The name of a plant often reflects its appearance. The English word "skyrocket" in translation corresponds to the Russian "take off."
Juniper Skyrocket very much like a rocket ready for takeoff.
Juniper Skyrocket: Description
This so-called juniper rocky, named Skyrocket, really comes from the rocky terrain of the North American continent.
Sufficiently harsh historical homeland provided a descendant with a heavenly name resistance to winter cold and unpretentiousness to the ground.
Did you know? The cultivated variety in question only after two decades can stretch to the sky by 7-8 meters, whereas wild ancestors and relatives exceed it by 1.5 times.A tall shrub serves as a spectacular decoration for any garden planting. In addition to the rocket-like shape, due, by the way, to the minimal growth of the trunk in thickness (5 cm in an adult plant), this is also due to the wonderful bluish needles with a bluish tinge. In addition to landscape decoration, juniper bushes of this variety will perfectly cope with the quite utilitarian function of the hedge, the height of which will quite well conceal the interior of the site from outside views.
You can not lose sight of the healing properties of juniper needles. Due to the large number of phytoncides in your garden will create a healthy atmosphere.
Did you know? Since ancient times, people attributed juniper and magical qualities. For example, the Argonauts mined the Golden Fleece, having lulled the snake guarding its snake with coniferous smoke, and magic wands that all children dream of owning, too, according to legend, were specially processed juniper twigs.
Landing features
It is not very difficult to land a Skyrocket juniper, as its description treats about it, though not without some effort.
Soil requirements
There were no special requirements for the soil for the "sky rocket". But there is still a preference - loamy earth with weak acidity. In addition to this, you can point to well-developed roots, firmly securing a large plant in light soil.
Place to grow
Protected in natural conditions by rocky formations from the winds, in the conditions of a home garden coniferous handsome man also prefers windy places. But even more important for him is the availability of sunlight. These two factors need to be considered when considering Skyrocket juniper saplings from the point of view of choosing a site for its planting.
Often, plots of different conifers are planted in the plots - fir, pine, thuja, larch, cedar, yew, cypress, cryptomeria, mirikarii.
How to plant a shrub
Experts assure that those seedlings whose growth has not exceeded a meter height best take root in a stationary place. They quickly adapt to new conditions just due to the potentially large life forces dormant in a young plant. Purchased (if you do not grow seedlings yourself) containers are exempt from young shrubs after preliminary actions:
- the earthy clod, with roots rooted in it, is saturated with moisture;
- a pit is dug for planting, 2-3 times larger than the diameter of the indicated lump, and reaching a depth of 0.5-0.7 m;
- drainage is laid on the pit bottom (broken brick, pebble, crushed stone mixed with sand).
Important! Do not purchase seedlings from random people - they often do not take root, especially if their roots are bare, and the hardened tips of the needles do not bend.
Then, after carefully releasing the seedling from the container:
- he, together with the root ball, falls into the pit (the root neck should stick out slightly above the level of the pit surface - no more than 10 cm);
- it is filled with soil from sand, peat and turf soil (all equally, but the value of the last mentioned component can be increased);
- the soil around the planted bush is rammed so that air voids do not form.
Care features
The unpretentiousness of the juniper Skyrocket should not dampen the gardener in terms of providing shrubs with decent care. Watering, dressing and pruning has not been canceled.
Important! A special moment is a snowy winter, when branches may break under the weight of precipitation. For prophylaxis, they should be tied in accordance with the example of a Christmas tree, delivered, after purchase, to the place of the Christmas celebration.
How to water
Regular watering (at least once a week) for a young juniper for the first three years is absolutely necessary. Summer heat, he will transfer better if supplemented by watering with an external spray. But in the future conifer rocket will fully show its excellent heat-resistant qualities, when watering may be needed as an exception, with an extremely prolonged drought (even in this case, 2-3 waterings for the entire season).
Fertilizer and dressing
It is not necessary to feed the juniper bushes infrequently, annual April application of nitroammofoska or other complex fertilizer is enough (30-40 g per square meter). The procedure is as follows: the substance evenly crumbles in the circle of a pristvolnom circle and is well watered with water.
Pruning plants
The regularity of pruning is once a year, at the very beginning of spring, while the sap flow is not intensified. With a normal shears we rid the bush of dried or broken shoots. If the twig just bent, then it is better to tie it up, it will quickly recover.
Breeding
Seed propagation of ornamental juniper species, including the Skyrocket variety, is practically not used due to inefficiency.
For vegetative propagation, use 10-centimeter cuttings harvested for about three weeks (the end of April - mid-May). To improve the final result, their daily incubation in the root-forming stimulator is used. Rooted cuttings about 45 days in the sand-peat soil mixture (equal to each ingredient). To a stationary place the transfer is carried out in two or even three years.
Quite often, conifers infect a specific aphid - hermes and caterpillars.
Diseases and pests
Shrub hurts most often with rust, from which it is saved by 4 spraying (at 10-day intervals) with arceride solution (50 g of arceride is diluted in 10 liters of water).
Get rid of pests as follows:
- from aphids - "Fitoverm" (in a liter of water 2 g);
- from the mining moth - "Decis" (per 10 liters of water 2.5 g);
- from spider mite - "Karate" (50 grams per 10 liters of water);
- from shchitovki - "Karbofos" (per 10 liters of water 70 grams).
Of course, it would be better if the pests were destroyed naturally, that is, by birds and insects. But this is not always effective. And after using chemicals, it is completely useless.
A little effort at the initial stage, physical and aesthetic pleasure in the subsequent ones - this is the result of growing coniferous juniper rocket.