Spruce belongs to the conifer species, it is often used by designers to create a certain type of landscape and gardening. In addition to attractive external data, all grades are endowed with essential oils and resins, which are considered to be the best natural bactericidal substances. Often, spruce is planted in places intended for recreation - squares, parks and so on. Many owners of household plots decorate their possessions with this coniferous culture.
Content
Fir
To date, there are a lot of varieties of spruce. The most famous of them: barbed silver, red, ordinary European, Canadian. Varieties of varieties are respectively conditioned by different care for each variety and climatic conditions.
For example, the most common type of Canadian spruce is called Conica, spruce conic, planting and caring for which are the main conditions for future tree parameters: its height and crown diameter. Ideally, such a tree with proper care can reach two meters in height, its narrow-conical crown can also reach two meters in diameter.
A blue spruce, planting and care which will be performed incorrectly will eventually lose the amazing silver color of the needles - this result will result in insufficient illumination of the site. Other factors can affect the wrong formation of the crown, slowing growth, etc.
Spruce European common - where to plant best
lighting
Many believe that spruce should be planted only on the shaded area. In fact, only a few representatives of this coniferous breed feel comfortable in the shade: Siberian and European. The rest - prefer to grow in lighter and sunny areas.
The plant planted on an unpolluted site, which has comprehensive access to sunlight, is formed correctly and evenly and, as a consequence, has an attractive crown of a pyramidal shape. Varieties related to dwarf and miniature subspecies, in principle, can not properly develop and grow in the shade. Concerning fir trees with colored needles (American blue): with insufficient sunlight, the color of needles changes from blue to green, while losing their decorative qualities.
the soil
An obligatory condition for planting conifers is the correctly selected soil. Spruce is a plant belonging to the category of gymnosperms, and this means that there is a formation of a symbiotic connection with hyphae of fungi from the soil. The structure of fungi helps to absorb useful substances from the soil and thereby contributes to the improvement of spruce growth and its proper development. Proceeding from the foregoing, we can conclude: for planting spruce is suitable soil with acidity of 4.5 - 6.0. When PH has higher rates, there is a threat of the development of a large number of soil bacteria, which in turn have a detrimental effect on the reproduction of useful fungi for spruce.
Soil, which is planned to plant conifers, must necessarily be aerated and be equipped with a drain. In certain cases, it is possible to plant conifers on sandy soils. In such cases, the main thing is to prevent water stagnation, for example, when there is a lot of precipitation in a relatively short time or in the spring, when the melting of snow masses is slow.
nursery of conifers
Having made a decision to refine your site with representatives of coniferous species, the question arises involuntarily: where exactly to acquire seedlings and how to choose them correctly. There are two main options: to dig in a forest belt or in a specialized garden nursery.
Choosing a forest spruce for planting, you need to know some of the subtleties: before going to the forest, you need to prepare a cloth and a certain amount of water, which in the future should be enough to soak the tissue and wrap it with the root system of the excavated tree. On top of the fabric cloth, the roots need to be kneaded also with dense polyethylene. Dug and not wrapped roots under the influence of air can seriously suffer. Forest spruce must be delivered as quickly as possible to the planned place and planted. Small fir-tree seedlings can be planted in a pot, until they reach the right size.
Experts argue that the most favorable time for coniferous transplantation is winter. It is during this period of the year that the seedlings (even large ones) will fully acclimatize.
Purchase of spruce in the nursery. Saplings are sold in special containers. Provided that the spruce is chosen healthy, planting and survival will be successful.
When choosing a seedling, you need to know the following:
- needles - concentrated color, smooth, shiny, absence of dry needles;
- soil - well-moistened;
- root system - should not stick out of the container;
- container - should be of suitable size, for example, the height of the spruce is 1 meter, then the pot must be at least 0.5 m in diameter.
planting of spruce
As already mentioned, it is better to plant spruce in winter or at least in late autumn. During this period, the least risk of damage to the root system is rot. To determine the place for planting will help the color of needles: more dark needles perfectly tolerate shading.
Distance between seedlings should be calculated basing on data on the needs of a certain variety and to ensure that the landscape composition is not disturbed. Spruce, not related to decorative and dwarf, planted at a distance of 2 - 3 meters from each other.
A pit dug for planting a spruce must be prepared as follows:
- at the bottom, the drainage from the remains (from the broken) brick,
- added compost, forest land and mineral fertilizers.
Plant the plant at such a depth that the root neck was at the ground level. The soil around the trunk is not strongly compacted.
In cases where planting is carried out from a container or with an earthen lump, the root system is held in advance for several hours in water. At the end of planting, the spruce should be well watered and the land around it mulched.
Spruce - planting and care of seedlings and mature trees
watering
- Adult tree can be relatively painless without water for several weeks.
- Dwarf species of spruce require more frequent and abundant watering.
- Low-growing spruce, young trees and freshly planted seedlings will not survive without timely watering.
- When planted in winter, it is necessary to water regularly during their first year of life.
- Watering should be done in such a way that the water does not fall on the needles.
In order to avoid the formation of rotting processes of the measles system on the surface from excess water, the ground is mulched with pine needles or bark, sawdust or shavings of any coniferous plants. Mulching will prevent evaporation of moisture and improve the positive characteristics of the soil. You can also save moisture in another way: the ground near the fir tree is sprinkled with expanded clay or ordinary decorative stones. When the mulching is not carried out, the ground around the youngster is weeded and loosened.
fertilizer
Spruce need to be fed as well as other ornamental plants: complex fertilizers, once a season, they need to be purchased in specialized shops and only those that are suitable for this plant variety. After transplanting, the spruce should be regularly harvested by complexes stimulating growth and contributing to the development of a strong and healthy root system. In the first few weeks after transplantation, the needles of young plants are treated with Ferravit.
pruning
In some cases, spruce need to be trimmed:
- when found dead branches
- when the branches are affected by pathogenic formations.
Strongly cut the spruce is not worth it - it can die. Only a spiny spruce can be subjected to a regular haircut. thereby giving it the desired shape.
Care during the winter. To avoid shedding of needles and young animals, for the winter, in the first year of life, the plant is bundled with lapnik. If it is better to tie the forms with pins with wire. This will help avoid deformation and breakage of branches under the weight of the snow cover.
Reproduction of conifers
Reproduction of spruce can occur both vegetatively and generatively. Vegetative breeding occurs by tapping or cutting. For cuttings, you can take the side one-year shoots. Shoots must have an apical kidney. This is especially important, because all representatives of conifers have a monopodial branch. If such a bud is absent and the seedling has taken root, the plant will not have a vertical correct development.
Generative reproduction is carried out in the spring, until the time when buds will bud. Shoots with branches of the second order are cut with a sharp knife or pruner. The cut stem should be a length of 6-10 cm. To improve the development of the root system, cut the cut off its dipped in a special composition stimulating growth and only then planted in a substrate.
The soil used is as follows:
- perlite and sand
- peat and sand (1: 3).
By planting cuttings, the plant should be sprayed and covered with a film to better ensure moisture retention. Moisture under the film should be about 85%. It is better to spray not saplings, but films. In the evening, after lowering the outside temperature, spraying should be stopped. Otherwise, infection with fungal infections can not be avoided.
After the plant is wrapped in a film, small holes must be made throughout its area. They will ensure air circulation under the film and will not allow the temperature rise below it to be above 25 ° C.
Reproduction by seeds
It should be noted right away that such a process is rather lengthy and time consuming. First of all, it is necessary to select fresh seeds from unopened cones. Then dry them. After opening the scales, collect the seeds. To ensure a high percentage of germination, they are kept in the cold. The temperature in the refrigerator should not be more than 3 degrees. The composition in which must be seeds - peat and dry sand. The time spent in the cold is 5-6 weeks. After the elapsed time, the container is removed, put on a warm and bright place and regularly watered. This procedure is best done at the end of winter. At the first manifestations of sprouts above the soil, the volume of irrigation is reduced to avoid the formation of rot on the roots. On the site small shoots are transplanted for the second year of their life.
Diseases
In principle, ate decorative more rarely, but still there are problems with them. Pathogenic formations affect different parts of the plant. The most common disease of oil - yellowing of needles and the appearance of dark strips on it.
Mold gray most often affects young, not completely strengthened plants and dwarf species. Fungus affects the branches densely located to each other. If this disease is found, the branches are treated with a fungicide formulation.
Coniferous pests
The most dangerous of all - fir mite. It's difficult to notice with the naked eye. Reproduction occurs quickly. Symptoms of tick presence are expressed as follows: change of the usual color to brownish-brown tones. The control of mites includes multiple treatment of the plant with a composition of drugs of the class of acaricides.
Also seriously fir can damage the insect hermes. Signs of the disease - the needles grow together forming galls. In them, aphids multiply. The detected galls are cut off and the entire plant is treated with insecticides.
Spruce sawfly - an insect harming young seedlings. Typical signs are the formation of dirt particles on the branches and the change in the color of the needles to brown tones. In order to eliminate pests of this species, the plant must be treated three times with an insecticide.
Bark beetles and barbel - beetles attacking large branches and trunk. Fighting them is difficult enough, so it makes sense to regularly carry out preventive work.
Spruce aphids - an insect of small size, green, quickly multiplies, feeds on the juices contained in the needles and leads to its shedding. The problem is eliminated with an insecticide. To avoid any coniferous disease in the first place you need to monitor the health of the plant. Both fungi and insects attack mainly weak trees.
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