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Black spruce: varieties of ornamental trees and shrubs
Among the ornamental trees and shrubs, the black spruce stands out for its original appearance. She is quite unpretentious, but requires a special attitude. When growing it, you need to choose the right variety and know the rules of planting and care.
Description of varieties of black spruce
Black spruce can be planted singly or in groups
In nature, this evergreen tree is common in the northern United States and Canada. Its average height is 15 m, but there are specimens up to 30 m tall. It has a conical crown with drooping branches, gray or red-brown bark. The needles are thin, four-sided, very dense, up to 12 cm long. The spruce got its name due to small, dark cones, which are colored at first in a red-brown color, but fade as they ripen.
The tree is used for landscaping gardens and parks. The following varieties are most popular in Russia:
- Slender Baysneri. This spruce tree with dense branches and silvery-blue needles grows up to 5 m, has a conical crown of the same diameter near the ground. It works well as a hedge in large gardens. It is frost-resistant and can withstand direct sunlight.
- Low “Nana”. This dwarf, wide-rounded variety with blue needles grows very slowly. It grows up to 30 cm in 10 years and has a maximum height of 50 cm. Grown in containers, adorns alpine slides.
- Exotic “Doumeny”. This spruce has cones located right on the trunk. The plant grows quickly up to 6 m.
- Miniature “Kobold”. It will take 1 years for this hybrid to grow 20 meter. It has long, dark green needles.
Among the varieties, there are many undersized and even dwarf ones. There are spruces with golden, white-variegated, blue-tinted needles. When developing new hybrids, attention is paid to ease of care and adaptability.
How is black spruce grown
At home, it grows in the taiga and in permafrost territories, and in more southern regions in swamps and lowlands. An adult plant is unpretentious to the soil, but a young plant is best planted in a well-drained, fertile mixture of sod and leafy soil with the addition of sand and peat. Seedlings can be bought at the nursery or grown on their own from the cuttings.
In the shade, they will grow, but very slowly. It is better to choose a well-lit place, it can be a little swampy, but located far from groundwater. Trees are sensitive to air pollution, so it is better to plant them in the country, and not in a dusty city.
Due to poor ecology, the spruce turns red and the needles crumble.
Watering and feeding are especially important for young trees. They do not tolerate trampling of the earth and require annual loosening. The spruce transplant is poorly tolerated, therefore it is better to place them immediately in a permanent place. For a grown spruce, care is mainly reduced to crown formation. It is necessary to regularly remove dry branches, carry out deep pruning. Then the tree will look more spectacular.
Spruce is beautiful at any time, but especially charming in winter. It combines well with other plants.