juniper pfitzeriana

Juniper medium is an ornamental coniferous shrub, bred by crossing Cossack and Chinese junipers. The plant is very popular in gardening, because its varieties have very interesting shapes and colors, and caring for the plant is quite simple.

Description of the middle juniper

Juniper medium, or, as it is also called, pfitzeriana, is a fairly young variety, artificially bred in Germany at the end of the 19th century. The shrub got its name in honor of one of the employees of the nursery who took part in the selection – Wilhelm Fitzer.

According to its characteristics, the average pfitzerian shrub has features of both the Cossack and Chinese varieties. Pfitzerian juniper differs from horizontal varieties in that it can rise up to 3 m above the ground, and the crown diameter of the average juniper reaches 5 m. However, it remains much lower than vertical junipers and thus occupies a middle position in height.

The branches of the middle juniper usually rise vertically upwards, but at the ends they bend in an arc towards the ground. The needles of the shrub are soft and not prickly, on the old branches and closer to the trunk of the needle-shaped type, and at the ends of the shoots – with scales. Most varieties of medium juniper are bright green or yellowish in color, although medium blue juniper is also found.

In terms of cultivation, Pfitzerian is a very convenient garden variety. The average shrub tolerates the conditions of lack of moisture and frost, is undemanding to the soil and ecology. Planting an average juniper in a summer cottage allows not only to decorate the garden, but also to improve the air – the phytoncides secreted by the plant eliminate pathogenic bacteria and fill the garden with a pleasant aroma.

juniper pfitzeriana in landscape design

Gardeners and designers appreciate the medium juniper, first of all, for its versatility in landscaping the garden.

• A low Pfitzerian plant can be used in the design of small compact compositions, the average juniper goes well with flower beds and flower beds, alpine slides, rose gardens.
• Pfitzeriana is used in the design of coastlines, borders are distinguished with the help of a shrub of medium height, it can also be used to create low hedges that divide the garden into parts.
• Juniper medium looks good next to groups of taller trees. If you correctly select the shapes and shades of the crown of plants, then the Pfitzerian coniferous shrub will help emphasize the grace and beauty of neighboring plantings.
• Due to the fact that most varieties of medium juniper are widely spread in diameter, they are used to decorate rocky and desert areas of space, forming a “green pillow” raised above the ground.

Varieties of juniper medium

In the time that has passed since the advent of juniper pfitzeriana, dozens of different varieties of the medium shrub have been bred. Some of them are in particular demand among landscape designers and ordinary summer residents, because they have attractive shapes and do not require careful maintenance.

Juniperus average Pfitzeriana Aurea

The variety is characterized by strong growth in width – an adult juniper, the average Pfitzeriana Aurea, can reach 5 m in diameter. Pfitzeriana has a spreading crown and bright yellow-green needles with a golden hue. It grows slowly, often used to create the lower tier of vegetation in park areas. But it is not suitable for small flower beds, because as it grows, it will simply crowd out other plants.

It is unpretentious to growing conditions and calmly tolerates poor soils and drought. But at the same time, Pfitzeriana Aurea requires an abundance of sunlight – in the shade, the average shrub grows much worse and is prone to disease.

Juniper medium King of Spring

Pfitzeriana differs in non-standard sizes for the average juniper, as a rule, the bush does not exceed 50 cm in height. At the same time, the plant can spread up to 2 m in diameter, which allows it to be actively used to decorate lawns and live carpets on uneven terrain.

The needles of the pfitzerian juniper of this variety are bright, green-yellow, but the plant retains this shade only in illuminated areas, and darkens in the shade and loses its unusual appearance.

Juniperus average Pfitzeriana Glauka

Juniper Pfitzerianaglauca is able to spread branches up to 4 m wide, but reaches a height of no more than 2 m. The crown is irregularly rounded and dense, the color of the needles is bluish-blue in the sun or greenish-gray in the shade.

Pfitzeriana Glauka prefers well-lit areas, but calmly perceives light shading. It tolerates drought and frost well, prefers loose and well-oxygenated soils. In landscape design, Glauka looks especially good in combination with herbaceous plants and as part of alpine slides.

Juniper Pfitzeriana Compacta

A short, slow-growing variety that can reach only 1,5 m in height and grows to about 2 m in diameter. The young medium Pfitzerian shrub has rigid horizontal shoots, subsequently the branches rise slightly upwards. The color of the needles of the middle juniper variety Pfitzeriana Compacta is green with a grayish tint, the needles are scaly at the ends of the branches and needle-shaped closer to the trunk.

Compacta is one of the few medium junipers that tolerate shaded conditions well. Pfitzeriana is characterized by increased endurance and tolerance to almost any conditions, therefore it is especially often used in urban gardens and summer cottages with poor soils.

Juniper average Blue and Gold

As you can see in the photo of the Blue and Gold juniper, an unusual feature of this variety is the two-tone color of the shrubs, some shoots of which are yellow, while others are greenish-blue. This is the reason for the name of the juniper of the middle Blue and Gold. In height, the shrub can rise to 1,5 m, and spreads out to 2 m in width, and it grows very slowly, several centimeters per year.

Blue and Gold should be grown in the same way as most other varieties, paying special attention to sunlight and looseness of the soil.

Juniper average Gold Coast

Pfitzeriana is characterized, first of all, by the bright and cheerful color of the crown – green-yellow needles with a golden hue. In height, the average Gold Coast juniper usually reaches no more than 1,5 m, it can grow up to 3 m in width, spreading shoots leaning to the ground to the sides.

As a rule, Gold Coast Pfitzeriana is planted singly or in small groups to emphasize its beautiful forms and color. It should be borne in mind that the plant can boast of an unusual color only in illuminated areas.

Juniper average Mordigan Gold

The variety belongs to the category of low-growing Pfitzerian bushes – an adult plant does not rise above 1 m, although it can scatter shoots 2 m wide. The branches of the medium shrub are horizontal and leaning towards the ground, and the very soft needles of the Mordigan Gold Pfitzerian juniper have a pleasant golden yellow hue.

The Mordigan Gold Medium Juniper is highly adaptable to almost any environment and grows well in poor soils and regions with cold winters. But when planting a plant, it is necessary to monitor the good illumination of the selected area and select light soils.

Juniper Medium Dubs Frosted

The low-growing variety Dubs Frosted reaches only a meter in height as an adult and about 3,5 m in width. The crown of Pfitzeriana is spreading and dense, the ends of the shoots slightly descend to the ground. Mature needles are light green in color, while new shoots are bright gold in color.

Dubs Frosted makes very few demands on growing conditions. However, it is necessary to plant a variety in sunny places, otherwise its original color will fade greatly.

Juniper Methot

Juniper Pfitzeriana Methot belongs to the group of tall varieties – in adulthood it can reach about 3 m in height and 4-5 m in diameter. The needles on a spreading crown are scaly, soft to the touch with a yellow-green tint. Fresh shoots of the shrub have a golden color. The branches of Methot are usually horizontal and slightly upturned, but drooping at the ends.

Methot shows great tolerance for growing conditions and is ideal for planting in poor soils. It is only worth taking care that the shrub has enough light; in conditions of constant shading, it will lose its attractive color.

Juniper Pfitzeriana Carbury Gold

Spectacular undersized variety Carbury Gold for its beauty and pleasant golden color of the crown was awarded the English Royal Horticultural Society. The height of an adult shrub rarely exceeds 1 m, in the diameter of a pfitzerian it can reach 2,5 m.

Like most juniper varieties, Carbury Gold tolerates fairly harsh growing conditions. But the shrub remains demanding to the amount of sunlight, in the shade of its needles it fades and becomes less beautiful.

Juniper Pfitzeriana Wilhelm Pfitzer

This variety, named directly after one of the breeders of the medium shrub, has a bright green color of the needles and a spreading crown. Juniper medium Wilhelm Pfitzer belongs to the category of tall shrubs and in adulthood can reach 3 m in height and 5 m in width. True, it grows at the same time quite slowly, no more than 10 cm per year, even under ideal conditions.

Juniper Medium Blonde

A variety called Blond is characterized by rather short growth – the size of an average juniper does not exceed 1,2 m in height and about 2 m in diameter. The shoots of the shrub are thick and sprawling, sloping down, the needles in a well-lit area acquire a golden hue.

Pfitzeriana Blond tolerates drought and winter frost well, but is sensitive to soil density. The soil at its roots should be loose and well-drained, since stagnant moisture is also a danger to the plant.

Juniper average Saybrook Gold

The Cybrook Gold cultivar grows up to about 1,5 m in adult form and can scatter shoots up to 3 m wide. At the beginning of the life cycle, the branches of the plant are creeping, then they become raised, but at the ends they still bend down. The color of the needles of a plant of medium height is green with golden ends in young shoots.

The variety tolerates drought and winter cold snaps well. Cybrook Gold prefers lit areas and grows as beautiful as possible under the sun, but it also feels good in light shading.

Juniper Medium Mint Julep

The variety, especially popular for creating hedges, has a dense crown and strongly curved arched shoots. In height it can reach a maximum of 1,5 m, the color of the needles of an adult medium plant is bright green.

Juniper average Gold Kissen

The Gold Kissen variety, which is also called the “golden pillow”, reaches up to 1 m in height and about 2,5 m in diameter, and can add 15 cm per year. -green on old branches.

Juniper average Old Gold

A low variety that can reach up to 1,5 m in height and only about 1 m in width. It has a compact crown of regular geometric shape, the adult needles of the middle juniper of this variety are green-golden, and the needles on young shoots are yellow.

Juniper average Gold Star

A slowly growing variety, reaching up to 1,5 m in height and width, has a spreading horizontal crown. In sunny areas, the needles of the middle juniper acquire a golden hue, and this is the decorative value of Gold Star.

Planting and caring for pfitzer juniper

The medium juniper Juniperus Pfitzeriana is not very demanding on growing conditions, not least for this, gardeners love it. But in order for the shrub to grow beautiful and healthy, you need to know the basic rules for caring for the plant.

Seedling and planting preparation

The plot for growing the average juniper can be almost any. There are only a couple of basic requirements to follow:

• good site illumination – most medium pfitzerian junipers begin to fade in the shade;
• loose and aerated soil – junipers do not tolerate dense soils well.

If the soil in the selected area does not meet the requirements, you can prepare it yourself – make a soil mixture consisting of peat, sand and coniferous soil. A hole for a seedling is dug out in a month, in size it should be about 2,5 times larger than the roots of the seedling itself, along with the old clod of earth.

Rules of landing

Planting a plant in the ground is carried out in the spring according to standard rules.

• Light soil or artificial soil mixture is poured into the prepared drained pit to the middle, and then the seedling is lowered into the hole along with a clod of earth at the roots.
• The pit is covered with soil to the very top, while it is not necessary to carefully compact the earth around the trunk.
• Immediately after planting, the shrub is properly watered and the soil is mulched with bark or sawdust.

Watering and top dressing

Caring for the medium juniper during the warm season is very easy. It needs additional watering only in the driest periods, and the rest of the time it is content with the natural amount of moisture.

As for top dressing, it is produced once a year – in April or early May, nitrogenous fertilizers must be applied to the soil. At the same time, it is absolutely impossible to feed an average shrub with organic matter; fertilizers of this type are destructive for a coniferous plant.

Mulching and loosening

It is recommended to mulch the soil at the roots of the middle juniper once a year with peat, mowed grass or needles. A layer of mulch will prevent weeds from appearing and prevent moisture from evaporating prematurely. Loosening the soil is necessary, but it must be done very carefully and carefully, since the roots of the plant are located close to the surface of the earth and may suffer.

Trimming and shaping

Pruning of the sanitary type for the middle juniper is carried out without fail. Remove dry, broken and diseased branches is necessary to maintain the health of the plant. As for the decorative formation, it is performed as needed on grown shrubs.

Preparation for winter

In autumn, shortly before the onset of cold weather, the ground around the roots of the middle juniper must be covered with a dense layer of peat. Young low-growing shrubs are covered with spruce branches for the winter or form a snow cushion on a special protective frame. If the juniper grows in a sunny area, then in winter a screen should be installed on the most illuminated side – the bright winter sun can cause burns to the plant.

Reproduction of juniper pfitzer

Pfitzeriana, like other varieties, successfully propagated using cuttings.

• As planting material, young spring shoots about 12 cm long are cut from a shrub and cleaned of needles from both ends.
• For a couple of months, the cuttings are placed in a mini-greenhouse – a small box with a substrate suitable for juniper.
• From above, such a box is covered with plastic wrap to create a suitable temperature and humidity, but the film needs to be opened briefly daily.

Rooting occurs after about 2 months. After that, young seedlings, together with the existing substrate, are transplanted into more spacious boxes and grown indoors for another 1-2 years, after which they are planted in open ground.

Pests and diseases of juniper pfitzeriana

In general, the hardy plant is susceptible to a number of fungal diseases. The greatest danger to the shrub is:

• brown shutte – manifested by yellowing and shedding of needles;
• drying of branches – shrub shoots dry and bend;
• rust – orange growths appear on the shoots and needles of the middle juniper.

The fight against diseases is carried out, first of all, by cutting off all the affected parts of the plant. Then the shrub is carefully treated with fungicides – copper sulfate, Bordeaux liquid, specialized products.

Pfitzeriana can also be damaged by insects – aphids, scale insects and mealybugs. Their appearance is easy to prevent, it is enough to treat the bushes with insecticidal agents 1-3 times a season, for example, Aktara or Actellik.

Conclusion

Juniper medium is a beautiful coniferous plant that does not require special efforts from the gardener when growing. When caring for it, it is enough to follow the most basic rules so that the shrub will please with beautiful shapes and bright color of the needles.