Contents
Crimean pine is an evergreen tree belonging to the Pine family. The second name of the Crimean conifer is Pallas pine (lat. name – Pinus nigra subsp. pallasiana). This is one of the subspecies of black pine.
Description of the Crimean pine
Crimean pine is a tall coniferous tree, reaching a height of 30-40 m, the maximum figure is 45 m. The crown of young trees is pyramidal, fairly wide, in older specimens it is umbrella-shaped.
The branches of the Pallas pine are located horizontally, there is a slight upward curvature.
The bark on the trunk is very dark, brownish or almost black, mottled with cracks and deep furrows. The upper part of the trunk is painted in a reddish hue, young branches are shiny, yellowish-brown in color.
The needles are long, dark green. The needles are very dense and prickly, slightly curved. The length of the needles is from 8 to 12 cm, the width is up to 2 mm. The kidneys are quite large, covered with straight scales.
Cones are located horizontally, on a branch they can be single, or several at once. The color of the cones is brown with a sheen, the shape is ovoid, conical. The length of the Crimean pine cones ranges from 5 to 10 cm, the diameter is from 5 to 6 cm. Young shields are painted in a bluish-violet hue, the color of mature ones is brownish-yellow.
The length of the seeds is 5-7 mm, the length of the wing is up to 2,5 cm, and the width is about 6 mm. The color of the dark seeds can be gray or almost black with a dark spot. The color of the wing is light, the shape is sail-shaped, irregularly oval.
The life expectancy of the Crimean pine is 500–600 years.
Crimean pine in landscape design
Pine trees are one of the main elements of the landscape. Evergreen coniferous trees delight the eye all year round.
Ephedra look good both in a single planting and in combination with other trees. Since the Crimean pine belongs to tall species, it is used to decorate alleys in park areas.
Crimean pine is also used to create protective belts and forest plantations.
How to grow Crimean pine from seeds
Growing Crimean pine from seeds is not difficult, given some of the features of the preparation of seed material. Pine cones can be found in the forest or purchased from a nursery. Seed ripening occurs in the fall, so the cones should go out in the pre-winter period.
The collected cones are placed to dry in a warm sunny place. It is necessary that the scales fully open and release the seeds. To speed up the process, you can increase the temperature, but heating the material at a high temperature (more than 45 ° C) is not recommended, because. seeds may lose their viability.
Checking the germination of seeds of the Crimean pine is carried out by immersing the planting material in a container of water.
After selecting the seeds, they are dried and stored in a dark, cool place until planting.
Seed planting technology:
- 2 weeks before planting in the ground, the seeds must be germinated. To do this, they are placed in a damp cloth, germinated seeds must have a sprout.
- 24 hours before planting, the seeds are treated with a solution of potassium permanganate.
- Planting containers should be individual, drainage is laid on the bottom, then a special mixture consisting of sphagnum and crushed pine bark is poured (1: 4 ratio).
- Seeds are carefully placed in the ground and sprinkled, moistened with a spray bottle.
- Seed containers are placed in a sunny place.
- The earth is moistened regularly, preventing the soil from drying out.
After the sprouts reach a height of 30 cm, they can be placed in open ground. To increase the chances of survival, experts recommend planting young pine trees no earlier than 2-3 years later.
In regions with a mild climate, seeds can be planted immediately in open ground. To do this, a number of requirements are met:
- seeds are soaked for several days in water, changing it daily;
- the depth of laying seeds on the bed is at least 3 cm;
- between the seeds leave a distance of at least 15 cm, row spacing should be wide – up to 50 cm;
- the bed with seeds is covered with mulching materials;
- to protect the seedlings that have appeared from birds and rodents, the beds are covered with a film. When the shoots are freed from the remnants of seeds, the shelter is removed;
- seedlings are planted no earlier than three years later;
- when transplanting, soil from a pine forest must be added to the planting pit, it contains mycorrhiza, which helps the seedling to adapt faster.
Planting and caring for the Crimean pine in open ground
For planting in open ground, it is best to use a seedling purchased from a nursery or grown from seeds. Trees dug up in the forest very rarely take root after transplanting, so this option should not be used.
Seedling and planting preparation
For growing Crimean pine in the country, you must select the appropriate site. The soil should be sandy or sandy loam. On loamy soils, a drainage layer will be required. The layer of drainage filled into the planting pit should be at least 20 cm. Broken brick, crushed stone, sand are used as drainage. If the soil is highly acidic, liming is carried out. To do this, 300 g of lime is added to a previously prepared pit and mixed with soil.
The seedlings are carefully removed from the pot or dug out of the ground and placed in a hole together with an earthen clod. For transplanting pines from the nursery, seedlings are purchased at the age of 3–5 years.
Rules of landing
Crimean pine is planted in spring or early autumn. Standard hole size:
- depth 70–80 cm;
- diameter – up to 70 cm.
The soil mixture for falling asleep in the holes is prepared as follows: soddy soil is mixed in equal amounts with river sand and soil from coniferous forests, 30 g of nitrogen fertilizers are added.
It is necessary to ensure that the root neck remains not buried in the ground. It should be at ground level.
Watering and top dressing
Crimean pine is a drought-resistant tree that does not need additional watering. This applies to mature trees, and seedlings after transplantation are recommended to be watered to help rooting.
In autumn, young pines must be watered 2-3 weeks before the onset of cold weather. This is necessary to prevent the risk of burning needles in the spring. The crown of the Crimean pine wakes up early, and the dried earth leads to yellowing of the needles. Therefore, moisture-charging watering is necessary for young pines.
The first 2-3 years after planting, seedlings need top dressing. It is recommended to apply mineral fertilizers to the near-stem circle. It is enough to do this once a season (in spring). Under each seedling, mineral compositions are applied at the rate of 1 g per 40 m² of the near-stem circle.
Adult pine trees do not need additional feeding, they have enough nutrients accumulated in coniferous litter.
Mulching and loosening
The trunk circle must be periodically loosened. This improves the condition of the soil and saturates the roots with oxygen. Loosening and removal of weeds is carried out as needed. The earth is not dug too deep so as not to damage the root system of the pine.
Mulching helps to protect the roots from freezing, prevents the appearance of weeds. Shredded bark of coniferous trees, peat, leaves and needles are used as mulch.
Trimming
Crimean pine does not need to form a crown. If the branches are damaged, cut them down.
Preparation for winter
Mature pines have good frost resistance, and young seedlings may suffer from winter frosts. To prevent damage to seedlings, they are sheltered, for this they use spruce branches, burlap, and special covering material. Polyethylene film for shelter is not suitable, because its use leads to warming of the bark.
Reproduction of the Crimean pine
The main method of reproduction of the Crimean pine is planting seeds. Cuttings or grafting are considered ineffective and are not used when breeding Crimean pine.
Planting Crimean pine seeds can be carried out immediately in the ground or in individual containers
Pests and diseases of the Crimean pine
The most common diseases of Crimean coniferous trees are:
- root and stem rot;
- rust;
- cancer.
Prevention of diseases consists in the proper care of the seedling, as well as in the treatment with fungicide biological preparations.
Pine trees can be damaged by insects. For young seedlings, the danger is the May beetle, which can damage the root system of the tree. Before planting, it is necessary to carefully examine the soil, if the larvae of the grub are found, the earth is treated with chemicals.
Bark beetles damage diseased and young trees. They make moves in the trunk, which leads to a lack of nutrition and the tree gradually dries out. You can see the presence of six-toothed bark beetles by drilling flour on the trunk. For preventive purposes, in spring, pines are treated with bifenthrin-containing preparations.
Insects can cause damage to the needles. For example, pine silkworm caterpillars eat about 700 conifer needles during the development period. To combat them, drugs Aktara, Decis, Karate, Engio are used. Processing is carried out in autumn or spring.
Conclusion
Crimean pine is a perennial evergreen tree used to decorate park alleys, create forest belts and coniferous plantations. Due to excessive felling and population decline, this subspecies is listed in the Red Book of Ukraine and Our Country.
