A kind of spruce. Decorative spruce in a pot: care
This coniferous tree is an excellent “shield” in a 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 inhibit other plants on the site.
Description of common spruce and its seeds
To get started, read the photo and description of the ordinary spruce 0 tall (up to 20-50 m) tree with a trunk over 1 m in diameter. A 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, naked or sparse. Kidneys 4–5 mm long, ovoid-conical in shape, light brown in color.
Pay attention to the photo - in ordinary spruce needles 10–25 mm long, 1–1.5 mm thick, tetrahedral, sharp, shiny, bright or dark green:
The needles can last about 6-7 years. Cones 10–15 cm long, 3–4 cm wide, initially light green or dark purple, mature light brown or reddish brown, shiny, with serrated, toothed scales along the edge. Ripen in October, open in the second half of winter. Seeds of spruce ordinary 2–5 mm long, equipped with a light brown wing, and which are sown in the second half of winter.
This tree can live from 250 to 500 years. When describing the ordinary 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 a rapid one.
Origin of common spruce - Europe, in Russia distributed to the Urals, forms clean or mixed forests with birch, linden, maple, oak. The mountains rises to 2000 m above sea level.
Norway spruce grows in the forest zone of the European part of the continent in mixed or clean forests, being a species of local flora.
Norway spruce grows on any soil, even on marshy. Prefers the sun, but can grow in partial shade and even in the shade. It is because of its ability to grow in the shade that any mixed forest gradually becomes spruce, because under the canopy of deciduous plants young fir-trees from seeds spilled out from the ripened cones of an adult tree easily grow, but young deciduous species usually 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 from the soil. When planting a spruce tree, pre-estimate the prevailing wind direction so that during a hurricane it does not tip over to your house and break it.
Norway spruce is used in the pulp and paper industry, for the manufacture of musical instruments, containers, sleepers, lumber. Bark goes to get tannins.
Types and varieties of ordinary spruce (with photo)
The ordinary spruce has many garden forms: weeping ’Virgata’, columnar ’Columnaris’, spherical ’Pumila’, dwarf ’Procumbens’, as well as shapes with different colors of needles: gray ’Glauca’, yellow ’Aurea’, motley white ’Argentea’.
All species and varieties of common spruce have a very heterogeneous appearance, which is explained by various types of branching. These types are inherited, the most decorative of them are distinguished into separate varieties and are widely cultivated. By branching types, the following varieties are distinguished: ridge — branches horizontal and hanging down; wrong comb; compact - branches are horizontal and densely covered with short-branched shoots; flat - branches are widely branched and located in a horizontal plane; brush-shaped - branches have short thick branches with small branches of a brush-shaped shape hanging from them. The most popular varieties are:
Acrocon (Asrozone), Aurea Magnifica (Golden Gorgeous - Aurea Magnifica), Berry (Barryi), Echiniformis (Spiny - Echiniformis).
Ordinary spruce also has a huge variety of dwarf varieties, most of which have a compact crown with hard dark green needles.
As you can see in the photo, there are varieties of ordinary spruce with spherical and hemispherical crown no more than 1.5 m high, as well as with creeping shoots ("Inversa", "Repens"):
The smallest varieties, not more than 50 cm in height: " Little gem», « Pumila», « Pygmaea».
Growing ordinary spruce: planting, care and reproduction
Growing ordinary spruce is possible from the Far North to the subtropics. Reproduction of ordinary spruce is carried out by seeds. Garden forms - cuttings and less commonly grafted. Varietal characters are preserved only with the vegetative method of reproduction. When processing summer cuttings with a 0.01% solution of indolylbutyric acid, the trees take root by 14%.
Spruce is shade tolerant, but develops better with sufficient lighting. Suffer from air pollution, which primarily affects the life span of the needles. At a young age they can be quite finicky. They grow slowly, especially in the first years of life, do not like transplantation and cannot stand soil compaction as well as nearby groundwater. Trees are sensitive to early spring frosts.
For planting and successful care of ordinary spruce, the soil should have the following composition: turf, leaf land, peat, sand, taken in a ratio of 2: 2: 1: 1. Drainage: a layer of broken brick and sand 15–20 cm.
Norway spruce prefers loamy and sandy loamy soils. Shelter for the winter is necessary only to 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 the nurseries for a bush form with a flat crown, reaching an adult height of no more than a meter, or even start a creeping Christmas tree.
Ordinary spruce grows well in Central Russia. These trees are adapted to the local climate, and therefore do not require special care. Spruce trees can grow on soils of different types, preferring loams. The main difficulty associated with their cultivation is maintaining the optimum level of soil moisture. Ordinary spruce do not like when the soil is swampy, so you need to loosen and cultivate the earth, to ensure proper drainage. This species is relatively shade tolerant, and the best location would be partial shade, proximity to larger trees or buildings. Since ordinary spruce trees are ubiquitous in the surrounding forests, it will not be difficult to collect germinating seeds or find a cuttings suitable for propagation. Vaccinations of ordinary spruce do not propagate, with the exception of decorative forms.
How to form an ordinary spruce and video of trimming trees
In order for the spruce trees to be magnificent from top to bottom, it is imperative to unscrew the top from some point. And the sooner you begin to do this, the thicker it will be.
How to form ordinary spruce to have beautiful trees in its area? In the spring, when a young and green shoot goes, while the needles on it are still soft, hold the base of the shoot with your fingers on your left hand, and simply twist it with your right hand. There will remain a feathery 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 sleeping kidneys at the base of the broken sprout will immediately grow. One of these shoots will try to compensate for the top and begin to grow vertically, and again you will twist it. All attempts to eat to grow a new top will stop you 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 reception will not allow the Christmas trees to reach out into the sky. In addition, the experience of gardeners shows that densely planted spruces (if they are not shortened) begin to lose lower branches. And over time, instead of a green fence, a colonnade grows from the bare trunks in the lower part.
The video “Formation of ordinary spruce” shows how to unscrew the top:
But you should not trim the ends of the branches, because, as a rule, this leads to the drying out of the entire branch, in addition, the trimmed ends are too noticeable. It’s better to pinch them. This is done like this: take a handful of green “tails” that appeared at the ends of branches in the spring in your left hand, and break off their tips with your right. Of 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 down 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. The trunk will turn out to be a curve.
Dwarf spruce unpretentious and extremely hardy. They prefer well-lit places and moderately moist soils rich in nutrients. The exception is quite capricious varieties of spruce gray, which need shelter for the winter and shading from the scorching spring sun. For the formation of a beautiful crown of spruce, annual cutting of the dominant and lateral shoots at the moment of their growth is necessary.
Watch the video “Shearing ordinary spruce” to correctly perform this procedure:
Using ordinary spruce as a hedge (with photo)
Norway spruce is used in groups, as a tapeworm, a hedge, avenue. More than 120 garden varieties of common spruce are known that can satisfy all the needs of amateur gardeners and landscape architects.
Here you can see the hedge of ordinary spruce in the garden:
Norway spruce - a large tree. It is better to plant the plant on the north side, outside the site, behind a ditch at the very edge of the road that passes by the site. In addition, such a "living fence" perfectly closes the garden from the north wind. If you plant spruce as a green fence, then they need to be planted at a distance of 80-100 cm.
You can, of course, plant a spruce on the site itself, but then you must necessarily limit its root system. It is necessary to outline some kind of site, and each year to chop off the roots with a shovel, trying to go beyond the allotted boundaries. Since the spruce root system is ate, you won’t have to dig deep, but it’s tedious work anyway, and you can skip a couple of times, and it will quickly stretch its tentacle roots to all your plants. It is easier to do this: if you have an old concrete ring that for some reason was not used in the construction of the well, you can dig it 90 cm - 1 m away. If there is no ring, you can dig a hole, make the formwork and fill in the concrete square a box without a bottom. You can also bury the slate, but the roots of the spruce will gradually destroy it. If you try to bury the iron, it will decay after 8-10 years, and the spruce will spread further. The space should be approximately square 90 × 90 cm or meter per meter. The soil that you dug up can be reintroduced, you do not need particularly fertile soil, you need the spruce to grow slowly in sparse soil. She will grow, do not worry. She is very hardy and also shade-hardy. 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, rather harsh, 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 - the apple tree, and then another suspicious smell mixes in. Fearing to leave their offspring on such an apple tree, pests, as a rule, fly by.
This is truly a Christmas tree composed of many children's tales and songs. We are used to seeing it in our flat 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 species of fir trees are. In Russia, 7 wild and at least 3 widely cultivated North American plants grow.
Genus Picea
Kind Spruce ( Picea ) belongs to the pine family (Pinaceae) and has about 50 species common 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 spruce cones is low, lowered, which indicates a high shade tolerance of trees. They have a property that is quite rare for coniferous species - the lower branches adjacent to the ground can take root and give layering. The trunks are straight, covered with uneven, thin, tidy bark. The root system is superficial, especially on excessively moistened soils. But on well-drained individual roots obliquely go deep into the soil to 0.5–0.7 m.
Light yellow wood is the best raw material for paper production and an excellent resonant material for the manufacture of musical instruments (violins, piano, violas, double basses). For this purpose, wood of especially correct composition with annual rings of the same width is used.
In a systematic sense, the genus Spruce is divided into two sections: Eupicea (real spruce) andOMORICA (fir-like).
- real spruce trees are characterized by tetrahedral one-color needles with a uniform distribution of stomata over all four faces. This section includes most species of the genus: common spruce, Siberian spruce, Canadian spruce, prickly spruce, Schrenka spruce.
- the needles of fir-like firs are two-colored. In cross section, it is a flattened rhombus, almost flat. The stomata are located on two faces of the rhombus (in the form of whitish stripes). This section includes: Serbian spruce, Ayanska spruce, Eastern spruce, Brevera spruce.
Fir-trees 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 ate shade-tolerant, but develop better with adequate lighting. They are demanding on soil fertility and moisture; almost all types are winter-hardy. The haircut is well tolerated, after which it is very thickened, so magnificent sheared hedges are obtained from spruce.
Spruce tolerates a transplant better than other conifers: its main root ceases its growth early, and the lateral roots form a superficial root system. However, this is associated with its windiness (weak ability of trees to withstand the pressure of the wind).
Types of Fir Trees
The most common species in our country iscommon spruce, or european (Picea abies, Picea excelsa ) . A tree of the first magnitude with a trunk diameter of up to 1 m.Common spruce has a lot of different decorative forms, among which low-growing varieties are especially popular among landscape designers, for example ‘Pygmaea ’, ‘ Procumbens ’, ‘ Nidiformis ’; with golden needles -‘ Aurea ’; natural form ‘ Virgata ’ with a graceful crown formed by long hanging low-branched side branches.
Widely used in culture are North American species, for exampleprickly spruce (Picea pungens ) . This spruce got its specific name for the really prickly and long needles. It is her, as the most sustainable, used in the landscaping of our cities. Especially good are its decorative forms with silver needles and a dense conical crown -‘ Glauca ’, ‘ Hoopsii ’.
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Spruce gray,or canadian(Picea glauca ) Also used in green building. This tall, slender tree with gray-green needles is considered one of the most winter-hardy species. Very effective undersized decorative form of this species -‘ Conica ’ every year is a sales leader in the garden markets.
Canadian spruce ‘Conica’
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Spruce Shrenka, or tien Shan) , - a powerful tree up to 45 m high with a narrow-cone-shaped, lowered crown and beautiful pale bluish needles. It grows in the Dzungarian Alatau and almost throughout the Tien Shan, is undemanding to the soil. It has high-quality wood, but its main value is the mountain-strengthening, soil-protective and water-protective functions that it performs, growing in mountainous areas.
Spruce Shrenka
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Serbian spruceor Balkan (Picea omorika), grows in the mountains of the Balkan Peninsula, but, despite its southern origin, feels great in central Russia. This is a tree up to 45–55 m high with a very spectacular narrow-conical and dense crown to the very old age. With its unusual appearance and beautiful two-color needles (dark green above, whitish below), it stands out among other fir trees.
Many customers to the question "What kind of spruce should you plant on the site?" Answer: "Serbian spruce." This indicates the indisputable decorative qualities of fir-like fir trees, which look very attractive because of their two-color needles. From a distance they seem as if powdered with hoarfrost.In Western European nurseries, they have been grown for a long time as New Year spruces.
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 Kuril Islands. Frost resistant. It also has a spectacular two-color needles, but, unlike the previous species, it has a wide-conical crown. It is one of the forest-forming species in the Okhotsk taiga.
Ayan spruce
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Spruce brevera (Picea breweriana ) originally from 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 second-order weeping branches hanging down to 1-3 m down from the main branches. Looks advantageous in a solitary landing.
Spruce brevera
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Eastern spruce, or caucasian (Picea orientalis ) , grows in the mountains of the Western Caucasus along with Caucasian fir. A tree up to 40 m high with a conical crown shape. Its beautiful fusiform cylindrical unopened cones resemble cigars. Oriental spruce is original in the decorative respect due to its short needles (up to 8 mm long) and thin graceful branches. But, unfortunately, this species is rather 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 art masters. This sacred tree, which acts as a charm of the site and a powerful source of bioenergy, is valued not only for its unique healing properties, but also for its extraordinary decorativeness.
Needle foliage of emerald, dark green and even blue shades is able to transform plant compositions, giving a unique twist to the landscape design of the site.
Variants of using spruce in landscape design
Rarely can anyone remain indifferent to the luxury of color and the frozen beauty of needles of conifers. It is not surprising that spruce in landscaping is used quite often. It looks great as container landings for framing garden paths and for stony gardens.
The conifer is ideal for creating multi-level compositions, harmoniously combining with undersized shrubs and flowering perennials.
Trees with needle foliage of a saturated green hue look interesting in combination with bright flowers of one- and perennial plants. Perfect for creating compositions: Japanese anemones, pansies, aquilegia, phlox and hosts. 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. The conifer will delight with the saturation of the shades of needle green in the summer, without fading under the sun, and the winter period, contrasting with the whiteness of the snow.
2. Phytoncides secreted by the plant are able to purify the air productively, having a healing effect on the human body.
3. Spruce is great for any landscape design style.
4. Fluffy branches are convenient to use in the manufacture of crafts: the creation of paintings, herbariums, New Year's compositions.
But spruce, like any other plant, has its drawbacks. For example, this conifer is able to grow greatly, darkening the territory and draining the soil. Therefore, for the design of gardens using types of fir trees having a dwarf form.
Spruce is also convenient because it is easy to trim. Thanks to this, even an experienced gardener does not have 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, and its thick legs form a solid and dense wall.
Varietal variety of decorative forms
In modern parks and gardens, more than 20 types of fir trees. 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 common:
1. Ordinary - a typical species represented by more than 50 garden forms. The undersized forms created on its basis reach a height of 1.2 m, and the medium-sized ones - 3 and more meters. A wide color palette of needles, starting with golden and ending with rich green, on branches gathered in pyramidal or pillow-shaped crowns makes conifers of this species welcome guests in garden plots.
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 conical crown. Although there are 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. Sizaya - has more than 20 decorative forms. The name of the species was due to the ash-gray color of the bark and the bluish tint of the needles. Dwarf forms of this species have a spherical and nest-shaped crown shape, and tall ones are cone-shaped. The color palette of the needles is quite wide, starting with yellowish-golden and gray-blue and ending with bright green.
Spruce, like any plants, are divided into three groups: dwarf, medium and tall. When gardening personal plots, the most popular are dwarf and medium-sized representatives of conifers.
Among the variety of coniferous ornamental plants in landscape design, creeping and dwarf varieties are especially popular.
Dwarf varieties
Among the undersized forms are plants whose sizes in adulthood are several times smaller in comparison with the original maternal species. For example, in natural conditions, ordinary spruce, referred to as Picea abies, is a 50-meter beauty with a neatly designed crown, the width of which reaches 8-10 meters.
The decorative shape of this tall conifer, known as Picea abies “Nidiformis” or “pillow-shaped” 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 ordinary spruce, conifers, whose crowns have a nest-shaped or spherical shape, are famous for the greatest decorativeness.
For the formation of low borders and the design of stony gardens, the miniature shrub Picea abies "Nidiformis" is perfect.
Dwarf spruce "Nidiformis" in adulthood reaches a height of only 40 cm, forming a sprawling crown with a diameter of up to one meter.
Situated fan-shaped thin graceful shoots "Nidiformis" is decorated with soft and short needles of a gentle emerald shade.
No less attractive is Little Gemm. Shoots extending from the middle of the crown, framed by dark green thin needles, form an accurate hemispherical "pillow". It looks especially interesting in the form of a standard form, planted in a floor container or flowerpot.
The branches of the miniature beauty Picea abies “Little Gem” are formed by the 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 milk shoots, which contrasts favorably with the dark green of old needles. The evergreen shrub is well suited for small garden gardens.
Overview of the best species and decorative varieties of spruce for growing in the garden
The Will’s Zwerg spruce looks interesting in group compositions and as a tapeworm in arranging small gardens.
“Glauka Globosa”, derived by breeding by means of breeding, is famous for its extraordinary decorativeness. A dwarf plant does not have a distinct trunk. Its sprawling branches dotted with millions of fine needles of an elegant silver-blue hue form a beautiful spherical crown. Cones formed on the branches, reminiscent of Christmas decorations, give the tree a special appeal.
The blue beauty “Glauca Globosa” is often used to decorate urban landscapes, often acting as an elegant addition to park alleys.
You can not ignore the picturesque creeping on the ground undersized varieties. The miniature "Nana" resembles a soft pillow, and the "Echiniformis" is identified with a bun, whose round shapes appear as the original framing of garden paths.
Most species of spruce trees themselves are shade tolerant, but often their dwarf forms are very sensitive to lack of light.
Mid-sized species
When creating a personal design, it is also customary to use medium-sized conifers whose height reaches no more than 15 m. A low single tree with a clearly defined crown looks picturesque against the background of a lawn "carpet" or house walls. Spectacular driftwood or white stone will help to complete the picture.
Spruce trees with spreading crowns are able to create a shady area for relaxation, filled with a special atmosphere of home comfort and unity with wildlife.
Blue spruce is one of the most popular types of conifers, revered by designers not only for its unpretentiousness in care, but also for the bewitching 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 bluish tones.
Blue beauties are not able to withstand temperature fluctuations in the northern regions and feel comfortable only in temperate latitudes. Spruce with blue needles looks advantageously along garden paths, against the background of wooden buildings or stone buildings.
A bright representative of this species is Picea pungens “Blue Diamond”, which means “blue diamond”.
The graceful Blue Diamonds beauty with a tall, thin barrel and a neatly shaped conical crown is often used for mixed mixborders.
To diversify the collection, weeping species of fir trees will help. Given their aspiration for the aquatic environment, conifers can be safely involved in the design of the shores of water bodies.
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 curved trunk of the plant, giving it a weeping shape.
Serbian spruce “Glauka Pendula” with flexible thin shoots hanging down the trunk is a win-win option when implementing non-standard solutions in garden compositions.
More suitable for our climate Canadian spruce. Konika is famous for frost resistance and unpretentiousness in leaving. It is interesting for landscape design in that it has a decorative conical shape of the crown, for a year it gives a small increase and harmoniously fits into the design of even very small sections.
Young shoots sparkling in the sunshine make the coniferous beauty “Maygold” look like a queen wrapped in gold.
the Cronus mantle of the tree, reaching a height of 6 m, has a loose pyramidal shape. The cream-yellow needles on young shoots gradually change their color after a few weeks, acquiring an equally attractive bluish-green hue.
Combinations of conifers
If the area allows, then to create a picturesque and original picture, it is better to use spruces of different types and varieties.
Tall trees successfully fit into any landscape in the role of tapeworms, more compact forms of conifers can be safely combined with other plantings.
In order for the conceived composition to turn out to be harmonious and attractive, masters of landscape art are advised to take 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 evergreen stands, use only three colors.
When composing a multi-level composition, including 20-30 plants, place elements in groups, selecting them by color.
The Christmas-shrub ensemble requires competent emphasis: the foreground is occupied by low-growing plants, the back is occupied by medium-sized conifers.
Arrangement of an ordinary or Moorish lawn in the near-trunk area of \u200b\u200bthe conifers will help to avoid the feeling of density of Christmas tree plantings.
Juicy needles of a dark shade will emphasize the beauty of a flowering shrub located nearby. In addition to flowering plants, shrubs with unusually colored foliage will become a good addition to the coniferous beauty: weigela, mock orange, barberry.
Fir-trees perfectly combine with other coniferous varieties and flowering perennials, creating a picturesque picture that looks elegant at any time of the year.
Guidelines for spruce care
Proper planting and care is a guarantee that coniferous beauties will delight with their presentable appearance almost all year round.
Wanting to decorate their plot with one or several fir trees, experienced gardeners advise to adhere to certain rules:
Landing time. It is better to plant conifers in early spring or early autumn, when the plant has not yet entered or has already passed the phase of vigorous growth. To preserve young shoots from frost and rodents, it is advisable to mulch the trunk area for the winter with peat.
Placement In natural conditions, spruce develops well near the river valley, where it receives enough moisture to power a powerful root system. But at the same time, she does not like wetlands, and therefore needs the arrangement of drainage.
Soil composition. All types of fir trees 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 is worth considering that the spruce greatly affects the surrounding flowers and shrubs, so it is better to place it at a small distance from sun-loving plants. Do not plant conifers close to each other, as their branches will limit access to sunlight.
Observing these simple rules when selecting varieties and making plant compositions, you can create a cozy and picturesque design on your site that will delight the eye throughout the year.
From childhood on Christmas and New Year, people are used to smelling spruce branches. Mingling with the smell of tangerines, this fragrant coniferous fragrance 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, the Spruce Fir Tree was and remains in many villages a sign of bygone life. During the course of the funeral procession, the “lapnik” from spruce branches is thrown under your feet, saying goodbye to the departed. Their century ended, but passed into eternity.
In Scandinavia, Spruce was used for ritual bonfires. The resinous firewood gave the campfire a unique power.
spruce names
The word "Spruce" comes from the ancient Slavic word "jedl", which means "prickly".
The first mention of this tree in Russian scriptures appeared in the XI century. The same root words are found in all languages \u200b\u200bof the Slavic group.
The Latin name for Spruce is Picea, which means “resinous”.
Where does Spruce grow?
Spruce forests are found throughout Russia. Basically it is thick, dense thickets with a little undergrowth.
Despite the fact that Spruce develops best in the open, its shade-tolerant counterparts are found.
The most common type of tree is Ordinary Spruce. It is found in the European part of Russia, in Finland and northern Europe. Spruce groves are found in Siberia and the Urals.
Fellows of the Common Spruce can be found in the Caucasus and the Far East, the Kuril Islands and Sakhalin. Even in North America and China, some species of this prickly fragrant tree grow.
What does Spruce 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. Spruce bark is dense and covered with scales.
The height of the Spruce can reach 30 meters, while the volume of the trunk of many species exceeds 1.5 meters
The average life span of a tree is 250 to 300 years. Long-livers of 600 years of age are found.
After 10 - 15 years of life, the tree changes the root system, getting rid of the main root. That is why in the forest you can meet these tumbled down giants with twisted roots.
When does Spruce blossom?
Female flowers form small cones, which after pollination turn into those same fir ornaments.
Male flowers form elongated earrings that scatter pollen in May.
In October, seeds ripen in cones and become prey for forest rodents. Fluffy squirrels seek to harvest seeds for the winter.
The healing properties of Spruce
For medicinal purposes use fir cones, needles and resin.
Daily use of 3-4 spruce needles for a month can restore immunity and increase resistance to a number of viral diseases.
Several branches of spruce branches, placed in a vase in a room, can kill harmful bacteria in the room, leaving a pleasant aroma in the air.
Fir cones are rich in tannins and essential oils. They also contain copper, manganese, aluminum, and iron.
Essential oils are used in the fight against acute respiratory infections and diseases of the upper respiratory tract.
Syrup from the spruce kidneys is prescribed for micro-infarcts.
A decoction of needles is used for inhalation to treat tonsillitis and sinusitis.
Spruce resin or gum 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. Wood is also used for paper production.
Spruce wood very soft and straight layered. Despite its widespread use in construction, raw wood is short-lived and quickly rots. 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, particleboard, glued beams and others.
The musical properties of spruce wood have been noticed for a long time, that's why decks, cases and other details of musical instruments are made from this fragrant wood.
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, caution should be exercised 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 upside down, and not installed in a corner, as in modern times.
In Scandinavia, the paths along which the tuples of rulers follow are covered with lapnik.
Blue Spruce gained its distribution in the cities, not only because of the beauty of the needles, but also due to its resistance to gassed air.
From the dead root of Spruce young shoots can grow, which subsequently become real trees. Thus, the tree clones itself.
In Sweden, a similar tree grows, whose age is approaching 10 thousand years.
Fir cones are often depicted on the flags of different countries. This fruit symbolizes a high goal and peak.
Known to everyone, ordinary spruce belongs to an extensive family of conifers, namely pine. Translated from the Old Slavic language, “spruce” means “resin”. Among the plants, the main place is 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 ordinary spruce.
Culture Description
Spruce is an evergreen culture, has an upright slender trunk and a dense cone-shaped crown. The trunk of the culture is quite difficult to distinguish, since it is hidden under the branches.
Spruce trees of different ages are covered with a large number of branches that grow to the very base. The bark of young cultures is painted in a gray-brown or brown shade, quite smooth to the touch. Old trunks ate rough to the touch, bark in some places is very cracked, smudges of resin can be distinguished. The needles of spruce vulgaris are needle-shaped and continue to persist on the plant for ten years. Under growing conditions in the city, the spruce life is not more than five years, and environmental degradation shortens the life of the plant even more.
The needles of coniferous culture in the context of a tetrahedral type are located singly along the perimeter of the entire spiral of the branch.
Plant Growth Features
European spruce is characterized by poor metabolism, therefore, it develops very slowly in the first decade after planting. After that, the process of cultural development begins to accelerate and stops only after 120 years. The uneven growth of European spruce distinguishes it from Siberian.
Spruce is considered a long-lived, which can grow freely in one place for three centuries. Culture is best formed on sandstones and loams.
Such a soil mixture helps the culture to form branched rhizomes, which are attached deep underground and help the plant to hold steady on the surface. It is also important to remember that spruce especially likes to grow in wet areas. But in places where there is too much fluid in the soil, the culture develops small surface roots. With a strong wind, such a root system may not hold the plant.
Spruce can grow even in marshy places if the swamp is flowing. The root system of the culture is small in comparison with pine, this can explain the instability of the plant under the influence of strong wind and external factors. Another property of the plant is that its branches dry out, but do not die completely. Spruce forests are always distinguished by special dampness and shading.
Despite the undemanding to growing conditions, spruce continues to be a delicate plant. It is allowed to grow it almost anywhere. The culture grows well under gentle trees, for example, pines, ash and oaks. Spruce continues to be more demanding in terms of growing conditions compared to pine. Culture is important to provide some water, albeit minimal. For these reasons, it is very rare to see spruce and pine growing nearby each other. In a container with soil, place one seed and deepen it by several centimeters. It is important to place the container in the refrigerator or in a cold place in the house (this will be a stratification). This procedure is especially important, since in nature, coniferous grains in winter are exposed to low temperatures.
Stratification helps speed up seed germination time. Seeds should be kept in a cold temperature for three months, this time will help ensure the culture is wintering. That planting material, which did not pass stratification, can lie in the ground for a long time, but still not sprout. After some time, the container with seeds inside is placed in a brightened place and wait for the first sprouts.
For sowing, it is best to choose October or November, so that the presence of seeds in the soil just happened in the winter season. In March, a container with seeds, which was in the refrigerator or on the balcony, will be the best material for germination of seedlings.
