Common spruce

Contents

Common spruce varieties
Planting a spruce
Norway spruce care
Reproduction of common spruce
Diseases of the common spruce
Common spruce pests
Popular questions and answers

Norway spruce is a welcome tree in every garden. This is a truly family tree – a traditional attribute of the New Year and Christmas. It is unpretentious and has many interesting varieties.

Common spruce (Picea abies) the oldest evergreen species of the pine family, a slender and beautiful long-lived woody plant with a pyramidal wide crown. In nature, it reaches 50 m in height. Its straight trunk can reach 1 – 2 m in diameter. The top of the spruce is always sharp, the branches grow horizontally or arcuately raised upwards. The bark is red or grey. The needles are short, 15-20 mm long, bright green or dark green in color, with a characteristic aroma. Although we are talking about conifers as evergreens, in fact, needles have their own lifespan: in spruce, they stay on a tree for a maximum of 6 to 12 years.

Norway spruce is the most common coniferous plant in Our Country, the main forest-forming species. In nature, you can find trees over 250 – 300 years old.

The cones of the common spruce are oblong, cylindrical. During their life, they change color from red to green, and as they mature, they become brown. The seeds are easily dispersed by the wind thanks to their wings. The crop ripens every 3-4 years, but old cones can hang on a tree for more than one year.

In different cultures, spruce is considered a symbol of eternal life, courage and fidelity. But in Our Country, she was never planted next to the house – this was considered a bad omen. All because it is good … burns. And if suddenly there was a fire in some house, the tree flared up like a match, fell and spread the fire to other houses. But now it is willingly planted in many areas: dwarf varieties and non-hot building materials have appeared.

Common spruce varieties

But now common spruce is very popular in landscape design due to frost resistance, shade tolerance, and most importantly, a variety of varieties.

Nidiformis (Nidiformis). It belongs to the dwarf subspecies of the common spruce. This compact beautiful plant has long won its place in small gardens. A shrub with an original flat-rounded (in young trees it is nest-shaped), a very dense crown of thin twigs with light green needles in height reaches only 1 – 1,2 m and 2,5 m in width. But to these sizes, he needs to grow for a long time – in 10 years, the spruce will barely be 40 cm.

This variety is very winter-hardy, without problems withstands air temperatures down to -40 ° C. It is undemanding to soils, although it develops better on fresh, moist soils. Grows well in both full light and partial shade.

The variety was introduced into culture at the beginning of the 1th century. Used by landscapers in rocky gardens and low borders (XNUMX). There is a positive experience of growing Nidiformis in containers.

Acrocona (Acrocona). One of the most picturesque varieties, known since the end of the 3th century. Its irregular wide columnar shape of the crown, asymmetrically and arched hanging branches give the garden lightness. An adult Acrocona reaches a height of 3 m with a crown width of up to 12 m. The dark green needles are short, kept on branches for up to XNUMX years. Numerous beautiful large cones, originally growing at the ends of the shoots, become a real decoration of the tree. At first they are bright red, then turn brown.

The variety grows slowly, withstands frosts down to -40°C, is photophilous, prefers fertile and moist soils with slightly alkaline reaction.

In landscape design, it is valued as a tapeworm (single plant). It is often used to create rocky and Japanese gardens.

Inverse (Inversa). One of the most interesting variations on the theme of “weeping spruce”. Found in England in 1884. A tree with a narrow crown, falling branches forming a plume on the ground. Grow it as a slow-growing shrub on a support, or plant it on a tall trunk. Hanging branches fit snugly to the trunk, so even in an adult tree, the crown diameter does not exceed 2,5 m.

Variety Inversa (2) is very winter-hardy (withstands down to -40 ° C), it can grow even in harsh mountain conditions. Likes bright places, but is able to grow in partial shade. Soils prefer moist, nutritious, tolerant to both acidic and alkaline.

In landscape design, it plays the role of a spectacular tapeworm.

Wills Zwerg. Began to be actively sold since 1956. Undersized, slow-growing, by the age of 30 it gains 2 m in height, but barely reaches 1 m in width. The crown is beautiful, dense, pin-shaped or conical. It looks very elegant and spectacular at the beginning of the growth of shoots, which, against the background of dark green paws, stand out with yellow-orange growth. And in summer, young shoots differ in color – they are light green.

The variety is very winter-hardy (down to -40 ° C), photophilous, although it can also grow in shady places. It needs well-drained, moderately fertile soils.

In landscape design of small gardens it is used as a tapeworm and in groups as a supporting plant.

Little Gem. One of the smallest and slowest growing spruce mutations. Discovered in the 50s of the last century in Holland. The crown is cushion-shaped, dense, the branches are short, slightly raised. The needles are delicate, thin, dark green. In the spring, against this background, a young growth with bright green needles looks very impressive. By the age of 10, the Christmas tree grows to a height of only 20 cm. And after 50 cm, its growth stops. A characteristic feature of this dwarf is that it never blooms.

Frost-resistant spruce (up to -35 °C), photophilous, prefers moderately moist and nutritious soils.

In landscape design, it is used in miniature and small gardens, in rockeries and scree, and is effective in containers.

Planting a spruce

An important rule: before buying a seedling, you must clearly determine the place of planting, realizing what size the plant will be in 10-20 years. Spruces are not the kind of plants that easily tolerate transplantation. For plants with a closed root system (ZKS), the best planting time is from mid-April to October, for seedlings with an open root system – until mid-April and the second half of September – early November.

The best option is seedlings in a container or with a packed earthen clod. The landing pit must be prepared in advance.

It should be remembered that young plants in the first two winters can suffer from sunburn, so protection from drying winds and bright sun at the end of winter is needed.

Norway spruce care

Varieties and forms of common spruce are diverse, very winter-hardy (with rare exceptions), some have peculiarities in care, but most often basic knowledge is enough for plants to develop and grow beautiful, healthy and durable.

Ground

Norway spruce develops best on moderately moist, well-drained, fairly fertile soils. Ideally – slightly acidic rich loam. Some varieties need a slightly alkaline soil reaction, but in general spruces grow well on slightly acidic and neutral soils. On poor sandy soils, when planting in pits, clay and humus are added in a ratio of 1: 1.

Lighting

Most varieties tolerate direct sunlight well, but in the first two winters, dwarf forms need shading. Many cultivars are shade tolerant, however, a beautiful crown shape develops only with sufficient sunlight.

Watering

In nature, common spruce grows on moderately moist soils, although many spruce forests are found in mountainous areas where there is not much moisture. However, when planting, all varieties of spruce need high-quality watering, especially in the first year.

After planting, watering is needed once a week at the rate of 1 – 10 liters of water per seedling no more than 12 m high. In hot weather, in the evening or morning hours, a shower has a beneficial effect. To preserve moisture, trunk circles can be mulched with a thick layer of bark or sawdust of conifers.

After a year or two, most varieties of Norway spruce no longer need watering, although they respond well to a water shower on hot days.

The most important condition for a good wintering of young plants is water-charging watering. No matter how wet autumn is, in October, under each coniferous tree, at least 20-30 liters of water should be poured onto small plants and 50 liters per meter of crown height.

fertilizers

When planting, phosphorus-potassium fertilizers and stale sawdust of conifers are used. No manure or fresh compost, however, as well as any nitrogen fertilizer, as well as ash. Under dwarf varieties, it is permissible to put half a bucket of well-ripened compost in the planting hole.

Feeding

On fertile soils in the first 2 – 3 years after planting, spruce do not need top dressing. In the future, special fertilizers are applied to the trunk circles. When the needles turn yellow and fall off, as well as in the first year, it is useful to spray the crown with solutions of Epin and Ferrovit.

Reproduction of common spruce

Spruces can be propagated in three ways.

Seeds. With this method, varietal characteristics are not preserved. However, this method is popular with those who need a lot of planting material, and they are in no hurry. With this method of growing, it is important that the seeds are fresh and stratified.

Inoculation. This is an option for varietal plants – it allows you to save all the signs of the mother plant.

Cuttings. It is also used for propagation of varietal fir trees. But it requires patience, time and compliance with a large number of rules.

Rooting cuttings are taken from mother plants on a cloudy day in late March – early April, tearing off from a branch with a heel – a piece of trunk bark. A good cutting should be 7-10 cm long. Immediately after harvesting, the ends of the cuttings are placed for a day in a solution of a root formation stimulator (for example, Heteroauxin). Then the cuttings are planted in pots with light fertile soil at an angle of 30 °, deepening by 2-3 cm. The pots are placed in a greenhouse or covered with a plastic bag. It is important to air the plantings once a day.

Be patient – the rooting process can take up to one year. And during this period, it is important to regularly water and ventilate the plants. Once every 2 weeks, you can add a weak solution of Heteroauxin to the water.

In the spring, rooted cuttings are planted in a school, which is arranged under the canopy of trees. Only after a year or two grown plants can be planted in a permanent place.

Diseases of the common spruce

Rust (spruce spinner). This is a fungal disease. The disease manifests itself on the cortex in the form of small, 0,5 cm in diameter swellings of orange color. Then the needles begin to turn yellow and fall off. Cones can also be affected by rust.

It is important already at the initial stage to collect diseased needles and cones, cut and burn the branches affected by the fungus, and treat the plants with Hom (copper oxychloride) (3) or Rakurs. For prevention, spring spraying with Bordeaux liquid is practiced.

Shutte. Although pines are more likely to suffer from this disease, Schütte (snow mold) often affects Norway spruce. The culprit is a fungus pathogen. It populates plants in autumn. Rapidly develops in winter, especially under snow. In spring, brown needles with a white coating appear on the plants. Sick needles can stay on spruce for another year. This leads to a stop in the development of the plant, and in some cases to death.

The treatment consists in removing the affected branches and treating the plants three times with Hom or Rakurs preparations (3).

Common spruce pests

Spruce spider mite. The most common pest that breeds most actively during the hot dry months. Ticks pierce needles, drinking juices, leaving small yellow spots on them. With a strong infection, the needles turn brown and crumble. A web appears on the branches.

Prevention – regular dousing of crowns with water. Treatment – spraying infected plants with Actellik, Antiklesch, Fitoverm. It is important to carry out at least 3 treatments from June to September.

Spruce sawfly. A small insect populates spruce with larvae that eat the needles. It is not so easy to notice the sawfly invasion at first – the larvae literally merge with the needles. But when the young needles turn reddish-brown in color, urgent measures must be taken to protect the plants.

The drug Pinocid is effective from the sawfly. The tree is sprayed with a solution at least twice, it is also important to spill the near-stem circles with the solution – the larvae dig into the ground. In the initial stage of infection, spraying with Actellik or Fury is effective.

Spruce leaflet-needleworm. The moth butterfly infects spruce with larvae that bite into the needles, making mines. After some time, the needles are covered with cobwebs and crumble.

Calypso and Confidor are effective against leafworms. With a slight lesion, two or three treatments of the affected branches with Green soap are enough.

Spruce false shield. Often affects young plants. Small insects settle on the bark and needles, which is noticeable by the sticky coating. Plants are oppressed, needles turn brown and fall off, branches bend and dry out.

The most effective against this pest are Aktara and Confidor.