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Juniper Green Carpet is a coniferous shrub whose name literally translates as “green carpet”. The plant fully justifies this name, creating a dense lawn of shoots no higher than 20 cm. The flat shape of the crown and the smoky, light green color of the soft needles make Green Carpet a very attractive decoration element for gardens, lawns, and alpine hills.
Description juniper Green Carpet
The official botanical name for the plant is Juniperus communis Green Carpet. The word “communis” in the name of the juniper Green Carpet is translated as “ordinary”, although it is difficult to call it an ordinary shrub. In the structure of the cushion-shaped crown of the plant, there is no central stem. The branches grow horizontally, creating a fluffy weave almost parallel to the ground.
Green Carpet belongs to dwarf varieties of junipers, which are characterized by a height of 0,1 to 0,2 m and an annual growth of 8-15 cm. The bush reaches its maximum growth and diameter of about 1,5 m only by 10 years, but is able to grow, remaining decorative for many decades. According to some reports, the life span of junipers exceeds 200 years.
The needles of Green Carpet are soft, scaly, collected in rosettes. Young shoots are covered with reddish bark that turns brown with age. The fruits are small blue cones covered with a bluish bloom. The first ovaries are formed already in the year of planting and do not crumble from the branches after ripening.
Juniper Green Carpet in landscape design
Unpretentiousness in care, decorativeness all year round, a small annual increase provide dwarf juniper with popularity among private gardeners and in the design of parks, squares, public flower beds.
Designers especially value Green Carpet for the ability to create long-lasting, vibrant lawns that don’t need to be mowed or weeded. The dense interweaving of branches makes the germination of weeds impossible.
The height of the Juniper Green Carpet can be modeled. Slightly taller bushes are formed from a low-growing creeping plant with the help of special pruning. In this case, the young growth rises above last year’s, and the bush takes on the form of undulating clumps. The needles of different years differ in color, so each “wave” is different from the previous one, which creates an amazing “puff” effect.
The root system of the juniper lies shallow, grows strongly to the sides and is able to hold the soil layers together. This property is used in landscape design to strengthen slopes, edges of ravines. Green Carpet, planted on an alpine hill, perfectly fastens the entire structure, keeping artificial mounds from being washed away.
The most applicable dwarf juniper is for decorating rocky slopes and hills, heather meadows. In flowerbeds, in rock gardens, Green Carpet favorably sets off low flowering plants with small, bright buds. A good combination would be planting against the background of juniper phlox, herbaceous cloves, barberries.
Often plants with different shades of needles are planted side by side, getting original color transitions or highlighting crops in contrast. It is possible to create an original juniper Green Carpet cover environment for crops on a bole. A good combination will be not only vertically developing conifers, but also deciduous or flowering bushes.
Planting and caring for juniper Green Carpet
Junipers are unpretentious to growing conditions, but their decorative effect and growth rate are highly dependent on the choice of location, proper planting, and further care.
Basic requirements when choosing a site for Green Carpet:
- Sandy, sandy, calcareous soils are considered the best for juniper.
- The acidity of the soil in the area should be between neutral and slightly acidic.
- Green Carpet tolerates partial shade, but develops best in full light throughout the day.
- Neighborhood with tall plants is acceptable if the shade covers the juniper for no more than 2 hours, preferably at noon.
Juniper does not like stagnant moisture and cold drafts. Green Carpet is a viable species. A bush grown in inappropriate conditions rarely dies, but the harmonious development of the bush can not be expected.
Seedling and planting preparation
For the success of growing Green Carpet, a little pre-planting preparation is required. Since high-quality varietal material can only be purchased at a nursery, the root system of a seedling is usually placed in a container and does not threaten it with drying out.
The selected site is dug up, eliminating weeds, checking the acidity of the soil and, if necessary, lime or acidify the soil. Before planting, you should also stock up on mulching material.
Rules of landing
If a juniper seedling has an open root system, then it is planted immediately after purchase, most often in the spring. The best time for work is from mid-April to the first week of May. Later, an unadapted bush runs the risk of burning its needles under the scorching sun.
Planting material purchased in containers can be planted in spring or towards the end of the growing season, in October. Late work can provoke the freezing of a young juniper in winter.
Planting a horizontal juniper Green Carpet step by step:
- Places for pits during mass planting are marked in advance. The distance between the bushes to obtain a continuous lawn is maintained at about 1 m. For the formation of separate spreading bushes – at least 2 m.
- Planting holes for Green Carpet, regardless of the size of the roots of seedlings, are dug about 70 cm deep.
- At least 10 cm at the bottom should be occupied by drainage material (crushed stone, broken brick, expanded clay).
- Up to half of the hole is filled with a prepared substrate of coarse sand, peat and soil from a coniferous forest (or simple garden soil).
- It is best to prepare the seats in advance. In 2 weeks, the soil will settle down enough and the risk of injury to the roots will be minimal.
- When planting, the seedling is placed in the center of the hole, the roots are sprinkled with the prepared substrate, so that the root collar is flush with the ground.
After planting, the juniper is watered abundantly, and the soil around is covered with a layer of mulch. In the process of rooting, the seedling does not give green growth. The fact that the bush has taken root is judged by the preservation of the typical color by the plant.
Watering and top dressing
Rooted bush Green Carpet does not require special care. The mode of moistening and fertilizing is quite free.
Juniper care tips:
- the first month in a new place, the seedling is not moistened and not fed;
- with the first watering, 40 g of nitroammophoska are applied under each bush;
- in the future, moisturizing is carried out only during prolonged drought;
- to preserve the beauty of the needles, spraying from a spray bottle every 7-10 days is useful;
A shrub needs only one feeding per season with the use of special formulations for coniferous plants. Fertilizers are applied in the spring to stimulate active growth.
Mulching and loosening
Green Carpet Juniper is a cover crop and will not require soil loosening or mulch protection when mature. The intertwining carpet of branches independently protects the soil from drying out and crusting.
Young plants of Green Carpet require little care before the formation of a dense crown. Juniper best tolerates covering the soil with pine sawdust, softwood bark or peat. The protective layer with this method should not exceed 5 cm.
Trimming and shaping
Like any shrub, juniper will need sanitary pruning. All dry, damaged branches or shoots with traces of diseases are subject to removal. The cut material must not be left on the site: it is taken out of the garden and destroyed.
To ensure the growth of Green Carpet in height and the formation of curtains, it is enough to cut the growing juniper along the edges, limiting the growth along the circumference. So the bush will become thicker and will be able to reach a height of about 30 cm.
Preparation for winter
The variety is characterized by increased resistance to frost: the description of the variety calls the temperature limit – 40 ° C. The common juniper Green Carpet, according to gardeners, easily tolerates the winters of the central strip.
Shelter is required only for juniper bushes of the first year of vegetation. The soil around the plants is mulched with a layer of 10 cm. Plantings are covered with lutrasil or special breathable agrofiber, pressing along the edge of the bushes to the soil.
Reproduction
Cuttings are considered the classic way to obtain new Green Carpet bushes. When pruning, healthy shoots are selected, not shorter than 10 cm, cut with a sharp, sterile tool and sent for rooting. Germination can be done at home (in pots) or directly placed cuttings on open beds.
Gardeners say that the easiest way to get juniper seedlings is by layering. By pressing the creeping lash to the ground with a special bracket or stone, in a year the rooted stem can be separated from the mother bush. Such seedlings are the most tenacious, easily adaptable during transplantation.
Diseases and pests of juniper Green Carpet
Juniper Green Carpet, according to the description of the variety, is well resistant to garden diseases. Viral and bacterial lesions usually bypass coniferous culture. Fungal diseases can appear from excessive watering, lack of light or poor ventilation of the bushes. The affected parts of the plant are cut out and destroyed, and the bushes are sprayed with fungicidal preparations.
In the spring, to prevent fungal infections, bushes can be treated with Bordeaux mixture along with other garden plants or store fungicides can be used.
Trouble young juniper can deliver an excess of light before the start of the growing season. At the end of February, the sun’s rays can burn and discolor the needles. On especially sunny days of the end of winter – the beginning of spring, plants are shaded with non-woven garden material. At the same time, it is useful to carry out the first watering of the juniper.
Pests are also reluctant to visit coniferous plantations. But during the period of weakening of plants from heat or heavy rains, spider mites, scale insects or aphids may appear on the juniper from neighbors in the garden. To save Green Carpet from infection, the bushes are sprayed with complex insecticides.
Conclusion
Juniper Green Carpet is very decorative and quite unpretentious. The unusual shape of the bush and beautiful fluffy needles make an impression in single and group plantings. Plants almost do not get sick, do not require frequent watering and special care. Slow growth Green Carpet retains a well thought out landscape design for decades and requires only a little annual shaping in return.
