Juniper Old Gold: description and photo, cultivation

The article presents the Old Gold juniper: description and photo, rules for disembarkation, care, protection.

This variety has very beautiful golden needles, for this reason it is very popular among designers. Old Gold is not too picky about care, it tolerates low temperatures well, and is also able to maintain a beautiful appearance throughout the season. Old Gold does not show high requirements for the composition of the soil, as well as for climatic conditions. Such a juniper feels very well in urban landscaping.

Chinese juniper Old Gold: variety description

Juniper Old Gold description, full characteristics

This variety of juniper is a medium evergreen plant, it grows more in breadth than it stretches in height. This variety is popular with designers around the world for its golden-colored needles. This juniper was obtained thanks to the work of Dutch breeders in the middle of the 20th century.

This plant grows for a rather long time, every year the shrub grows in height from five to seven centimeters, and in width from fifteen to twenty centimeters. When the plant is about ten years old, it grows approximately fifty centimeters in height by this age, and about one meter in width.
Subsequently, such a plant becomes wider, this figure can reach about three meters.
An adult plant has a beautiful bright crown with a symmetrical, fairly dense crown.

If the plant is grown on well-lit land, the needles of the plant are painted in a beautiful golden hue. When cold weather prevails, the color of the needles changes to a shade of bronze. It is worth noting that the juniper has an elegant decorative look and can please the eye from year to year.

Juniper needles help purify the surrounding air thanks to the phytoncides contained in needles. In addition, the bright aroma of the needles is able to scare away unnecessary insects that can harm plants. You should always remember that part of the juniper contains dangerous poisons, for this reason, keep children and pets away from the plants.

With regard to the resistance of plants to low temperatures, the Old Gold juniper belongs to the fourth zone in terms of resistance to winter. Such plants can survive a drop in temperature from -29 degrees to -34 degrees. A large territory of the Central part of our country is located in such a zone.

Juniper Old Gold in garden design

Juniper Old Gold in landscape design: photo

Such a juniper for the decoration of plots is planted both singly and in combination with various other crops. This type of juniper can often be found growing in a container. You can decorate a balcony, loggia with such landings. By planting such a juniper in an open area, you can nicely refine the flower bed or border area.

Since this variety of juniper does not grow too tall, it can be safely planted in the lower row of an alpine slide. This culture will look good in combination with thujas, pines, and other varieties of juniper. At the same time, do not forget that the crown can grow by two and a half to three meters, therefore, when planting, it is necessary to maintain a certain distance between the plants.
Juniper Old Gold will be a good addition to rock gardens, it will look beautiful near artificially created lakes and fountains.

This juniper goes well with crops such as heather and hydrangea. Between the rows of junipers, you can decorate the place with gladioli, hyacinths, tulips and even decorative bows.

Juniper Old Gold: planting and care

Juniper Old Gold: photo

When choosing a site for planting juniper of the middle Old Gold, it is better to give preference to open, well-lit areas. If the juniper is grown in a shaded area, then the shape of the plant is lost, the crown acquires a loose state, and decorativeness is lost. On the site where the cultivation of juniper is planned, moisture should not stagnate. If the water table is too high, then a drainage layer must be laid.

This culture is not very demanding on the composition of the soil, but it will be best if the soil has neutral or weak acidity. The earth should be light enough, as well as good air and moisture permeability. This soil composition can also be prepared at home. To do this, you need to take peat (two parts), turf soil (one part) and sand (one part). It will not be superfluous if you add juniper litter from the forest there.

If you have purchased seedlings that have a closed root system, then before planting them on the site, you need to water them well. So, it will be easier to get plants along with a clod of earth. It will not be superfluous if you additionally process the roots with drugs that stimulate growth. If the plant is planted in a single version, then the size of the planting hole should be larger than a clod of earth. In this case, the difference should be several times. As for planting such plants in groups, it is best to dig a trench.
It is worth noting that young plants take root much better in a new place after transplanting than junipers "aged".

About twenty centimeters at the bottom of the hole should form a drainage layer. For these purposes, you can use expanded clay, broken brick, sand, gravel, pebbles.
Seedlings are transplanted on any day when the weather is warm and cloudy. It is not necessary to deepen the plants in the hole too much, the level of the root collar should be located about five to ten centimeters from the soil surface.

After the plant is planted, you need to cover the planting hole with soil and tamp the soil a little around the perimeter of the crown. After that, you need to make a roller out of the ground. This is necessary so that during watering, moisture does not spread over the site. Plants need to be watered regularly over the next week. To make the plant more comfortable to take root in a new place, you need to create a shadow for a while.
When transplanting a juniper to a new location, it is necessary to take into account the exposure from which the plant grew before transplanting.

This juniper variety is well able to withstand dry weather conditions, for this reason, if there is a long dry and hot weather, then you need to water the plants from time to time. One shrub accounts for about thirty liters of water. Too low air humidity for juniper is destructive, so you need to spray the plants at least once every seven days.

Watering, loosening

It is recommended to water the plants by sprinkling.

Too often, there is no particular need to feed such plants. In the middle of the spring period, about forty grams of the drug Kemira-universal should be added to one square meter. Also, for these purposes, you can use a nitroammophoska. For ten liters of water, twenty grams of the product should be consumed. If the feeding is in the form of granules, then you just need to scatter it in the near-stem circle of plants.After that, a little soil is poured on top and poured with water. It is not recommended to use organics as fertilizers, as they can burn the root system of the juniper. This is especially true for poultry droppings and manure.

From time to time, while the plants are still young, it is necessary to loosen the soil. It is not necessary to loosen the soil deeply, as there is a risk that the surface roots may be damaged. This procedure can be combined with weed removal. This is best done after watering the junipers. It will not be superfluous to lay a mulching layer, so the root system of the juniper will not overheat, and moisture will not evaporate so quickly. For these purposes, tree bark, chips, nut shells, pebbles are usually used. The mulching layer should be about five to seven centimeters.

You don't need to prune your junipers on a regular basis. However, at the same time, it is possible to form a shrub once or twice a year. Especially this requirement for care applies to those plants that grow in containers or other containers. In the spring, it is necessary to remove branches that have been broken or damaged.
When pruning stems, be sure to use protective equipment. Droplets of juice or resin should not get on the skin or mucous membranes, as the plant contains toxic substances.

This variety of juniper can withstand low temperatures very persistently, so it is not necessary to snatch it for the winter. However, if the plant is still young, then it will require additional shelter for the winter period. For these purposes, peat or sawdust should be placed in the zone of the trunk circle. The layer must be thick enough. If the winter is not too snowy, then the crowns of the plants are escaping with the help of a spunbond. There is a risk that the early spring sun can harm the needles, so at the beginning of spring it is better to shade the plants with screens. In the spring, it is also necessary to remove snow from the plants, since after it melts, there is a risk that the stems will break and moisture will begin to stagnate. After the steg has melted, replace the old mulch layer with a fresh one.

If you grow Chinese Old Gold juniper in containers, then they need to be brought indoors for the winter. Otherwise, the roots may freeze. The juniper "rests" in winter, and therefore it should not be too warm in the room where the juniper is located. For these purposes, you can use a loggia, a balcony. In case of bright sun, provide the plants with shade conditions.

Mediah juniper Old Gold: description of reproduction

Many varieties of ornamental junipers are propagated by cuttings. They need to be taken from sufficiently mature bushes, which are about eight to ten years old. In early spring, cuttings are cut, the length of such segments is usually ten centimeters. Below they should have a lignified bark. The lower part of the cuttings, about five centimeters, must be peeled from needles, and then placed in a growth stimulator.

Plants will continue to take root in containers or other containers that need to be filled with peat and sand in equal proportions. The root system develops in about one month. The plants can then be transferred to an open area. Before wintering, young seedlings should be covered with spruce branches. Over the course of several years, the plants gain strength and only then are they transplanted to a permanent habitat.

Information about diseases and pests of juniper

This variety has a fairly strong immunity against major diseases, and also not too often attacked by various harmful insects. However, after winter, the juniper can be weakened and easily become infected with the disease.

From time to time, plants can be affected by a disease such as rust.As a rule, it appears if fruit crops with seeds act as neighbors with juniper. They often have fungal infections. Parts of plants that have been affected must be cut and burned. To prevent these from arising at all, it is necessary in the spring to carry out the processing of plants for the purpose of prophylaxis. For this, fungicidal agents are used, which contain copper.

If there is an anthill not far from the juniper plantings, then there is a risk that after some time aphids will appear on your plants. Aphids feed on plant sap, so the main damage is done to the young branches of the plant, their growth stops. To combat aphids, you can use a soap-based solution. In this case, it is necessary to protect the root system from such a solution. This procedure is repeated until the aphids have left your plants.

A spider mite is not a rare guest on juniper plants. It usually occurs during dry and hot weather. Where the plant was affected, a layer of cobweb forms, the color of the needles at the same time acquires a brown color, after which it begins to crumble. To avoid such a problem in your area with junipers, you need to increase the level of humidity from time to time by spraying with water. If a large area of ​​plants is infected, then you need to treat the junipers with acaricidal agents.

Old Gold Chinese Medium Juniper is very good for beautifying the site throughout the year. This is not a very whimsical culture, which has a very pretty decorative look. Even a novice gardener can grow Old Gold on his site. Such a plant does not grow too rapidly in a short time. Therefore, such a juniper can be grown at home or in containers on loggias or terraces.

Juniper Old Gold: video