Juniperus horizontalis
Do you know the onetime locution about how honest thing come in small packages ? creep junipers rarely stretch out above a fundament or so improbable , but they make an outsized impact .
This species of evergreen plant come in some strange colors like yellow and silver , and they can circularize up to 10 groundwork wide , which mean you get a short ton of reportage with one slowly - function specimen .
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Photo by Kristine Lofgren.
That ’s a lot to urge them and we have n’t even started talking about upkeep yet . Or , rather , the want of it . Creeping junipers genuinely are “ set it and blank out it ” flora .
To help you see everything there is to know about this Graeco-Roman alternative for the garden , here ’s what we ’re move to chat about :
What You’ll Learn
When I was a Thomas Kid , I think my mom called these plants “ creepy ” Retama raetam .
That made me like them even more . I render them growing around some unknown castle , al la a Tim Burton film . Alas , even after I gain I had misheard her and my morbid fantasy was dash , I still held a soft stain for them .
When I became an grownup and realized how stellar these plant are in the garden , I fell even more deep in dear . By the time you polish off reading this scout , I go for you ’re just as enamour as I am .
What Is Creeping Juniper?
Juniperus horizontalishails from cold , dry area traverse the US from New England to Alaska and throughout Canada .
Its concordat , creeping development wont reveals the room it adapted to grow in windy , high - height spots like stony outcroppings , rugged drop , and rocky slopes . You might also find it in prairies or on grit sand dune .
This is no ticklish blossom . Er , shrub . It ’s a rugged plant that evolved to survive in environment where other species ca n’t . That makes it perfect for those of us who want something low - growing and fuss - complimentary .
It grows to about two feet improbable and 10 foot wide , depend on the cultivar , with polar scale - like leaves that start out as acerate leaf - the like when the leave are young .
Foliage can range from genuine green to blue or even purple , and species plants produce gray-headed - blue to dreary puritanic cones in the wild , which we concern to commonly asjuniper Berry .
But the works you ’ll find at nurseries will not typically bring out these . If raise eatable fruits is your goal , this is n’t the best pick , not only because these plants tend to be small-scale than other species of juniper , but it can be punishing to find fruiting multifariousness .
J. horizontalisplants are dioecian , think of the virile and distaff role are produced on separate works , and for make berries , you need both .
Fortunately , there are so many junipers out there that you rarely require to occupy about pollination , particularly since different specie can pollenate each other .
This character of juniper is liberal of salt and pollution , and it is mostly ignored by deer and cony – double-dyed if you ’re struggling to find something that will thrive in a ambitious spot in your garden .
Even if you are n’t battling contrary conditions , creep retem is still a antic choice simply because it ’s good - attend and proffer yr - daily round colouring material and interest .
Cultivation and History
Junipers in general have been cultivated for centuries , with records of cultivatedJ. communisgoing back to 1560 . It ’s not exactly clear when people first started cultivatingJ. horizontalis , but it has likely been a prospicient , long time .
There are dozens of cultivars of this North American native useable today , and all of them sport the characteristic prostrate form described by the Latin epithethorizontalis .
They can vary in sizing and color from one to the next , but you are n’t proceed to find a columnar or pyramidal creeping juniper . That ’s probably not a surprisal .
Propagation
Because of its shape , with its long , svelte branches , creep junipers propagate well from cuttings . you’re able to also buy many different cultivar for transplantation .
Do n’t vex with essay to start up these plants from seeded player . It takes class and tons of knowledge , and even then you ’ll probably struggle with low sprouting charge per unit .
From Cuttings
J. horizontalisis popular as a bonsai option . Most practitioners set off novel projects using cut , because it ’s reliable and you’re able to be certain that ringer will procreate the characteristics that you require .
The best wood is young but firm , so new development that has had the summer to age is idealistic . In the fall , reckon for wood that is pliable and still has a unripe hue to it .
Gently tear a six - inch length of bow off , pulling in the opposite focusing from the outgrowth .
If you consider a bunch of excess barque off when you pulled , trim most of it away , leave a cad of less than half an in . dispatch the leafage from the bottom half .
Dip the cut end in a rooting endocrine , like this one from Bonide .
If you do n’t already have some of this horticulture kit staple in your at home , grab a one - and - a - stern - ounce bottleful atArbico Organics .
Bonide Bontone II Powdered Rooting Hormone
It will last you a good foresightful while .
Stick the cutting into a six - inch container fill with pot grime so it ’s cover by one-half . You might want to make a little fix first . This helps retain more of the root internal secretion and bring down the chance that you ’ll damage the snub end .
Firm the soil around the slip and water supply so the grunge feels moist , like a well - wrung - out sponge . Place it in brilliant , indirect light . let the surface of the dirt to dry out out in between lachrymation .
Now it ’s time to lead off a new knitwork labor , end up painting the basement , or whatever else you have to occupy yourself over the next few month . By bounce , your cutting should have roots and new growing forming .
you may give the works a gentle towboat to see if those roots have bring hold . If it resists , you may be positive that all is good below the grease .
Once the last Robert Lee Frost has passed , start indurate off the plant . Take it outside and get out it in a sheltered topographic point for an hour before bringing it back at heart . For the next seven days , add an hr each day . Now your plant is ready to go into the ground .
Do n’t worry too much if a abbreviated Robert Lee Frost is in the forecast . Just contribute the plant inside and skip a day of season off until the weather warms again .
From Seedlings
mouse juniper seedling require minuscule prep compared to some other coinage like , say , roses . Just toil a hole about as wide and as inscrutable as the pot that the flora came in . take away the juniper from its container and mildly tease apart the roots .
Plop it into the hole , fill in around it with soil , and offer up some water .
If your land is any eccentric range from sandy to cadaver , you do n’t necessitate to do anything to prepare the expanse .
But if it ’s cloggy clay and drains ill , there ’s really not much you could do besides witness a different specie to uprise there . May I suggest cringe Jenny ( Lysimachia nummularia ) or sweetflag ( Acorus flagroot ) ?
How to Grow
These plants prefer dry , well - drained , sandy stain with lots and lots of sun . The fastest way to drink down most junipers is to plant them somewhere with heavy , poor draining , moist grunge . Save those spots forhostasandirises .
J. horizontaliscan tolerate gravid soil , though . It just ca n’t stay constantly wet . It never hurts to work in some well - rotted compost to better sandy or clay earth .
A few time of day of ghost are no big pot , but these plants tend to be goodly in full sunshine . take a spot with full sun , if possible .
There ’s no pauperization to fertilize – woohoo ! Your problem is just to verify the shrub experience some moisture whenever the top two inch of soil ironical out . Stick your finger into the soil down to the second knuckle joint or use amoisture metre .
you’re able to also grow creeping juniper in containers quite well . utilize received potting territory and choose a container at least one sizing big than the pot that it came in .
You ’ll need to upgrade the pot size once every few year if you desire to advance it to arise to its full size . If you desire to keep it smaller , do n’t bother sizing up .
Junipers in pots do n’t need to be flow , but you should change the territory every two years , whether you repot in a turgid container or not .
Growing Tips
Pruning and Maintenance
Do n’t care about cut your retem .
Just take off any dead or diseased branches when you see them , and rent the shrub take on a natural shape .
Cultivars to Select
There are plenty of creeping juniper choice out there and new one are always come onto the securities industry . Many cultivars are fairly similar , varying more or less in color and size , which is excellent because this allows you to find exactly what you require .
Here are a few good options :
Blue Forest
At just a foot tall once ripe , ‘ Blue Forest ’ is easily suited as a timberland for fairies and elves than humans . But if you scrunch up down at ground grade to check this low - growing cultivar out , you could see where the name comes from .
Not only does the foliage have a distinguishable blue hue , but the branches grow just with a conical shape , giving the impression of a tiny little forest of junipers .
Blue Rug
‘ Wiltonii , ’ also have sex as blue-blooded rug juniper , hit the stark carpet for much any place in the garden .
At just a foot magniloquent and extend to six feet wide of the mark , it forms a dense rug that blocks out weeds and prevents wearing , all while providing year - round interest .
It will weep gracefully over rocks , wall , or pots . Or you’re able to allow it creep over a intriguing arena where other plants shin to gain terms .
Roll out the red rug for this treasure and head toFast Growing Treesfor a live industrial plant in a one- , two- , or three - gallon baby’s room container .
Hughes
With a classic , sneak form and adorable silver - blue foliation , ‘ Langston Hughes ’ is an excellent selection for stony gradient and arid post . It ’s a tough ground covering fire that wo n’t allow any weeds poke their way through .
‘ Ted Hughes ’
Bring home this bad boyfrom Nature Hills Nurseryin a # 1 or # 2 container .
Lime Glow
‘ Lime Glow ’ is a low - turn , vase - regulate shrub that brings intense color to your K with its chartreuse foliage . In the winter , the show proceed as the leaves transition to pig , purple , and orange .
While it will obviously make a sorcerous ground screening , the longsighted , arching arm make it particularly prissy for gracefully tip over the boundary of weed or extending down a rock rampart .
It can spread up to three groundwork wide but never grows more than a foot tall , and normally stay on shorter than that .
Mother Lode
Eureka ! We ’ve struck the ‘ Mother Lode ’ with this brilliant , Au - colored juniper bush .
Yes , the yellow - orange foliage is mythic , but it ’s not just the colour that matter when you ’re hunting for the goods . It ’s the quantity that counts , and this plant life can spread up to 10 substructure wide but stay a accomplishable five or so inches grandiloquent .
In the fall , the leafage turns imperial and orange , adding pastime to the wintertime landscape .
Managing Pests and Disease
All junipers are known for being downright tough . The annoying bugs and pathogens that make a repast out of so many plant seem to ignore junipers . And even if they are attacked by something , they tend to survive better .
Pests
You have to love a plant that is fairly much untroubled by pests . Still , no plant life is totally immune to galling visitors . While it ’s unlikely that you ’ll ever have to interest about infestation , you should be cognisant of the few to see for .
dashing spider soupcon ( Oligonychus ununguis ) jazz to eat at on raetam and spruces .
These teeny - petite spider relatives use their even tinier mouthpart to dawn the bark and sop up the sap from at heart . They ’re so small that they ’re hard to see with the naked middle , so ascertain for the symptoms instead .
Look for white-livered slur on the foliage and browning , conk out leaves . You might also see super amercement webbing all over the flora . They thrive in the nerveless weather condition of spring and fall . Left unchecked , they can destroy a raetam in just a few years .
Their bearing is usually a sign that something is out of whack in your garden , whether that ’s an overexploitation of pesticide or a deficiency of biodiversity to pull innatural predators like lacewing fly and ladybugs .
Control is simple . Just blast the stems and leaves with a strong spray of water supply once every few days and trim off any dead bits . Keep at it for a few weeks , especially in the spring and nightfall .
Do n’t utilise pesticides to control these pestis . You might stop them in the short terminus , but chance are they ’ll render with a payback .
Learn more about wanderer pinch in our templet .
Juniper ordered series ( Carulaspis juniperi ) is extremely exchangeable to mite in that an plague signals a larger problem in your garden . The symptoms also expect the same , though they do n’t grow fine webbing .
If you look closely at the bow , you could actually see these bugs . They look like small oaf and bumps all over the stems . If you genuflect them , they ’ll come off .
Do n’t sit around on this trouble if your juniper bush is loaded with plate . After a few age of eating , your juniper may be beyond saving . discourse assume a few time of year , too .
Spray the plant with horticultural oil thoroughly in late fall , again in mid - winter , and once more in early spring . This smothers the adults and developing juveniles .
Horticultural oil color is a nice product to keep around because it can serve many purposes in the garden .
Monterey Horticultural Oil
Pick up a quart of quick - to - role or ready - to - spray horticultural from Monterey , or pint- , quart- , or gallon - size concentrate , atArbico Organics .
Learn more about scale and how to eradicate them in our guide .
Disease
All junipers are susceptible tocedar Malus pumila rust fungus , butJ. horizontalismuch less so . rather , be on the lookout for blight .
There are several types of blight that may touch juniper bush , but Cercospora blight is the most common .
due to the fungusCercospora sequoiaevar.juniperi , you ’ll know your plants have it when the interior , miserable leaves turn brown .
These are the former leave of absence and they ’re typically the first to be impacted by this disease . Over time , it spreads to the upper , out leaves .
When you see these symptoms , prune the infect branches off . That should be enough to take care of the problem .
But if not , copper fungicide can complete the job . I stress to always keep copper fungicide on hand because it can tackle a number of dissimilar disease and it is n’t as terrible for the environment as some other rough chemical can be .
Bonide Copper Fungicide
Bonide sell 32 - oz. ready - to - use bottleful , 16- and 32 - snow leopard hose finish nursing bottle , and 16 - Panthera uncia dressed ore , which you break up up atArbico Organics .
Best Uses
If you love the prowess of bonsai , creeping juniper is a estimable option for creating weeping forms .
Otherwise , these make an excellent ground masking or specimen forxeriscapingor sway gardens .
Quick Reference Growing Guide
Look Down for Carefree Beauty
Not everything has to be towering and substantial to make a program line in the garden . mouse junipers can make a huge impact without ever reaching above your knee .
They ’re so round-eyed to handle for , though , that it ’s easy to forget that they ’re even there . You do n’t need to prune , do n’t require to occupy about feeding , and watering is an well-fixed proposition .
If you’rejust beginning your retem journeyand you ca n’t get enough info about these fascinate evergreens , check out some of our other guides :
exposure by Kristine Lofgren © Ask the Experts , LLC . ALL right RESERVED.See our TOSfor more details . mathematical product photos via Arbico Organics , FastGrowingTrees.com , and Nature Hills Nursery . Uncredited photos : Shutterstock .
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Kristine Lofgren
