Juniper is a tree or a bush? Fruits of the juniper

Occurs in the polar zone, the forests of temperatelatitudes and subtropical mountain regions of the northern hemisphere, an interesting plant with a dense oval or conical shape of the crown, called a juniper, remains a mystery to many.

What is juniper, is it a tree or shrub? To understand this question, to learn all about the plant, its forms and forms, this article will help.

Species

In the genus of junipers from the family of cypressthere are almost 60 species of plants, significantly different from each other. Juniper is a shrub or tree? The official form is recognized as a coniferous shrub whose forms can be very different. Their height varies from 0.2 to 5-8 m, sometimes juniper grows up to 8-10 m. It all depends on the species, location and conditions of growth. It is this height that prompts you to ask: Is juniper a tree or a bush?

Like many representatives of the cypress family,juniper, or veresa, as it is also called, has a surprisingly long life. 200, 600 and even 800 years for different species is considered normal. In the southern regions, plants are even older.

Juniper is a tree or shrub withevergreen foliage. The leaves of it can be scaly or resemble trihedral pine needles. They have a persistent pleasant aroma, which increases markedly after rain or in the sun. The flowers of the veresa are invisible, and the ripening fruits, the pineal glands of the blue-blue color, are attractive and interesting in that they mature for the 2nd year after flowering.

Application

Juniper (tree or bush) has a highdecorative value. The plant has gained immense popularity among gardeners. Designers emphasize its good compatibility, especially dwarfish and creeping species, with heather, ornamental and wild-growing soil cover cultures. They are used in group and single plantations when creating stone gardens - rock gardens or rockeries. Tall grades are indispensable in the arrangement of tapeworms and hedges.

In addition to decorative, the practical qualities of the plant are valued, since it "holds" the soil, preventing erosion, which is important if the site is located on a slope.

Juniper is a tree or a bush? Types of juniper

Veres ordinary - strictly vertical, evergreen dioecious shrub with oval crown or tree with a dense cone of foliage in height from 2 to 8 meters, survives to 200 years.

Its features are slow growth, fibrousbrownish trunk and hard bluish-green triangular needles. This species is extremely photophilous. Planted in the shade, it thinens and loses decorativeness inherent in all the representatives of the cypress family. With the advent of winter, some varieties of this hardy and frost-resistant species change the color of needles to gray-brown. Fruiting ordinary juniper begins from 10-12 years of age.

Variety of common

• Hibernica - a compact, cone-shaped shrub up to 4 m in height and a crown diameter of up to 1.2 m. The needles are greyish-green. For winter, the crown of this variety is pulled together by a hemp rope, since snowfalls can disrupt the bush.

• Green Carpet - winter-hard creeping shrub, low (up to 0.3 m), but spreading, with a crown diameter of up to 1.5 m and dense greenery of needles.

• Hornibrookii - creeping coniferous shrub with dome crown up to 0.8 m in height, capable of covering large areas. Has attractive light green needles, well tolerates pruning.

• Meyer - columned and conical vertical compact bush with openwork greenish-silvery needles up to 5 m in height and up to 1.5 m in diameter.

• Repanda - coniferous, flat bush, visually forming a dark green mat. It grows up to 0.5 m in height and grows up to 2 m in diameter. It is used as a good soil cover.

Chinese juniper

This is a shrub or tree, combining in the crown bothspecies of leaves - needle and scaly. Very hardy and frost-resistant plant with a deep branched root system, capable of withstanding abnormally high temperatures. Originally scaly leaves planted in the shade or undergone a cardinal pruning of Chinese juniper are transformed into needles. This species develops well only on sunny areas, loses its appeal in the shade, dropping foliage, but quickly adapting to any drained soils. Visually similar to cypress, the Chinese faith successfully replaces it in mid-latitude plantings.

Cultivation

Juniper (this tree or shrub) -long-lived, drought-resistant plant. Of all species, only the ordinary can develop in a slightly shaded place, the rest are very fond of the sun and are not afraid of burns. Do not tolerate the faith and oppression of the higher brethren.

To the composition of the soil and the level of its fertility, alljunipers are not very demanding. Excess fertilization of the soil can even damage the plant - it will lose the typical shape of the crown. Dwarf and creeping species tolerate pruning well, but extreme susceptibility to city gas contamination does not allow using the decorative nature of the plant to the fullest.

Care

Caring activities are important for suchplants like juniper (this tree or shrub, everything is dependent on its height). Their decorativeness and healthy appearance often serve as the visiting card of the site. These cultures are responsive to care. They require moderate watering, periodic weeding and loosening. After planting, the site should preferably be covered with wood chips, sawdust or peat. Sanitary pruning is carried out in the early spring, removing the bare branches. Since juniper is a tree or shrub conical shape, it is tied for winter to avoid loss of decorativeness.