We don’t have many Siberian vegetation which thrive within the southeast US, so we get fairly excited once we discover one which does. I used to be launched to Microbiota decussata by the late JC Raulston, again within the mid Nineteen Seventies, and really nonetheless have one among my unique vegetation that’s nonetheless alive. A few years later, a a lot improved type got here to market underneath the identify Microbiota decussata ‘Prides’.
Microbiota is a monotypic genus of conifer that has a textural look someplace between a Juniper and a Selaginella. Within the wild, Microbiota can solely be present in one small area of the Sikhote-Alin mountains, which is about 500 miles north of Vladovostok, Russia, the place it happens between 6,500′ and seven,000′ elevation.
Though Microbiota was formally found in 1921, and revealed in 1923, the Russian authorities, long-known for its secrecy, saved it utterly underneath wraps till the early Nineteen Seventies.
In contrast to most junipers, which want solar to thrive, microbiota prefers shade to solely half solar. Consequently, it you want this texture and don’t have full solar, that is the plant for you. For us, it matures at 18″ tall x 6′ large.
