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The homeland of the evergreen representative of the Cypress family is America, Virginia. The culture is widespread at the foot of the rocky mountains on the edges of the forest, less often along the banks of rivers and in wetlands. Juniper Hetz is the result of crossing Chinese juniper and Virgin juniper. The American conifer has become the ancestor of many varieties of culture with a variety of crown shapes and colors.
Description of juniper virgin Hetz
The evergreen Hetz juniper, depending on pruning, can take the form of a horizontal spreading shrub or an upright tree of a symmetrical cone shape. The ability to give the desired shape gives a well-defined high trunk. Hetz is one of the representatives of the Virginian juniper of medium size, which gives a significant increase for the species. The size of an adult virgin Hetz juniper without growth correction reaches 2,5 m in height, the crown diameter is 2,5-3 cm. Over the year, the plant adds 23 cm in height, approximately also increases in diameter. For 9 years it grows up to 1,8 m, then the growth decreases to 10 cm, at the age of 15 years the plant is considered an adult.
Frost-resistant Hetz juniper is suitable for growing in the Central Black Earth regions, the European part of Our Country. Due to its drought resistance, Hetz juniper is cultivated in the North Caucasus and the southern regions. The plant is photophilous, tolerates planting in open areas, can grow in partial shade. Soil waterlogging is not shown. Does not lose its decorative effect in dry weather. Does not tolerate drafts well.
The perennial Hetz retains its habitus up to 40 years, then the lower branches begin to dry, the needles turn yellow and crumble, the juniper loses its decorative effect. Due to the good annual growth, the shrub is constantly pruned to form a crown.
Description of the Hetz virgin juniper shown in the photo:
- The crown is sprawling, loose, the branches are horizontal, the upper part is slightly raised. Branches of medium volume, gray with a brown tint, the bark is uneven.
- At the initial stage of vegetation, it forms dense scaly needles; as it grows, it becomes needle-shaped, trihedral, soft, with pointed, non-spiky ends. The needles are dark blue, closer to steel color. By autumn, the needles are painted in a maroon hue.
- The variety is monoecious, forms flowers only of the female type, bears fruit abundantly every year, which is considered a rarity for Cypress.
- Cone berries at the beginning of growth are light gray in color, ripened bluish-white, numerous, small.
Juniper Hetz in landscape design
The culture is frost-resistant, tolerates low humidity well. Shows a high degree of rooting in a new place. Due to its varietal characteristics, it is used for landscape design almost throughout Our Country. Hetz juniper is planted as a tapeworm or massively in one line. They are used for landscaping household plots, squares, recreation areas, city parks.
Juniper Hetz virginiana (pictured) is used as a foreground in a flower bed in a composition with dwarf conifers and flowering plants. The use of Hetz juniper in design:
- to create an alley. Landing on both sides of the garden path is visually perceived as an alley;
- for the design of the banks of the reservoir;
- to form a hedge around the perimeter of the site;
- to indicate the background of rabatok;
- to divide garden areas;
- to create an accent in rockeries and rock gardens.
Hetz juniper planted around the gazebo will add color to the recreation area and create a feeling of a coniferous forest.
Planting and caring for Hetz juniper
Juniperus virginica Hetz variegata prefers light, well-draining soils. The composition is neutral or slightly alkaline. On salty and acidic soil, the culture does not grow. The best option for planting is sandy loam.
Seedling and planting preparation
Requirements for planting material of juniper juniperus virginiana Hetz:
- seedling for breeding must be at least two years old;
- the root system is well formed, without mechanical damage and dry areas;
- the bark is smooth, olive in color without scratches and cracks;
- branches must have needles.
Before placing the Hetz variety in the designated place, the root is disinfected in a manganese solution and placed in a growth stimulator. If the root system is closed, planted without treatment.
The site is prepared a week before planting, the place is dug up, the composition is neutralized. A nutrient mixture is prepared for the seedling: peat, earth from the planting site, sand, leafy humus. All components are mixed in equal parts. They dig a landing hole 15 cm wider than the root ball, depth – 60 cm. Drainage from broken bricks or coarse pebbles is placed at the bottom. 1 day before planting, fill the hole to the top with water.
Rules of landing
Sequencing:
- ½ of the mixture is poured into the bottom of the pit.
- Make a hill.
- In the center they put a seedling on a hill.
- Pour the rest of the mixture so that about 10 cm remains to the edge.
- Fill the void with wet sawdust.
- The soil is compacted and watered.
If the planting is massive, a space of 1,2 m is set aside between the juniper.
Watering and top dressing
Juniper Hetz after planting is watered every evening for three months with a small amount of water. If the root system was not previously lowered into the growth stimulator, the drug is added to the irrigation water. Sprinkling is carried out every morning. There are enough trace elements in the nutrient mixture, they will last the plant for 2 years. Then the root system will deepen, so the need for top dressing will disappear.
Mulching and loosening
The trunk soil is mulched immediately after planting with dry leaves, peat or small tree bark. In the fall, the layer is increased, in the spring the composition is updated. Loosening and weeding of young juniper seedlings is carried out as weeds grow. An adult plant does not need this agricultural technique, weed grass does not grow under a dense crown, and mulch prevents the topsoil from compacting.
Trimming and shaping
Up to two years of growth, Hetz juniper is only sanitary cleaned. In the spring, dry and damaged areas are removed. The formation of the bush begins after 3-4 years. The plant is shaped and maintained each spring by pruning before sap flow begins.
Preparation for winter
Frost-resistant Hetz juniper withstands temperatures down to -28 0C. For an adult plant in the fall, increase the layer of mulch by 15 cm and carry out moisture-charging watering, this will be enough. Shelter that a young juniper needs:
- The seedlings are spudding.
- Place mulch and a layer of straw on top.
- The branches are tied and bent to the ground so that they do not break under the mass of snow.
- Top covered with spruce branches, or polyethylene stretched over arcs.
- In winter, the juniper is covered with a layer of snow.
Reproduction
Juniperus virginiana Hetz (juniperus virginiana Hetz) is bred by the following methods:
- by cuttings, the material is taken from last year’s annual shoots, the length of the cutting is 12 cm;
- layering, in the spring the shoot of the lower branch is fixed to the ground, sprinkled with soil, after 2 years they are seated;
- seeds.
The grafting method is rarely used, juniper is a high-growing plant, it can be formed in the form of a standard tree without grafting.
Diseases and pests
Juniper Hetzii Hetzii is resistant to fungal infection. The only condition for growing is that the crop cannot be placed near apple trees. Fruit trees cause rust on the crown of the conifer.
They parasitize on conifers:
- aphid;
- juniper sawfly;
- scale shield.
In order to prevent the appearance and spread of pests, the shrub is treated in spring and autumn with copper sulphate.
Conclusion
Juniper Hetz is a perennial evergreen plant that is used for landscaping urban recreation areas and household plots. A tall shrub is used to decorate flower beds, used in mass plantings to form a hedge. The culture is frost-resistant, tolerates drought well, and is unpretentious in care.
