Juniperus ashei
| Juniperus ashei | |
| Light: |  |
| Moisture: |   |
| Hardiness: | 7 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Evergreen Cross Pollinated | |
| Height: | 20' |
| Speed: | Slow |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Juniperus ashei (common name: ashe juniper)
Propagation: The seed requires a period of cold stratification. The seed has a hard seedcoat and can be very slow to germinate, requiring a cold period followed by a warm period and then another cold spell, each of 2 - 3 months duration[1][2]. Soaking the seed for 3 - 6 seconds in boiling water may speed up the germination process[3]. The seed is best sown as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame. Some might germinate in the following spring, though most will take another year. Another possibility is to harvest the seed 'green' (when the embryo has fully formed but before the seedcoat has hardened). The seedlings can be potted up into individual pots when they are large enough to handle. Grow on in pots until large enough, then plant out in early summer. When stored dry, the seed can remain viable for several years[4].
Cuttings of mature wood, 5 - 10cm with a heel, September/October in a cold frame. Plant out in the following autumn[4][1].
Layering in September/October. Takes 12 months[1].
Cultivation: Succeeds in most soils if they are well drained, preferring a neutral or slightly alkaline soil[4][3][5]. Established plants are drought tolerant, succeeding in hot dry positions[5]. They require a sheltered position in full sun[2].
This species is only hardy in the milder areas of Britain[2].
A slow-growing plant, though it may live for 200 - 350 years in good conditions[6]. Fruit production is cyclic, a year of heavy crops being followed by 1 - 2 years of light crops[6].
The seed ripens in its first year[6].
Dioecious. Male and female plants must be grown if seed is required.
Range: Southern N. America - Missouri to Texas, south to Mexico.
Habitat: Found at lower elevations, growing mainly on limestone hills or in soils underladen with limestone[6].
Edibility: Fruit - raw or cooked. The cones are about 6 - 8mm in diameter[5], they are thin-skinned sweet, juicy and resinous[7][6].
Usage: Wood - close-grained, hard, durable, slightly fragrant, light and easily worked[7][6]. The wood is not large enough nor common enough for commercial production, though it is used locally for fencing posts, telegraph poles railroad ties and fuel[7][6].
Pollinators: Wind
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
In Leaf: Evergreen
Seed Ripens: Mid Fall
Flower Type: Dioecious
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Sheat, Wilfrid. Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers. St Martin, 1948.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Rushforth, Keith. Conifers. Batsford, 1991.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Bean, William. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Murray, 1981.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 Elias, Thomas. The Complete Trees of North America. Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1980.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Sargent, Charles. Manual of the Trees of North America. Dover, 1965.