How to propagate juniper vegetatively. Cossack juniper - propagation - tips from Greensad

Juniper is a bright representative of the coniferous community; it can decorate any garden and therefore enjoys special respect among landscape designers. This plant has a huge variety of forms, from creeping to columnar, its needles have shades from bluish-green to golden. It grows slowly, retains its shape well, perfectly strengthens the soil, especially on slopes, and is a long-lived plant: in nature there are specimens whose age reaches three thousand years! On average, the lifespan of juniper is 500 – 600 years. This plant is heat-loving, light-loving, drought-resistant, and cannot tolerate stagnant moisture.

Thanks to the variety of species that differ in height, shape, and color shade, juniper can be used as a hedge, to decorate paths, rockeries and borders, tapeworms in flower beds and lawns, and large dark spots in the background of the garden. In addition, junipers have medicinal, and primarily bactericidal, properties, and this allows them not only to decorate gardens and parks, but also to perform an important health function.

In nature, junipers reproduce very poorly by seeds, since the seeds require long-term (up to six months) stratification; young seedlings grow very slowly. Only in the tenth year of life do they bear the first fruits. Artificial propagation of juniper from seeds is unproductive, so most often they resort to its propagation by rooting cuttings. Rooted cuttings give faster growth; they can be used in decorative landscaping much earlier than seedlings. Although the percentage of rooting depends on the plant variety (some root less well), it nevertheless remains quite high.

You can root juniper cuttings from early spring to late autumn, but the best time for this is considered to be April and May - the time of the most active growth and development of the plant. For rooting, it is best to use semi-lignified shoots from old branches from the middle part of the plant. Cuttings taken from young branches take much longer to root and their rooting percentage is much lower. A very important point in the propagation of juniper: cuttings taken from the ends of the lateral branches will continue, as it were, the life of the “side branch”, that is, they will tend to grow wider, not upward. If you want to obtain planting material for columnar forms, then you need to select cuttings located closer to the central trunk, which tend to grow vertically. It is best to cut cuttings with a sharp garden knife along with the “heel” - a small thickening at the point where the cutting is attached to the main branch. Do not be upset if you were unable to cut the cutting with the “heel”; such cuttings also have a good chance of producing roots. The prepared cuttings need to be freed from twigs and needles to a height of 3–4 cm from the base - this section of the stem is precisely where the future root system will be formed. Before planting, it would be good to treat the cuttings with some kind of root formation stimulator, for example heteroauxin or root. Before planting, you can keep the cuttings for 24 hours in a weak sugar solution.

The soil for rooting cuttings should be loose and breathable. You can use a mixture of peat and sand in equal parts. It is important to remember that conifers love acidic soil, so you should not add lime, ash, crushed eggshells and other soil deoxidizers to the juniper substrate. It is best to root juniper cuttings in a dry, warm greenhouse, or in a ridge covered with film. But, if conditions do not allow, you can root in an ordinary flower pot. Using a pencil or stick, you need to make holes in the soil 3 - 4 cm deep at a distance of 5 - 8 cm from each other, then insert prepared juniper cuttings into these holes, compact the soil around them, water well and cover with film. If direct sunlight falls on the greenhouse, then it is necessary to build shading. Juniper vitally needs a large amount of light, but during the rooting period of cuttings, direct sun can be destructive for them. If the cuttings are rooting in a pot or bowl, then you need to put a plastic bag on top of the pot, and then place the pot on a window with diffused lighting. You should no longer water the cuttings until they are completely rooted.

If you have the opportunity to devote a lot of time to your seedlings, then it is better to root juniper cuttings without using a covering film, since under the film the plants grow weaker and less hardened than in the open air. When rooting cuttings without film, they need to be sprayed with a water sprayer 5–6 times a day to maintain optimal air humidity. Since open ground will evaporate a lot of moisture, the cuttings will require little watering as the soil dries out. But, in no case should the soil be too wet, since junipers cannot tolerate excess water.

The first roots of the cuttings will appear 50 - 70 days after planting. seedlings should not be planted immediately after rooting, since the roots are still very tender and thin and can be easily injured during transplantation. Therefore, if possible, it is better to leave the rooted cuttings in place until next year to allow the root system to grow and become stronger. If this is not possible, then transplanting the rooted cuttings should be done extremely carefully, using small tools, removing the seedlings along with a lump of earth and placing them with it in prepared holes in a permanent place.

A few more words should be said about the rooting of creeping juniper varieties. Here the situation is somewhat simpler: pin the branches sufficiently selected for rooting to the ground and cover them with a small amount of soil on top, freeing the rooting site from small branches. During the growing season, the sprinkled area of the branch will give roots and, after the branch is separated from the mother plant, it will become an independent plant.

Juniper is famous for its wide variety of shapes and types and is one of the most popular conifers used in landscaping.

Advantages and features of juniper

Juniper has earned its great popularity in the world of gardening and landscape design due to the fact that:

can take on the desired shape and lends itself well to cutting;
grows in shaded and sunny places;
tolerates summer heat and cold winters well;
strengthens the soil on slopes;
has a high life expectancy;
It takes root without problems and tolerates transplants well.

Due to the fact that the plant can easily take root from cuttings, anyone can grow juniper on their own at home. This makes the plant accessible and allows juniper to be grown in large quantities.

Rooting juniper cuttings correctly

Many gardeners believe that it is enough to stick a small juniper cutting into the ground and after a while it will take root. Maybe so, but in most cases, this rooting method fails. In order for a juniper cutting to take root quickly and reliably, you must adhere to the main rules that are used when rooting coniferous plants.

Juniper can be propagated vegetatively from early spring to late autumn. But it is best to do this in April-May.
Cuttings from the bush are cut with a special pruner or a sharp knife.
For rooting, semi-lignified one-year shoots from old branches of the middle part of the plant are used - they grow roots faster.
Cuttings must be cut with a small woody heel.
Cuttings that are located closer to the central trunk will grow upward, and those cut from the side branches will have a horizontal shape.
Before planting, 10-15 cm cuttings are cleared of the lower branches (by 3-4 cm), dipped in a growth stimulator and planted in moist soil, pressing the lower part of the cutting tightly to the ground.
Juniper does not tolerate sunlight during rooting and it is advisable to shade the planting site.

It should be remembered that cuttings can only be kept under cover until roots appear.After rooting (after a month and a half), the cover must be removed, otherwise the plants will be lethargic and weak.

Soil for rooting cuttings

Regular garden soil is not suitable for rooting juniper cuttings. It is necessary to select moisture-permeable, loose soil. Many nurseries prefer a mixture of peat and sand. Peat allows air to pass through well and does not have a large amount of nutrients, which is very important when rooting, and sand absorbs moisture well. Conifers prefer acidic soil, so ash and eggshells should not be added to planting mixtures.

The soil in a greenhouse or greenhouse should always be slightly moist. To achieve this result, it is advisable to spray the plants and soil mixture daily. When transshipping juniper or planting it in a permanent place, preference should be given to rich, fertile soil, although this conifer grows well on poor soil.

Propagation of juniper by layering cuttings

Creeping juniper species reproduce successfully not only by rooting cuttings, but also by layering. Young branches are pinned to the ground and covered with soil. Until next year, such a branch will give its roots and will be able to continue growing on its own. You just need to carefully separate it from the mother plant and plant it in a permanent place. If the rooted cuttings are small, then they are planted in a separate bed with the onset of warm weather, and in the fall a sunny place is chosen for it. Try to create a small conifer nursery on your site, which will help you build beautiful landscape compositions and save money on buying plants.

Among a wide variety of conifers juniper is one of the most popular plants that are used in decorative plantings and landscape design. It belongs to the cypress family, the juniper genus and has more than 70 species, of which 21 species grow naturally in Russia and the CIS countries. The uniqueness of this plant lies in its amazing properties.

General information

The appearance of these representatives of conifers is varied; they can be tall trees or low, ground-cover shrubs. Junipers are undemanding to growing conditions, undemanding to soil fertility and low temperatures. It lives for a long time, over 1 thousand years, but there are cases when very ancient specimens were encountered, whose age exceeded 2-3 thousand years and even 5 thousand years. Of particular note is the ability of juniper to purify the air from harmful impurities.

Juniper has long been widely used in both folk and official medicine, and is also used in the food industry.

Types and varieties of juniper

It is impossible to imagine modern gardening today without junipers.

They have long occupied one of the first places among the most popular elements of landscape design. Among the most famous are the following kinds:

Ordinary.
Prickly, or red.
Smelly.
High.
Cossack.
Chinese.
Solid.
Virginia.
Turkestan.
Turkmen.

These cypress representatives also differ in the type of main trunk. They are presented in three main forms that are characteristic of perennial plants:

Shrub form.
Woody form.
Creeping form.

Juniper can be propagated in several ways, both seed and vegetative.

The plant reproduces :

Seeds.
By cuttings.
By layering.
Vaccinations.

Propagating junipers by seeds is very difficult and ineffective. Therefore, seed reproduction of the species is used much less frequently than other methods of reproduction, which belong to the vegetative method. Creeping forms are made by layering throughout the entire period of plant growth. Shrub and tree forms are propagated by grafting and cuttings. Vaccinations are used much less frequently than propagation by cuttings.

Consequently, cuttings are the most popular and effective way to propagate junipers.

Propagation of juniper by cuttings

For breeding ornamental breeds, cuttings are usually used. You can take juniper cuttings throughout the entire growing season. But it is best to root cuttings in the spring. Depending on the area of growth and weather conditions, the preparation of cuttings for rooting is carried out from April to May. During this period, the plants begin to grow and develop intensively.

The choice of the mother tree is made depending on its phenotype and genotype. As a rule, highly decorative juniper species are chosen for vegetative propagation, which are more difficult to obtain by other methods of species reproduction. Cuttings are taken from young, actively growing plants, between three and eight years old. Preparation of cuttings for rooting should be done early in the morning before direct sunlight appears, or on a cloudy day.

Good clonal material is apical annual shoots from the upper or middle part of the crown of the mother tree or shrub. Cuttings must be cut with a “heel”. A “heel” is a piece of old bark with wood that is left on an annual shoot when it is separated from the main branch. The long prepared cuttings should be from five to seven centimeters.

The next step is to prepare the cut cuttings for planting in the substrate. To do this, the cuttings are cleared of needles to a height of three to four centimeters from the “heel”. The cuttings are planted in a greenhouse or greenhouse, where the air temperature should be between 20-23 degrees. The soil for rooting cuttings resembles a multi-layer cake, consisting mainly of three main layers. The first layer is small stones or pebbles; the thickness of this drainage layer should be up to six centimeters. The second layer is a soil mixture rich in humus.

The final third layer is coarse river sand. The cuttings are planted in prepared soil; the angle of inclination of the cutting depends on the plant variety. Woody forms are planted vertically, while shrubby and spreading forms are planted at an angle of forty to forty-five degrees to the depth of the top layer.

Features of juniper propagation by cuttings in spring

The percentage of juniper rooting increases significantly if, when planting in the ground, the cuttings are treated with one of the root-forming preparations or the already planted material is spilled with a solution of the preparation. The most well-known and used root-forming preparations are heteroauxin, rootin, sodium humate, and zircon. These drugs not only accelerate root formation, but also make the root system more powerful and well developed. For successful cuttings, several necessary conditions must be met, such as:

Maintaining constant and uniform soil and air temperatures.
The soil temperature should be slightly higher than the air temperature.
Presence of diffuse light.
Keeping the soil moderately moist.
Maintaining air humidity levels 80% .

You can also propagate juniper in the spring by cuttings and in open ground. But at the same time, you should strictly monitor the humidity of the soil and air. This is especially problematic in hot and dry climates.

Root formation for cuttings it takes from fifty to ninety days. Further care consists of ventilating the greenhouse or greenhouse and spraying the soil with warm, settled water. Care must be taken to ensure that there is no excessive waterlogging of the soil, which can lead to rotting of the roots.

It is best to transplant seedlings to a permanent place in the spring of next year. We choose a suitable place for planting seedlings in open ground and follow the following rules:

A hole is dug in the ground, approximately 2-3 times more than an earthen lump with juniper roots.
At the bottom of the hole, a drainage layer of sand or pebbles with a height of 20-25 cm.
A ready-made substrate is poured, the composition of which is selected depending on the variety of juniper.
The rooted cuttings are carefully transferred to the prepared hole along with a lump of earth, being careful not to damage it. We do not cover the root collar with soil, but leave it on the surface of the soil.
We fill the roots of the seedling with the prepared soil and compact it well.
Water generously with plenty of water.
We mulch the tree trunk circle with peat or sawdust in a layer up to ten centimeters thick.

Many amateur gardeners wonder whether junipers can be propagated by cuttings in the spring, at home or in the garden. We can safely say that yes, it is possible. The technology for propagating juniper at home is basically no different from the technology on an industrial scale. The difference lies in the absence of a greenhouse and greenhouses, where the required air humidity and diffused lighting can be achieved.

Harvesting cuttings and soil preparation at home is carried out according to the same scheme as for greenhouse propagation.

You need to prepare a special container for the substrate. This can be special plastic containers or flower pots.
We first pour drainage (small pebbles) into the selected container, then special soil (it can be purchased at flower shops) and river sand on top.
We plant the cuttings and water them with a solution of a root-forming preparation.
Cover the top with any glass container made of transparent, non-colored glass or thin plastic film. We create the conditions for a mini-greenhouse or greenhouse. We regularly ventilate and moisten the soil.

By following all these recommendations, you can, without much expense, plant many highly decorative species of junipers on your site, which can reproduce so effectively in the spring by rooted cuttings. Thus, propagating juniper by cuttings in the spring is an effective method of obtaining an exact copy of the mother tree.

Juniper is considered one of the most durable and diverse plants used in garden design. Representatives of this extensive family are distinguished by their heat and light-loving nature, they tolerate drought well and do not like places with high groundwater levels. It is customary to strengthen slopes with juniper, use it as hedges and borders, and highlight the beauty of flowers in rock gardens. It is also allowed to solo on the lawn or be located in the depths of the garden to create dark spots in the background of flowering low-growing plants.

How to propagate juniper

Thus, even in natural conditions, this long-lived plant is very difficult to propagate by seeds. There is no need to talk about attempts to sow seeds at home with a positive coloring, since to implement such a plan you will have to spend a lot of effort and money. However, this will not guarantee the receipt of high-quality planting material. The thing is that propagation by seeds delays the fruiting of juniper bushes by at least 10 years, and the seedlings grow very slowly.

An excellent alternative to seeds is cuttings. This method is easy to organize at home, and the whole process takes literally several months. Seedlings obtained by cuttings have a stronger root system, survive unfavorable conditions better and produce rapid growth.

Depending on the time of intended planting in the ground, juniper needs to be propagated at different times of the year:

for planting in spring, cuttings are prepared no later than mid-February;
For planting in autumn, it is recommended to take cuttings from the beginning of summer.

This gradation of timing is not accidental - conifers, including juniper, take quite a long time to form a root system. The first viable roots appear on the cuttings after 25 days, and the rooting of planting material occurs no earlier than 2 months after the start of the procedure for planting them in a special substrate.

Another point to consider when propagating from cuttings is their “correct” size. They, unlike other garden crops, are always denser and more voluminous. That is why their length should not exceed 25 cm. In addition, it is important to pay attention to their inclination. If upright species of juniper can be planted vertically for germination, then creeping ones or with a spreading crown are better planted with an inclination of 45-55 degrees.

How to propagate juniper from cuttings (video)

Selection of cuttings and their preparation

A separate line worth mentioning is the choice of cuttings for propagation, from which it will be possible to grow healthy ones that completely replicate the characteristics of the plant’s mother plants. There are several immutable rules here:

The material must be cut from branches in the upper and middle parts of the crown. In this case, the cuttings should not be semi-lignified.
If you want to grow a spreading juniper bush, cuttings are taken from the ends of the side branches. At the same time, branches taken from the middle of the bush, growing vertically in maximum proximity to the trunk (in columnar varieties and varieties), cuttings will also grow upward and branch little.
It is necessary to cut cuttings from the mother plant with the “heel”, that is, a small part of the branch on which they grew. This will promote faster rooting.
Conifers from prepared cuttings must be removed with a sharp stationery knife without damaging the bark.

To successfully propagate juniper, cuttings will require treatment. There are many similar drugs, but they also have their secrets. Thus, it is unlikely that it will be possible to root a cutting in a jar with a root former solution, since active peeling of the juniper bark occurs in water, which significantly reduces the productivity of planting material. The best option is to treat the cut with a powdered root former or paste. Most gardeners prefer to moisten the substrate in which the cuttings will be located with root formation stimulants.

Preparing the substrate for germination of cuttings

The soil for rooting cuttings must meet the following requirements:

Be light and loose, without the risk of compaction.
Be breathable.
Be moisture-absorbing and don't dry out too quickly.

A mixture of peat and sand, taken in equal parts, without the addition of lime or ash, has these characteristics. Of course, it will dry out quite quickly, so after placing the planting material selected for propagation and moistening in it, it is recommended to cover the rooting container with film or a transparent polymer cap.

Planting cuttings

The technology for planting cuttings in a substrate is quite simple. First of all, it is necessary to make holes on the surface of the substrate with a pencil or stick with a diameter of no more than 1 cm and a depth of 3-4 cm. The distance between them should be from 5 to 8 cm. The cuttings must be inserted carefully so as not to damage the “heel”.

Next, the soil is moderately compacted so that the substrate particles are pressed tightly against the cutting and its surface is moistened. It is important not to use a sprayer so that water does not get on the juniper branches. This completes the planting, and the greenhouse can be covered with a cap made of film or other material.

For rapid germination, pots or containers are placed in a place with diffused light. It is very important that the container is not exposed to direct sunlight. They rarely require additional watering, and only if the soil clod completely dries out. To avoid delaying root formation, you can lightly water it with water at room temperature.

The temperature during the germination of juniper cuttings should be in the range of 18-23 degrees. When it decreases, rot may develop, while when it increases, the gardener runs the risk of losing cuttings due to damping off. In addition, too high an ambient temperature will cause the substrate to dry out quickly.

Juniper: planting and care (video)

Landing at a permanent place

Rooted juniper cuttings can be planted in a permanent place 65-70 days after they are placed in the greenhouse. It is important to handle the seedlings very carefully, since their roots are very thin and brittle. Under no circumstances should the lump of earth be destroyed.

In some cases, for example, when planting in the fall, it is recommended to bury the seedlings along with the container in the garden. This option is suitable for specimens that were rooted in separate pots. Such plants need to be thoroughly insulated, and the risk of juniper freezing remains quite high. That is why many gardeners prefer to plant them in the spring, leaving them indoors for the winter.

Juniper is a popular coniferous crop for decorating a garden or park. Propagating juniper by cuttings in the spring allows you to quickly and easily obtain strong young plants.

Features of the structure and reproduction of juniper

Evergreen coniferous junipers are recognized long-livers of the plant world. The average lifespan of a shrub reaches 500 years, and individual specimens have already celebrated a thousand birthdays. The genus paid for such longevity with slow growth rates and a late entry into the time of flowering and fruiting. The first cones on junipers appear closer to 10 years of age. Subsequently, it takes two years for the cones to ripen, and the seeds themselves require long-term stratification and are difficult to germinate.

Due to the peculiarities of the structure and reproduction of juniper in nature, these plants are difficult to renew, and in nurseries and in ordinary summer cottages vegetative methods are used to obtain new specimens.

However, you need to remember that juniper shoots have an interesting feature. Even after rooting, having become independent plants, they retain the “habits” acquired on the parent bush. Juniper shoots, located in the upper, central part of the crown, tend to develop and grow upward. Peripheral branches eventually turn into bushes with a flattened, squat crown.

At home, propagating juniper from cuttings has many advantages. Plants obtained in this way:

retain all varietal properties of the mother specimen;
2–3 years earlier the seedlings reach the size of an adult shrub;
better adapted to local conditions than large seedlings from a nursery;
Compared to seedlings, they show better growth rates.

When and how to prepare planting material? What is needed to root juniper, and what are the features of caring for seedlings?

How to propagate juniper by cuttings in spring

You can take cuttings from a bush from early spring, that is, from the time of cutting the plant, until autumn. However, experienced gardeners prefer to take cuttings in the spring, when there is a feast of growth. From April to May, semi-lignified shoots are cut off from the already formed part of the crown with a sharp knife so that the thickened base of the branch remains on the cutting.

The lower part of the cutting, 3–4 cm, is cleared of side shoots and needles, and then the exposed tip is treated with a root formation stimulator. Good results are obtained by immersing the cuttings intended for juniper propagation in a jar of water to which a little sugar has been added. After a day, future seedlings can be transferred to a pre-prepared soil mixture.

Ephedra roots will develop faster and best in an aerated, loose substrate made from equal parts of sand and. You can add perlite and crushed charcoal to the mixture. The shrub is not afraid of increased soil acidity, so there is no need to deoxidize it.

Before propagating juniper by cuttings in the spring, you need to organize a small greenhouse or film greenhouse on your site or at home. Well-lit places are suitable for the plant, where the cuttings will not be afraid of damage due to stagnant moisture and cold wind. With due diligence, the shrub forms roots even in a pot covered with a bag.

The cuttings are planted in separate pots or in a common container at a distance of 5–8 cm from each other, at an angle to the ground. The planting material is buried 3–4 cm, that is, no more than the length of the part of the shoot cleared of needles. After planting, the soil near the cuttings is compacted and watered abundantly.

Juniper loves light, but direct sunlight inhibits the development of seedlings. Therefore, it is worth providing shading for the greenhouse.

Caring for cuttings during spring propagation of juniper

Further care for cuttings when propagating juniper in the spring consists of regular spraying with warm, settled water and ventilation as moisture evaporates from the surface of the soil. Excessive soil moisture is dangerous! A weak juniper root system may rot and the plants will die. Ventilation will help balance air humidity and prevent condensation.

A detailed video on how to propagate juniper from cuttings will help you avoid making mistakes and independently obtain strong planting material for your summer cottage.

Most varieties of this coniferous crop require at least 50–90 days to root. However, there is no need to rush into planting shrubs for permanent residence.

Usually, seedlings are left at home or in a greenhouse until next spring or transferred to open ground with a lump of earth to protect the roots, which are not yet too branched and strong, from damage. Such plants must be covered for the winter and protected from rodents.

The time for planting juniper is chosen so that young shrubs have time to adapt before the arrival of cold weather. If cuttings for juniper propagation were prepared early in the spring, strong seedlings will be able to survive the winter. Otherwise, the plants are grown at home until next April.

This method of propagating conifers is suitable for all types and varieties. But if you have to grow young specimens with a flattened or creeping crown shape, you can try to root low-lying shoots without cutting them off from the mother bush. Semi-lignified branches are bent to the ground, pinned using a strong wire hook and sprinkled with soil. This is done, as when propagating juniper by cuttings, in the spring. In the second half of summer, the cuttings develop their own root system. After separation from an adult plant, such a shrub can be immediately planted in the ground.