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Canadian spruce Konik is very fond of landscape designers and quietly hated by conscientious gardeners. This is a very beautiful coniferous tree – miniature, with a dense crown of the correct shape and small greenish-blue needles. Photos of the Konik spruce in landscape design show that it can fit into any garden, and even planted in a flower bed.
But caring for a plant is difficult. However, this applies to all miniature Canadian spruces. If the tree is not properly placed on the site, it will quickly lose its decorative effect. Even regular and conscientious care cannot save the situation.
Pros and cons of spruce glauka in landscape design
If you perceive Konika only as a decorative element, the tree has no minuses at all. When it comes to grooming, there are problems that some owners are not ready to deal with. When planting a dwarf Canadian spruce on the site, you need to weigh all the pros and cons, answer the questions:
- who will look after the plants;
- how thorough care can be provided to Konika;
- whether the inhabitants of the house are ready to take on all the work themselves or use the services of a gardener;
- what qualifications of a specialist the owners can afford to hire;
- how much time he should spend on the site;
- how much he will be paid;
- whether the owners agree to the use of chemicals on the site or prefer to do with folk remedies (which, by the way, are not always as harmless as is commonly believed).
These are just some of the questions, more will come up along the way. So: if the Canadian spruce Konik grows in the garden, you need to be prepared:
- to careful care of the garden;
- you will have to work even on a tiny plot several times a week, in summer – daily (sprinkling);
- in order to do without a qualified specialist, whose services are not cheap, you will have to study literature on your own, communicate on forums – problems constantly arise with Canadian spruces in Our Country;
- if a gardener takes care of the plants, you need to hire a competent, qualified one – a kind aunt from a neighboring house who needs money will simply not be able to do the job due to a lack of knowledge, and Konika can simply be ruined;
- repeatedly apply preparations of chemical origin on the site;
- clean Konika in spring and summer, and this is not only an unpleasant job, but also harmful.
Without careful, and necessarily competent care, it is better not to plant dwarf Canadian spruces on the site. If time or health does not allow, you need to invite a specialist for this. There are no funds (a qualified gardener is not only expensive, you still need to find one) – you should think about planting other plants.
Among the undoubted advantages of Konika, it should be noted:
- the beauty of the plant;
- slow growth;
- small size, which allows the use of blue glauca spruce in the landscape design of any site;
- The conic does not require shaping trim;
- high frost resistance of the variety.
Added to the problems listed above are:
- complexity of care;
- Konika is prone to scorching in summer and early spring;
- dwarf Canadian spruces on the site should be placed so that they are covered from the sun on the south side, or completely in partial shade;
- the need for chemical treatments.
In addition, over time, Konika does not grow so small, even in Our Country it can reach 3 m by the age of 30. The tree will have to be replanted if it was originally located in a small flower bed.
The use of Konik spruce in landscape design
Landscaping styles come and go. Today, few people know the name Chor-bakh, meanwhile, the geometrically regular gardens of ancient Persia and India were symbols of paradise. Not so long ago, a new direction in landscape design appeared – high-tech. How long it will last, time will tell.
Listing all the styles of landscape design is a thankless task. Today they are at the peak of popularity, and tomorrow they will be forgotten. Meanwhile, they can be divided into three areas:
- regular or formal style, distinguished by the artificiality and geometric accuracy of the compositions, here often the individual components are arranged symmetrically to each other;
- landscape or informal design, which is characterized by the formation of a site in a spirit that creates the illusion of naturalness and naturalness;
- eclecticism – mixed style.
Using Konika in Regular Style
It seems that the Canadian Konik spruce was created by nature for formal gardens. Landscape designers willingly use the tree in regular plantings. Thanks to its shape, Konika looks good in complex geometric compositions. If, over time, the clear lines of the Canadian spruce crown become somewhat distorted, it is easy to correct the matter with pruning – the culture tolerates a spring haircut well.
Koniki is also planted in the form of an alley, like framing a parterre lawn, on both sides at the entrance to the gazebo or to the terrace. It is used as a repeating element in stalls, front gardens and discounts.
Photo of spruce glauca in landscape design, made in a regular style
Grasshopper in landscape style
Only an experienced landscape designer can fit the Canadian Konik spruce into an informal style. Well, it does not even create the illusion of naturalness in landscapes. Perhaps with a bit of imagination, Konika can be planted in a country-style plot that creates the illusion of a piece of North America.
In any case, dwarf canadian spruces should be used with care in the landscape garden. With an inept composition, Konika may look ridiculous there.
Eclectic horse
Mixing styles gives a lot of room for imagination. Designers are happy to use Konika to create various compositions, to enhance the beauty of the surrounding plants, or to make it the center of a landscape group.
In eclecticism, the main thing is a sense of proportion and accurate calculation. Otherwise, on the site you can get a pile of plants, beautiful individually, but together creating the impression of chaos.
Grasshopper in flower beds
In landscape design, flower beds decorate the main entrance to the house, the recreation area and the reception of guests. Often they are used simply to decorate the territory, planting them against the backdrop of a lawn or tree groups. Konika can act as a central element around which a flower bed is formed, or be part of a composition, for example, in a rock garden or at a discount with other dwarf conifers.
Canadian spruce, although it grows slowly, will eventually reach a height of 2-3 m, and it will have to be removed from the flower garden, or the layout of the garden should be changed. Fortunately, now most landscape projects are initially done as self-developing. This means that plants can be transplanted, moved from place to place, etc.
But adult Koniks do not like transplants. It is better to plan right away that over time the flower garden will “move” to a new place. And around the Canadian spruce, for example, a small landscape group will be formed, consisting of medium-sized trees and shrubs.
The color of the needles and the shape of the crown of Konika allows you to combine it with flowers of any shape and color. It is important to place them so that cultures do not compete with each other for the attention of site owners or guests. To do this, you must first determine whether Konika will be a focal plant, or only a background for flowers and ornamental shrubs. And already on the basis of this to build a landscape composition.
Photo gray fir Konik in landscape design in a flower bed
Features of care
All the subtleties of growing Koniki were discussed in detail in the article:
https://fermilon.ru/sad-i-ogorod/derevo/el-belaya-konika-glaukonika.html.
In short, the list of necessary care procedures is as follows:
- In spring and autumn – mandatory preventive treatment of Konika with copper-containing preparations.
- Since the end of February, Canadian spruce has been covered from sunburn – at this time, the needles actively evaporate moisture, and the roots cannot replenish it. In summer, the south side of the tree should be covered by other plants or buildings.
- Twice at the beginning of the season and once in the fall, Koniki’s crown is cleaned.
- Regular watering throughout the season. The soil should be moist, but without stagnant water.
- In summer – daily sprinkling of the crown.
- Loosening the soil – the first two years after planting. Then it is replaced by mulching with acidic peat or pine bark.
- Only Konika needs shelter for the winter in the year of planting. Then it is enough to mulch the trunk circle.
- Fertilizer – at least twice per season with special top dressing for coniferous plants.
- Konika needs regular crown treatments with a complex of chelates with the addition of epine and magnesium sulfate. If the Canadian spruce grows in the sun, they are made every 2 weeks.
- Once every 7 days, Konik should be inspected with a magnifying glass for pests and signs of disease.
gardening tips
When using Konika in landscape design, one should not forget that it requires careful maintenance. This must be taken into account when designing the site. Here are some recommendations:
- Konika needs to be planted so that there is access to it. Sprinkling and crown treatments are carried out throughout the season. To do it right, and not just wet the needles, Koniki’s branches are gently spread apart with their hands. It is impossible to do this from a distance, and you should not break and trample the plants surrounding Konik. In addition, at least three times a season, the canadian spruce crown is cleaned. This will take a lot of time. It is better to clean Koniki while sitting, but to put a stool, you also need a place.
- Crops growing next to Canadian spruce should have the same requirements for soil composition and irrigation, and respond favorably to sprinkling of the above-ground part. Soil moisture can be adjusted by drip irrigation. If this is not possible, a curb tape is dug around the moisture-loving plant, the upper edge of which should protrude above the soil surface. Mask it with mulch or unpretentious ground covers. In this way, Konica and hydrangea, which require frequent watering, can coexist safely.
- If there are few conifers on the site, it is irrational to buy a whole pack of special fertilizers for one or two plants. They will be successfully replaced by high-quality top dressing for the lawn.
- Magnesium added to the Konika spray can should not be used on plants with variegated needles or leaves. Light color will fade when applied. But the lawn will react favorably to such treatment – the color of the grass will become bright and saturated.
Conclusion
Photos of Konik spruce in landscape design always look attractive. But you shouldn’t plant it anywhere. It is better to invite a competent landscape designer to draw up a project, who will give recommendations not only on the placement of plants, but also draw up a care schedule.