Watering coniferous trees in spring. Coniferous plants in garden design and care for them. How to properly water coniferous plants
Coniferous - ideal ornamental plants. Even in winter, the garden with them is full of life and spectacular. But in order for arborvitae, pines, spruces, firs, junipers and other coniferous plants to please with the excellent condition of the needles, harmonious development, they need to be properly planted, watered and fed.
In nature, minerals are produced in the soil by bacteria. They decompose the organic remains of dead organisms (humus) and release the very compounds of nitrogen, potassium, phosphorus, magnesium and other elements that plants feed on. Nutrients enter the body of each plant in proportion to the amount of water absorbed by it, which is vital. With a combination of the “right” bacteria, good humus and sufficient moisture, minerals enter the soil in the proportions that the plant needs. That's why Pokon- one of the oldest companies in Europe in the field of crop production - produces a specialized fertilizer for conifers, which allows you to properly grow conifers and properly care for them.
How to care for conifers in spring: watering
When the autumn rains end, a period of moisture deficiency begins for evergreen conifers in the garden. Lush needles evaporate a lot of moisture, so the soil should not be allowed to dry out, including in autumn. Other plants shed their leaves for the winter to conserve moisture, but most conifers do not. At the end of autumn, pour conifers well under the root (5-8 buckets per plant). Moist soil freezes to a shallower depth, which reduces the risk of spring damage.
The crown of conifers wakes up early, often when the roots cannot yet provide it with moisture due to frozen soil. Hence, burning of needles is a common problem in the middle lane. How to help plants restore normal living conditions? Noticing this, immediately shade the crown by sprinkling water first if the weather is sunny (10-50 liters per seedling, depending on size). Water coniferous plants warm water in the warm time of the day, so that the water has time to completely go into the soil long before the cold night, without freezing. If the water spreads without being absorbed, then the soil is still frozen. Then water several times a day in small portions. At the slightest risk of frost, watering is canceled! When the daytime temperature steadily rises to + 10 ° C, treat the crown with the preparation Appin, Zircon or HB 101.
In spring, conifers need a lot of water, but not so much that the soil turns into a swamp: the roots of conifers get sick from excessive dampness. If you have a few conifers on the site and they are not in the best shape, you first need to strengthen vitality plants. This is easy to achieve with the help of fertilizing and proper agricultural technology. Do not forget that excessive watering can be just as harmful to conifers as drought. In general, conifers love watering on the crown, sprinkling. Thanks to sprinkling, dust is not simply washed off: the stomata of the leaves open, it becomes easier for the plant to breathe, and accordingly, all physiological processes proceed more intensively.
How to care for conifers in spring: top dressing
The main secret of growing conifers is simple: when water touches the roots, all the necessary minerals should already be dissolved in it. the right proportions. This is especially important in the spring: when the plants wake up, their metabolism speeds up, they need a lot of nutrient-rich water - after all, this is their only food. Conifers are autotrophs, like other higher plants. They are not able to assimilate organic matter and feed only on a weak solution of inorganic compounds of nitrogen, potassium, phosphorus, magnesium and a number of other elements.
All organic matter conifers are synthesized from inorganic substances extracted from the soil along with water. Their concentration in water should not be excessive or insufficient. In the first case, the roots will “burn out”, the plants will become seriously ill. In the second case, they will also get sick, but already “from hunger” - like any other organism that does not have enough food. At the same time, immunity is violated, so infectious ones will be added to the primary diseases.
The lack of iron in the soil leads to yellowing and even whitening of the needles on individual shoots; with a deficiency of phosphorus, young needles acquire a red-violet hue; with a lack of nitrogen, plants grow noticeably worse, become chlorotic. To grow healthy plants, experienced gardeners use Long-acting Pokon fertilizer for conifers . Nutrients are collected in granules covered with a special permeable membrane, thanks to which they gradually enter the soil under the influence of water and heat. Try to scatter the granules without getting on the needles and trunk, but only in the radius of the near-stem circle. The amount of fertilizer is measured according to the instructions on the package. It is enough to apply this fertilizer once in the spring, and until the end of the season, the water of each irrigation will be automatically saturated with nutrients.
Pokon long-acting fertilizer contains all the elements necessary for coniferous crops in the optimal proportion: both insufficient and excessive concentration of any element is excluded. If a complete mineral fertilizer was applied during planting, the first top dressing is carried out only after two years.
The composition of the granules of balanced Long-acting Pokon fertilizers for conifers designed for their biological needs; including magnesium, which gives the needles a rich green color. Stock nutrients in these granules is very large: it lasts for six months. After fertilizing, it is advisable to mulch the trunk circles - with peat, wood chips, bark, compost. This will protect the roots from overheating and drying out in summer and from rapid freezing in winter.
In the 21st century, professional gardening technologies Pokon became available to all people. The correct content of minerals in the water absorbed by the roots creates normal living conditions for coniferous plants. In such conditions, they are able to live without getting sick for tens, and sometimes hundreds of years.
Caring for houseplants
But not only in the garden you can grow conifers. It is these plants that will provide clean, Fresh air in the apartment. Large-fruited cypress, which is native to California, smells like lemon. Junipers Chinese and hard will take root well on a cool and bright windowsill and enrich the air in the apartment with phytoncides. in the offices, country houses, in an apartment (for example, in a children's room), coniferous plants perfectly purify the air, improving the health of children and adults. In winter, they can be successfully used as Christmas trees.
Caring for indoor coniferous plants involves moderate feeding, so as not to provoke rapid growth of shoots and do without frequent transplants.
In an apartment, it is enough to feed coniferous plants once a month with a universal liquid mineral fertilizer. For example, Pokon all-purpose fertilizer for potted plants at half concentration.
The hotter in the apartment in winter and the drier air, the more frequent watering needed by plants care also includes weekly spraying of needles. These plants do not tolerate dry air and high temperature. From spring to autumn, indoor conifers should be taken out into the garden or onto the balcony, shading from the hot sun, because all plants love fresh air.
For experienced gardeners The recommendations in this article may seem well-known and not new. But every year, “recruits” join the army of amateur gardeners, ready to fully master their corner of nature. I hope this article will help novice gardeners navigate and plan correctly. spring work in the garden, so that in the end he would please with beauty and health.
Conifer Care
Spring in our garden begins in mid-February. This is the time to shelter the conifers from the spring rays that cause burns. Cover plants in autumn if your garden year-round living, doesn't make sense. Otherwise, you will have to “admire” wrapped mummies for most of the autumn-winter period. The reason for this ailment lies in the following. The sun heats the needle leaves, and in order to save themselves from overheating, the plants begin to evaporate water from the leaves. The earth has not yet warmed up, the roots do not function and cannot supply new water from the soil to the place of the evaporated moisture from the leaves. All this adversely affects plants - the needles turn brown with sunny side, worsening appearance plants. A severe burn can completely destroy the conifer. Protective screens made of reed (reed) mats or large-mesh burlap can serve as salvation from this scourge.
There is no need to completely wrap the plants. And even more so, with non-woven covering material like lutrasil, spunbond, etc. These materials cause overheating of conifers, which is also undesirable. If you missed the deadlines and the conifers suffered, then you can try to restore them. On the onset optimum temperature at + 10 + 12 degrees, the plants must be cleaned of damaged needles. This can be done with gloved hands, drawing from the base of the branch to its top, as if combing out all the dried needles. Then the plant is sprayed with a solution of the zircon preparation. The drug is used to enhance growth processes, prevention and recovery after sunburn. 2 ml of the drug is dissolved in 10 liters of water and the damaged plants are sprayed every 7-10 days. When using this drug, it should be remembered that for the best effect it must be dissolved in an acidic environment. In an alkaline environment, the drug decomposes. Water can be acidified with vinegar citric acid. And the ampoule with the drug should not be stored in the light, under the influence of which the zircon decomposes.
Subsequently, to protect conifers from burns, the use of special antitranspirants, such as Purshate, can be recommended. Antitranspirants create a protective breathable film that reduces the evaporation of water from the leaves. It takes one autumn processing conifers.
If you covered the conifers in time and, fortunately, there were no problems with burns, some species or varieties of coniferous plants, such as arborvitae, slightly change color to brown-green in winter. This is a natural process, a reaction to cold and frost (not to be confused with burns that occur in the spring). To make plants “greener” faster, treat them with anti-brown needles containing magnesium and sulfur, which can be purchased at garden centers.
Early spring is the best time to plant your favorite conifers. It is not recommended to plant them in the fall, as in winter time young plantings, not yet sufficiently accustomed, are subject to desiccation from frost and winds. Yes, and local zoned forms and varieties, unfortunately, are not enough. More and more imported. It is advisable to prepare planting pits in advance so that they are saturated with the oxygen necessary for the roots. The plants themselves can be kept a day before planting in a solution of root formation stimulants: heteroauxin, rootin. Prepare the solution in a container with a larger capacity than the container of the plant. Then, without removing it from this container, lower the plant into a container with a solution. The next day, the ephedra can be planted, and the remaining solution can be used for planting irrigation in the pit. For imported planting material conifers the first season after planting is quite stressful. For this, thuja, for example, can react with a strong branch fall, and others with an abundant discharge of needles. Coniferous plants in the post-planting period should be supported with anti-stress drugs, growth stimulants. And in the first year they can be strongly overcome by pests. Therefore, you will probably have to put up with it and use chemicals protection.
Caring for rhododendrons and roses in spring
When the temperature reaches +2 + 4 degrees Celsius, you should start opening roses and rhododendrons from the winter shelter. If the roses were covered with spruce branches, then first remove its first layer, gradually accustoming the plants to the conditions external environment, and a week later the entire spruce branches are finally removed. If the roses were covered with lutrasil (or similar material), at the beginning they lift it a little from the ground, airing the plants, and also remove it completely after a week. Then the plants should be inspected and all frozen, blackened shoots should be cut off to the first live bud. After the spring sanitary pruning, roses are treated with 3% Bordeaux mixture to prevent fungal diseases. This is best done according to the so-called "green cone", that is, the moment when the tops of green leaves slightly appeared from the buds. Leaves, so that there are no burns, must be treated with a 1% solution. Or replace Bordeaux mixture for analogues: HOM, kuprosat. Copper preparations - good prophylactic against fungal diseases for the garden as a whole.
Sometimes inexperienced, novice gardeners cannot understand how roses and rhododendrons overwintered. Has the grafted, therefore, varietal part been preserved? spray roses(hybrid tea, floribunda). Newly growing varietal shoots of roses have reddish-green leaves. If the shoots have light green leaves, these are rhizomatous shoots of the rootstock. Wild roses serve as a stock for varietal roses. Such shoots can grow in varietal roses in summer. IN summer period This is not dangerous. All varietal roses are grafted plants. rootstock or root system they have species roses - wild roses, which are more durable and frost-resistant, but tend to give long rhizome shoots with light green leaves. The aerial part is a scion, varietal roses. Growing rhizomatous shoots of the rootstock should be removed.
At the same time, when the shoots of roses start to grow, you can feed them by scattering fertilizer around the base of the bush.
The disclosure of rhododendrons from winter shelter is carried out according to the same principle as roses. By the way, for better wintering, in order not to use shelter, evergreen species of rhododendrons can also be treated with antitranspirants in the fall.
When caring for rhododendrons in the spring, it should be remembered that they need to be fed a little later than other crops, excluding chlorine-containing preparations. For rhododendrons, the acidic reaction of the soil solution is important. Plants have a very small root system and almost no suction active roots, so rhododendrons have a so-called mycorrhiza on the roots (mutually beneficial relationship of plant roots with fungi). mushroom picker required acidic soil. That is why special soil acidifiers should be applied under rhododendrons.
Spring pruning of ornamental trees and shrubs
Early spring is the time to prune trees and shrubs in the garden. After winter, it is necessary to revise trees, shrubs and cut out all broken, shrunken branches. Winter this year was not snowy, but in the future, pay attention to how new branches grow from the trunk. When a branch leaves the trunk at an acute angle, its connection with the main trunk becomes not strong enough. In snowy winters, such a branch can break off. This will violate the integrity and decorativeness of the crown, and infectious diseases can penetrate through the wound.
Before bud break in March, we cut off shrubs that bloom on the growth of the current year - Japanese spirea, willow, Bumalda, tree hydrangea. Spring pruning of such shrubs stimulates the growth of more growths, and, therefore, contributes to abundant flowering.
But decorative and deciduous shrubs also need spring pruning. A slight shortening of the shoots contributes to the fact that the foliage becomes larger, and purple or golden color foliage is richer.
As mentioned above, for the prevention of fungal diseases, we use Bordeaux mixture on a green cone. And from pests - insecticides, for example, Deciss. Insecticide preparations (for insects) can be applied either before or after flowering. Otherwise, fighting pests, we will destroy bees and other pollinators of the orchard.
Spring work in flower beds
It is impossible to imagine a garden without flowers. And it's time to take care of them. Our northern summer does not always please us with an abundance of sunny days and warmth. Need to grow faster flower plants in height, and then branching side shoots. For active growth flower seedling or regrowth perennials in flower beds, you can use a 2-fold treatment with a solution of heteroauxin, a preparation containing phytohormones that promote apical growth. Treatment interval 2 weeks. For axillary branching, to accelerate flowering, we process flower cultures with Stimulif. For better tillering, in spring - early summer, you can pinch (remove) one third of the shoots of herbaceous flowering plants such as monarda, phlox, autumn gelenium, etc.
Flower beds are the decoration of the garden, but at the same time the subject of continuous care. Weeds, especially in a young flower garden that has not grown, are an annoying hindrance that takes time and energy for weeding. To facilitate further care, in the spring, before the development of shoots and leaves, it is necessary to mulch the soil of the flower garden, that is, add loose organic substrates. It can be peat, composts or decorative chips. The layer of mulching material is from 3 to 8 cm. And when mulching, the organic material should not closely adjoin the base of the bush in order to prevent the stems of flower crops from warming up. Before mulching, add spring fertilizer for flower crops, since there are plenty of them in garden centers.
We start spring work on the lawn by combing it out, removing those that have died over the winter. lawn grasses. Then the lawn is aerated - piercing it to a depth of 12-15 cm. This can be done with ordinary garden pitchforks. At large areas lawn, you can use a scarifier (vertikutter) for this, which will additionally clean the lawn from old grass, moss. After that, for the fastest regrowth, we scatter nitrogen fertilizers over the lawn.
The health of coniferous plants in the garden depends not only on the quality of the acquired seedlings and compliance with the planting rules. Attentive care: competent watering, stimulation of root formation, protection from burns, dampness - will help newcomers to survive the stress caused by transplantation.
Coniferous plants are gaining more and more space in our gardens and yards. The reasons are obvious:
- variety of shapes, sizes, many shades of needles in skillful hands become excellent tools for shaping the image of the garden, its structure;
- evergreen needles make the landscape of the site cheerful, even wrapped in snow.
Acquisition of high-quality, winter-hardy seedlings, proper fit- only half the success in their cultivation. Attention and simple care will help coniferous new settlers to adapt to a new place and lay a reliable foundation for their growth and longevity.
Post-planting stress in conifers
According to the degree of stress resulting from transplantation, conifers can be divided into two groups:
- Seedlings with a closed root system.
- Plants with an open root system and large-sized plants.
Of course, the gardening industry does not stand still. Modern nurseries take care of ensuring the high survival rate of the seedlings they sell. Most coniferous plants are put up for sale with a closed root system in pots, tubs.
Preparation of planting material in the nursery is not only the formation of a fluffy developed crown. Great efforts are being made to create a compact, big amount adventitious roots of the underground part of the plant. To do this, systematic pruning of the roots is carried out, transfers from a smaller container to a larger one.
The high survival rate of plants grown in this way has led to the sale of very large specimens in pots. In garden centers you can find 3-meter-high spruce, fir, larch, even higher arborvitae and columnar junipers. If these plants have a healthy appearance, there is no yellowing of the tips of the needles, there is no need to fear for their survival.
Advice! When purchasing a large coniferous plant in a pot, be sure to check the root system. To do this, carefully lay it on its side and gently slide the pot off the root ball. A well-formed plant has many dark and lighter roots that tightly intertwine the planting substrate. The lump should be wet, and its shape shows that the tree grew in this particular pot.
By such a check, you will protect yourself from unscrupulous traders who are trying to sell a tree that has just been dug out of the ground with its roots chopped off and hastily placed in a tub. You should not buy plants with an overdried lump. No rescue measures will increase the survival rate of such seedlings, but only prolong the time of their slow death.
In some cases, coniferous plants fall on home gardens and summer cottages from nurseries and forestries with an open root system. Since their underground part did not form and grew freely, the main conductive roots, as a rule, were cut. The work of digging, delivering and planting such plants requires special knowledge and equipment, it is better to entrust it to specialists, and after-planting care can be provided independently.
To help new pets survive the stress of the transplant, adapt and begin to develop normally, you must:
- stimulate root formation;
- give right amount moisture;
- provide access to necessary elements nutrition;
- create a comfortable microclimate and safe wintering.
Creating conditions for increasing root formation
Most big problems during transplantation and in the first years of habitation in a new place, it creates an injured root system. Because of this, coniferous plants experience a lack of water and nutrition. The lack of moisture is indicated by:
- drying out of the tips of the needles;
- small annual increments;
- drooping, fall of needles.
The following measures will help to increase root formation, and, therefore, the delivery of the necessary nutrition and water.
Structuring the upper layers of the soil
Loose soil structure provides access to the roots of oxygen, water, creates favorable conditions for active growth. The primary technique for its creation is mulching.
Mulch for coniferous plants usually consists of woody materials of similar species. It can be coniferous litter from arborvitae, juniper, cones, crushed pine bark, wood chips. Covering the surface of the soil, the mulch layer retains moisture in it, protects it from overheating, compaction and weeds. Mulched soil does not form a crust.
Providing moisture. Watering modes
In order for the root system of a coniferous plant to enter the optimal mode of functioning in a new place, it must pass considerable time. 1-2 years is enough for a container plant. The root system of the transplanted krupnomer requires heightened attention 4-5 years. First of all, there must be sufficient watering. It is necessary to saturate the entire root ball with moisture.
Important! Don't rely on rain. They do not soak the soil to the required depth.
Although conifers are designed by nature to be resistant to transpiration (needles evaporate less moisture than leaves), measures must be taken to reduce it. One of the methods is crown sprinkling. Periodic irrigation of trees along the entire height reduces moisture loss. Additionally, especially on hot days, plants are shaded with screens made of burlap or non-woven fabric.
Chemical root stimulants
Good helpers in enhancing the growth of the root system are the so-called phytohormones. They are especially effective on damaged, injured roots:
- indoleacetic acid preparation - "Heteroauxin";
- the drug indolylbutyric acid - "Kornevin".
Important! There are other trade names for these stimulants. When making a choice, make sure that one of the acids is present in the composition.
To increase immunity, recovery after winter and spring burns, spraying with Epin and Zircon helps.
Nutrition of conifers after transplantation
If landing pit filled with well-written soil mixture and mineral fertilizers - additional feeding in the first years is not needed.
Excess nutrition even harms coniferous plants, especially fresh organic matter, unripe manure.
Container plants from European nurseries have a stock of "long-playing" fertilizers in the planting substrate for several years to come.
Only periodic top dressing with potassium will not be superfluous. He normalizes water balance in plant tissues, promoting adaptation.
Protection of young conifers from adverse climatic conditions
Preparing for winter
Rainy autumn weather provokes the development of fungal diseases, wetting of the roots, and warming of the root neck. To alleviate these troubles, coniferous plants leaving for the winter need to be provided with airing of the crown, removal excess water. release root collar from mulch.
Without shelter, they tolerate winter well middle lane Russia, the Urals, the North-West a large number of conifers:
- spruce prickly and ordinary;
- pine ordinary, mountain;
- juniper ordinary, medium, creeping forms of rocky, Virginia, Chinese and many others.
To protect vertical forms (thuja western Brabant, Smaragd, junipers Skyrocket, BlueArrow) from falling apart with snow, trunks and vertical branches are tied. Protect the right geometric shapes(spherical, ovoid) plants from snow deformation help frames made of slats or thin boards.
Important! Do not wrap coniferous plants with film, burlap, non-woven fabric - this will lead to the needles aging.
Covering materials are used by pulling on protective screens and screens. On the crown, you can not tightly wrap permeable materials. Inexpensive option- building facade mesh.
Caring for coniferous plants in the winter garden
The main winter events in the young coniferous garden- release of crowns, fragile shoots from the severity of the snow cover. Tree branches are carefully shaken off, starting from the bottom, gradually moving to the top.
Dwarf and creeping forms are left under snow cover, if necessary, loose snow is additionally raked up.
Protection against spring drying and burning
The sunny days of the last month of winter and the beginning of spring are dangerous for many conifers. At this time, there is a danger of extensive damage to the needles. This is due to the fact that the root system is in the frozen ground and does not have the ability to absorb water, and the needles continue to evaporate it. Especially heated by the bright spring sun.
Strongly suffer from this: Canadian spruce Konika, many varieties of Chinese juniper, rocky, Korean fir, yew berry.
Dwarf and creeping plants get burned during the spring subsidence of snow cover. The most vulnerable forms are those with variegated (golden, blue, white) needles.
To combat burns and withering, set with south side shading frames and screens, fabric-covered. It is possible to remove such shelters only after the soil has completely thawed, when the root system can pump water. Burn prevention - selection of resistant species and varieties, planting in the shade of buildings and large trees.
evergreens coniferous shrubs and trees that retain their crown in winter need post-winter care no less than all other plants. To do this, it is enough to perform a few simple operations.
1. To begin with, let's rewind time a little back - to autumn. In a dry autumn, it is very important to carefully water all coniferous trees before the ground freezes: the plant must gain moisture for the whole winter, because. lack of moisture in the soil can cause the death of the tree.
2. In winter period plants are under a dense layer of snow. It must be periodically knocked down from the tree so that the snow does not spoil the shape and break the branches. And yet, in the spring, when the sun is especially burning, coniferous trees, as a rule, can burn, so it is recommended to cover them already in January. Care coniferous spring it is necessary to begin with the removal of the shelter, but only after the complete and deep thawing of the soil.
3. When the snow has melted and vegetation resumes, it is necessary to apply fertilizer intended specifically for them (Kemira, Amos, Nitrofoska) under coniferous trees in the amount specified by the manufacturer. Usually this is a slowly dissolving mineral fertilizer in the form of granules, containing the necessary macro- and microelements for the growth and health of the plant. mineral fertilizer long exposure dissolves and acts gradually - within 3 - 6 months. The granules are scattered around the roots of the plant and lightly embedded in the soil.
Coniferous trees can also be fertilized with fast-acting dissolving fertilizer - Epin, Zircon. Fertilizer is carried out through the needles when watering plants - by sprinkling. Such a fertilizer is dissolved in water, and its concentration should not exceed 0.5 - 1%, in addition, plants must be watered before fertilization. The first time the plants are fertilized in late April - early May, again in late June - early July. For fertilizer coniferous trees do not use fresh manure or slurry, because conifers are easier to overfeed than underfeed.
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4. In spring, like other plants, coniferous plantations need to be mulched - a layer of mulch retards the growth of weeds and protects the soil from erosion.
5. Caring for coniferous trees also includes pruning dry branches and removing dead needles from the crown of a tree, such as arborvitae, cypresses, mountain pines, junipers. Such pruning is also used when it is necessary to slow down the growth of plants and increase branching, or in order to give the crown a more interesting shape. A tree cared for in this way will not only look good, but also feel good, as oxygen circulation in its crown improves.
And although most varieties of coniferous trees do not need pruning, you need to regularly care for a coniferous hedge - you need to cut dried branches throughout the season.
As a result, a properly groomed (saturated, watered, cleaned, on time and properly formed) tree will be less susceptible to diseases and pests.
Thuja western Smaragd
S.V. Ryndovskaya, biologist, landscape designer,
director of the company "AgroFitEk"
