The Blue Alps Juniper (Juniperus chinensis Blue Alps) is a beautiful sprawling ephedra of a silvery blue hue. China is considered its homeland, and the translation of the name sounds like "Blue Alps". Indeed, the branches of the bush directed upward resemble the peaks and slopes of the alpine mountains, shrouded in a bluish haze.
Juniper Blue Alps - a sprawling ephedra from China
Brief information about the variety
- Colour: silver blue.
- Height: from 2 to 4 m.
- Crown width: 200 cm.
- In which regions is it growing: middle strip of Russia.
- Landing features: in a sunny place or in partial shade.
- Immunity: tall.
- Life span: over 300 years old.
Description of the plant
Juniper Chinese Blue Alps belongs to the medium-sized type. In height, it reaches from 2 to 4 m, in width - 200 cm. The skeletal branches of the plant are directed upwards, and the very tips are gracefully lowered.
The needles are needle-like, rather tough, of a beautiful silver-blue shade. The length of the needles is up to 10 mm. Fruits are oval cones of dark blue color with a bluish bloom (not eaten).
Growing regions
Blue Alps is reasonably cold resistant and recommended for growing in hardiness zone 5 (and warmer).
In Russia, it corresponds to the entire middle zone - the Central and Black Earth regions, the Volga region, the North-West.
In the southern regions, measures are needed to protect the shrub from sunburn, and it is easier to plant it in partial shade.
Landing
The best choice for planting would be a seedling with a closed root system - in a container or with an earthen ball in a burlap.
It is worth paying attention to whether the potting soil is moist enough and whether the stems are damaged.
The crown of the plant should be elastic, without foreign spots, falling needles and dry twigs.
Landing place
Chinese juniper loves the sun, but it can grow in light partial shade.
With complete shading, its crown thins, and the needles become dimmer.
It is not very picky about the soil - it feels equally well on neutral and slightly acidic soils. The most important thing is good drainage and moderate humidity.
Landing technology
Plant health depends on proper care
For planting, a pit is prepared 2 times larger than the earthen lump of the seedling. It is poured with a bucket of water and moisture is allowed to be absorbed. A drainage layer of broken brick or sand is placed at the bottom.
The removed earth is mixed with peat in equal parts, a little sand is added.
The plant is placed in a hole, watered and sprinkled with soil mixture, leaving the root collar at ground level. The soil is tamped tightly for better adhesion to the roots. Above the trunk circle is mulched.
Care
The correct approach to watering, feeding, mulching and pruning helps to grow a very effective ornamental plant.
Blue Alps juniper care is needed not only to maintain beauty, but also to prevent diseases.
Watering
It is recommended to water the culture as needed - in dry weather.
The amount of liquid is calculated as follows: a bucket of water per 1 m of growth.
In the hot summer, the crown is sprinkled in the evenings. The shrub gratefully responds to it, delighting with fresh, beautiful and bright needles.
Top dressing
Seedlings with a closed root system are usually already supplied with fertilizer and do not need to be fertilized when transplanting. They are fed only next spring, using complex compounds for conifers.
The granules are scattered in the trunk circle or dissolved in water and watered.
Mulching and loosening
After watering, the soil in the near-trunk circle is shallowly loosened (by 5-7 cm) and weeded.
On top, you can lay a layer of mulch from peat chips, chips, needles or sawdust. This will reduce moisture evaporation, improve oxygen availability and make maintenance much easier.
Pruning
The sprawling Chinese juniper tolerates haircuts well, but due to its beautiful natural shape, it needs only minimal thinning and light correction.
An annual sanitary pruning is mandatory, which is carried out in early spring. At the same time, dried, damaged or diseased branches are removed.
Preparing for winter
Young seedlings are insulated for the winter with a thick layer of peat in the near-trunk circle, covered with spruce branches or burlap.
The spreading crown of an adult plant must be tied tightly so that it is not deformed by wind and snow.
From the second part of February until the end of March, the sun shines especially brightly - at this time it is better to cover the shrub with a dense net to avoid burns.
Reproduction
Cuttings are done in the spring
Blue Alps are usually propagated vegetatively (varietal characteristics may not always be maintained when growing from seed).
Cuttings are harvested in spring, cutting off or breaking off branches with a "heel" (length 12-15 cm) and placing them in a solution of a root formation stimulator for a day.
The cuttings are deepened into a nutrient substrate and placed in a greenhouse, regularly moistened and ventilated. After 2-3 months, rooting occurs.
When propagating by layering, the soil near the parent bush is dug up, fertilized, watered and loosened. They fold back a long shoot and free a place on it from needles (in addition, you can make an incision and process it with Kornevin), and then bend it down to the ground and fix it.
For fastening, a bracket or ordinary wire is used. Rooting takes place throughout the year.
Diseases and pests
Despite the high immunity of the juniper, it needs preventive measures.
To avoid fusarium, water should not stagnate at the planting site.
To reduce the risk of damage to shute and rust, plants are treated with Burgundy and Bordeaux liquid, iron vitriol and copper-containing preparations.
Aphids and spider mites are considered frequent pests of shrubs. At the first signs of the appearance of insects, you need to wash the needles with a solution of laundry soap with the addition of medical alcohol (15 mg per 1 liter).
In case of a mass invasion, it is necessary to use special chemicals - insecticides and acaricides.
How ephedra is used in landscape design
Due to its interesting shape, which is not common in many junipers, the Blue Alps variety is widely used in landscape design.
Usually this sprawling bush takes the position of a tapeworm or complements decorative compositions in mixborders.
The shrub is in harmony with any conifers that differ in color, size or texture (scaly, dwarf, horizontal, golden, etc.).
It looks great in rocky and heather gardens, rockeries and rock gardens. When carefully shaped, it is grown in the bonsai style or created as hedges.
In addition, for the first 5-10 years, this variety can be grown in a container way, using it in landscaping terraces, balconies and building facades, as well as in the design of small courtyards without planting land.
Juniper Chinese Blue alps. Brief overview, description of the juniperus chinensis Blue Alps
Juniper Chinese "Blue Alps" - video review from Greensad
Juniper Chinese Blue Alps (blue alps) 🌿 review: how to plant, juniper seedlings Blue Alps
Reviews
According to the description of gardeners, it is quite simple to care for the Blue Alps ephedra, much effort is not required.
The shrub tolerates winter well (although you need to tie up the crown), and practically does not need pruning - its shape is very beautiful in itself.
Blue needles and lowered tips of shoots look spectacular in landscape design, equally organically fitting into compositions of any style. Most summer residents and owners of small plots use a plant for a single planting as an interesting accent or in the vicinity of several conifers of other species.
The easiest way to propagate a juniper is by layering. It takes more time but is much less of a hassle.