Spruce variety. Decorative spruce in a pot: care
This coniferous tree is an excellent "shield" in the summer cottage, used as a fence. You can plant trees in the garden itself, but only if you are ready to regularly limit the growth of their root system, otherwise these trees will oppress other plants on the site.
Description of the common spruce and its seeds
To get started, check out the photo and description of the common spruce 0 tall (up to 20–50 m) tree with a trunk over 1 m in diameter. The cone-shaped crown with drooping or spaced branches remains sharp throughout the entire period of life. The bark is brown, rough, fissured. Shoots are brown, red or reddish-yellow, glabrous or sparsely hairy. Kidneys 4-5 mm long, ovoid-cone-shaped, light brown.
Pay attention to the photo - spruce needles are 10–25 mm long, 1–1.5 mm thick, tetrahedral, sharp, shiny, bright or dark green:
Needles can last about 6-7 years. Cones 10–15 cm long, 3–4 cm wide, at first light green or dark purple, mature light brown or reddish brown, shiny, with convex, serrated scales along the edge. They ripen in October, open in the second half of winter. The seeds of common spruce are 2–5 mm long, equipped with a light brown wing, and are sown in the second half of winter.
This tree can live from 250 to 500 years. When describing common spruce, it is always noted that for the first 10–15 years it grows very slowly - 50 cm per year, then the growth rate changes to rapid.
The origin of Norway spruce is Europe, in Russia it is distributed to the Urals, forms pure or mixed forests with birch, linden, maple, oak. In the mountains it rises up to 2000 m above sea level.
Norway spruce grows in the forest zone of the European part of the continent in mixed or pure forests, being a species of local flora.
Common spruce grows on any soil, even marshy. Prefers sun, but can grow in partial shade and even shade. It is precisely because of its ability to grow in the shade that any mixed forest gradually becomes spruce, because under the canopy deciduous plants young Christmas trees grow easily from seeds that have spilled out from mature cones of an adult tree, but young hardwoods, as a rule, die due to lack of light. In coniferous forests, nothing ever grows under trees, and practically no one lives in these forests. There is silence in them.
The spruce has a superficial root system, and since the mighty crown, which easily reaches 20–60 m, has a large windage, a strong wind easily turns the spruce out of the soil. When planting a spruce, estimate in advance the prevailing wind direction so that during a hurricane it does not tip over on your house and break it.
Norway spruce is used in the pulp and paper industry, for the manufacture musical instruments, containers, sleepers, lumber. The bark goes to get tanning agents.
Types and varieties of common spruce (with photo)
Norway spruce has many garden forms: weeping 'Virgata', columnar 'Columnaris', spherical 'Pumila', dwarf 'Procumbens', as well as forms with different needle colors: gray 'Glauca', yellow 'Aurea', variegated white 'Argentea'.
All species and varieties of common spruce have a very heterogeneous appearance, which is explained by various types branching. These types are inherited, the most decorative of them are separated into separate varieties and are widely cultivated. According to the types of branching, the following varieties are distinguished: comb - branches are horizontal and hanging down; incorrectly combed; compact - the branches are horizontal and densely covered with shortly branched shoots; flat - the branches are widely branched and located in a horizontal plane; brush-like - the branches have short thick branches with small brush-shaped branches hanging from them. The most popular varieties are:
Acrocon (Acrocona), Aurea Magnifica (Golden Gorgeous - Aurea Magnifica), Berry (Barryi), Echiniformis (Spiny - Echiniformis).
Norway spruce also has a huge variety dwarf varieties, most of which have a compact crown with stiff dark green needles.
As you can see in the photo, there are varieties of common spruce with a spherical and hemispherical crown no more than 1.5 m high, as well as with creeping shoots ("Inversa", "Repens"):
The most miniature varieties, no more than 50 cm in height: little gem», « Pumila», « Pygmaea».
Growing spruce: planting, care and reproduction
Growing spruce is possible from the Far North to the subtropics. Spruce is propagated by seeds. Garden forms - cuttings and rarely grafting. Varietal characteristics are preserved only with the vegetative method of reproduction. When summer cuttings are treated with a 0.01% solution of indolylbutyric acid, trees take root by 14%.
Spruces are shade-tolerant, but grow better with sufficient light. They suffer from air pollution, which primarily affects the life expectancy of needles. At a young age, they can be quite picky. They grow slowly, especially in the first years of life, do not like transplantation and cannot stand soil compaction in the same way as relatives ground water. Trees are sensitive to early spring frosts.
For planting and successful care of common spruce, the soil must have the following composition: turf, leaf land, peat, sand, taken in a ratio of 2:2:1:1. Drainage: a layer of broken bricks and sand 15–20 cm.
Norway spruce prefers loamy and sandy soils. Shelter for the winter is necessary only for some decorative forms and only at a young age.
Of course, an ordinary spruce from the forest is not suitable for a small garden, it is better to look in nurseries for a bushy form with a flat crown, reaching a height of no more than a meter in adulthood, or even start a creeping Christmas tree.
Common spruce grows well in Central Russia. These trees are adapted to the local climate and therefore do not require special care. Spruces can grow on different types of soil, preferring loam. The main difficulty associated with their cultivation is maintaining the optimal level of soil moisture. Ordinary spruces do not like when the soil is swamped, so you need to loosen and cultivate the land, ensure proper drainage. This species is relatively shade tolerant, and the best location will be partial shade, adjacent to larger trees or buildings. Since ordinary spruces are ubiquitous in the surrounding forests, it will not be difficult to collect viable seeds or find a cutting suitable for propagation. Common spruces are not propagated by grafting, with the exception of decorative forms.
How to shape Norway spruce and tree trimming video
In order for the spruces to be lush from top to bottom, it is necessary to unscrew the top from a certain moment. And the sooner you start doing this, the thicker it will be.
How to form an ordinary spruce to have on your site beautiful trees? In the spring, when a young and green shoot will go, while the needles on it are still soft, hold the base of the shoot with the fingers of your left hand, and right hand just twist it. There will be stumps 2–3 cm high. This will be the annual growth of the Christmas tree. For spruce, this operation is harmless. As soon as you destroy the top, the nearest dormant buds at the base of the broken sprout will immediately grow. One of these shoots will try to replace the top and start growing vertically, and you will twist it again. You will stop all attempts to grow a new spruce top every spring, leaving only a small stump from the annual growth. Thus, the tiers of horizontal branches will be located close to each other, and the Christmas tree will become very dense, and most importantly, this simple but annual trick will not allow the Christmas trees to swing into the sky. In addition, the experience of gardeners shows that densely planted spruces (if they are not shortened) begin to lose their lower branches. And over time, instead of a green fence, a colonnade grows from bare trunks in the lower part.
The video "Formation of common spruce" shows how to unscrew the top:
But you should not cut the ends of the branches, because, as a rule, this leads to the drying of the entire branch, besides, the trimmed ends are too noticeable. It's better to pinch them. It is done like this: take in your left hand a handful of green "tails" that appeared at the ends of the branches in the spring, and cut off their tips with your right hand. From the parts of the "tails" remaining at the ends of the branches, branches will go, which again will make the branches thicker.
If you cut off the top of an overgrown spruce, then the branch closest to the sawn top will try to take its place, rising to a vertical position. In this case, the trunk will turn out to be a curve.
Dwarf spruces are unpretentious and extremely hardy. They prefer a well-lit place and moderately moist soils rich in nutrients. The exception is rather capricious varieties of gray spruce, which need shelter for the winter and shading from the scorching spring sun. For the formation of a beautiful spruce crown, an annual shearing of the dominant and lateral shoots is necessary at the time of their growth.
Watch the video "Pruning an ordinary spruce" to properly perform this procedure:
Use of Norway spruce as a hedge (with photo)
Norway spruce is used in groups, as a tapeworm, sheared hedge, alley. There are more than 120 garden varieties of common spruce known that can satisfy all the needs of amateur gardeners and landscape architects.
Here you can see a hedge from an ordinary spruce on a personal plot:
Norway spruce- a large tree. It is better to plant the plant on the north side, outside the site, behind the ditch at the very edge of the road that passes by the site. In addition, such a "living fence" will perfectly close the garden from the north wind. If you are planting spruces as a green fence, then they should be planted at a distance of 80–100 cm.
You can, of course, plant a spruce on the site itself, but then you must definitely limit its root system. It is necessary to outline some kind of platform, and every year to cut off the roots with a shovel, trying to go beyond the allotted boundaries. Since spruce has a shallow root system, you won’t have to dig deep, but it’s still a tedious job, and you can skip a couple of times, and it will quickly stretch its tentacle roots to all your plants. It’s easier to do this: if you have an old concrete ring that for some reason was not used to create a well, you can bury it 90 cm - 1 m. If there is no ring, then you can dig a hole, make a formwork and pour a concrete square bottomless box. You can also bury the slate, but the roots of spruce will gradually destroy it. If you try to bury the iron, it will rot in 8-10 years, and the spruce will spread further. The space should be approximately 90 x 90 cm square or meter by meter. The soil you dug up can be put back in, you don't need particularly fertile soil, you just want spruce to grow slowly in poor soil. It will grow, don't worry. She is very hardy and also shade tolerant. Therefore, if you have 4 apple trees, then in the center between them you can plant a spruce, limiting its root system. It will be its smell, quite sharp, successfully protect your fruit trees from flying pests of apple trees, as the spruce smell will disorient them. It seems that they fly to the smell of their nurse - apple trees, and here some other suspicious smell is added. Fearing to leave their offspring on such an apple tree, pests, as a rule, fly by.
P about it's true Christmas tree composed of many children's fairy tales and songs. We are accustomed to seeing it in our lowland forests, although it is most often found in the mountains. In our country, this tree is a symbol of the New Year and the main decoration of the winter landscape. However, not everyone knows how numerous types of spruces are. In Russia, there are 7 wild and at least 3 widely cultivated North American.
Genus Picea
Genus Spruce ( Picea ) belongs to the pine family (Pinaceae) and has about 50 species distributed in Eurasia and North America. As a rule, they reach 60 m in height and 1.5–2 m in diameter. Among them there are centenarians who live up to 500-600 years.
The crown of fir trees is cone-shaped, lowered low, which indicates a high shade tolerance of trees. They have a property that is quite rare for conifers - the lower branches adjacent to the ground can take root and produce layering. The trunks are straight, covered with uneven thin peeling bark. root system superficial, especially on excessively moist soils. But on well-drained individual roots obliquely deepen into the soil up to 0.5–0.7 m.
Light yellow wood is the best raw material for the production of paper and an excellent resonant material for the manufacture of musical instruments (violins, pianos, violas, double basses). For this purpose, wood of especially correct composition with growth rings of the same width is used.
Systematically, the genus Spruce is divided into two sections: Eupicea (real firs) andOmorica (fir-like).
- real spruces are characterized by tetrahedral single-color needles with uniform distribution stomata on all four faces. This section includes most species of the genus: Norway spruce, Siberian spruce, Canadian spruce, prickly spruce, Schrenk spruce.
- bicolor needles of fir-like spruces B cross section represents a flattened rhombus, almost flat. The stomata are located on two sides of the rhombus (in the form of whitish stripes). This section includes: Serbian spruce, Ayan spruce, Eastern spruce, Brever spruce.
Spruces are widely used in green building, especially their decorative forms. However, they are sensitive to air pollution. The most resistant are North American species, especially prickly spruce and its decorative forms with silver needles, Canadian spruce.
All spruces are shade-tolerant, but develop better with sufficient light. They are demanding on fertility and soil moisture, almost all types are winter-hardy. They withstand shearing well, after which they thicken greatly, so magnificent sheared hedges are obtained from firs.
Spruce tolerates transplantation better than other conifers: its main root stops growing early, and lateral roots form a superficial root system. However, this is also related to its windiness (the weak ability of trees to withstand the pressure of the wind).
Types of firs
The most common species in our country isspruce, or European (Picea abies, Picea excelsa ) . Tree of the first size with a trunk diameter of up to 1 m. Norway spruce has a lot of different decorative forms, among which low-growing varieties are especially popular with landscape designers, for example ‘Pygmaea ’, ‘ Procumbens ’, ‘ Nidiformis ’; with golden needles -‘ Aurea ’; natural form ‘ Virgata ’ with a graceful crown formed by long, hanging, slightly branched lateral branches.
North American species are widely used in culture, for exampleprickly spruce (Picea pungens ) . This spruce got its specific name for its really prickly and long needles. It is her, as the most stable, that is used in the gardening of our cities. Especially good are its decorative forms with silvery needles and a dense cone-shaped crown -‘ Glauca ’, ‘ hoopsii ’.
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Gray spruce, or Canadian(Picea glauca ) , also used in green building. This tall, slender tree with bluish-green needles is considered one of the most winter-hardy species. Very effective low-growing decorative form of this species -‘ Conica ’ every year is the leader of sales in the garden markets.
Canadian spruce ‘Conica’
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Schrenk spruce, or Tien Shan) , - a powerful tree up to 45 m high with a narrow-conical, low-down crown and beautiful pale bluish needles. It grows in Dzungarian Alatau and almost throughout the Tien Shan, it is undemanding to the soil. It has high-quality wood, but its main value is the mountain-reinforcing, soil-protective and water-protective functions that it performs, growing in mountainous areas.
Schrenk spruce
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Serbian spruce, or Balkan (Picea omorika), grows in the mountains of the Balkan Peninsula, but, despite its southern origin, it feels great in central Russia. This is a tree up to 45–55 m high with a very spectacular narrow-conical crown that is dense until old age. With its unusual appearance and beautiful two-color needles (top - dark green, bottom - whitish), it stands out among other spruces.
Many customers to the question "What kind of spruce should you plant on the site?" answer: "Serbian spruce." This speaks to the undeniable decorative qualities of fir-like spruces, which look very attractive because of their bicolor needles. From a distance, they seem to be powdered with hoarfrost. In Western European nurseries, they have long been grown as Christmas trees.
Serbian spruce
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Ayan spruce (Picea ajanensis ) - a tree up to 50 m high - found in the Far East, Kamchatka, Sakhalin and the South Kuriles. Frost-resistant. It also has spectacular two-color needles, but, unlike the previous species, it has a wide cone-shaped crown. It is one of the forest-forming species in the Okhotsk taiga.
Ayan spruce
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Spruce Brewera (Picea breweriana ) native to North America, hardy. A tree 10–15 (35) m high with a crown diameter of up to 5–6 m. It is remembered for its wide pyramidal crown with weeping branches of the second order, hanging up to 1–3 m down from the main branches. Looks advantageous in a solitary landing.
Spruce Brewera
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Eastern spruce, or caucasian (Picea orientalis ) , grows in the mountains of the Western Caucasus along with Caucasian fir. Tree up to 40 m high with a conical crown shape. Its beautiful fusiform-cylindrical unopened cones resemble cigars. Oriental spruce is decoratively original due to its short needles (up to 8 mm long) and thin graceful branches. But, unfortunately, this species is quite thermophilic and in the Moscow region grows no higher than the snow cover.
Spruce is the "queen" of the forest, leading the popularity rating among landscape artists. This sacred tree, which acts as a talisman of the site and a powerful source of bioenergy, is valued not only for its unique healing properties, but also for its extraordinary decorative effect.
Needle foliage of emerald, dark green and even blue shades can transform plant compositions, giving a unique zest to the landscape design of the site.
Options for using spruce in landscape design
Few can remain indifferent to the luxury of color and the frozen beauty of conifer needles. It is not surprising that spruce is used quite often in landscaping the site. It looks great as container plantings for framing garden paths and rocky gardens.
Ephedra is ideal for creating multi-level compositions, harmoniously combined with undersized shrubs and beautifully flowering perennials.
Trees with needle-like foliage of a rich green hue look interesting in combination with bright single- and perennials. Perfect for creating compositions: Japanese anemones, pansies, aquilegia, phlox and hostas. Conifers are an ideal basis for creating evergreen sculptures that can make the appearance of the garden richer and more colorful.
Among the main advantages of using spruce in the design of the site, it is worth highlighting:
1. Ephedra will delight with the saturation of shades of needle green in the summer, without fading in the sun, and winter period contrasting with the whiteness of the snow.
2. Phytoncides secreted by the plant are able to productively purify the air, having a healing effect on the human body.
3. Spruce is great for any style landscape design.
4. Fluffy branches are convenient to use when making crafts: creating paintings, herbariums, New Year's compositions.
But spruce, like any other plant, has its drawbacks. For example, this conifer is able to grow strongly, darkening the territory and depleting the soil. Therefore, for the design of gardens, species of spruces that have a dwarf form are used.
Spruce is also convenient because it is easy to trim. Thanks to this, even an experienced gardener has no problems with giving the crown a unique shape.
It is advisable to plant spruce along the fence. In a short period of time, the conifer grows magnificent forms, and its thick paws form a solid and dense wall.
Varietal variety of decorative forms
There are more than 20 types of fir trees in modern parks and gardens. The main thing when choosing the type of conifer is the configuration of its crown and the size of the plant in adulthood.
In landscape design, 3 types of fir trees are most widely used:
1. Ordinary - a type species represented by more than 50 garden forms. Undersized forms created on its basis reach a height of 1.2 m, and medium-sized ones - 3 meters or more. A wide palette of color needles from golden to rich green, on branches collected in pyramidal or pillow-shaped crowns, makes conifers of this species welcome guests in garden areas.
2. Prickly - more than 70 varieties are represented in the culture. Most of them are medium and tall trees up to 40 meters high with a beautiful cone-shaped crown. Although there are also dwarf forms up to 2 m high. The needles are very prickly: hence the name of the species. It can be bluish-white, blue-steel, silver and bluish-green.
3. Gray - has more than 20 decorative forms. The name of the species was due to the ash-gray color of the bark and the bluish shade of the needles. Dwarf forms of this species have a spherical and nest-shaped crown, and tall ones have a cone-shaped crown. The color palette of needles is quite wide, ranging from yellowish-golden and gray-blue to bright green.
Spruces, like any plants, are divided into three groups: dwarf, medium and tall. When landscaping household plots, dwarf and medium-sized representatives of conifers are most popular.
Among the variety of coniferous ornamental plants in landscape design, creeping and dwarf varieties are especially popular.
Dwarf varieties
Among the low-growing forms are plants, the size of which in adulthood is several times smaller in comparison with the original maternal species. For example, in natural conditions Norway spruce, referred to as Picea abies, is a 50-meter beauty with a neatly decorated crown, the width of which reaches 8-10 meters.
The decorative form of this tall conifer, known as Picea abies "Nidiformis" or "cushion" spruce, reaches no more than two meters in height with a crown width of 2-3 meters.
The main advantage of dwarf forms of conifers is the minimum annual growth of young shoots, which in most cases is limited to 10-15 cm.
Among modern varieties created on the basis of common spruce, conifers are famous for the greatest decorative effect, the crowns of which have a nest-like or spherical shape.
For the formation of low borders and the design of rocky gardens, the miniature shrub Picea abies "Nidiformis" is perfect.
Dwarf spruce "Nidiformis" in adulthood reaches a height of only 40 cm, forming a spreading crown with a diameter of up to one meter.
Fan-shaped thin graceful shoots "Nidiformis" are decorated with soft and short needles of a delicate emerald shade.
No less attractive is Little Gem. Shoots extending from the middle of the crown, framed by dark green thin needles, form a neat hemispherical "pillow". It looks especially interesting in the form standard form planted in a floor container or flowerpot.
The branches of the miniature beauty Picea abies "Little Gem" are framed by soft short needles of a rich dark green hue.
Picea abies "Will's Zwerg" has a beautiful narrow-conical dense crown shape. The plant is interesting due to the soft green shade of young needles covering the milky shoots, which contrasts favorably against the background of the dark green of old needles. An evergreen shrub well suited to small backyard gardens.
Review the best views and ornamental varieties spruces for growing in the garden
Spruce "Will's Zwerg" looks interesting in group compositions and as a tapeworm when arranging gardens with a small area.
The Glauka Globoza, bred by selective breeding, is famous for its extraordinary decorative effect. The dwarf plant does not have a clearly defined trunk. Its sprawling branches, dotted with millions of thin needles of an elegant silver-blue hue, form a beautiful spherical crown. The cones that form on the branches, reminiscent of New Year's decorations, give the tree a special attraction.
The blue beauty "Glauca Globosa" is often used to decorate urban landscapes, often acting as an elegant addition to park alleys.
It is impossible to ignore the low-growing varieties picturesquely creeping along the ground. The miniature "Nana" resembles a soft pillow, and "Echiniformis" is identified with a kolobok, the round shapes of which act as an original frame for garden paths.
Most types of spruces are shade-tolerant in themselves, but often their dwarf forms are very sensitive to a lack of light.
Medium-sized species
While creating backyard design it is also customary to use medium-sized conifers, the height of which reaches no more than 15 m. A low single tree with a clearly defined crown looks picturesque against the backdrop of a lawn "carpet" or house walls. A spectacular snag or white stone will help to complete the picture.
Fir trees with spreading crowns are able to create a shady area for recreation, filled with a special atmosphere. home comfort and connection with wildlife.
Blue spruce is one of the most popular types of conifer, revered by designers not only for its unpretentiousness in care, but also for the mesmerizing change of shades of needle foliage throughout the year. Only 20% of the representatives of this species have a pronounced color of the sky, the rest are rich in green and gray tones.
Blue beauties are not able to withstand temperature fluctuations northern regions and feel comfortable only in temperate latitudes. Spruce with blue needles looks advantageous along the garden paths, against the background wooden buildings or stone buildings.
A striking representative of this species is Picea pungens "Blue Diamond", which means "blue diamond" in translation.
The graceful beauty "Blue Diamonds" with a tall thin trunk and a neatly shaped conical crown is often used for mixed mixborders.
Weeping spruce species will help diversify the collection. Given their commitment to aquatic environment, conifers can be safely used in the design of the banks of reservoirs.
Full-sized weeping spruce trees reach a height of 10-15 meters with a width of 2-3 meters. Thin branches, hanging down, bend around the twisted trunk of the plant, giving it a weeping shape.
Serbian spruce "Glauka Pendula" with flexible thin shoots hanging along the trunk - a win-win option for implementation non-standard solutions in garden arrangements.
More adapted to our climate Canadian spruce. Konika is famous for its frost resistance and unpretentiousness in care. It is interesting for landscape design in that it has a decorative cone-shaped crown, gives a small increase in a year and harmoniously fits into the design of even very small areas.
Young shoots sparkling in the sun make the coniferous beauty "Maygold" look like a queen wrapped in gold.
mantle The crown of the tree, reaching a height of 6 m, has a loose pyramidal shape. Creamy-yellow needles on young shoots gradually change their color after a few weeks, acquiring an equally attractive bluish-green hue.
Conifer combinations
If the area of \u200b\u200bthe site allows, then to create a picturesque and original picture, it is better to use spruce trees of different types and varieties.
Tall trees successfully fit into any landscape as tapeworms, more compact forms of conifers can be safely combined with other plantations.
In order for the conceived composition to turn out to be harmonious and attractive, masters of landscape art advise taking into account a number of key points:
The composition should not be too colorful. For a group of three conifers, use two colors. When composing a composition of five evergreens, use only three colors.
When composing a multi-level composition, including 20-30 plantings, place the elements in groups, selecting them by color.
The spruce-shrub ensemble requires competent placement of accents: the foreground is occupied by undersized plants, the back - by medium-sized conifers.
To avoid the feeling of density of Christmas tree plantings, the arrangement of conifers of an ordinary or Mauritanian lawn in the near-trunk area will help.
Juicy needles of a dark shade will emphasize the beauty of the nearby flowering shrub. Apart from flowering plants a good addition to the coniferous beauty will be shrubs with unusually colored foliage: weigela, mock orange, barberry.
Spruces are perfectly combined with other coniferous varieties and flowering perennials, creating a picturesque picture that looks elegant at any time of the year.
Tree care tips
Proper planting and care is a guarantee that coniferous beauties will delight with their presentable appearance almost all year round.
Wanting to decorate your site with one or more spruces, experienced gardeners advise you to follow certain rules:
Landing time. Ephedra is best planted in early spring or early autumn, when the plant has not yet entered or has already passed the phase of vigorous growth. In order to preserve young shoots from frost and rodents, it is advisable to mulch the near-trunk zone with peat for the winter.
Location. Under natural conditions, spruce develops well near the river valley, where it receives enough moisture to feed a powerful root system. But at the same time, she does not like wetlands, and therefore needs drainage.
Soil composition. All types of spruces love fertile alkaline and acidic soil. They are intolerant of heavy soil types. When planting a conifer in depleted soil, the planting pit should first be enriched by adding 100 g of complex mineral fertilizer. With a lack of oxygen and nutrition, the plant may even die.
It should be borne in mind that spruce strongly affects the flowers and shrubs surrounding it, so it is better to place it at a small distance from sun-loving plants. Do not plant conifers close to each other, because with their branches they will limit the access of sunlight.
By following these simple rules when choosing varieties and composing plant compositions, you can create a cozy and picturesque design on your site that will delight the eye throughout the year.
From childhood to Christmas and New Year people are accustomed to smelling spruce branches. Mixed with the smell of tangerines, this fragrant coniferous aroma was a harbinger of a miracle, gifts, new experiences and the New Year.
For many centuries, Spruce personified the symbol of a new cycle. In ancient times, remaining evergreen, Spruce was an allegory of eternal youth and immortality, longevity and fidelity.
For the same reasons, spruce "spruce" has been and remains in many villages a sign of a bygone life. During the course of the funeral procession, a “lapnik” of spruce branches is thrown at the feet, saying goodbye to the departed. Their age has ended, but passed into eternity.
In Scandinavia, spruce was used for ritual fires. Resinous firewood gave the fire a unique strength.
names of spruce
The word "Spruce" comes from the old Slavic word"jedl", which means "prickly".
The first mention of this tree in Russian scriptures appeared in the 11th century. One-root words are found in all languages of the Slavic group.
The Latin name for Spruce is Picea, which means resinous.
Where does El grow?
Spruce forests are found throughout Russia. Basically, these are dense, dense thickets with a small amount of undergrowth.
Despite the fact that Spruce develops best in the open, its shade-tolerant counterparts are found.
The most common type of tree is Common Spruce. It is found in the European part of Russia, in Finland and northern Europe. Spruce groves are found in Siberia and the Urals.
Fellow Spruce Common can be found in the Caucasus and the Far East, the Kuril Islands and Sakhalin. Even in North America and China grow certain types this prickly fragrant tree.
What does El look like?
Spruce is a tall stately tree with a straight strong trunk and a dense crown. The branches are arranged in the form of a pyramid and have prickly needles. The bark of Spruce is dense and covered with scales.
The height of Spruce can reach 30 meters, while the volume of the trunk of many species exceeds 1.5 meters.
The average life expectancy of a tree is 250 - 300 years. There are centenarians of 600 years of age.
After 10-15 years of life, the tree changes its root system, getting rid of the main root. That is why in the forest you can meet these wind-blown giants with uprooted roots.
When does spruce bloom?
Female flowers form small cones, which, after pollination, turn into those same spruce decorations.
Male flowers form elongated catkins that scatter pollen in May.
In October, seeds ripen in cones and become the prey of forest rodents. fluffy squirrels tend to prepare seeds for the winter.
Healing properties of spruce
For medicinal purposes, spruce cones, needles and resin are used.
Daily use of 3-4 spruce needles for a month can restore immunity and increase resistance to a number of viral diseases.
A few spruce branches placed in a vase in a room can kill harmful bacteria in the room, leaving a pleasant aroma in the air.
Spruce cones are rich in tannins and essential oils. They also contain copper, manganese, aluminum, iron.
Essential oils are used in the fight against acute respiratory infections and diseases of the upper respiratory tract.
Spruce kidney syrup is prescribed for microinfarctions.
A decoction of pine needles is used for inhalation to treat tonsillitis and sinusitis.
Spruce resin or resin has antiseptic properties and can be used as part of ointments for healing wounds and ulcers.
Spruce Applications
spruce wood- the most common material for construction and fuel. The wood is also used to make paper.
spruce wood very soft and straight. Despite its widespread use in construction, untreated wood is short-lived and rots quickly. That is why spruce wood is treated with antiseptics and mordants.
At the same time, Spruce wood is part of many modern materials, such as fiberboard, chipboard, glued laminated timber and others.
The musical properties of spruce wood have been noticed for a long time, therefore soundboards, bodies and other parts of musical instruments are made from this fragrant tree.
Contraindications
Despite the huge number of useful properties, preparations from Spruce have contraindications. Inhalations from spruce needles are contraindicated in patients with asthma.
In the presence of individual intolerance to the substances contained in spruce cones and needles, it is necessary to be careful when using Spruce for medicinal purposes.
Too frequent use of decoctions and drinks from Spruce can be dangerous for the kidneys.
In ancient times, on New Year's holidays, Spruce was hung with its roots up, and not installed in a corner, as in modern times.
In Scandinavia, spruce branches cover the paths followed by the corteges of rulers.
Blue Spruce has gained its distribution in cities not only because of the beauty of the needles, but also due to resistance to polluted air.
From the dead spruce root, young shoots can grow, which later become real trees. Thus, the tree clones itself.
In Sweden, a similar tree grows, whose age is approaching 10 thousand years.
Spruce cones are often depicted on flags different countries. This fruit symbolizes a high goal and peak.
known to all spruce belongs to a large family of conifers, namely pine. Translated from the Old Slavic language, "spruce" means "resin". Among the plants, the main place is occupied by spruce, which includes about 50 species. The culture is widespread throughout the planet and grows from Central Asia to South Africa and North America. It is important to consider in more detail the description of an ordinary spruce.
Description of culture
Spruce is an evergreen crop with an upright, slender trunk and a dense, cone-shaped crown. The trunk of the culture is quite difficult to distinguish, as it is hidden under the branches.
ate different ages covered a large number branches that grow to the very foundation. The bark of young cultures is colored gray-brown or brown, quite smooth to the touch. Old spruce trunks are rough to the touch, the bark is strongly cracked in some places, smudges of resin can be discerned. Needles ate ordinary needle and continue to be stored on the plant for ten years. In the conditions of growth in the city, the life time was eaten no more than five years, and the deterioration of the environment shortens the life of the plant even more.
The needles of coniferous culture in the section of the tetrahedral type are located singly along the perimeter of the entire spiral of the branch.
Features of plant growth
European spruce is characterized by poor metabolism, therefore it develops very slowly in the first decade after planting. After the process of development of culture begins to accelerate and stops only after 120 years. The uneven growth of European spruce distinguishes it from Siberian.
Spruce is considered a long-liver, which can freely grow in one place for three centuries. Culture is best formed on sandstones and loams.
This soil mixture helps the culture form branched rhizomes that are attached deep underground and help the plant to stay stable on the surface. It is also important to remember that spruce especially likes to grow in damp areas. But in places where there is too much liquid in the soil, the culture develops small surface roots. In strong winds, such a root system may not hold the plant.
Spruce can grow even in swampy places if the swamp is flowing. The root system of the culture is small compared to pine, this can explain the instability of the plant when exposed to strong wind and outside factors. Another property of the plant is that its branches dry out, but do not die completely. Spruce forests are always characterized by special dampness and shading.
Despite undemanding to growing conditions, spruce continues to be tender plant. It can be grown almost anywhere. The culture grows well under sloping trees, for example, pines, ash-trees and oaks. Spruce continues to be more demanding in terms of growing conditions compared to pine. It is important to provide the culture with some amount of water, even if it is minimal. It is for these reasons that it is very rare to see spruce and pine growing close to each other. Place one seed in a container with soil and deepen it a few centimeters. It is important to put the container in the refrigerator or in a cold place in the house (this will be stratification). It is especially important to carry out this procedure, since in the nature of needle grains in winter time exposed to low temperatures.
Stratification helps speed up seed germination time. In a cold temperature, the seeds should be kept for three months, this time will help ensure the wintering of the crop. The planting material that has not undergone stratification can lie in the ground for a long time, but never sprout. After some time, the container with the seeds inside is placed in a clarified place and the first sprouts are waiting.
For sowing, it is best to choose October or November, so that the seeds in the ground just fall in the winter season. In March, the container with seeds, which was in the refrigerator or on the balcony, will become the best material for the germination of seedlings.
