"Weeping" Horstmann juniper - coniferous long-liver on your site

We ordered a juniper seedling in the nursery, there were no special requirements for the variety, so we took what was available. So we got a bush with the "name" Horstmann. The seller promised that he would grow up very interesting and beautiful. Please tell us more about Horstmann juniper. What is its maximum height and where is it better to plant a bush?

Horstmann juniper is one of the most original species of this coniferous shrub. Landscape designers appreciate it for the unusual, weeping shape that the plant takes as an adult. Thanks to this, a rather tall vertical bush becomes spreading and can take up a decent area. What else is the plant different and what does it love?

What does Horstmann look like?

Juniper Horstmann belongs to vertical varieties, but every year its widely spaced branches drop their tips, thus forming a beautiful weeping crown. It is noteworthy that with a total height of more than 2 m, the diameter of the dense crown is practically equal to the "growth" of the shrub, retaining a conical shape, wide at the base.

Horstmann is not growing very quickly: per year the growth is no more than 15 cm, but it is a long-liver and is able to decorate the site for 200 years.

Reddish twigs are strewn with small, slightly more than 1 cm in length, but tough and thorny dark green needles. They have three faces and have not crumbled for more than three years. In the month of May, the shrub blooms with yellow (male) and greenish (female) inflorescences, called spikelets in botany, and then sets fruit - small (maximum 0.7 cm) fleshy cones. Young bumps are green, and when ripe, they acquire a grayish tint.

For their round shape and small size, the cones are called juniper berries.

Growing features

Horstmann prefers well-lit areas, but is capable of growing in light partial shade. The variety is absolutely not picky about the composition of the soil, it takes root even on stony ground, but absolutely does not tolerate salty and waterlogged soil.

In care, the juniper is simple, it is enough to give it just a little attention, namely:

1. Water regularly during dry summers.
2. Once a year, in May, feed with a mineral complex.
3. In the spring, treat with insecticides to prevent the appearance of pests (Aktaroy), as well as fungicides for diseases (Skorom).

The variety has a high frost resistance, but the spreading branches can suffer from the weight of the snow cover, so for the winter it is better to lift them and fix them around the central trunk with a rope.

Video about the intricacies of planting a juniper