Juniper is used for digestion problems including upset stomach, intestinal gas (flatulence), heartburn, bloating, and loss of appetite, as well as gastrointestinal (GI) infections and intestinal worms. It is also used for urinary tract infections (UTIs) and kidney and bladder stones.

The scientists found that xylem tissues of juniper species tend to be reinforced with extra woody material to prevent rupture. Juniper species growing in wet parts of the Caribbean also benefit from drought tolerance because they “tend to grow in shallow, rocky soils that don’t hold a lot of water,” Jackson said.

Watering. Evergreen junipers are extremely drought tolerant and prefer their soil on the dry side. Junipers need weekly watering for the first summer to develop an extensive root system. After the first summer, most junipers can rely on natural rainfall and fog for moisture.

Junipers grow very slowly. A juniper standing only five feet tall may be 50 years old. Junipers typically live from 350 to 700 years, with some even passing the millennium mark. Despite their longevity, junipers rarely exceed 30 feet in height or three feet in diameter.

They usually have a very deep taproot to take up water from deep in the soil, as well as a mat of fibrous roots closer to the soil’s surface to capture rain water. Junipers can sometimes grow from root cuttings, so remove as much root as possible when disposing of the plant.

The creeping juniper plant has an extensive and shallow root system, with larger roots coming from the plant’s center and many smaller roots developing as the plant grows. Older plants can develop large, horizontally spreading roots up to 1 inch in diameter that may extend 10 feet or more from the plant’s center.

Junipers are generally propagated from semi-hardwood cuttings, or branches that grew in the current season. Cuttings of juniper for propagation taken from July through November should develop roots by the next spring if they get the right care. Fill a clean 1 gallon planter with a soil-less potting medium.

A teaspoon of vinegar in 5 to 6 cups (1.2-1.4 L.) of water is enough. Any type of apple cider vinegar at your local supermarket is fine. To use your homemade rooting hormone, dip the bottom of the cutting in the solution before “sticking” the cutting in rooting medium.

You can use the following ingredients to make your own natural rooting hormone:

• Cinnamon.
• Aloe vera.
• Honey.
• Willow water.
• Apple cider vinegar.
• Aspirin.
• Saliva.

In many organic gardening circles substances like aloe vera gel, cinnamon powder, turmeric, honey , cow dung, willow juice etc are treated as rooting hormones. But it is a misconception, as they are not hormones, says Lokare. “They don’t have anything to do with root ‘formation’.

In fact, a grower who uses a gel rooting hormone product is more likely to have “saggy” cuttings or those that develop root rot. Hormex Rooting Powder ensures that the cutting’s stem has access to the proper amount of oxygen it needs. Another advantage of Hormex Rooting Powder is speed.

Well, knowing that potassium (or potash) is one of the nutrients that is suggested for good root growth, a banana seems like a good thing for rooting a cutting.

5 feet

Banana peels are good for gardens because they contain 42 percent potassium (abbreviated to its scientific name K), one of the three major components of fertilizer along with nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) and shown on fertilizer labels as NPK. In fact, banana peels have the highest organic sources of potassium.

Tea leaves are a good addition to the compost heap. However, tea bags are not. This will not break down in the domestic compost heap, and indeed particles will remain even after commercial ‘green waste’ composting. Some brands use instead a polymer fibre derived from plant starch, called PLA.