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Rumelian pine is a beautiful fast growing crop that can often be found in southern parks and gardens. It is not suitable for most of the territory of Our Country – it is too thermophilic, and it is unrealistic to cover it in winter – the tree is quickly gaining height. But there is already one variety that can grow in the Moscow region, perhaps over time there will be more of them.
Description of the Rumelian pine
Rumeli pine (Pinus peuce) has other officially recognized names, under which the species can be found in reference books – Balkan and Macedonian. The culture belongs to the genus Pine (Pinus), family Pine (Pinaceae), common in the mountains of the Balkan Peninsula at an altitude of 600 to 2200 m above sea level. Naturalized in eastern Finland.
Rumelia pine grows rapidly, adding more than 30 cm per year, the average height of a fully mature tree in North Macedonia, Greece, Albania, Yugoslavia is 20 m. In Bulgaria, the culture reaches a maximum size of 35 m (several specimens of 40 m have been recorded). The diameter of the trunk, measured at chest level, is from 50 cm to 1,5 m.
Rumelia pine forms a more or less symmetrical crown with oval or pyramidal outlines. Rarely it narrows to columnar. Under natural conditions, at an altitude of 1800 m above sea level, you can find multi-stemmed trees, which some sources pass off as a bush, which the culture is not.
In fact, this is just the “work” of squirrels and other forest dwellers, storing cones for the winter, and then forgetting where they hid them. So a kind of coniferous “hedgehog” rises. But if in other species usually, in the end, one seedling remains, in the rarest cases – two, then for the Rumelian pine such an impromptu “bouquet” of several trunks is common. It is difficult to name several trees growing close to each other up to 20-40 m high as a bush.
The branches on the Rumelian pine begin almost from the ground surface, the branches are bare, thick, meek. In the lower part of the crown of an adult tree grow horizontally, at the top – vertically. The shoots located in the middle of the trunk first run parallel to the ground, then lift up.
The young growth is green, becoming silver-gray by the end of the season. On mature branches, the bark darkens, but remains fairly smooth. Only on really old trees does it crack and turn brown.
Needles 7-10 cm long are collected in bunches of 5 pieces, live from 2 to 5 years. The needles are green, shiny, pleasant to the touch.
Cones are numerous, grow in 1-4 pieces, hanging or on a short handle, ripen 17-18 months after pollination, usually in October. Young very beautiful, green, narrow, often curved, resinous. Mature ones change color to light brown, immediately open and lose grey-brown seeds. The size of the cones of the Rumelian pine is from 9 to 18 cm.
Rumelian pine varieties
To date, not many varieties of Rumelia pine have been created. Perhaps this is due to the fact that the culture is already very beautiful, species trees are planted in parks or large gardens. Low frost resistance is also important, which limits the spread of the Rumelian pine.
Caesarini
Pinus peuce Cesarini is for hardiness zone 5. The variety is a dwarf, slow growing tree with a wide pyramidal crown and soft grey-green needles.
At the age of 10, the Rumelian Caesarini pine reaches a height of 1 m with a crown diameter of 60 cm. Seasonal growth is 5-10 cm.
Jedello
Pinus peuce Jeddeloh is a new, fast-growing variety that appeared at the beginning of the 30st century, annually adding 45-3 cm.
The old tree significantly increases in volume due to the fact that the lower branches move into a horizontal plane. This significantly changes the shape of the crown, it becomes like a wide cone. The needles are blue-green, long, dense.
Pacific Blue
The new variety Pinus peuce Pacific Blue winters in zone 4 and can be grown in most of Our Country. This Rumelian pine gives an annual growth of more than 30 cm. An adult tree reaches a height of 6 m with a crown diameter of 5 m. A young plant in which the lower branches have not had time to move into a horizontal plane is much narrower. The needles are thin, bright blue.
Arnold Dwarf
The variety name Pinus peuce Arnold Dwarf translates as Arnold’s Dwarf. This is a dwarf plant, reaching 10 m by the age of 1,5. It grows slowly, adding no more than 15 cm per season. The crown is broad-pyramidal, the needles are thin, bluish-green. Can grow in partial shade, winters in zone 5.
Planting and caring for Rumelia pine
The culture is hardy, with the exception of low winter hardiness. Prefers to grow on moderately fertile soils, satisfactorily tolerates urban conditions. Rumelia pine thrives best in full sun but will tolerate light partial shade.
Seedling and planting preparation
Rumelian pine is not very hardy, and can only grow in regions with a warm climate. It is planted in autumn and all winter, in spring – only container plants.
This species will grow poorly on excessively poor or fertile soils – the Rumelian or Macedonian pine loves the golden mean. When preparing the substrate, sand and soddy soil are necessarily added to the black soil. If there is gravel or crushed stone on the site, stones are used not only for drainage, but also mixed into the soil mixture. Too poor improve with the same soddy soil and leaf humus. If necessary, clay and lime are added.
The size of the planting hole depends on the age of the seedling. The depth should be such as to accommodate 20 cm of drainage and the root of the Rumelian pine, the width should not be less than 1,5 times the diameter of the earthen coma.
Drainage is laid in the excavated planting hole, covered with 2/3 of the substrate, and filled with water. It should stand for at least 2 weeks.
It is better to buy a small seedling of Rumelian pine in a container; The needles should be fresh and smell good, the branches should be flexible, the substrate in a pot or burlap should be moderately moist.
Rules of landing
Rumelian pine is planted in the same way as other coniferous crops. They prepare a pit, fill up the drainage and most of the substrate, fill it with water, let it settle for at least 14 days. The operation itself is carried out in the following sequence:
- Part of the soil is removed from the planting hole and set aside.
- Rumelian pine is set in the center. The root neck should be at the level of the edge of the pit.
- The substrate is poured gradually, constantly compacting.
- Watered so that the water ceases to be absorbed and stands in the near-trunk circle.
- After some time, the space under the tree is covered with mulch with a layer of at least 5 cm.
Watering and top dressing
Unlike other pines, Rumelia is moisture-loving and requires regular watering throughout its life. This does not mean that the tree should be drowned in water or that even the top layer of soil should not be allowed to dry out.
In the spring, in the absence of rain, the pine tree is watered once a month, in the hot summer – twice as often. Moisture is required in autumn.
Top dressing is carried out twice per season:
- in the spring with a complex fertilizer with a high nitrogen content;
- in early autumn – phosphorus and potassium.
Foliar top dressings are useful for the Rumelian pine, allowing the tree to receive trace elements and other substances that are poorly absorbed through the root. If the culture is grown in difficult conditions for the culture, it is recommended to add epin and zircon alternately to the balloon.
Mulching and loosening
The soil under the Rumelian pine should be loosened in the year of planting and part of the next season. When it becomes clear that rooting was successful, it is stopped, limited to mulching.
For this purpose, it is better to use pine bark that has been treated for pests and diseases, or completely rotted sawdust, wood chips, or other wood processing waste. Walnut shells, painted marble chips, or other similar materials may beautify the site, but the plant will be harmed.
Trimming
Rumelian pine does not need formative pruning. But to make the crown denser, and limit the growth of the species tree or high varieties, the growth can be pinched by 1/3 or 1/2. They do this in the spring, when the young branches have already stopped their increased growth, but the needles have not yet separated from the shoot. It is not necessary to cover up the cut points – the pine tree releases resin, which itself will disinfect and cover the wound surface.
During sanitary pruning, dry, broken and diseased branches are removed.
Preparation for winter
Rumelia pine winters without shelter in zone 5. It needs to be protected from the cold only in the year of planting, covering it with spruce branches or white non-woven material. In subsequent seasons, they are limited to soil mulching.
Reproduction
Pine cuttings do not propagate. They are bred by grafting and sowing seeds. Fans can independently propagate species pine.
Only a small proportion of seedlings of varieties, if they are not obtained from witch’s broom, inherit maternal traits. Nurseries carry out culling from the first year of pine life. Amateurs do not have such skills, anything can grow in them – from a species plant to a new variety, which specialists would immediately separate from the main mass of plants.
Seeds can be sown without prior preparation, but it is better to stratify for 2-3 months, keeping them at a temperature of 2-7 ° C.
Diseases and pests
Rumelian pine rarely gets sick, even blister rust – the scourge of other members of the genus, this species usually bypasses.
Of the insects that harm the culture, it is necessary to distinguish:
- mealybug;
- ordinary pine shield;
- pine owl;
- various types of aphids.
Conclusion
The Rumelian pine is very beautiful, its soft, shiny needles are sometimes compared to silk. This culture differs from other species in its increased requirements for soil moisture and resistance to resin cancer.