Juniper Medium Mint Julep

Juniper Mint Julep is a low-growing evergreen shrub with a spreading crown and a pleasant coniferous-mint aroma. This hybrid, obtained by crossing the Cossack and Chinese juniper, is often used in landscape design when decorating green islands near office buildings, in greenhouses, as well as in landscaping household plots.

Description of juniper medium Mint Julep

The United States is considered the country of origin of this variety of juniper, the hybrid was obtained in the 60s of the XX century by breeders from the nursery in Saratoga Springs (New York). The branches of Mint Julep grow in an arcuate manner at an angle of 45 ° relative to the ground, they are distinguished by pomp and softness. Tops of young shoots hang down. The needles are scaly, dense, the color varies from light emerald to dark green. Cone berries are small (1-1,5 cm), have a rounded shape and a bluish-gray hue.

From the Cossack juniper, the most poisonous in the genus Juniperus, Mint Julep inherited the ability to secrete essential oils that are extremely dangerous to human and animal health. All parts of the plant are poisonous.

The shrub exudes a delicate fresh aroma, in which mint notes are captured. It is for this feature that the juniper average Mint Julep (Mint Julep) got its name, which in English means “mint julep”.

Juniper is a typical representative of dioecious plants. Male specimens are denser than female specimens. Sex can be determined at the time of flowering: male microstrobiles (cones) are yellowish in color, female are pale green.

Among the positive characteristics of juniper Mint Julep, one cannot but mention the following:

• Mint Julep tolerates heat and drought well;
• the hybrid has good frost resistance (up to -40 °);
• resistant to sudden changes in temperature;
• suitable for growing in conditions of high gas content;
• grows faster than other varieties of juniper;
• undemanding to the composition of the soil;
• is a long-lived plant (on average up to 100 years).

Dimensions of an adult juniper plant Mint Julep

The shrub has an average size for a juniper – a 10-year-old specimen, with proper care, has a height of 1,5-2 m with a crown diameter of 3-3,5 m. m, like Chinese. According to the description of the juniper Mint Julep, the branches of the shrub bend well and can take any shape. This amazing feature, combined with its relatively small size, has made Mint Julep juniper a very popular material for creating living frame figures.

Juniper Mint Julep in landscape design

Decorating plots with compositions of evergreen shrubs is a favorite topic of many landscape designers. Slow-growing junipers, including Mint Julep, are used for these purposes more often than others. Spreading or neatly trimmed bushes adorn the garden all year round, especially in winter, when deciduous crops look dull.

When forming the crown of the Mint Julep juniper, you can give free rein to your imagination and create a unique living sculpture in the bonsai style. Juniper Mint Julep, grown on a bole, looks no less impressive.

A young plant can be made creeping by attaching a flexible stem to the ground with wire pins. This technique is used when planting juniper on a slope. If the project requires a more compact, but tall bush, use a mount to a vertical support. Over time, the shoots will finally become woody and will forever remain in the desired position. The ability for such a transformation allows Mint Julep juniper to look harmonious in the compositions of various areas of landscape architecture, whether it be a Japanese garden, a heather slope or an alpine hill.

A hybrid of Chinese and Cossack juniper can act both as a background and as a dominant plant. Thanks to its unpretentiousness and resistance to negative environmental influences, Mint Julep is a leader in industrial landscaping. Culture can often be found in city parks, alleys, squares as part of mixborders or as a hedge.

Juniper neighbors can be both coniferous and deciduous trees and shrubs. Beautifully flowering crops look interesting against the background of juicy scaly needles:

• rhododendron;
• hydrangea;
• heather;
• Erika.

Planting juniper with barberry or cotoneaster will be no less advantageous.

Planting and caring for juniper medium Mint Julep

Juniper Mint Julep can grow on any type of soil, but the shrub will feel best on loose, drained sandy loam and loam. For this culture, it is better to choose a well-lit area, since juniper belongs to light-loving species. With a sufficient amount of sunlight, the crown will be more dense and lush; when planted in the shade, the structure of the needles will be loose. In the place chosen for planting juniper, groundwater should not lie too close to the surface.

Seedling and planting preparation

Experts recommend purchasing seedlings in large, time-tested nurseries. It is better to choose plants with a closed root system, in containers, they tolerate the stress of transplanting more easily.

Juniper Mint Julep is planted in a permanent place in the middle of spring, when the soil is already warm enough. The pit is prepared 2 weeks before planting. The dimensions of the recess should exceed the volume of the earthen coma of the seedling by 2-3 times, the depth is 60 cm. A layer of drainage 10 cm thick is laid at the bottom of the pit. For this, broken bricks, expanded clay, gravel, medium-sized pebbles are used. The next drainage layer is coarse sand. The soil mixture is prepared from the following components:

• sod land (1 part);
• river sand (1 part);
• peat (2 parts).

The prepared nutrient soil is left in the pit so that it settles naturally.

Rules for planting juniper medium Mint Julep

Mint Julep does not tolerate transplanting well, so the place for the shrub must be selected carefully and for many years to come. When planning, it should be taken into account that the distance to neighboring plants should be at least 1,5-2 m.

The landing algorithm is reduced to the following manipulations:

1. In the prepared hole, dig a hole commensurate with the container of the seedling.
2. A seedling is placed in the recess so that the root neck is flush with the edge of the pit.
3. The hole is covered with nutrient soil, lightly tamping.
4. Landings are abundantly watered with settled warm water.
5. When the moisture is completely absorbed, the near-stem circle is loosened and mulched with pine bark or sawdust.

The first 7-10 days after planting, the young juniper is regularly watered by sprinkling.

Watering and top dressing

Hybrid Mint Julep is very responsive to regular soil moisture. Bushes must be watered in the evening every 7-10 days, spending 1-3 buckets of settled water for one plant. Spraying or sprinkling is beneficial to the appearance and health of the shrub. The procedure is carried out early in the morning or in the evening every 3-5 days.

The young bush is fertilized once a year in the spring. As a top dressing, complex mineral fertilizers are suitable, which include phosphorus, potassium, nitrogen and other useful trace elements. Fertilizers begin in the 1nd year after planting. An adult plant needs top dressing every 2-2 years.

Mulching and loosening

In the spring, as soon as the snow melts, the old mulch is removed and disposed of, because pathogenic microorganisms could multiply in it during the winter. The trunk circle is carefully loosened and covered with a new layer of mulch. Loosening the soil should be carried out regularly, after each watering or rain. Without fail, the soil is loosened before winter so that a sufficient amount of oxygen enters the root system.

Pruning Juniper Mint Julep

Sanitary pruning Mint Julep produced in the spring. At the same time, broken, dried and diseased fragments are removed. The formative haircut of the juniper Mint Julep is produced throughout the warm season, as the branches grow, distorting the shape of the bush conceived by the gardener.

The lower pruning is extremely rare, in most cases, when a bonsai is formed from the Mint Julep juniper. In young bushes, the lower branches are cut off, the trunk is carefully wrapped with copper wire, which is then bent based on the master’s idea. The trunk is formed during 2-3 seasons, after which the wire is removed and the design of skeletal and secondary branches is started. It is possible to form a plant only at a young age, adult bushes painfully endure any changes.

Shelter juniper Mint Julep for the winter

Juniper Mint Julep is a frost-resistant hybrid. Only young bushes need shelter for the winter, the branches of which have not had time to become woody. The near-stem circle is mulched with a thick layer of peat, the branches are tied and covered with spruce branches. Mature plants also need to be tied up for the winter, similar to Christmas trees in New Year’s markets, in this form the branches will not break under the weight of snow.

How Fast Does Juniper Mint Julep Grow?

The average annual growth of juniper Mint Julep directly depends on growing conditions. The main growth occurs in the spring-summer. Usually, during the season, the height of the Mint Julep juniper increases by 10 cm, the branches grow 5 cm wide. Judging by the numerous reviews of gardeners, growth in the conditions of central Our Country is slower than stated in the description, although the growth rate of the hybrid juniper Mint Julep exceeds the original Chinese species.

Reproduction of juniper Mint Julep

This variety can be propagated by layering and cuttings. Theoretically, it is possible to collect seeds from female shrubs, but it is extremely difficult to grow a full-fledged strong plant from them. In the summer, strong shoots about 10 cm long are cut from the bush and rooted in individual containers with nutrient soil. Until the roots appear, seedlings are kept in greenhouses.

Diseases and pests

Juniper Mint Julep can suffer from various diseases of fungal origin, including rust and schütte. Infection carriers are often insects that live near fruit and berry crops. When affected, the color of coniferous needles changes, the plant looks depressing. Fungicides must be used to prevent and treat fungal diseases.

The most common pests of Mint Julep:

• aphid;
• needle tick;
• shield;
• sawfly;
• mole;
• caterpillars.

If unwanted insects are found, the bushes should be sprayed with an insecticide solution diluted strictly according to the instructions.

Yellowing of juniper needles can be caused not only by diseases and pests. With a lack of nutrients, poor drainage, too dry or, conversely, waterlogged soil, the dark emerald shade of the branches quickly changes to faded yellow.

Conclusion

Juniper Mint Julep is an excellent choice for those who want to decorate their site with an unpretentious ephedra. The lush emerald crown and the possibility of a curly haircut made this hybrid of American selection a favorite and sought-after culture. The plant is popular with both professional landscape designers and amateur gardeners.

Juniper Mint Julep Reviews