Description of the cones of Norway spruce. Medicinal properties of spruce. European spruce, or common
The most common coniferous tree in Europe is European or common spruce, this species grows almost everywhere, with the exception of the North German Plain and the British Isles.
Description of European spruce
Norway spruce reaches a height of 50 meters with a trunk 1 meter wide. A slender tree with a dense pyramidal crown. It has horizontal or drooping branches that descend low along the trunk. The branches are collected s whorls. If there is enough light around, the lower branches for a long time are saved. When young, the tree has smooth brown bark.
Over the years, the bark becomes rough, scaly. Acquires gray or Brown color. Shoots are yellow or brown. May be covered with red hairs. The needles of spruce are very hard, green.
The needles usually have a four-sided flattened shape and a length of 1-3 cm. The life cycle of the needles is 7 years.
The yellowish-white spruce wood is characterized as soft, shiny, light. The roots are located horizontally, superficially, so the trees can turn their ground in strong winds.
Norway spruce is the fastest growing among all spruces. Young spruces grow slowly, but the older the tree, the faster growth. A spruce tree can grow up to half a meter in a year. By the 250th anniversary, the spruce begins to dry out, some specimens live up to 500 years.
It is known that since ancient times people have been using various plants for medical purposes, and European spruce cones are no exception, although many have forgotten about their healing properties. For example, the purity of the air directly depends on the number of cones. Some are sure that if you hold a spruce fruit between your palms, you can quickly get rid of the negative energy that accumulates in the body. By applying a bump to the bruised area after the bath, you will accelerate the healing of superficial wounds and reduce pain. In terms of energy, among other things, a fir fence around the site prevents negative charges from entering your zone.
Needles, cones, young spruce shoots contain essential oils, resin, vitamin C, salts of chromium, iron, aluminum, manganese. An interesting fact is that spruce is the record holder among the flora for the content of vitamin C.
In chronic and acute diseases of the respiratory organs, you can use coniferous decoctions, which are also useful for lack of vitamin C in the body. This decoction is prepared in this way: forty grams of needles are taken for one glass of water. The resulting mixture is boiled for 20 minutes and infused. Use this decoction during the day for 2-3 doses. Tincture of spruce cones is useful for both adults and children. Inhalations on spruce decoctions are very useful.
Well, jam is considered to be the most delicious use of spruce cones. For him, you need to collect cones in the first decade of July. The recipe is as follows: we need 1 kg of cones, 10 glasses of water, 1 kg of sugar. We sort out the cones, wash them from the needles and branches. Fill with cold water and leave for a day. After that, pour sugar into the solution, bring to a boil. We are waiting for all the sugar to dissolve. We put the cones into the hot syrup and continue to cook, stirring. The jam is ready as soon as you see that the cones have opened completely.
Norway spruce is the most common coniferous tree in the western sector of the Eurasian forest zone. Simply put, this is our usual Christmas tree, well known to everyone. But even in the familiar, familiar, everyday, you can find something new and unknown.
Norway spruce, or European
Common spruce is also called European spruce. Although in Western and Central Europe the tree grows only in the mountains. This spruce is most common in Northern Europe, Belarus, in the north of Ukraine. And, of course, in the north of European Russia, where it forms significant forest areas.
In the east, closer to the Urals, and in the very north of the forest zone, the common spruce is replaced by a close species - the Siberian spruce. The view is close, but still different - with shorter and prickly needles, smaller cones, lower height. And the ability to survive in harsher climates.
The view is different, but still close. Fir-trees ordinary and Siberian are crossed, forming viable hybrids. They even talk about a special transitional species - Finnish spruce.
If you carefully consider the cones of common and Siberian spruce, you can notice the differences that are considered species characteristics. The edge of the scales of the Siberian spruce is rounded and smooth, while that of the common spruce has small denticles, notches.
Spruce belongs to the pine family. Indeed, despite the obvious differences, these trees have a lot in common. In addition to green needles that persist for several years, common spruce is dioecious with pine - both male and female cones ripen on the same tree. The structure and origin of cones, the structure of pollen and seeds, the processes that occur during pollination and fertilization are also similar.
There are many differences. Unlike pine, spruces are able to grow tall and slender trees, whether they grow in dense forest or on open space. The fact is that common spruce grows mainly with its apical bud. It is she who gives the longest shoots - from 30 to 50 cm annually.
Moreover, spruce grows with its top all its life. True, on condition - if the apical kidney is not damaged. Or, for some reason, the shoot carrying this kidney has not been removed. In this case, one of the lateral buds takes over the function of the apical bud. But the tree will never grow tall and slender again.
The top of the spruce is always crowned with a "crown" of buds: one apical and several lateral. They sprout in the spring. And a whorl is formed. Just like the common pine. And the age of a young spruce is also easy to determine by counting the number of these whorls and adding 5 to 7 years. During the first years of life, whorls do not form on the tree.
Lateral branches also grow annually, but much less than the top. Moreover, on the lateral branch of spruce, lateral shoots grow every year - already relative to this branch itself. These are also whorls, only not complete - the branches do not extend in all directions, but close to one plane. A spruce branch is formed, which we usually call a spruce paw.
Spruce shoots, unlike pine, have only one type - elongated. Let me remind you that, in addition to annually growing elongated shoots, there are also shortened ones, only a couple of millimeters long. A pair of pine needles grows on them. Together with the needles, these shoots fall off after 2 - 3 years, or a little more.
Spruce needles grow directly on an elongated shoot. Needles, much shorter than pine needles, dot the entire shoot, arranged in a spiral. The needle sits on a leaf pad. When it falls, a leaf trace remains on the bark.
Spruce needles are flattened-tetrahedral, with a prickly top. The length of the needles is 1 - 2 cm. It stays on the tree longer. Under natural conditions, the life of the needles is up to 10 - 12 years. True, in trees growing in conditions of increased air pollution, the needles change much earlier.
Norway spruce, like other representatives of this genus, tolerates shading well. Therefore, even in a dense spruce forest, the tree crown remains highly developed. Only the lowest branches dry up from lack of light. The crown of a spruce growing in an open area is usually pyramidal. Branches grow on the trunk almost to the ground.
Developed crown well provides a tree nutrients. After all, the more leaves (needles) on a tree, the more sugars are produced during photosynthesis. But such a crown can cause serious problems for the tree.
We get a lot of snow in winter. Even birches devoid of leaves under its weight often bend or even break. Spruce ordinary heavy snowfalls do not cause much trouble. Thin, but strong and flexible branches also bend under the weight of snow. And they drop it!
But strong winds with a large windage of the crown often turn the whole tree upside down. Contribute to this and features of the root system of spruce. Only up to fifteen years does a tree grow a taproot. And then the lateral roots, which lie in the upper soil layer, actively grow. Such roots cannot hold a tall tree in strong winds. And the forest giants collapse.
European spruce lives up to 250 - 300 years. But it is unlikely that such trees will be found in the forest. Is it somewhere in a nature reserve? Most fir trees are cut down before they reach the centenary.
Never chopped spruce forest leaves unforgettable impressions! I had to visit such a forest many years ago. This is in the north-west of the Vologda region, almost on the border with Karelia, in the upper reaches of the Andoma River. The associations are… fabulous. It seems that Baba Yaga is about to peek out from behind a nearby tree. Or Leshy.
Powerful columns of firs go up dozens of meters. Their diameter at the butt is more than a meter. The branches are hung with beards of lichen usnei. Quiet in such a forest and gloomy. The soil, deadwood, including whole trunks of huge fir trees that have fallen from old age or wind - everything is covered with a thick layer. Of the shrubs, only blueberries grow, and even then not everywhere.
Where it is lighter - near a forest stream, for example - some herbs also appear. The white stars of the European septenary sparkle. And in close proximity ground water green mosses are replaced by marsh ones.
On fresh stumps in the clearing under the logging road, which then reached these places, one can count the growth rings, which the botanists of our expedition did not fail to do. There were 250 - 300 rings.
As a result of the expedition, in which I then worked, the Verkhneandomsky State Reserve was created. The array of indigenous spruce forests was taken under protection. What is there now - I can not say ...
Norway spruce is much more demanding on pine soil conditions. It will not grow on dry sands or raised bogs. It also does not tolerate drought well. Therefore, already in the south of the forest zone it is less common.
Trees spend winter in a state of a kind of “hibernation”, when life processes slow down. Coniferous trees are no exception. The stomata on the needles are tightly closed - you need to save water. The roots cannot provide the tree with enough water, the roots practically do not absorb water in the cold soil.
However, at temperatures above -5 degrees, photosynthesis still begins in the needles. But such temperatures are not typical for our winters.
But then spring comes, and everything begins to change rapidly. Even at the turn of the seasons, during the time poetically named by M.M. Prishvin "", on dry sunny days, fir cones open, spilling seeds carried by the wind. In May, with the advent of heat, they first swell, and then the buds open, giving rise to new vegetative shoots.
Consider spruce paws at this time. At the ends of the branches, large buds swelled, covered with pale yellow caps of soil scales. In some places, these scales have already parted, or even fallen off. From under them, a brush of light green needles is born. This is a young escape.
Young needles differ from old ones not only in color. They are soft and not scratchy at all. If the “brush” is torn off and chewed, a sour taste is felt. And no resinous aftertaste or aroma.
Young shoots grow rapidly. In May - early June, they still differ from the old ones in the color of their needles. But with the advent of this summer, the growth of shoots stops, the needles harden and acquire their usual properties.
Almost simultaneously with the vegetative buds, the generative buds also bloom. From them emerge modified shoots spruce ordinary - its female and male cones. Spruce "blooms". This happens almost simultaneously with the flowering of bird cherry.
Of course, biologists correct - conifers do not bloom, they do not have a flower. But still, the similarity is great, especially when you consider that the cones at this time look very spectacular.
There is a separate article in more detail about the "flowering" of spruce.
It is usually quite difficult to examine young spruce cones, since they are located in the upper part of the crown. Unless you're lucky ... Small yellowish or reddish male cones (or male spikelets) appeared on the tops of last year's shoots. Huge amounts of pollen ripen in sacs under the scales.
Pollen grains of common spruce, like pine, have air sacs, due to which their specific gravity is small. Pollen is carried away by the wind, covers the leaves of trees, grass. If it rains, yellow pollen is clearly visible in the puddles.
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Norway spruce - a description of the plant.
Evergreen coniferous tree up to 25-30 m high. Belongs to the pine family. The crown of the tree is pyramidal, the branching is whorled. The trunk is covered with gray or reddish-brown scaly bark. The needles are shiny, pointed, dark green, tetrahedral. Every year, a seventh of it falls from the tree. Spruce is a monoecious coniferous tree: male organs breeding are on the same individual with females. Female organs are located at the ends of young branches, they are bright red in color, cylindrical. Male cones are located between the needles at the ends of last year's shoots, they are greenish-yellow, smaller in size than female ones. Spruce forms pollen in May - June. Seeds of a coniferous tree are winged nuts of a dark brown color. Seeds ripen in September - October.
Norway spruce photo.
where the plant is found.
Coniferous tree is common in the northern regions of the European part of Russia.
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In order to prepare medicines take needles, buds and young cones of a tree.
Buds are stored in early spring, before they bloom. Dry them in a thin layer in the open air and stir often.
Cones are harvested before the seeds ripen (in summer). They and the needles of the common spruce tree are used fresh.
The chemical composition of the medicinal plant.
The bark of the tree contains fineness, the needles contain trace elements (copper, manganese, iron, etc.), essential oil, ascorbic acid, resinous and tannins, in cones - minerals, essential oil, phytoncides, resin, tannins.
pharmacological properties.
Preparations of common spruce act as disinfectants, expectorants, choleretic, diaphoretic, analgesic and diuretic.
Norway spruce: how is this coniferous medicinal plant used in medicine?
Traditional medicine uses cones, needles and buds of spruce for treatment.
A decoction of common spruce buds helps with inflammation of the lungs and upper respiratory tract(inhalation). With gout, nephrolithiasis, rheumatism - used in the form of therapeutic baths.
Infusion of needles is drunk for the prevention and treatment of scurvy.
A decoction of cones of coniferous spruce is useful for rinsing the mouth, with a runny nose, for instillation of the nose, with chronic tonsillitis, tonsillitis, tracheitis, laryngitis.
Norway spruce: treatment.
With diseases of the respiratory system.
Pour 30 g of spruce shoots with a liter of milk, boil on a small flame for 30 minutes, then cool and strain. Drink the decoction in small portions throughout the day.
With a decrease in immunity.
Pour 40 g of chopped needles with a glass of boiling water and boil for 10 minutes, insist for another 10 minutes, strain. Drink a decoction of 20 drops in summer and 40 drops in winter.
Infusion for scurvy.
Pour 30 g of needles into 1/2 liter of boiling water, let it brew, strain. Drink three times a day.
Decoction for bronchitis.
Pour a tablespoon of coniferous spruce buds with a glass of boiling water, and heat in a water bath at 100 ° C for 15 to 20 minutes. Strain, squeeze the raw material. Drink 2-3 times a day after meals for half a glass.
Infusion for external use.
Pour 40 g of green cones with a glass of boiling water and insist. Bury the infusion in a warm form into the nose, 3-4 drops per nostril 5-6 times a day.
Pharmaceuticals.
"Ninavin" - 50% solution of essential oil of pine needles in peach oil. It is used for renal colic and urolithiasis, has an antispasmodic effect on the smooth muscles of the urinary tract.
"Pinabin" - a 50% solution in peach oil of the heavy fraction of essential oils of coniferous pine or spruce trees. It has diuretic and bactericidal properties; has an antispasmodic effect on the muscles of the urinary tract.
Contraindications to the use of spruce.
The drug "Pinabin" when taken orally causes a general depression, irritation of the digestive tract. It is contraindicated in nephrosis and nephritis.
Medicinal preparations of common spruce are contraindicated in gastric ulcers and hyperacid gastritis.
Think and guess!
Which of the legends about Eli is true?
Spruce is called the "mathematical tree" - because of the geometrically correct silhouette of the crown. It is believed that the roofs of temples and houses of Asian countries are copied from a spruce crown. Let's try to understand the wide variety of species and varieties of this beauty.
Spruce description
Spruce (Latin Picea, English spruce or fir-tree) is an evergreen tree with a shallow root system. The branching of the crown is monopodial, the branches often approach each other, forming whorls. Shoots are elongated and shortened. The leaves are narrow needle-shaped (needles), have one vein. The needles are tetrahedral, on each side there is a white stripe, the needles are located one by one. In the bark, wood and needles there are resin passages containing essential oil. Cones are unisexual, male cones are collected in groups, female cones mature in one growing season. The cones are drooping, not decaying.
The plant is shade-tolerant, but with a lack of light it develops one-sidedly, unevenly. Moisture-loving, tolerates slight waterlogging. In the first years of life, very slow growing. Poorly tolerates gas pollution and urban conditions, the life expectancy of needles is reduced. Trees grow best on light sandy and podzolic soils.
Spruce varieties
- Norway spruce (European) - Picea abies. Distributed in Western Europe and the European part of the CIS. The height of the tree is 30-50 m, the diameter of the trunk is up to 2.5 m, the crown is up to 8 m. It lives up to 300 years. It is of great economic importance.
- Siberian spruce (Picea obovata). Distributed in the north-eastern part of Russia and Western Siberia. The height of the tree is up to 25 m, the diameter of the trunk is a meter or more. It has subspecies: lutescens, Krylova, lucifer, cerulea (blue Siberian spruce).
- Eastern spruce (Picea orientalis). Distributed in the Caucasus. Height up to 50 m, width up to 10 m. Lives up to 500 years. Very undemanding.
- Prickly spruce (Picea pungens), she is also a blue spruce. Distributed in the mountains of North America, widely used as an ornamental species in the CIS and Western Europe. Height up to 45 m, width up to 10 m. In landscape design, blue spruce is used for group plantings in parks. Lives up to 100 years.
- Ayan spruce (small-seeded, Jezo, Komarova, Kamchatka, Yezon) - (Picea jezoensis). Distributed in the Far East. Height up to 50 m, width up to 10 m. Lives up to 350 years. Well reduces background noise in park plantings.
- Schrenk spruce, or Tien Shan (Picea schrenkiana). It grows in the Tien Shan, in the Dzungarian Alatau, China, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. Up to 60 m in height, trunk up to 2 m in diameter. Slow-growing species when young, which allows it to be used to create hedges.
- Spruce Glen, or Sakhalin (Picea glehnii). Grows in the forests of South Sakhalin and on about. Hokkaido (Japan). Tree up to 30 m in height. It has very small needles (6-12) mm. The Japanese call it red spruce.
- Korean spruce (Picea koraiensis). Grows in the Far East and North Korea. Height up to 40 m, trunk diameter up to 1 m. It has three varieties: pungsanensis, tonaiensis, koraiensis. Promising in landscaping as a very hardy species.
- Red spruce (Picea rubens). Grows in the Appalachian mountains of North America. Grows up to 30 m, trunk diameter up to 1.5 m. Lives up to 400 years. Rarely used in our country.
- Serbian spruce (Balkan) (Picea omorika). It grows in the Balkans, in a small area. Height up to 40 m, width up to 5 m, trunk up to 1 m. Lives up to 300 years. Very decorative look, widely used in landscaping.
- Engelman spruce (Picea engelmanii). Grows in the mountains of North America. Height up to 50 m, trunk up to 1 m. Lives up to 400 years. Planted mostly singly.
- Canadian spruce (gray, white) (Picea glauca). Homeland - North America. Height 20 to 40 m, trunk up to 1 m, width up to 1.2 m. Lives up to 500 years. Lots of dwarf varieties.
- Black spruce (Picea mariana). Grows in North America. Height up to 30 m, trunk up to 0.5 m. Natural hybridization with red spruce and gray spruce. It has beautiful purple buds.
- Brewera spruce (Picea breweriana). It grows in a small area in the mountains of North America. One of the most ancient species. Height up to 40 m, trunk up to 1.5 m. It is distinguished by weeping branches. Lives up to 900 years. Used as a tapeworm in large areas.
- Spruce Likiangenskaya purple, or Lijiang (Picea likiangensis purpurea). Synonym: Lijiang fir. It grows in the mountains of China. Height up to 50 m, width up to 10 m. It has purple-violet cones.
Spruce species such as Alcocca Spruce (Picea alcoquiana); Japanese spruce, or graceful (Picea torono); Maksimovich spruce (Picea maximowiczii) - are endemic to Japan. Used in landscaping, bicolor spruce (Picea bicolor) is a cultivar of Alcocca spruce.
Wilson's spruce (Picea wilsonii), Meyer's spruce (Picea meyeri), Chinese spruce (Picea brachytyla) are endemic to China.
spruce growing
Many gardeners ask themselves: “But how to propagate spruce yourself? And how to grow spruce from seeds?
All types of spruces are propagated by seeds that begin to germinate in the year of sowing. For better germination, seeds are stratified with low temperatures. In the natural environment, the seeds crumble, they are covered with snow and they are stratified for 2-3 months. Under artificial conditions, it is necessary to tie the seeds in a gauze bag and keep them in a cool room until sowing, at a temperature of + 4-6C. Sowing spruce is carried out in the spring, when spring frosts, to which spruce is very sensitive, have passed.
Before sowing, the seeds must be treated with a growth stimulator to increase the germination energy. For example, the drug "Epin-extra". Sowing is carried out at a depth of 1.5-2 cm.
In the nursery, spruce is grown in the formation department, periodically replanting and increasing the feeding area with each transplant. The areas where plants are grown in different periods of growth are called schools.
According to the period of cultivation in the school department, the spruce belongs to the slow-growing ones and has been in it for 8 years.
The period of stay in the first school is 4 years, then there is not enough food for the seedling at this place. This leads to a delay in the development of roots and crowns. Therefore, the seedlings are dug up and transplanted to another place in the second school, where the plants are kept until the next transplant. Plants are planted square way, with an area of 0.7 * 0.7 m per seedling.
In the third school, our Christmas trees will stay for another 2-4 years, the planting scheme is 1 * 1 m, for the uniform development of the root system. When transplanting, seedlings are planted on root collar(it is permissible to deepen it up to 2 cm below the ground level, leaving a margin for shrinkage of the earth). The root system should be straightened, without bending the roots. If individual roots have grown strongly, they can be cut with secateurs. After planting, the soil is well trampled down and spilled with water so that there are no voids left.
In addition to seed propagation from a cone, many varieties of Christmas trees to speed up reproduction planting material cuttings, rarely grafted. Vaccination is also used to obtain standard forms ate.
Cuttings are harvested from trees at least 5 years old. They are grown in greenhouses, having previously been treated with growth stimulants: Kornevin, Heteroauxin.
Landing and care
The optimal planting of fir trees is carried out in the autumn-winter period. The further south the region is, the later the trees are planted; by the beginning of planting, the vegetation of the seedling should be completed.
The size of the planting hole depends on the size of the tree. The width and depth of the pit when planting a seedling with an open root system should be 20-30 cm larger than the size of the roots, they should not touch the bottom and walls of the pit. We recommend planting coniferous plants with a clod of earth, this contributes to better survival. When planting a plant with a lump, the pit should be 0.5-0.8 m wider and 0.1-0.3 m deeper than the lump.
If we plant spruce large-sized trees, then metal carcass carefully cut from a coma in the pit, you can not remove the burlap, just untie the knot around the root collar. It is good to treat such trees after planting with the Lignohumate stimulant, and then repeat this treatment about once every 2 weeks during the year, only at positive temperatures.
Often gardeners are interested in: “How to plant a blue spruce? What is the care for blue spruce? Variety care blue firs the same as for all spruces. But blue spruces need to be fertilized regularly so that the needles do not fade. For example, the preparation "Florovit for conifers", "Green Needle". Planting blue spruce on the site should be done in a sunny place.
For all types of Christmas trees, the first fertilizing with fertilizers is carried out no earlier than the next autumn after planting. Especially for plants with an open root system, as there is a risk of burning the roots.
Strongly watering spruce is not worth it, this will lead to rapid infection with fungal infections. If you are not sure about the amount of watering, it is better to purchase a moisture meter, its scale will show whether watering is needed or not.
You only need to prune the spruce yourself if the branches are broken, or if you are shaping hedge. Spruces are formed even in the nursery, but you can pluck out fast-growing shoots so that the plant does not become bare, and trim the fast-growing side shoots, but only during the period of active growth.
The most common diseases of spruces include: coniferous schütte, nectrium necrosis of the bark, tracheomycosis wilt (fusarium), root and stem rot, ulcerative cancer.
All of them affect weakened trees in dense plantings, when the root neck is deepened during planting.
Universal control measures: timely removal of dried branches, disinfection of wounds with a solution blue vitriol and subsequent putty of wounds with oil paint. Seasonal prophylactic treatment with one of the drugs: "Abiga-peak", "HOM", "kuproksat", 1% Bordeaux mixture. If it rains in summer, then add another treatment.
It is necessary to ensure that the lower branches do not go deep into the soil, it is better to cut them off then. The needles under the crown must be disinfected with preparations: "DNOK", "nitrafen".
There are a lot of pests in spruce: gall midge, shoot moth, hermes, sawflies, needle beetle, spruce moth, wood borers, spider mite, silkworms.
Control measures: preventive spraying in the spring, during the summer of butterflies, during the period of growth of young shoots with one of the insecticides: "spark", "Aktellik", "Decis Profi", "Fufanon". With repeated treatments, the drugs must be changed among themselves.
If you see flight holes of woodworm beetles on the trunk or sawdust spilling out of the wound, then inject Actellik drug into the hole drop by drop from the syringe and close the wound with plasticine. It is necessary to regularly inspect conifers for damage to the trunk. If you have coniferous stumps on your site, remove the bark from them and burn them, and treat the stump with a wood preservative.
Care work in the autumn-winter period consists in tying the paws of wide-crowned spruce trees so that they do not break under the weight of snow, covering the roots of young seedlings with spruce branches, sawdust, and snow. If the winter is snowless, it is better to cover young spruce with agrofibre, spunbond.
It is also important to cover the grafting site for grafted forms of spruce, to protect them from strong winds in order to prevent injury to the scion.
Canadian spruce and its varieties need to be shaded in the spring from sunburn thin agrofibre.
Spruces in landscape design
We will not give a detailed description of the varieties often used in landscaping, but we will consider the most interesting varieties.
Type: Norway spruce (European). Varieties: Acrocona, Cupressina, Goblin, Frohburg, Palacek, Echiniformis, Inversa, Gold Drift, Nidiformis, Procumbens, Little Gem, Will*s Zwerg, Pusch, Maxwellii, Pumila Glauca, Virgata, Vermont Gold, Pygmaea, Hasin, Waldbrund, Ohlendorffii , Formanek, Blue Tron.
Type: Canadian spruce (gray, white). Varieties: Alberta Globe, Blue Planet, Tennis Ball, Skra, Conica, Daisy*s White, Piccolo, Sanders Blue, Dendrofarma Gold, Echiniformis, Green Planet, Skrzat.
Type: Serbian spruce (Balkan). Varieties: Wana, Pimoko, Kamenz, Berliner*s, Weeper, Wodan, Pendula, Peve Tijn, Machala, Nana.
Type: prickly spruce. Varieties: Maigold, Glauca Globosa, Blaukissen, Hoopsii, Koster, Pali, Glauca, Edith, Bialobok, Hermann Naue, Hoto, Donna's Rainbow, Iseli Fastigiata, Fat Albert, Oldenburg, Lucky Strike, Baby Blue Eyes, Wendy, Montgomery, Early Cones , Benno, Nimetz, Blue Horizon.
From other types of spruces, pay attention to such varieties: oriental spruce "Aureospicata", "Professor Langner", "Tom Thumb Gold"; spruce black "Nana", "Beissneri"; Engelman spruce "Pendula", "Bush*s Lace", "Virgata", "Snake"; Sitka spruce "Rom", "Thomas".
Conclusion
It just so happened that spruce in landscape design is the most attractive, festive softwood. A rare site does without a prickly beauty. Let it bring a holiday and magic to your garden.
Literature:
- Khrzhanovsky V.G. Botany ed. High School - 1974.
- Treivas L.Yu. Atlas-determinant. Diseases and pests of coniferous plants, ed. Fiton - 2010.
- Sheshko P.V. Encyclopedia of Landscape Design ed. Astrel - 2008.
- Kholyavko V.S. Dendrology and Fundamentals of Green Building ed. High School - 1976.
- Catalog of plants recommended by the Union of Polish Nurseries Warsaw _ 2007.
- Lorberg tree nursery catalog vol.82
The traditional Christmas tree spruce with a beautiful crown and fluffy branches has long been familiar. Perhaps, in Europe it is difficult to find a manor where at least one Christmas tree did not grow, and many summer residents try to plant this fluffy beauty in the center of the garden in order to dress up on the eve of New Year's celebrations, thereby creating a cozy pre-holiday atmosphere on the site. conifer spruce ( Picea) belongs to the Pine family (Pinaceae). The genus unites about 50 species distributed in the cold and temperate zones of the Northern Hemisphere, with more than half of all species growing in the mountains of Central and Western China. In this article, you can get acquainted with the photo, the names of different types of spruces, as well as their botanical characteristics and learn about the correct agricultural practices for growing these trees.
What spruce looks like: photo and botanical characteristics
Spruces are beautiful, slender evergreen trees. Most of the species look like real giants - they are large, 60-90 m high, plants with a trunk diameter of 1.5-2 m, reaching the age of 500-600 years. All ate are very similar: the trunks are straight, the branches are arranged in tiers and collected in whorls, the crowns are pyramidal. The bark is gray-brown, smoother in young plants, and rough and rough in old ones. The needles are small, needle-shaped, tetrahedral or flat, spirally arranged. The color of the needles is green or bluish-green. Male "flowers" carrying pollen are solitary, formed in the axils of the upper needles on last year's branches, female - also solitary, appear at the ends of old branches. Cones hanging, cylindrically elongated or ovoid. Young cones are green or purple, mature - brown or brown-gray. They ripen by the end of the first year and fall off without crumbling. See how spruces look in the photo in their natural habitat:
Spruces rarely grow as single specimens isolated from others, predominantly forming large forest populations. In dry places, rich spruce forests are formed - "green mosses" with a dense moss cover and an abundance of edible cap mushrooms. On damp areas dense, but oppressed spruce forests grow - "long-lived" with a rare cover of sedges and sphagnum mosses. Along the valleys of small rivers and along streams there are the most beautiful spruce forests - "logs" with rarely standing trees and lush herbage. But, as a rule, spruce forests are quite dense and shady, which does not allow the formation of a dense grass cover and leads to a lush growth of mosses. In nature, spruces are extremely unpretentious and hardy - they are able to grow in almost any conditions. The vast majority of species are frost-resistant. Below is a description of the most popular types of fir trees with photos and names.
Popular types and varieties of fir trees: photos, names and descriptions
Picea abies- Norway spruce, or European.
The most common coniferous plant in Central and Northern Europe. The range of the species is extensive and does not capture only the British Isles and the North German Plain. European spruce is a slender, shade-tolerant tree with a pyramidal crown and horizontally spaced, whorled boughs. The trunk is cleaned slowly, and often the lower branches are preserved even in adult plants. Old specimens reach a height of 30-50 m and have a trunk thickness of up to 2 m. The bark peels off in thin scales and, depending on the variety, has different colour- from red-brown to gray. As you can see in the photo, the needles of the tree are needle-like, small (1-2 cm long), prickly, green:
Cones hanging, cylindrically elongated or ovoid. Young cones are green-purple, mature - brown. Ripe by the end of the first year. Fall off without falling apart. In nature, Norway spruce (Picea abies) is very variable. "Witch's brooms" can develop both on the leading shoot and on the side branches. Less common are natural mutations that completely change the natural form of this spruce. Such diversity has made it possible in recent years to cultivate and introduce into nurseries, and then into gardens, a large number of plants with different habits: the type of location of branches, the shape of the crown and the color of the needles. This type of spruce is absolutely frost-resistant.
Recommended varieties of Norway spruce:
Picea abies Acgosopa
Variety of common spruce. Large size. The crown is broad pyramidal. The color of the needles is green. At a young age, fresh growths can be damaged by late return frosts. After the growing season, at the ends of the growths, it forms cones of a bright crimson color. After full rooting, it actively grows. Annual increments over 30 cm. Completely hardy.
Picea abies Pusch(synonym - Picea abies Acgosopa Nana)
Variety of common spruce. Dwarf. There is no exact version of its origin. According to one of them, it is believed that it was selected from seedlings of Asgosopa spruce. Just like in P. abies Acgosopa, in the spring it forms raspberry-colored cones at the ends of the growths. The crown of this variety of common spruce species is wide-pyramidal. It grows more actively in width than in height. Annual growth does not exceed 10 cm. At the age of 10, it can reach a height of 1 m and a diameter of 1.5 m. The needles are small, green. Fully cold hardy.
Picea abies Aurea
Large-sized variety of Norway spruce. During the growing season, growths for 1.5-2 months are painted in a bright golden color. Needles, especially in young specimens, can burn in the sun. Annual increments, as in ordinary spruce. Tapeworm. Fully cold hardy.
Picea abies Aurea Magnifica
Large-sized variety of Norway spruce. The crown is pyramidal. In the spring, during the growing season, the growths turn yellow-golden. This coloration, changing its intensity, persists almost throughout the year. After full rooting, annual growths are more than 30 cm. Fully frost-resistant.
Picea abies Aurea WB (synonymous with Goldnugget)
A mini-variety of Norway spruce, 'Witch's broom', found on Picea abies Aurea. Compact, rounded oval shape. Annual increments 3-6 cm. Pay attention to the photo - this variety of common spruce in October turns bright yellow:
During the summer the needles are green. Fully cold hardy.
Picea abies Wagu Mazayta
Micro-variety of Norway spruce. Compact spherical shape. The color of the needles is stable, green. Annual increments are 2-3 cm. Possible size at the age of 10 is 20-30 cm in diameter. Fully cold hardy.
Picea abies Berry Garden
Mini-variety of Norway spruce. Very compact, round shape. Annual increments 2-3 cm. Completely hardy. Rare variety.
Picea abies Blatny
Micro-variety of Norway spruce. Round shape. The needles are soft, green. Annual increments within 3 cm, Fully hardy.
Picea abies Bobek
Variety of common spruce. Dwarf. It is characterized by an irregular form of growth of branches. The needles are hard, green. Annual increments vary from 3 to 10 cm. Fully hardy.
Picea abies Botanica Liberec
Mini-variety of Norway spruce. Very compact, round shape. Needles of saturated green color. Annual increments 3-6 cm, Fully hardy.
Picea abies Bouchalka
Mini-variety of Norway spruce. Compact, round, slightly irregular shape. The needles are hard, green. Annual increments vary from 3 to 5 cm. Fully hardy.
Picea abies Brno(synonyms - Minuta WB, Minima Kalous WB)
Micro-variety of Norway spruce. Very dense round-oval shape. Annual increments within 1-2 cm. Completely hardy.
Picea abies Cervena Skala
Micro-variety of Norway spruce. Very compact, round shape. Annual increments within 1-3 cm. Fully hardy.
Picea abies Clanbrassiliana
Variety of common spruce. Dwarf. Dense, round-conical shape. Annual increments are 8-12 cm. In North America, specimens are known that have reached 1.5 m in height. Fully cold hardy.
Picea abies Dado
Picea abies Dubenec
Mini-variety of Norway spruce. Compact, rounded oval shape. The needles are hard, green-blue. Annual increments within 3-5 cm. Completely hardy.
Picea abies Dumpy
Mini-variety of Norway spruce. Rounded, slightly loose shape. The needles are green. Annual increments vary from 3 to 5 cm. Fully hardy.
Picea abies Echiniformis
A dwarf form of Norway spruce, very similar in terms of annual growth to mini-cultivars. They vary in her range of 3-6 cm. Compact, rounded shape. The needles are hard, green. Fully frost-resistant.
Picea abies Formanek
Creeping form of spruce. Dwarf. A very popular Czech variety. To give it a more interesting shape, it is recommended to tie the leading shoot to a vertical support. The needles are soft, green. Annual increments vary between 8-15 cm. Fully hardy.
Picea abies Frohburg
Srednerosly variety of spruce ordinary. Weeping falling form. The branches are close to the trunk. Annual increments are within 15-20 cm. The needles are green. Fully cold hardy.
Picea abies Gamshutte
Mini-variety of Norway spruce. Rounded, slightly flattened shape. The needles are green-blue. Annual increments vary from 3 to 5 cm. Fully hardy.
Picea abies Gold Drift
Srednerosly variety of spruce ordinary. A weeping, yellow-coniferous form found among seedlings of the Norway spruce Inversa. Annual increments within 10-15 cm. Completely hardy.
Picea abies hasin
Micro-variety of Norway spruce. Quite rare in our gardens. Very compact, round shape. Annual increments within 1-3 cm. Completely hardy.
Picea abies Hiiumaa
Micro-variety of common Estonian spruce selection. Very rare in our gardens. Dense, rounded shape. Annual increments within 1-3 cm. Completely hardy.
Picea abies Holub Gold
Srednerosly spruce variety of ordinary Czech selection. The needles are soft, yellow-golden throughout the season. Annual increments within 10-15 cm. Completely hardy.
Picea abies Holub 1
Micro-variety of common Czech spruce selection. Dense, rounded oval shape. The needles are rigid, completely blue before the start of the growing season, subsequently becoming bluish-green. Annual increments within 2 cm. Rare variety. Fully cold hardy.
Picea abies Hradok
Micro-variety of Norway spruce. Rare in our gardens. Very compact, round shape. Annual increments within 1-3 cm. Completely hardy.
Picea abies Humilis
Srednerosly variety of spruce ordinary. It is characterized by an irregular form of growth. The needles are very hard, green. Annual increments vary from 10 to 20 cm. Fully hardy.
Picea abies Husarna
Mini-variety of Norway spruce. Rounded, slightly flattened shape. The needles are green-blue. Annual increments vary from 2 to 5 cm. Fully hardy.
Picea abies Inversa
Large-sized variety of Norway spruce. Weeping form. A very beautiful and popular variety among gardeners. After full rooting, annual growths vary between 20-40 cm. The needles are hard, green. Fully cold hardy.
Picea abies Jana
Mini-grade spruce of ordinary Czech selection. Very dense, round shape. With age, it becomes more oval, reaching a size of 30 by 40 cm. Growing in the sun, it shows the qualities corresponding to this variety much better. Fully cold hardy.
Picea abies Johanka
Mini-variety of Norway spruce. Rounded, slightly nested shape. The needles are green. Slow growing variety. Annual increments vary from 2 to 5 cm. Fully hardy.
Picea abies Kevon
Mini-variety of Norway spruce. Rounded oval shape. The needles are bluish-green. Slow growing variety. Annual increments vary from 2 to 5 cm. Fully hardy.
Picea abies Kirzhach
Mini grade. Natural mutation of the common spruce. Found by one of the authors in the forests of the Vladimir region. At the time of introduction into the garden, it had a round-oval shape measuring 20 by 30 cm. The crown was located on a trunk, 30 cm from the ground. After 16 years of growth in the garden, it has reached a size of 1.5 m wide by 1.0 m high. Does not have a clear leader. Multi-vertex. Fully cold hardy.
Picea abies Cuba
Micro-variety of Norway spruce. Very compact, round shape. Annual increments within 1-3 cm. Completely hardy. Rare variety.
Picea abies Lhota
Mini-variety of Norway spruce. Compact, round shape. The needles are hard, green. Annual increments vary from 3 to 5 cm. Fully hardy.
Picea abies Little Gem
Micro-variety of Norway spruce. Very beautiful and popular variety. Round shape. Annual increments are 1-3 cm. At the age of 15 it is 50-60 cm wide by 30-40 cm high. Fully cold hardy.
Picea abies Loreley
Variety of common spruce. Dwarf. Creeping form of growth. By attaching the leading shoot, as well as one or two auxiliary shoots, to a vertical support, you can achieve a beautiful cascading form of growth. The terminal increments of the descending branches tend to grow in the vertical direction. At the age of 15, the crown diameter can be 1.5 m. It is completely frost-resistant.
Picea abies Luua Pari
A dwarf spruce variety of the common Estonian selection. Has 2 different forms of growth. It can develop as a dwarf tree with a pyramidal growth shape. In Estonia, there are 30-year-old specimens 3 m high by 1.5 m wide. It can also have a dense round-oval shape, which with age shows weak signs of pyramidal growth. Fully cold hardy.
Picea abies Malecek
Micro-variety of Czech selection. Compact, round shape. Annual increments within 3 cm per year. The needles are hard, green. Fully cold hardy.
Picea abies Maracana
Micro-variety of Norway spruce. Compact, round, very dense shape. Annual increments 2-3 cm per year. The needles are hard, green. Fully cold hardy.
Picea abies Mikulasovice
Mini-grade spruce of ordinary Czech selection. Dwarf, very dense, conical shape. The needles are hard, dark green. Annual increments of 2-5 cm per year. The cushion form of this variety is much less common. Fully cold hardy.
Picea abies Mionsi
Micro-variety of Norway spruce, Very compact, dense, round shape. The needles are hard, green. Annual increments 1-2 cm. Fully hardy.
Picea abies Most
Micro-variety of Norway spruce. Compact, round shape. The needles are hard, green. Annual increments 1 cm. Fully hardy.
Picea abies Muhlerin
Mini-variety of Norway spruce. Compact, rounded oval shape. The needles are hard, bluish-green. Annual increments 3-5 cm. Fully hardy.
Picea abies Od Goly
Micro-variety of Norway spruce. Compact, round shape. The needles are hard, green. Annual increments within 3 cm. Fully hardy.
Picea abies Ohlendorfii
Variety of common spruce. Dwarf. Pyramidal shape. The needles are hard, green. Annual increments within 5-10 cm. Completely hardy.
Picea abies Palecek WB
Mini-variety of Norway spruce. Dense, rounded shape. The needles are hard, green-blue. Annual increments 3-5 cm. Fully hardy.
Picea abies Parsonii(synonym - Zwergnase)
Micro-variety of common spruce. Dense, rounded shape. The needles are hard, green-blue. Annual increments within 2-3 cm. Completely hardy.
Picea abies Pavelka
Micro-variety of common Czech spruce selection. Dense, rounded oval shape. The needles are hard, green. Annual increments 2-3 cm. Completely hardy.
Picea abies Pekarek
Micro-variety of Norway spruce. Dense, rounded shape. The needles are hard, green. Annual increments within 3 cm. Fully hardy. Rare variety.
Picea abies Pet Kamenu
Micro-variety of common Czech spruce selection. Dense, rounded shape. The needles are hard, green. Increments 2-3 cm. Fully hardy.
Picea abies Prokopka
Micro-variety of Norway spruce. Dense, rounded shape. The needles are soft, green. Annual increments 1-2 cm. Fully hardy.
Picea abies Reflexa
Variety of common spruce. Weeping form. The branches are rigid, falling. The needles are green. Annual increments 15-40 cm. Completely hardy. Very decorative.
Picea abies Rydal
Large-sized variety of Norway spruce. During the growing season for 7-10 days, the growths turn into a juicy raspberry color, after which they turn green again. The needles are soft, the branches are thin. Fully cold hardy.
Picea abies Slavice
Micro-variety of Norway spruce. Very dense, round shape. The needles are hard, green. Annual increments 1-2 cm. Fully hardy. Very rare.
Picea abies Sonneberg
Micro-variety of Norway spruce. Quite dense, round shape. The needles are hard, green-blue. Annual increments within 3 cm. Fully hardy.
Picea abies Strapac
Variety of common spruce. Dwarf. It is characterized by uneven growth of branches. The branches themselves are thick, the needles are stiff, dark green. Annual increments within 10 cm. Completely hardy, Rare variety.
Picea abies Suncrest
Mini-variety of Norway spruce. Very dense, round shape, with age becomes wide-conical, multi-apex. The needles are hard, green-blue. Annual growth 3-7 cm. Fully frost-resistant,
Picea abies Super Majxner
Micro-variety of Norway spruce. Very dense, round shape. The needles are hard, green-blue. Annual increments 2-3 cm, Fully hardy.
Picea abies Svata Mari
Micro-variety of Norway spruce. Dense, rounded shape. The needles are hard, green-blue. Annual increments within 3 cm. Fully hardy.
Picea abies Svojek
Micro-variety of Norway spruce. Dense, rounded shape. The needles are hard, green. Annual increments 2-3 cm. Completely hardy.
Picea abies Truba 5
Micro-variety of Norway spruce. Dense, rounded oval shape. The needles are hard, green. Annual increments 2-3 cm, Fully hardy.
Picea abies Uplaz
Picea abies Van Bemmel's Dwarf
Micro-variety of Norway spruce. Very dense, round shape. The needles are hard, green, Annual increments are 1 cm. Completely frost-resistant. Collection decoration.
Picea abies Vermont Gold
Mini-variety of Norway spruce. Found on Picea abies Repens. Flat-round, creeping shape. After the growing season, it becomes completely golden. It retains this color throughout the season. Annual growths are within 3-8 cm. Planted in the sun can burn. Recovers quickly. Fully cold hardy.
Picea abies Visel
Micro-variety of Norway spruce. Very dense, round shape. The needles are hard, green-blue. Annual increments 2-3 cm. Completely hardy.
Picea abies Vyrov
Micro-variety of Norway spruce, Very dense, round shape. The needles are hard, green. Annual increments 1-2 cm. Fully hardy.
Picea abies WB on Pigmaea
Micro-variety of Norway spruce. Very dense, round shape. The needles are hard, green. Annual increments 1-2 cm. Fully hardy.
Picea abies Wichtel
Micro-variety of Norway spruce. Very dense, round shape. Very dense branching, hard, green needles. Annual increments 1 cm. Fully hardy. Collection decoration.
Picea abies Willi's Zwerg
Variety of common spruce. Dwarf. Wide-pyramidal, multi-vertex form. The needles are hard, green. Annual increments within 10 cm. Fully hardy.
Picea abies Zadusi
Picea abies Zahori
Mini-variety of Norway spruce. Dense, rounded shape. The needles are hard, green. Annual increments 3-6 cm. Completely hardy.
Picea abies Zajecice
Mini-variety of Norway spruce. Dense, rounded shape. The needles are hard, green. Annual increments 3-7 cm. Completely hardy.
- Picea abies Zvihadlo. Mini-variety of Norway spruce. Dense, rounded shape. The needles are hard, green. Annual increments 2-5 cm. Fully hardy.
- Picea abies Cukrak. Micro-variety of Norway spruce. Very compact, round shape. Annual increments within 1-2 cm. Completely hardy. Rare in our gardens.
- Picea abies Kobliha. Micro-variety of Norway spruce. Rare in our gardens. Very compact, round shape. Annual increments within 1-3 cm. Completely hardy.
- Picea abies Minuta(synonyms - Brno, Minima Kalous WB). Micro-variety of Norway spruce. Very dense round-oval shape. The needles are hard, green. Annual increments within 1-2 cm. Completely hardy.
- Picea abies Pitzi 2. Micro-variety of Norway spruce. Very dense, round shape. The needles are hard, green-blue. Annual increments 2-3 cm. Completely hardy.
- Picea abies Zadverice. Micro-variety of Norway spruce. Very dense, round shape. The needles are hard, green. Annual increments 2-3 cm. Completely hardy.
Picea asperata– Rough spruce
Grows in moist, well-drained soils in western China. Evergreen tree up to 40 m in height. The crown is dense, wide-conical. The branches are horizontally arranged, somewhat falling at the ends. When describing this type of spruce, it is especially worth noting the rough, brown bark. Needles up to 2 cm, bluish-green, slightly silvery. Brownish-brown cylindrical cones 10 cm in size. The species is practically untested, conditionally winter-hardy in conditions middle lane. May be damaged by recurrent frosts. Poorly tolerates landing in the shade. In the past few years, several dwarf varieties of this spruce have been planted in Russian gardens. After 3 years of testing, it can be argued that the varieties are completely frost-resistant, being under the snow cover. Recommended grade of rough spruce:
Picea asperata Mongolei
Micro-grade spruce rough. Very compact, round shape. Pay attention to the photo - the needles of this type of spruce are hard, almost blue:
Annual growths 1-3 cm. Tested in the middle lane for 3-4 years. Tolerates planting in light shade. Fully hardy under snow cover. Recently, there has been a refinement of the species affiliation of this variety.
Picea engelmanii— El Engelman
One of the most beautiful blue firs. Forms forests in the mountains of western North America. Close to Picea pungens - prickly spruce. Spectacular evergreen tree with a dense narrow pyramidal crown, reaching a height of 20-50 m. The branches are collected in dense whorls, the branches are slightly drooping. Needle needles are thin, straight, 15-25 mm long, bluish-green, more delicate than those of prickly spruce. Cones hanging, cylindrical-ovate, 4-8 cm long. Young cones are green, mature - light beige. Ripe by the end of the first year. Fall off without falling apart. In recent years, a sufficient number of dwarf forms this spruce. The gardens of Russia were no exception. Its varieties Jasper, Tomschke, Talbot Lake, Hobo, Pocahontas are compact and spectacular. Very unusual variety - Snake. The twig-like branches of this cultivar are similar to those of the more well-known Norway spruce Cranstonii. Recommended varieties of Elgelman spruce:
Picea engelmanii Jasper
Mini-grade of Engelman's spruce. Dense, rounded flattened shape. The needles are hard, green-blue. Annual increments within 3-7 cm. Completely hardy.
Picea engelmanii Talbot Lake
Micro-variety of Engelman spruce. Very dense, round shape. The needles are hard, green-blue. Annual increments within 3 cm. Fully hardy. These photos show the types of spruces, the description of which is presented in this section:
Picea glauca- Gray spruce, or Canadian.
It grows in eastern North America. The natural form is similar to common spruce, but forms a looser crown due to some "infantility" of branches and branches. Needles 8-18 mm long, bluish-green and rather thin, have an unpleasant odor. Cones are oblong, small, 3-6 cm long and 1-2 cm wide. Young cones are green, mature ones are light brown. In culture, the natural form is rarely grown due to its large size and poor tolerance to the sun in the spring. But varietal varieties are very popular. The shape of the crown and the location of the branches of cultivars are varied, but in the gardens, “dwarfs” of a pyramidal and spherical shape mainly prevail. Winter hardiness varieties are high, but they can be actively damaged by the rays of the spring sun. All varieties are best planted in partial shade, and in hot periods provide additional sprinkling of their crowns. In order to take care of these spruces in the way that proper agricultural technology suggests, before the onset of the growing season, all varieties of this species should be treated against fungal diseases with copper-containing preparations.
Varieties recommended for planting in gardens: pyramidal-columnar - Conica, Conica Blue, Sanders Blue, Daisy's White, Sport, Zuckerhut; spherical - Cecilia, Dendrofarma Gold, Elf, Minitip, Blue Planet, Burning Well.Recommended varieties of spruce gray:
Picea glauca Alberta Globe
Micro-variety of Canadian spruce. Very compact, broad pyramidal shape. This variety has dark green needles. Annual increments 1-2 cm. Fully tolerant to sunlight. Frost-resistant.
Picea glauca Cecilia
Mini-variety of Canadian spruce. Compact, spherical shape. The needles are hard, dark green. Annual increments 3-6 cm, Fully hardy.
Picea glauca Conica
Wide-pyramidal variety of Canadian spruce. The needles are dark green. Annual growths within 3 cm. In gardens of the middle lane, planted in the sun, it can burn in early spring. Often this leads to the loss of decorativeness of individual branches or the death of the entire plant. Fully cold hardy.
Picea glauca Conica Blue
Mini-variety of Canadian spruce. Compact, narrow pyramidal crown shape. The needles are blue, annual growths are within 3-5 cm, completely frost-resistant.
Picea glauca Daisy's White
Mini-variety of Canadian spruce. Dense, narrow pyramidal shape. The needles are soft, green. Annual increments are within 3-5 cm. At the end of May, for 7-10 days, the growths are painted creamy. When describing this variety of spruce, it should be noted that it is very shade-tolerant and frost-resistant.
Picea glauca Dendrofarma Gold
Micro-variety of Canadian spruce. "Witch's broom" found on Picea glauca Alberta Globe. Dense, spherical shape. The needles are soft, green. Annual increments within 2-3 cm. In the same time frame as Picea glauca Deisy's White, stains the increments in a yellow-cream color. Partial shade recommended. Fully cold hardy.
Picea glauca Sander's Blue
Mini-variety of Canadian spruce. Dense pyramidal shape. Annual growth within 3 cm. More tolerant of sunlight than R. glauca Conica. Fully cold hardy.
Picea glauca Sport
Micro-variety of Canadian spruce. Narrow oval, somewhat pyramidal shape. The following are photos, names and descriptions of other varieties of spruce.
Other types of fir trees: photos, names and descriptions
Picea jezcensis- Ayan spruce
A very ancient type of spruce. Grows on mountain slopes Far East. A pointed tree up to 40 m in height. Needles 1-2 cm long, pointed, bicolor, green above, gray below, blue. Cones are oval-cylindrical, light brown, 5-7 cm long. In culture, it is preferable to plant it in partial shade. Responsive to crown sprinkling. It has been observed in Russian gardens over the past 3-4 years. Recommended varieties of Ayan spruce:
Picea jezoensis Compacto
Mini-grade Ayan spruce. Compact, round shape. The needles are very prickly, silver-green-blue. Annual increments within 3 cm. Fully hardy.
Picea jezoensis Marianske Lazne
Mini-grade Ayan spruce. Compact, round shape. The needles are prickly, silver-green-blue. Annual increments 3-7 cm. Completely hardy.
Picea mariana– Black spruce
It grows on swampy soils and forms forests in North America and Canada. The description of this type of spruce is outwardly similar to the gray spruce, or Canadian, but has more gray needles. The crown is narrow-pointed, uneven, the branches and branches are thin. Needles 6-18 mm long, green to bluish-green, rather thin and very dense. Cones are ovoid, small - 2-3.5 cm long. Young cones are dark purple, mature - gray-brown. It has varieties with different types of branch arrangement and crown shape. Most varieties are pyramidal and spherical "dwarfs" with green or dove-gray needles.
Previously, only one Nana variety could be found in gardens. In the last 3-4 years, the range of cultivars has expanded. During this time, the following varieties of black spruce have been tested: Nana, Bessneri, Doumetii, Aurea.
Recommended varieties of black spruce:
Picea mariana Beissneri
Srednerosly black spruce variety. Compact conical shape. The needles are soft, green-blue. Annual increments within 15 cm. Frost-resistant. Possible spring burning of individual branches.
Picea mariana Nana
Micro-grade black spruce. Dense, rounded shape. The needles are hard, green-blue. Annual gains within 3 cm. Fully frost-resistant and tolerant to the sun.
Picea obovata- Siberian spruce
Forms extensive forests from Northern Europe to Kamchatka and Manchuria. Outwardly similar to Norway spruce, but has a narrower crown and slightly drooping branches. Branches are thick. Needles 10-18 mm long, dull. Cones are cylindrical-ovoid, 6-8 m long. Young cones are purple, mature ones are gray-brown. Very hardy and cold hardy. It has a few, but very decorative cultivars. Recommended varieties of Siberian spruce:
Picea obovata Bruj
Micro-variety of Siberian spruce. Quite dense, round shape. The needles are soft, green. Annual increments within 5 cm. Fully hardy.
Picea obovata Kandinka
Micro-variety of Siberian spruce. Round shape. The needles are soft, green. Annual increments within 3-5 cm. Completely hardy.
Picea omorika- Serbian spruce
A rare species growing on the steep limestone slopes of the mountains of Bosnia and Serbia. Outwardly similar to Siberian spruce, but differs in the shape of the crown and the color of the needles. The crown is narrow pyramidal, almost columnar. The branches are short, spaced apart and raised at the ends. Young branches are brown, pubescent. The needles are compressed, 8-18 mm long and 2 mm wide, shiny, dark green above and gray below. Cones are ovate-oblong, small (3-6 cm long), shiny, brown. Fruits from an early age. Highly decorative and frost-resistant. It has numerous cultivars, these are mainly various dwarf forms.
Recommended varieties of Serbian spruce with photos and descriptions:
Picea omorika Berliner Weeper
Weeping form of Serbian spruce. The needles are green-blue, Annual growths are within 5-7 cm. The variety is rare in our gardens. Fully cold hardy.
Picea omorika Chocen
Micro-variety of Serbian spruce. Very compact, round shape. The needles are hard, green-blue. Annual increments within 3 cm. Fully hardy.
Picea omorika Cindarella
Dwarf variety of Serbian spruce. Oval-round shape. The needles are small, bluish-green. Annual increments within 6-9 cm. Completely hardy. Very beautiful, recognizable variety, yet rare in our gardens.
Picea omorika De Ruyter
Dwarf. Dense, narrow pyramidal shape. The needles are hard, green-blue. Annual increments are about 8-15 cm. There is no exact information on its final size, but at 25 years old its possible size is 3.5-4.0 m. It is completely frost-resistant.
Picea omorika Frohnleiten
Compact dwarf. Dense, wide-pyramidal shape. The growth of branches has a strictly vertical direction. Pay attention to the photo - the needles of this spruce variety are hard, green-blue, silver:
Annual increments 10-12 cm. Completely hardy.
Picea omorika Fusch
Serbian spruce mini-grade. Compact, round shape. The needles are green. Annual increments 3-5 cm. Fully hardy.
Picea omorika Hallonet
Serbian spruce mini-grade. Dense, rounded, cushion shape. The needles are soft, green-blue. Annual increments 4-7 cm. Fully hardy.
Picea omorika Havel 2
Micro-variety of Serbian spruce. Very compact, round shape. The needles are hard, green-blue. Annual increments 1-2 cm. Fully hardy.
Picea omorika Kuschel
Mini variety or Serbian. Dense, rounded shape. The needles are hard, dark, green-blue. Annual growths are about 5 cm. Fully hardy.
Picea omorika Minima
Serbian spruce mini-grade. Slightly loose, round-oval, cushion-shaped. The needles are hard, dark, green-blue. Annual increments 5-8 cm. Completely hardy.
- Picea omorika Miriam. Serbian spruce mini-grade. Dense, rounded shape. The needles are green-blue. Annual increments 3-6 cm. Completely hardy.
- Picea omorika Nana. Dwarf. Very dense, beautiful pyramidal shape. The needles are hard, green-blue. At 20 years old, the height is 3 m. It is completely frost-resistant.
- Picea omorika Pendula. Medium-sized variety of Serbian spruce. Very dense, broadly oval, falling shape. A distinctive feature of this variety is the ability of several leading shoots to independently, without support, maintain a vertical-horizontal direction of growth. The needles are dark green-blue. Annual growths are 30-50 cm. The height of adult plants can reach 7-9 m. Tapeworm. A very decorative variety. Fully cold hardy.
- Picea omorika Peve Tijn. Serbian spruce mini-grade. Dense, spherical shape. The needles are hard, green-blue in color, during the summer it changes its color to golden. Annual increments 3-8 cm. Completely hardy.
- Picea omorika Pimoko. A popular mini-variety of Serbian spruce. Very dense, spherical shape. The needles are hard, green-blue. Annual increments within 5 cm. With age, it grows more in width than in height. At 25 years old, it reaches a size of 2 m wide by 1 m high. Fully cold hardy.
- Picea omorika Radloff. Dwarf. Dense, falling shape, needles are soft, green-blue. To give the plant a more vertical direction of growth, the leading shoot must be tied to a support. Annual increments within 10 cm. Fully hardy.
- Picea omorika Valenta. Serbian spruce mini-grade. Compact, rounded oval shape. The needles are slightly stiff, green-blue. Annual increments within 5-7 cm. Completely hardy.
- Picea omorika Wodan. Dwarf variety of Serbian spruce. Dense, narrow pyramidal shape. Irregular growth of branches is observed. The needles are very hard, dark green. Annual increments within 7-10 cm. Completely hardy.
- Picea omorika Zuckerhut. Dwarf, possibly a medium-sized variety of Serbian spruce. Very dense, beautiful pyramidal shape. The needles are soft, green-blue. At 20 years old, the height can be 5-6 m. It is completely frost-resistant.
- Picea omorika Pendula Bruns. A full-grown variety of Serbian spruce. Very dense, columnar, falling shape. A distinctive feature of this variety is the ability of the leading shoot to independently, without support, maintain a vertical direction of growth of 20-40 cm. The height of adult plants can reach 10 m. Tapeworm. A very decorative variety. Fully hardy - P. omorika Slavia. Serbian spruce mini-grade. Dense, rounded shape. The needles are hard, green-blue. Annual increments 3-5 cm. Fully hardy.
Picea orientalis- Eastern spruce
It forms the mountain forests of the Caucasus and Asia Minor at an altitude of 1000 to 2500 m. Often Nordman with an undergrowth of evergreen hollies, laurel cherries, rhododendrons and ivy. This species of spruce is outwardly similar to the common spruce, but has some specific differences. The crown is densely branched. The branches descend to the ground and are whorled and uneven. Young branches are light brown, almost white. The needles are dark green, glossy, short, 6-8 mm long, and very densely spaced. As shown in the photo, the cones of this species of spruce are cylindrical-ovoid, 6-9 cm long:
Young cones are purple, mature - purple. One of the few spruces that winter problematic in the conditions of the northern temperate zone. In her cultivars, freezing and stem burning of young growths, and sometimes entire branches, are possible. Especially dangerous is the battle from the snow sun rays in February and March days. In this regard, all varieties of oriental spruce planted in such conditions are considered to be conditionally wintering. Despite this, in recent years, positive experience has been gained in growing varieties of oriental spruce.
Recommended varieties of oriental spruce:
Picea orientalis Aureospicata
Dwarf, possibly medium-sized variety of oriental spruce. Pyramidal, pointed shape. Close in habit and color of young growths to Picea orientalis Aurea. In the spring, for 2-3 weeks, the growths turn golden yellow. Annual increments within 10-5 cm. Partially winter-hardy. Partial shade recommended.
Picea orientalis Juwel
Picea orientalis Minima Welle
Oriental spruce mini-grade. Round-cushion shape. The needles are green. Annual growths within 3-5 cm. Planting in partial shade is recommended. Limited winter hardiness.
Picea orientalis Schoven Horst
Oriental spruce mini-grade. Round-cushion shape. The needles are green. Annual growths within 3-5 cm. Planting in partial shade is recommended. Limited winter hardiness.
Picea orientalis Spring Grove
Oriental spruce mini-grade. Round-cushion shape. The needles are green. Annual growths within 3-5 cm. Planting in partial shade is recommended. Limited winter hardiness.
Picea orientalis Tom Thumb Gold
Micro-variety of oriental spruce. "Witch's broom", found on the Eastern Skylands spruce in the USA, has a rounded-tiered shape. In spring, the needles turn golden for the whole season. Annual growths within 3-5 cm. Planting in partial shade is recommended. Planted in the shade loses its golden color and may even die over time, but planting in the sun is also detrimental to it, especially at a young age. Very decorative and popular variety. Limited winter hardiness.
Picea pungens- Prickly spruce
The most common type of blue spruce in cultivation. In nature, it grows in the Rocky Mountains, in Utah and Colorado at an altitude of 2000-3500 m above sea level. An evergreen tree 30-50 m high. The crown is pyramidal. Whorls of branches are noticeably separated. The branches of young growths are light yellow-brown. This variety of spruce got its name because of its hard, prickly, dense needles of gray or green color, 2-3 cm long. Cones are oblong-cylindrical, 6-10 cm long. Young cones are green, mature ones are light gray-beige. In culture, it is extremely stable and absolutely frost-resistant. It has many varieties of different habitus with different types of branches, crown shape, needle color.
Mini-grade prickly spruce. Rounded oval shape. The needles are hard, blue. Annual increments within 5-7 cm. Completely hardy.
Picea pungens Byczkowski
Pyramidal spruce variety of prickly Polish selection. The needles are blue-green. At the end of May, for 2-3 weeks, the growths are painted in a white-cream color. Annual increments within 10-12 cm. Fully hardy.
Picea pungens Fruchlings Gold
Dwarf. Pyramidal variety of prickly spruce. The needles are blue. At the end of May, for 2-3 weeks, the growths are painted in a white-cream color. Annual increments within 10-12 cm. Fully hardy.
Picea pungens Hermann Naue
Dwarf. Rounded shape. The needles are green-blue. Forms crimson cones at the ends of vegetative branches. Annual growth within 10-15 cm. Completely hardy.
Picea pungens Iseli Fastigiata
Srednerosly variety of prickly spruce. Most often a narrow-pyramidal shape, but there are also wide-pyramidal specimens. The needles are prickly, blue. Annual increments 20-25 cm. Completely hardy. In order to avoid collapse and breakage of branches in snowy winters, their fixation is recommended.- Picea pungens Jablonec. Dwarf variety of prickly spruce. Round-oval, with age, perhaps a little pyramidal shape. The needles are hard, blue. Annual increments within 15 cm. Fully hardy.
- Picea pungens Maigold. Dwarf. Pyramidal variety of prickly spruce. The needles are blue. At the end of May, for 2-3 weeks, the growths are painted in a white-cream color. Annual increments within 10-12 cm. Fully hardy.
- Picea pungens Mecki. Dwarf variety of prickly spruce. It is characterized by uneven growth of branches. The shape is close to conical. Annual increments within 15 cm. Fully hardy.
- Picea pungens Nimetz. Dwarf variety of prickly spruce. Pyramidal shape. The needles are blue. At the end of May, for 2 weeks, the growths are painted in a white-cream color. Annual increments within 10-12 cm. Fully hardy.
- Picea pungens Olo. Micro-variety of prickly spruce. Very dense, round shape. Blue-green needles, Annual growths within 3 cm. Fully frost-resistant.
- Picea pungens Ossario. Dwarf variety of prickly spruce. Rounded oval shape. The needles are hard, blue. Annual growth within 15 cm. Fully hardy.
- Picea pungens Pendens. A large-sized variety of prickly spruce. Dense fastigial form. In the first years it may have a flattened shape, but with age it actively pushes the conductor in the vertical direction. The needles are gray-blue. Annual increments within 30 cm. Tapeworm. Fully cold hardy. Perhaps there are two different cultivars, named the same - Pendens.
- Picea pungens Saint Mary's Broom. Mini-grade prickly spruce. Rounded oval shape. The needles are hard, blue. Annual growths within 5-7 cm. Completely frost-resistant,
- Picea pungens The Blues. Dwarf, weeping variety of prickly spruce. The 'witch's broom' that gave life to this cultivar was found on P. pungens Glauca Globosa, but it is bluer than the mother plant. To give the cultivar a more interesting shape, it is necessary to fix the leading shoot at an angle of 45-60 degrees. Annual increments within 15 cm. Fully hardy.
- Picea pungens Waldbrunn. Mini-grade prickly spruce. Round-tiered, flat shape. The needles are blue. Annual increments 5-8 cm. Completely hardy.
Picea sitchensis- Sitka spruce
It grows along the west coast of North America. It is considered one of the largest among spruces, reaching 50 m in height. The shape is pyramidal, pointed. The needles are bicolor, green-blue. Immediately after the growing season, it acquires rich silvery shades. Cones are brown, up to 10 cm long. Prefers moist soils and high humidity. In recent years, her cultivars have been successfully tested in our gardens. Mandatory conditions for them proper cultivation is regular sprinkling of crowns, as well as two-time treatment for fungal diseases with copper-containing preparations: in the spring, before the start of the growing season, and before winter. Recommended varieties of Sitka spruce: The following describes how to grow spruce in the garden and how to care for these trees.
How to grow a spruce and how to care for a tree in the garden
When growing spruces, keep in mind that these are shade-tolerant, but light-loving plants. Only in an open place do they acquire a typical crown shape. In shaded places and in thickened plantings, they are not very decorative. An important condition for growing spruces of all kinds is the presence of light, fertile, loamy, slightly acidic soils. Also, these trees can develop quite successfully on any soil, including poor sandy and heavy loamy ones, but they will be less lush. Dwarf varieties should not be grown on excessively rich soils - they may lose their typical crown shape.Adult specimens have a powerful, branched root system and do not need top dressing. Young plants can be fed in the spring after the snow melts on wet ground with a complex or combined mineral fertilizer weakened concentration. Top dressing with fresh manure and feces is strictly unacceptable.Transplantation should be carried out either in the spring before the buds open, or in the fall. Plants with actively growing shoots take root poorly. The deepening of the root neck is acceptable, but undesirable. Young plants tolerate transplanting easily. Large specimens can be transplanted only after pre-training root ball. To do this, 6-12 months before transplantation, the plant is dug around the crown circumference several times, cutting the roots, resulting in a dense root ball. When caring for spruce after planting, abundant watering is necessary, and during spring transplantation, spraying until rooting.
Mature spruces are very resistant to both waterlogging and drought, but it is undesirable to grow varietal forms under extreme conditions. Proper planting and caring for fir trees are shown in these photos:
Most species are frost-resistant. Young summer spruce growths often suffer from late frosts, but grow back easily. To avoid loss of shape due to heavy snow, when leaving during the cultivation of fir trees, it is recommended to pull together multi-stemmed varietal specimens for the winter. Creeping (dwarf) varieties often succumb to heavy wet snow and ice accumulating near the ground. Therefore, in order to take care of spruce trees in the garden in the way that proper agricultural technology suggests, the branches of creeping forms must be laid on lattices raised above the ground.
To create spectacular compositions in the garden, learn about the use of fir trees in landscape design.
The use of firs in the landscape design of the garden (with photo)
Spruce is one of the main conifers used in the design of gardens in regions with long and frosty winters. The most common is the common spruce, which has become the main "coniferous accent" in the compositions of the northern parks. The use of prickly spruce in garden design is very popular - this is a favorite component of the design of compositions. public buildings and memorials. Other types of spruces are rare guests of parks and gardens. The dominance of common and prickly spruce over other species is fully justified, since they are not only the most hardy, but also have a considerable number of various garden forms. The use of fir trees in landscape design is truly universal. Varieties with a classic pyramidal crown shape are used to create alleys, planted singly as dominants and in groups to divide space into zones. Spherical and dwarf pyramidal forms are included in complex compositions of small gardens, rockeries and mixborders. Creeping and flattened varieties are indispensable for background plantings and for grafting on trunks. Spruce - one of the best conifers for creating hedges, lends itself perfectly to a haircut. The formation of more compact specimens is possible by plucking the central buds of lateral shoots in autumn and shortening similar shoots in summer.Seeds of most species freshly dropped from cones are capable of immediate germination. Seeds with hardened covers need the awakening of the embryo, which requires a period of even low temperatures for 1-2 months. There are several ways to germinate spruce seeds. The simplest of them is winter sowing in a ridge to a depth of 1.5–2 cm with mulching to a height of 1–1.5 cm. spring.
Snowing, i.e., sowing seeds in boxes in autumn or winter, followed by removal under snow until spring. In spring or early summer, after germination, the plants are planted in a ridge or left in boxes until autumn.Before seeds, many use the method of cold stratification. To do this, at the end of winter, the seeds are mixed with large clean, slightly damp sand, sawdust or sphagnum moss, placed in plastic bags and stored in a refrigerator or basement at a temperature of +3 to +5 ᵒС for 1-3 months. Another option is to sow seeds in boxes or bowls. The earth mixture should be clean, light, consisting of rotted leaf ground, peat and coarse sifted sand in a ratio of 3:1:1. After sowing, the seeds are stored in a refrigerator or cellar at a temperature of +3 to +5 ᵒС for 1-3 months. During this period, it is necessary to maintain an even moderate level of substrate moisture and avoid temperature fluctuations. After passing through the stratification, the seeds stored in bags are washed and sown in boxes or bowls. Crops are exposed to light in a warm place (+ 18 ... + 23 ° С), where they germinate. Necessary condition Growing spruces from seeds is to keep seedlings in the light, but not in the sun, and water moderately. If the seedlings are excessively thickened, then a pick is required. If the shoots develop normally, then when the heat comes, they are taken out into the garden and after hardening (gradual accustoming to the sun and fresh air) they are planted in a ridge for growing.
Varietal varieties during seed propagation weakly repeat characteristics, and it is very difficult to determine them in the first year. For propagation of varietal forms, a vegetative method is used.
And finally, learn how to propagate spruce cuttings and layering.
How to propagate spruce: methods of propagation by layering and cuttings
It is very difficult to propagate natural forms vegetatively, varietal forms are much easier. It is easier than others to breed varieties of species with thin branches, for example, ate gray (Canadian) and black spruce. Horizontal layering is a spruce propagation method that does not damage the mother plant, but does not guarantee the preservation of the pyramidal crown typical of spruce. As a rule, lopsided or creeping plants grow from rooted branches. Reproduction by horizontal layering is quite promising for varieties with a drooping and flattened crown. Buried branches take root within two or even three years.Relatively well rooted cuttings from young varietal plants having a compact densely branched crown. Cuttings taken from wild species, especially from old specimens, root very poorly.Early spring - the moment of awakening of the kidneys - is most suitable for spruce propagation by cuttings. You can do this in the summer after the end of the first wave of growth, but in this case, the cuttings never have time to form roots and hibernate only with influxes of callus, which is fraught with freezing. In columnar and narrow-pyramidal forms, only vertical shoots are taken; in creeping varieties, on the contrary, any, except for tending upwards; in spruces with a free, oval or spherical crown, the choice of the handle does not matter.
The prepared cuttings are placed in a substrate consisting of coarse washed sand with possible additions of perlite, vermiculite, high-moor peat, crushed sphagnum moss or fine sifted coniferous bark.The temperature during spring grafting of spruces is initially maintained at +15…+18 ᵒС, and after bud break, it is brought to +20…+23 °С. Above +25 °С it is undesirable to raise it, above +30ᵒС it is unacceptable.
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