juniperus) combines evergreen conifers and trees of the family Cupressaceae and numbers more than sixty species of monoecious or dioecious plants.

As a rule, they grow in the Northern Hemisphere. In this article we will talk about one variety - the Dahurian juniper. You will learn about the features of this plant, where it is best to plant and how to care for it.

Dahurian Juniper: description of the plant

This evergreen plant grows naturally in Transbaikalia and Yakutia, Northern China and Mongolia, in the Far East of our country - in the Khabarovsk and Primorsky Krais, in the Amur Region. Daurian juniper was first described in the book "Vegetation of Russia" in 1789 by the German scientist-encyclopedist Peter Simon Pallas, who lived in Russia for a long time.

This species grows in small groups, much less often solitary, preferring stony placers of mountain slopes, on loaches, rocks, and also in river valleys, on cliffs of sea coasts, in sand dunes. It is able to rise to a height of 1400 meters above sea level in the mountains.

External Features

A shrub that grows, can have raised branches, covered with a light gray bark, which in some areas exfoliates. Shoots tetrahedral, thin. They form needles of different shapes.

Eagle - grows opposite and crosswise at the bottom of the shoot. It is very delicate, thin, painted in a bright green color, not more than 0.8 cm long. It moves away from the shoot a little and has sharp tips.

At the ends of the shoots, the scaly pine needles grow. It is tightly pressed to them, has a rhombic shape, a gray-green color. In winter, this kind of needles becomes brown.

Fruit

It is a pine cone, painted in a brown-blue, purple-brown with a bluish bloom of color. The shape of the fruit is spherical, 0.5 cm in diameter.

Seeds

They have an ovoid-oblong form, slightly flattened, with a pointed apex. The fruit contains up to four pieces. Often they come out.

Varieties

In culture, this species is quite rare, although according to landscape designers deserves much more use in gardening, especially when decorating stony hills. The most widespread varieties were Leningrad and Expansa Variegata.

Leningrad

Juniperus Daursky "Leningrad" is an evergreen dwarf coniferous shrub with creeping shoots. The height of an adult plant does not exceed half a meter, and the diameter of the crown can be up to two meters. This Daurian juniper has a pillow-shaped crown, over the years it becomes prostrate. Plant shoots can change their color from dark to light brown.

The needles are painted in a beautiful saturated gray-green color. It is very small and prickly. This juniper, like most other varieties, likes open solar areas, develops well and gives growth on drained, light loam, weakly acidic soils. Very fond of daytime spraying, but overmoistening can damage the root system of the plant.

The view looks interesting in heath gardens, alpine hills, curbs, in compositions with higher coniferous plants.

Expansa Variegata

A low shrub with horizontally spread strong shoots. The height does not exceed fifty centimeters and reaches two meters in the diameter of the crown. Annually gives an increase of about ten centimeters. Scales and needles are bluish-green. Most of the shoots have a mottled cream-white color.

The seedlings of the Daur juniper, Expansa Variegata, in addition to a very attractive species, have a disinfecting effect. They destroy more than 30% of microbes that are in the air. This plant is excellent for the design of rocky hills and Japanese gardens.

The variety is absolutely not exacting to the ground. Prefers well-lit solar patches. Needs timely pruning of damaged and withered branches. Recommended for boarding on private plots, for alpine hills. Planting can be either a group or a single landing. It is used as a ground cover plant.

Selecting a landing site

Daur juniper, the photo of which we have placed in this article, is planted on sunny open sites. In the shade, plants tend to grow loose. They lose the decorative merits of this form. A small shading is well tolerated only by juniper.

Landing

Daursky juniper, planting and caring for which is not very difficult even for beginning gardeners, is absolutely not picky for the soil. Under natural conditions, it successfully develops under different conditions: on sandy deposits, stony placers, limestones, sand and pebble rolls, rocks.

When planting, the distance between plants depends primarily on the desired effect, but usually ranges from 50 centimeters to 2 meters. The depth of planting depends on the root system and the earth's coma. As a rule, it is 70 centimeters, but with the further pouring of the earth. As a drainage, sand and broken brick are used with a layer of about 20 centimeters.

The plant demonstrates the best growth results in a soil mixture consisting of peat, turf and sand (2: 1: 1). To the fertility of the soil, all kinds of junipers are undemanding.

Care

In order for the Dahurian juniper to develop normally, in the spring it must be fed with nitroammon at a rate of 30 g / m². The plant does not tolerate dry air, it develops better on soils of medium hydration. In a very arid and hot summer, watering is recommended, but not more than 3 times a season, and weekly spraying, which is carried out in the evening after sunset.

Loosening is done shallow immediately after watering and weeding weeds, especially this is important for young planting. For mulching, peat, chips or sawdust are used with a layer of about 8 centimeters. This must be done immediately after planting.

Pruning, haircut, depends on the place of cultivation and the type of plant. Basically, these procedures are aimed at removing dry branches. Juniper of this species does not need shelter for the winter. The only exception is the first winter after planting plants, especially in the northern regions.

Using

Daurian juniper is used for planting on slopes, slopes, for the design of alpine hills. It can become an effective decoration of small gardens and landscape-architectural compositions.

The fruits of juniper are used as spices, they also look very decorative on the bushes in solitary plantings, as well as in small groups among the stones in the park landscape. This juniper looks spectacular against the background of not very deep snow. Swarming and dwarf species, including Daursky, are indispensable for strengthening the slopes.

Some species are successfully used to decorate protective strips and hedges. Application can be limited only by the slow growth of the plant. Almost all junipers do not tolerate smoke and soot, this greatly limits the possibility of planting them in industrial centers.

Plants-partners

Juniper Dahur is perfectly combined with erika and heathers, with some ground cover forms of pines, ornamental grasses, roses and wild perennials.

Reproduction

Juniper propagates by cuttings and seeds. More than 70 percent of winter cuttings successfully take root without additional processing.