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Mountain fir Compacta has several synonyms: subalpine fir, Lasiocarpa fir. Subalpine culture is found in the highlands of North America in the wild. Due to its compactness and unusual appearance, it is often used in landscape design.
Description of subalpine fir Compacta
Fir mountain subalpine Compact is one of the best decorative dwarf varieties. According to the description, the decorative effect of the compact mountain fir, shown in the photo, is as follows:
- compact crown size;
- blue needles;
- tough short branches that allow you to survive snowfalls without much damage.
The shape of the crown is wide-conical, the height of an adult seedling at the age of about 30 years does not exceed three meters, the diameter is from 2 to 2,5 m. The tree grows slowly, especially at a young age.
The shoots have an ash-gray hue with a slight rusty pubescence. The needles are short, not prickly, silvery-bluish.
The cones are oblong-cylindrical. The color of the cones is violet-blue, the average length is about 10 cm. The cones on the shoots are located vertically upwards.
Fir mountain subalpine Compact loves fertile lands with moderate moisture. Periodic excess moisture tolerates well. Soil acidity (pH) for growing this variety should be in the range of 5 to 7. On loamy soils with high humidity, the culture grows poorly. Carbonate soils can be used for growing compact mountain fir. It can grow in sunny and semi-shaded areas.
Compact fir in landscape design
Fir mountain subalpine Compacta is widely used in the ideas of landscape designers. It is used to decorate alpine slides, planted in heather and rocky gardens.
This evergreen tree will decorate the backyard all year round, the main thing is to follow the rules for caring for it.
Planting options for mountain subalpine compact fir:
- in the center of a lawn or flower bed;
- along the wall of a building or fence;
- in a row to create a hedge;
- along the alley.
Planting and caring for subalpine compacta fir
It is best to purchase a compact mountain subalpine fir seedling from a specialized nursery located in the same climatic region where the seedling is planned to be planted. Trees in the nursery are sold with a closed root system in containers where all the necessary nutrients are added, so you don’t have to worry about fertilizer at the time of planting.
Seedling and planting preparation
The seat for Compact fir should be well lit. Suitable areas with periodic shading. It is better not to plant mountain fir in the shade from other trees, because the tree belongs to light-loving specimens.
If the seedling has an open root system, before planting the tree should be soaked in a solution that accelerates root growth. Experts do not advise purchasing coniferous seedlings with open roots, because they practically do not take root.
If the seedling is purchased in a pot, it is well watered and removed along with an earthen clod.
Rules of landing
The best time to plant a seedling is early spring before bud break, or autumn, long before frost.
The landing pit is prepared in advance. At least two weeks before planting, they dig a hole 60×60 cm in size and 70 cm deep. The dimensions are approximate, since it all depends on the dimensions of the earthen coma or the volume of the roots.
A drainage layer is placed at the bottom of the pit, which is used as crushed stone, brick fragments, sand. The drainage layer should be at least 5-7 cm.
The planting hole is covered with a nutrient soil mixture consisting of the following components:
- humus – 3 parts;
- peat – 1 part;
- sand – 1 part;
- sawdust – 1 part;
- nitrophoska – 200 g per planting hole.
The roots of the seedling are covered with soil, tamped and watered. When planting in a group, a distance should be observed: 2,5 m for a tight fit and 3,5 m for a loose group. When planting fir along the alley, you can leave between saplings from 3,5 to 4 m.
Watering and top dressing
After transplanting subalpine mountain compact fir to a permanent place, it should be watered regularly. Young seedlings need watering, otherwise they may not be accepted. Older specimens of trees cost 2-3 waterings per season. If an abnormally dry summer is noted, the number of irrigations can be increased, and the crown is additionally sprinkled in the evening hours.
Seedlings purchased from nurseries already have a supply of fertilizers, which is enough for the full development of fir. If the tree is grown on its own, the fertilizers applied during planting will provide a supply of nutrients for 2-3 years, after which complex fertilizers, for example, Kemira-universal, are applied to the near-stem circle in the spring.
Mulching and loosening
After planting the mountain subalpine fir, it is advisable to mulch the trunk circle with improvised materials. It can be sawdust, peat, wood chips. Lay out the mulch in a thick layer (5-9 cm).
Loosen the soil after watering, do it to a depth of 10-12 cm, so as not to damage the root system of the seedling. The loosening procedure is necessary to saturate the rhizomes with oxygen and remove weeds.
Mulching protects the soil from drying out, prevents the reproduction and growth of weeds, and also protects the roots from freezing in winter.
Trimming
Compact fir naturally has a beautiful crown shape, so pruning is resorted to only in case of breakage or damage to the branches.
Formative pruning is not performed, and sanitary pruning is performed in spring or late autumn.
Preparation for winter
Young firs should be covered for the winter. A mulch layer will help protect the roots from freezing, the crown is wrapped with agrofiber and covered with spruce branches. You can install a wooden tripod support to protect the branches from heavy snowfalls.
Adult firs do not need shelter, but it is advisable to update the layer of mulch around the roots before the onset of frost. During periods of snowfall, the branches of the compact mountain fir can suffer, so wet snow is gently chipped from the crown.
Reproduction
Mountain fir Compacta is propagated in two ways:
- seeds;
- cuttings.
The first method takes a lot of time and is not always effective. In autumn, cones are collected, dried and the seeds are removed. For hardening of planting material, the stratification method is used. Subalpine fir seeds are placed in wet sawdust and sent for several months to the bottom shelf of the refrigerator. Monitor the moisture content of the soil with seeds – it should not dry out or be too wet. Plant seeds in spring or autumn. From above, a container with seeds or a bed is covered with a film; after germination, the film is removed.
Cuttings allow you to get an adult tree much faster than the seed method. From the top of the tree, an annual cutting is torn off at least 5 cm long, having 1 kidney. The stalk is not cut off with a pruner, but is torn off with a sharp movement from the mother branch in order to get an escape with a heel. Work on the preparation of cuttings is carried out in cloudy weather. For cuttings, shoots located on the north side are chosen. Before planting, the cutting is immersed for several hours in a weak solution of manganese. For planting subalpine fir, a nutrient mixture is prepared, consisting of humus, sand and leafy soil, taken in the same ratio. The stalk is covered with a glass jar. The jar is periodically lifted so that the stalk is ventilated and gets used to the surrounding conditions.
Diseases and pests
Subalpine mountain firs are distinguished by good immunity to pests and diseases, therefore, compliance with agricultural technology can prevent the risk of damage to trees.
Hermes spruce-fir parasitizes on mountain subalpine firs, which helps to cope with spraying trees in early April with Antia and Rogor-S preparations. For 10 liters of water, 20 g of an insecticidal agent will be required. These drugs are used to combat fir moth and cone leafworm.
If the fir of the subalpine mountain Compact is affected by rust, the crown is treated with Bordeaux liquid. Fallen needles are removed and burned, damaged branches are cut and also burned. To prevent infection and the further spread of the disease, the cut sites are treated with garden pitch.
Conclusion
Mountain Fir Compact is an evergreen coniferous tree with a beautiful wide-conical crown. It is used as a gardener of alleys, personal plots, adjoining territories. Caring for compact subalpine fir does not require much effort, so the tree is often planted in summer cottages to decorate the territory.