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Canadian Spruce Rainbow’s End was obtained from a random mutation of Konika by selection by Don Housemvo at the Isely Nursery in Borning, Oregon. In 1978, the work was completed, and the new variety was presented to the attention of the public. Rainbow’s End is similar to the parent form, but grows more slowly and differs in the color of the needles in spring and mid-summer.
Description of Canadian spruce Rainbows End
Canadian spruce Rainbows End at 10 years old reaches a height of 90 to 180 cm with a crown diameter of 40-60 cm. The annual growth is 7-10 cm. It is assumed that the tree can live up to 50 years, its maximum size is 2,5 m, sometimes 3m.
The crown of the Canadian spruce Rainbows End is very dense due to short internodes, regular shape, cone-shaped with a sharp crown. Over time, the contours become not as clear as at a young age. The branches of the spruce are directed upwards and are densely covered with needles, the length of which varies between 1-1,5 cm.
Young growth is creamy, turning golden yellow by summer. Then the needles gradually change color to green. In partial shade, the color of the needles of the Canadian spruce Rainbows End is not too bright. If the tree gets very little sunlight, the yellow color appears weakly.
In the photo of the Canadian spruce Randbose End, you can clearly see the beautiful color of young needles.
At first, the needles are soft, then they become prickly and more rigid. If you rub the needles with your fingers, they emit a smell similar to blackcurrant.
The root system is located close to the soil surface. There are practically no cones.
Use in landscape design
Due to its dwarf size, beautiful crown shape and original coloring, the Canadian Rainbow Fir quickly gained popularity. It is often used in small areas, where it is planted in flower beds, in rockeries, discounts and rock gardens.
The same small stature does not allow the use of Rainbows End spruce as a tapeworm (single focal plant). In addition, in the open sun, the needles burn on the south side. This feature should be taken into account when placing a variety and plant spruce under the cover of plants that can protect it at noon.
Rainbows End looks good in the foreground of landscape groups, in regular plantings along the perimeter of the parterre lawn. It will grace a walking path or the front porch of a house, planted as a repeating element in long, narrow flower beds.
Rainbows End Canada Spruce can be placed in containers. This is convenient, since they are easy to carry from place to place, decorating, as necessary, a place of rest or reception of guests, the entrance to the house. Only you need to carefully take care of the spruce planted in the pot, and do not let the earthy coma dry out.
Planting and caring for a Rainbows End spruce
Actually, there is nothing special in caring for the Rainbow End Canadian spruce. It is important to carefully choose a place for a tree and plant it according to all the rules.
Seedling and planting preparation
Canadian Spruce Rainbows End can grow in the sun and in partial shade. But if in the summer in the middle of the day direct rays fall on it, the needles will burn and may crumble. In spring and autumn, the sun is not so active as to damage the tree, but starting from February it reflects and enhances the snow, and the spruce should be covered with burlap or non-woven fabric.
In dense shade, the creamy and yellow color of young needles fades. After 10 years, sunburn does not cause significant harm to the health of the tree, but reduces its decorative effect. Canadian Spruce Rainbows End is best planted in light partial shade, or covered on the south side by plants with an openwork crown or leaves. Then the yellow color of the young growth will appear, and the needles will not burn.
For planting Canadian spruce, drained, moist soil with an acidic or slightly acidic reaction is suitable. It is best if it is moderately fertile loam or sandy loam. Why is the composition of the soil so important if it is recommended to completely change the soil in the planting pit? The fact is that the spruce root system is located in the upper layers of the soil and eventually spreads far beyond the crown perimeter. And no one will dig a pit in the area to plant a tiny slow-growing tree.
Canadian spruce Rainbows End endures short-term waterlogging of the soil in spring or after prolonged rains. But with constant waterlogging or close standing of groundwater, it will not be able to survive. Much worse than waterlogging, Canadian spruce tolerates dry soil.
Rainbows End seedling from a foreign nursery must be bought in a container. Even if the root is lined with burlap, there is no guarantee that during transportation someone took care of maintaining the water regime. With an open root, lowered into a talker and wrapped in cling film, you can buy Canadian spruce only if the tree was dug up in the presence of the future owner.
Rules of landing
Container-grown Canada Spruces can be planted all season, but south of this should be avoided during the hot summer months. But the best time is autumn. In warm regions, conifers are planted all winter. In the North and the Urals, even the planting of fir trees with an open or sheathed root can be transferred to spring.
The size of the hole for Rainbows End should be:
- diameter – not less than 60 cm;
- depth – at least 70 cm.
The drainage layer is made about 20 cm, the planting mixture is made up of soddy soil, leaf humus, acid peat, sand and clay. As a starting fertilizer, take 100-150 g of nitroammophoska.
The landing pit is 2/3 filled with the prepared mixture and filled with water. After 2 weeks, you can start planting the Canadian spruce Rainbows End:
- So much soil is taken out of the pit so that the root neck of the seedling installed in the center is flush with the ground.
- The soil is compacted in the process of filling the pit so that voids do not form.
- Check the position of the root neck.
- A roller is formed around the planting hole from the remaining soil.
- Plentifully water the Canadian spruce Rainbows End so that the near-stem circle is filled with water.
- When the liquid is absorbed, the soil under the tree is mulched with acidic peat or pine bark.
Watering and top dressing
The first 2 weeks after planting spruce, regular and plentiful watering is needed – the soil should not dry out even for a short time. Then humidification is carried out less often. But in the summer in the heat, weekly watering may still be required. Systematic waterlogging of the soil can cause rot damage. Especially dangerous is the jamming of the root collar.
No less than watering, crown sprinkling is important for Canadian fir trees. If the site has a misting plant or an automatic watering system with retractable nozzles, this will be sufficient for bonsai. Otherwise, you will have to pick up a hose and water the crown, in the heat – daily. This should be done early in the morning or at 17-18 hours, so that the branches dry before dark.
Coniferous plants, including Canadian spruce Rainbows End, are best fed not with conventional fertilizers, but with specialized ones. Now on sale there are effective inexpensive domestic drugs. When buying and using, you should pay attention to what season they are intended for: spring ones contain high doses of nitrogen, autumn ones contain phosphorus and potassium.
For Canadian spruce, foliar top dressing is no less important than fertilizing the soil. This is due to the fact that the trace elements necessary for the culture are better absorbed through the needles. It is better to give them in a chelated form, adding epin or zircon in an ampoule alternately. When the golden needles turn green, a dose of magnesium sulfate is added to the balloon.
Mulching and loosening
It is necessary to loosen the soil under the Rainbow End Canadian spruce only in the first year or two after planting – the roots come close to the surface and it is better not to disturb them. The soil is then mulched with sour peat or fungicide-treated pine bark, which is sold ready-to-use at garden centers.
Trimming
The Canadian spruce Rainbows End has a beautiful pyramidal crown that does not need shaping pruning. It may be necessary to remove a randomly grown shoot of a regular size. If it is left on the tree even for a short time, the branch will quickly take a dominant position and spoil the varietal spruce.
It is impossible to carry out sanitary pruning of Rainbows End – a mass of short dry branches is hidden inside a dense crown. But this is not provided for in the comprehensive care for dwarf varieties of Canadian spruce – it is customary to clean their crown regularly.
Crown cleaning
The Canadian spruce Rainbows End has a very dense crown, inside which the rays of the sun do not fall, and if you do not push the needles apart, then water during sprinkling or treatments. Needles and twigs located close to the trunk dry out, without access to moisture they become overgrown with dust and mites. Such spruce can no longer purify the air, and itself becomes a threat to human health.
To improve her crown, at least three cleanings per season are carried out. The gardener must put on gloves, goggles and a respirator, push the branches apart, and pick out all the dry needles with his hands. From fallen needles and easily broken off dead branches, the trunk and soil under the Canadian spruce are released. Then the tree is treated with a fungicide (better containing copper), paying special attention to the inside of the crown and the surface of the soil under the plant.
Cleaning is done in calm weather, on dry needles:
- in the spring, before the opening of the kidneys with an interval of 2 weeks;
- in the autumn, just before the pre-winter preventive treatment, they ate with a fungicide.
Preparation for winter
Canadian spruce Rainbows End winters without problems in frost resistance zone 4. There it is covered with spruce branches or non-woven material only in the year of planting, and subsequently limited to soil mulching with acid peat. In cooler regions in a snowless winter, protection is needed for a tree up to 10 years of age.
You can increase the resistance to frost of the Rainbow End Canadian spruce with proper care, autumn moisture charging and fertilizer with phosphorus and potassium at the end of the season.
If return frosts are expected after the growth of the needles, the tree should be covered with burlap or non-woven material.
Sun protection
It is necessary to cover from the sun’s rays until the opening of the kidneys dwarf Canadian spruce from the beginning of February. At this time, the needles actively evaporate moisture, and the roots in the frozen ground cannot make up for its deficiency.
In the summer, Rainbows End Canadian Spruce will burn on the south side. To prevent this from happening, you need to plant it in partial shade or under the cover of other plants. You can increase resistance to sunlight by regularly sprinkling the crown and spraying with epin.
Reproduction
Cones from the Canadian spruce Runbose End can not wait. But even if they appear, specific plants will grow from the seeds, and of poor quality. The variety can be propagated only by cuttings or grafting. The last method is only for experienced professionals. You can try to root the shoots taken with a piece of the bark of the older branch (heel) on your own. The survival rate will be low, but a certain number of cuttings will survive with careful care.
The lower part of the shoots intended for rooting is freed from needles, treated with a stimulant, and planted to a depth of 2-3 cm in a cold greenhouse with a mixture of sand and soddy soil. You can use containers with drainage holes filled with the same substrate, clean sand or perlite.
They are kept in a cool place protected from the sun and watered regularly. Those cuttings that have taken root are transplanted into individual containers with a more nutritious substrate. They are transplanted to a permanent place at the age of 4-5 years, when lateral branches appear.
Diseases and pests
Most often, the Rainbow End Canadian spruce suffers from ticks – they start inside the crown due to dryness. Other pests include:
- caterpillars of the Nun butterfly;
- spruce leaflet;
- gall aphids;
- hermes;
- mealybug;
- spruce sawmill.
Common diseases:
- Shutte normal and snowy;
- spruce spinner;
- rust;
- rot;
- fusariosis;
- necrosis;
- wound cancer.
In order not to miss the problem, every week the spruce should be inspected with a magnifying glass. Pests get rid of with the help of insecticides, fungicides will help to cope with diseases.
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Conclusion
Spruce Canadian Rainbow End requires careful maintenance, but can decorate any site. The time spent on it will pay off handsomely – the tree looks amazing, especially in spring and early summer.