Juniper Chinese Monarch cultivar (Monarch) - a beautiful coniferous plant of the Cypress family, which attracts gardeners with its decorative effect. In the article, in addition to describing the appearance, you can find tips on planting and caring for it.

Botanical Description

Juniper Monarch is a shrub that has a compact, neat shape. Crohn looks like a column. The maximum height of the plant reaches 3 meters, and in diameter does not exceed 1.5-2 m. It grows by about 15 cm per season. Branches are greenish-brown in color, grow vertically and slightly turned sideways. The root system is located close to the soil surface, and is strongly spread in different directions. The needles are thick, green or bluish in color, with a persistent smell. Cones are small in size, gray-blue in color.

Landing

You can plant a bush on a permanent place from March to November, but the best seedlings take root in the spring. First you need to choose planting material and decide on the site on which juniper will grow.

Important! It is recommended to buy a seedling in specialized stores or nurseries.

Condition Requirements

Shrub is undemanding to the composition of the soil. As a planting soil, it is recommended to use a mixture of peat, sod land and sand in the proportions of 2: 1: 1. It is better to plant the plant in sunny areas, but it also easily survives in partial shade.The acidity of the soil mixture should not exceed a value of 7, but also should not be lower than 4.5 on a pH scale.

Landing process

To plant juniper, you must:

1. Soak for 3 hours a root with an earthen lump in water.
2. Dig a hole about 70 cm deep, with a length and width of about 1 m.
3. Place a drainage layer at the bottom of the pit. To do this, pour broken brick or coarse-grained sand with a layer of up to 20 cm.
4. Install the seedling in the pit, leaving the root neck 5-10 cm above the ground surface.
5. Fill the hole with soil without leaving voids.
6. To carry out watering. To do this, use 10-15 liters of water.

Juniper Care

Caring for a plant will not be particularly troublesome. So that the juniper does not become infected with the fungus, it is necessary to carry out nitroammophos treatment in the spring. To do this, you need to make 30-40 g of the drug per 1 m² of soil.

Important! Irrigation water should be pre-settled.

Sprinkling is also recommended. to saturate the crown with moisture and prevent sunburn on the needles. It is better to do this in the evening, no more than once every 7 days. Humidification is carried out no more than once a month. For irrigation enough 15 liters of water. After this, you need to remove the weeds, and loosen the soil. Before winter frosts, it is recommended to mulch the soil of the near-trunk zone with peat or sawdust.Trimming the crown is not necessary, except to remove dried, unhealthy shoots.For the winter, experts recommend tying the branches to the trunk using a rope or net to protect the crown from excessive snow sticking. Only young specimens need additional shelter. To do this, you can use spruce branches or burlap.

Breeding methods

Juniper can be propagated in the following ways:

• by seeds;
• cuttings.

To grow shrubs from seeds, it is first necessary to carry out a stratification procedure. To do this, in late autumn, seeds are immersed in a container with earth 3 cm in depth, and then taken out into the street. And left for the winter outdoors. With the onset of May, sowing in open ground. Shoots will appear next season.

Did you know? Juniper berries are nothing but cones.

In order to propagate the shrub with the help of cuttings it is necessary:

• cut cuttings from last year’s growth 7-15 cm long;

• prepare a mixture of sand, peat, soil (garden) and crumbs from coniferous bark (1: 1: 1: 1);
• put the substrate in containers;
• shorten the shoots on cuttings by a third and carry out the treatment with “Kornevin”;
• plant 6-7 cuttings in each container, each deepening by 4 cm. Tamp the soil a little with your fingers;
• cover the container with polyethylene on top and place in a well-lit place. For the cuttings to take root, the ambient temperature should not be higher than + 18 ° C degrees.

Once every 3 days, it is necessary to spray the soil so that it remains moist. The roots will appear in just 2 months.

Use in landscape design

Due to its shape and color, the plant looks great on small plots of land. It is used both for single landings and for creating compositions. Juniper is used to design alpine hills, planted near ponds and next to flower beds. You can compose it with other conifers, for example, with thuja and Christmas trees. Juniper looks spectacular along sidewalks, paths of office buildings and estates.

Did you know? It is believed that the juniper is dreaming of happy changes in life - wealth and good luck in all matters.

The decision to plant Monarch juniper in your garden will be justified. The plant will not only decorate and diversify the design of the site, but also enrich the air with volatile, which destroy viruses and bacteria.