Stunning Lime Glow juniper at their summer cottage
Numerous varieties of horizontal juniper are actively used in landscape design. The Lime Glow juniper is no exception. A dwarf shrub with decorative needles and a capricious disposition is excellent for decoration alpine slides, low borders.
A long-lived, winter-hardy plant will help strengthen the slopes and give the site a unique look.
Description of Lime Glow juniper
Planted on the site, the ornamental shrub grows slowly, reaching a height of 40 cm and a diameter of 1.5-2 meters only by the age of 10-15. Skeletal branches of the plant diverge from the center parallel to the ground, are evenly covered with scaly needles, and their ends droop, forming a compact, pillow-like crown. With age, the aboveground part of the shrub takes the form of a wide funnel, but at the same time it retains its compactness and attractiveness.
If the needles of a young seedling are painted in green tones, then over the years you can notice that in the summer the branches acquire more and more bright yellow shades. Winter changes the appearance of the plant again. The horizontal Lime Glow juniper needles turn orange-bronze.
Reaching ripeness within two years, the fruits of the juniper, like those of wild specimens, have a spherical shape and a bluish-black color. The surface of the cone berries is covered with a thick bluish bloom.
The decorativeness of the Lime Glow variety makes the variety one of the most popular. The small annual growth and simplicity of the juniper add to the attractiveness.
Conditions for growing Lime Glow juniper
The plant is unpretentious, but if you create conditions close to natural for the juniper, the shrub will respond with good growth and a bright crown color.
Lime Glow Juniper is described as a drought-tolerant perennial crop that favors light soil, sunny patches, or clear partial shade.
If the shrub is in the shade, its appearance may change. The beautiful yellow shade of the needles turns into the usual green color.
In nature horizontal junipers settled on the east coast of the USA and Canada, on sandy light soils, which are typical for the shores of lakes and rivers. The plant does not need special soil nutrition, but if the juniper is planted in a dense substrate with poor access to water and air, growth slows down, the seedling looks depressed. The proximity of groundwater, as well as stagnant melt or rain moisture leads to the same result, and sometimes to the death of the plant.
Due to its low crown and dense needles, the Lime Glow juniper, in the photo, tolerates well:
- strong winds;
- winter in the middle zone;
- dry periods;
- bright spring sun, which leaves ugly brown burn marks on many varieties of shrubs.
If there is little snow in the winter, shrubs, especially young ones, should be covered with a thick layer of peat, wood chips or other covering material. In hot summer, the plant responds well to irrigation with warm soft water and watering.
Juniper Lime Glow perfectly coexists with other ornamental plants, be it herbaceous ground cover species, larger than shrubs, cereals and conifers of other varieties.
Planting horizontal Lime Glow junipers and caring for shrubs
It is not enough to choose a suitable site for a shrub. Planting and caring for your horizontal Lime Glow juniper is key to your success.
Shrubs are planted in pits or trenches with a depth of at least 60 cm.The dimensions depend on the size of the root system and the age of the seedlings. If the juniper is to become part of a living curb or green carpet, a gap of 50 cm to a meter is left between the bushes. The distance between separately growing plants should be at least one and a half meters. The bottom of the planting pit is covered with a 20 cm thick drainage layer. It will protect the roots from decay and stay in water.
The soil for filling, if necessary, is deacidified, and for a loose consistency, it is enriched:
- 2 parts peat;
- 1 part of sod land;
- 1 part washed sand.
In order for the juniper to develop correctly, the root collar must be left at ground level or slightly higher during filling the hole.
Water the seedling immediately after planting, then watering, like sprinkling on hot days, should be regular. Top dressing of the Lime Glow juniper, which occupies a prominent place in the garden design, as in the photo, is done once a year, in spring, when the plants wake up and begin to grow actively.