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Colchis boxwood is a subtropical plant native to the Mediterranean, which is often used for landscaping streets, parks, squares and gardens. This is one of the few cultures that have come down to us from ancient times. Currently, the species is listed in the Red Book and is endangered.
What boxwood looks like
Colchis boxwood is an evergreen plant belonging to the genus Boxwood of the Boxwood family and growing in the form of a tree or shrub. It is often used for landscaping urban areas.
Plant height can reach 15 m, at the age of 200 – 250 years, the diameter of the trunk at the base is about 30 cm. Under favorable conditions, representatives of this species can live up to 600 years.
Where does boxwood grow?
The natural distribution zone of boxwood colchis includes Azerbaijan, Georgia, Abkhazia, Turkey and Our Country. On the Black Sea coast, this plant can be found even at an altitude of 1800 m above sea level.
Colchis boxwood prefers damp places, it can often be found in gorges. A comfortable habitat for culture is humid Colchis or Kuban-Colchis forests up to a height of 600 m above sea level.
Colchis boxwood is cultivated in the following botanical gardens:
- GBS RAS in Moscow;
- Sochi arboretum, parks of Greater Sochi, Subtropical garden of Kuban in Sochi;
- Gorsky Agrarian State Institution in Vladikavkaz;
- Kuban State University in Krasnodar;
- BIN RAS in Pyatigorsk;
- UNN in Nizhny Novgorod;
- Arboretum of the Adyghe State University in Maykop;
- Arboretum of the Sakhalin Forest Experimental Station in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk.
Botanical description of boxwood Colchis
The young shoots of Colchis boxwood have a green tint, the old branches are covered with lignified bark. The plant is characterized by slow growth of shoots, the thickness of the trunk increases by no more than 1 mm per year.
The leaf arrangement of Colchis boxwood is opposite, the surface of the leaf blade is bare and leathery. The length of the leaves is 1 – 3 cm, they have an oval-lanceolate shape. The upper side of the leaf surface is painted in a rich dark green color, the lower side is lighter. Despite the small size of the foliage, the crown of the tree is dense and dense to such an extent that sometimes it practically does not let the sun’s rays through.
Flowering boxwood Colchian begins in May. The first time the plant blooms at the age of 20 – 25 years. During flowering in the axils of the leaves, small green-yellow flowers with a delicate, sweetish aroma are formed, collected in axillary capitate inflorescences. Staminate flowers are located at the bases of the shoots, pistillate flowers are collected at their tops. In autumn, after the end of flowering, instead of flowers, fruit-boxes are formed containing small black seeds inside.
Reproduction in nature occurs with the help of seeds; after maturation, they are able to fly up to a distance of 3 m from the mother bush. You can independently propagate boxwood Colchis and vegetatively, using cuttings.
Conditions for growing boxwood Colchis
Many gardeners often grow Colchis boxwood as a pot crop. This method is quite convenient for residents of the northern and central regions with a cold winter climate. In winter, the plant can be brought into a warm room and maintained at a temperature of 12 – 15 degrees, and in summer it can be taken out into fresh air. When growing in this way, it is important that the capacity for planting boxwood is not too large for it. Otherwise, plant growth may slow down.
In the climatic conditions of the southern regions, planting in open ground is also possible. Boxwood shrubs prefer being in light partial shade. The boxwood crown is easy to cut, so you can give it any shape and turn the tree into an original garden sculpture.
If the seedlings were bought from a store, they should be transferred to large pots with a nutritious soil mixture with a neutral pH level. In order not to injure the root system during transplantation, seedlings are transplanted together with an earthen clod. Plants are usually sold in shipping pots along with plain soil. To prepare a nutritious soil mixture, you can take:
- 2 parts of deciduous land;
- 1 part of coniferous land;
- 1 part of the sand;
- perlite;
- birch charcoal.
Colchis boxwood is propagated by cuttings and seeds. To propagate a plant by seeds, you need:
- soak fresh, recently ripened seeds for a day in water mixed with any growth stimulator;
- put the seeds on a damp towel, wrap;
- leave until sprouts appear, regularly wetting the towel until damp, but not wet (the process can take up to 30 days);
- after white sprouts appear, the seeds are sown in a mixture of peat and sand, taken in a ratio of 1: 1;
- make a shelter from a film or glass, store in warmth and partial shade.
Wait for the first shoots to appear in 2 – 3 weeks. After the first shoots break out of the soil, the shelter is removed. For sprouts, it is also recommended to stay in partial shade afterwards. Young plants are fed with fertilizers diluted in a weak consistency.
Algorithm for propagation of Colchian boxwood by cuttings:
- at the beginning of summer, with a sharp knife, cut semi-lignified shoots no more than 15 cm long from the bush;
- then all the lower branches and leaves must be cut off;
- powder the cut point with any agent that stimulates root formation;
- plant the cuttings in a mixture of sawdust and sand, pour abundantly;
- so that the seedlings take root faster, you can build a small greenhouse for them from improvised means.
Landing in open ground is carried out in the spring. Planting pits for boxwood are necessarily drained, since the culture does not tolerate excessive waterlogging of the soil. Boxwood does not require special conditions for growing: the main thing that he needs to provide is a well-lit place. In this case, the shape of the bushes will be more compact.
In order to grow a tall plant, in winter you will need to take care of a shelter, which can be built as a wooden box. Colchis boxwood can winter only in the southern regions; it does not tolerate severe frosts.
In cloudy weather, boxwood requires moderate watering, in dry weather – plentiful. Fertilizing will help speed up the growth of plants. They must be submitted before August.
During the summer, the bush is trimmed regularly, giving it the desired shape and removing the longest branches. At the same time, it is important to remember that the green mass grows very slowly, so the crown should not be cut too much.
Conservation status and threats
Over the past decades, there has been a strong reduction in the habitats of Colchian boxwood, which is why the plant has been included in the Red Book of the Federation, Georgia and Azerbaijan. The conservation status of the plant is considered close to vulnerable.
In 2012, during the Olympic Games in Sochi, along with material for planting boxwood, a dangerous invasive pest, boxwood moth, was randomly brought to Our Country from Italy, which massively destroys boxwood plantings.
After the pests were found on seedlings in the Sochi National Park, they were supposed to be destroyed, but instead they were treated with pesticides, as a result of which the pests survived, multiplied and spread to the territories of Our Country, Georgia and Abkhazia.
This led to the fact that by 2014, in the relic yew-boxwood grove in the Khostinsky district of Sochi, most of the boxwoods had died out, and by the end of 2016, the area of distribution of this plant in Our Country had decreased from 5000 hectares to 5 hectares. In Abkhazia, only 1/3 of boxwood plantations remained unharmed.
Other limiting factors are:
- change in natural conditions;
- clearing boxwood forests for timber;
- pruning shoots for flower arrangements.
Conclusion
Colchis boxwood is an ancient plant listed in the Red Book, which can be grown independently both in open ground and in a pot. Colchis boxwood is especially often grown using the pot method in the northern regions, since it is very sensitive to low temperatures.
