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Cornus suecica – Swedish Derain grows on the coasts of the Barents and White Seas. You can meet him in the tundra and forest-tundra. In the North, in spruce and birch forests, the shrub forms small clumps or extensive thickets.
Derain is decorative in spring during flowering, in summer – during fruit ripening. In autumn, the semi-shrub covers the ground with an elegant carpet. Its brightly colored leaves stand out against the background of stones and green mosses.
Description of Swedish deren
In nature, Deren Swedish grows next to lingonberries, blueberries, shiksha. This is a dwarf shrub of a herbaceous type with a height of 10 to 30 cm. The plant is winter-hardy. It grows in regions with stable snow cover. The root system is represented by a long woody rhizome with many branching thin roots.
In the spring, tetrahedral stems, sparsely covered with hairs, grow from their branches. With the onset of late autumn, they die off. Renewal buds form in the axils of the lower leaves. When spring comes, young shoots appear from them.
The leaves of the deren are very decorative. The lower ones are green, sessile, smooth on the back with a bluish tinge. The leaves located above are larger (15-45 mm), ovate, pointed. They have 2-3 pairs of lateral veins clearly visible on the sides.
The northern plant has very unusual flowers. The inflorescence consists of 8-25 small flowers. Narrow triangular petals are painted black and purple, attached to short 2 mm pedicels.
The inflorescence is bordered by 4-6 white bracts. Bright framing is necessary in the tundra, it attracts pollinating insects. Derain Swedish blooms in May-June.
From July to September, fruits are formed on Deren, their characteristics:
- shape spherical or ovoid-spherical;
- diameter from 7 to 10 mm;
- color red;
- the stone is spherical, with a diameter of 3 to 3,5 mm.
Because of the large, hard seeds, the plant is popularly nicknamed “drupe.” Outwardly, they vaguely resemble lingonberries. Northern groundcover adorns forests, light forests, meadows of the Murmansk region. It can be found in the North-Eastern regions of Germany, in England, Finland, Japan. It grows in the Far East and North America.
Useful properties of Swedish derain
The plant Cornus suecica (Swedish deren) belongs to the dogwood family. The fruits of most representatives of this family were used in folk medicine. Employees of the Medical University from the city of Arkhangelsk studied the chemical composition of the fruits of Deren Swedish.
In the course of research, the following were isolated from the pulp of the fetus:
- tannins;
- flavonoids;
- minerals;
- glycosides.
The presence of these biologically active substances indicates the medicinal properties of the plant. In folk medicine, the fruits and the aerial part of the Canadian Derain are used. In ancient times, the Eskimos used the fruits as an astringent, anti-inflammatory agent, and an analgesic decoction was prepared from the leaves.
The berries of the Swedish derain, ground into powder, help with nephritis, a decoction of the leaves – for fever. The Eskimos and Canadian Indians ate the fruit.
Planting and care
In nature, Deren Swedish grows where the snow cover is heavy. This must be taken into account when choosing a place. To grow a decorative shrub in a garden, you need to prepare the soil. He loves moist, light, fertile soil with a slightly acidic reaction.
Derain grows worse on clay soil, the roots do not have enough air. Sandy soil is also not suitable for plants – they lack moisture. Bushes of Swedish derain grow slowly and try to crawl into the shade. To improve the structure and create more favorable conditions for growth, high-moor peat is added to the soil.
Subshrubs can be planted in drained, swampy areas. They are not afraid of waterlogging. For gardens where groundwater is close to the surface, this ground cover is a good solution.
The semi-shrub Deren Swedish in nature grows in the conditions of the North, where daylight hours are long in summer. In the garden, it is necessary to create similar conditions. Choose a site that is bright, but at noon, closed from direct sunlight. A comfortable, sparse penumbra is created by pines and other tall conifers.
Care consists in maintaining constant soil moisture, providing partial shade on hot, sunny days. In winter, you need to throw snow on the site. In the spring – add peat and humus. The plant is unpretentious, it is willingly used in landscape design.
Planted in moist, peaty soil, the semi-shrub grows rapidly, forming a dense carpet. During flowering, it is covered with many snow-white flowers, in summer it pleases the eye with bright greenery and orange fruits. In autumn, the leaves of Derain Swedish turn purple and the berries turn bright scarlet. The semi-shrub is used in the decoration of garden lawns.
Reproduction
It is difficult for a gardener who decides to decorate his garden with a decorative shrub to find planting material. Swedish Derain is propagated in several ways:
- seeds;
- root suckers;
- division of the bush.
It takes a long time for seeds to germinate. They ripen in late August or September.
Derain Swedish seed is cleaned from the pulp. In autumn, they are sown in a greenhouse or in open ground, deepened by 3 cm. The surface of the ridge is sprinkled with sand.
For spring sowing, planting material is stratified within 3-4 months. Sawdust mixed with sphagnum moss is poured into the container. The mixture is moistened, the seeds of Derain Swedish are placed in it. The container is hermetically sealed, placed in the lower compartment of the refrigerator.
It is easier to propagate Deren Swedish by root offspring (shoots). They are formed in large numbers from adventitious buds located on the roots. When the plant is at rest, the root suckers are dug up and transplanted, separated from the mother bush.
By vegetative methods (by division, offspring), a short, frost-resistant shrub is propagated in the spring. You can buy a seedling of a northern plant in a nursery, via the Internet. Many gardeners replenish their collection during tourist trips to the White Sea.
Plants purchased at garden centers are much easier to adapt and live longer. They are usually sold in containers. You can also buy shiksha seedlings there. With Deren Swedish and other northern plants, the healing berry comes from the tundra and blends perfectly.
Diseases and pests
Representatives of the genus Cornus are susceptible to fungal diseases. Leaves and shoots of plants suffer from infection.
Disease | Description | Causative agent |
Mučnistaâ rosa | White cobwebbed coating on leaves | Phyllactinia guttata, Trichocladia tortilis |
Spotting light brown | Brown blurry spots on both sides of the leaf plate | Branches very narrow
|
Spotting whitish | Brown spots with a brown border | Ascochyta cornicola |
Diseases worsen the appearance of plants, reduce their decorative effect. With a strong infection, the foliage on the shrub dies prematurely. Spores of the fungus overwinter in plant debris.
On the leaves of a ground cover plant can settle:
- aphid;
- gall-forming tick;
- spider mite;
- other leaf-eating insects.
Sick plants from the fungus are treated with fungicides. They fight pests with the help of insecticides: Fitoverm, Iskra, Fufanon.
Conclusion
Deren Swedish will help create an exotic corner of undersized polar flora in the garden of a country house. Compositions of undersized shrubs made of willows, ledum, juniper, wolf’s bast will look great against the backdrop of a luxurious carpet of Swedish deren.
How to use other types of turf on a personal plot, you can watch the video:
