Although it is thorny and its growth is slow, it impresses with its evergreen needles, ease of care and good pruning tolerance. There are many reasons to propagate it, the creeping juniper
How to propagate a creeping juniper?
To propagate a creeping juniper, you can cut cuttings, sow seeds or separate offshoots. The cutting method is the easiest, while sowing seeds is tedious and demanding. Cuttings are the most effective method.
Cuttings for propagation
The easiest way is to propagate your creeping juniper using cuttings. This propagation method is the most promising. The ideal period to cut the cuttings is between August and the end of September or between April and May.
How it works step by step:
- select young but already woody shoots
- cut off or tear off
- Shoot length: 10 to 20 cm
- Remove the needles from the cuttings in the lower third
- Cut off the tips of the cuttings
- score the bottom end with a knife
- put in pot with sandy soil
- Place cuttings in a warm, bright place at 20 °C
- plant out after 1 to 3 years
Sowing: lengthy, complicated, not for beginners
Are you looking for a challenge? Then you are right with sowing the creeping juniper. You can grow the seeds yourself or buy them. This plant usually blooms between April and May. But it takes time for the seeds in the fruit to ripen. You have to be patient for up to 2 years! The seeds are ripe when the berries are black.
Let’s go:
- Seeds need stratification
- first harvest the berries (between August and October)
- Dry berries and store warm (approx. 3 months)
- Crush the berries, pick out the seeds
- Scald seeds with 60 °C hot water (thick, hard seed coat)
- then: put in the fridge for 3 months
- sow in spring
- keep moist
- Germination temperature: 15 to 20 °C
- Attention: low germination rate
The Last Chance: Offshoot
The fastest and most effective method is probably the offshoots that the creeping juniper likes to form. They can also be used for later bonsai design. You should separate the offshoots from the mother plant as soon as they have rooted. They are planted and watered well.
Tip
The young creeping juniper plants should be planted in a sunny to semi-shady place. The ideal planting time is April. The soil can contain lime and must be permeable and not too heavy.