Spruce best varieties

Spruce is the "queen" of the forest, leading the popularity rating among masters of landscape art. This sacred tree, acting as a guardian of the site and a powerful source of bioenergy, is valued not only for its unique healing properties, but also for its extraordinary decorative effect. Needle foliage of emerald, dark green and even blue shades can transform plant compositions, giving a unique zest to the landscape design of the site.

Spruce applications in landscape design

Rarely can anyone remain indifferent to the luxury of color and the frozen beauty of the conifers' needles. It is not surprising that spruce is used quite often in landscaping a site. It looks great as container plantings to frame garden paths and when decorating rocky gardens.

Ephedra is ideal for creating multi-level compositions, harmoniously combined with low-growing shrubs and beautifully flowering perennials

Trees with needle-like foliage of a rich green hue look interesting in combination with bright flowers of annual and perennial plants. Perfect for creating compositions: Japanese anemones, pansies, aquilegia, phlox and hosts. Conifers are the ideal basis for creating evergreen sculptures that can make the garden look richer and more colorful.

Among the main advantages of using spruce in the design of the site, it is worth highlighting:

1. The ephedra will delight with the saturation of the shades of needle-like greenery in the summer, without fading under the sun's rays, and in the winter, contrasting with the whiteness of the snow.
2. The phytoncides secreted by the plant are able to productively purify the air, providing a healing effect on the human body.
3. Spruce is great for any style of landscaping.
4. Fluffy branches are convenient to use when making crafts: creating paintings, herbariums, New Year's compositions.

But spruce, like any other plant, has its drawbacks. For example, this ephedra is able to grow strongly, darkening the territory and depleting the soil. Therefore, for the decoration of gardens, types of spruces are used that have a dwarf shape.

Spruce is also convenient because it is easy to prune. Thanks to this, even an experienced gardener does not have any problems with giving the crown a unique shape.

It is advisable to plant spruce along the fence. In a short period of time, the ephedra grows lush forms, and its thick paws form a solid and dense wall.

Varietal variety of decorative forms

There are more than 20 types of spruce in modern parks and gardens. The main thing when choosing a type of ephedra is the configuration of its crown and the size of the plant in adulthood.

In landscape design, 3 types of spruce are most common:

1. Ordinary - a typical species represented by more than 50 garden forms. Low-growing forms created on its basis reach a height of 1.2 m, and medium-sized ones - 3 or more meters. A wide palette of needles coloring, starting from golden and ending with rich green, on branches collected in pyramidal or pillow-shaped crowns, makes this type of conifers welcome guests on garden plots.
2. Prickly - more than 70 varieties are represented in the culture. Most of them are medium and tall trees up to 40 meters high with a beautiful cone-shaped crown. Although there are also dwarf forms up to 2 m high. The needles are very prickly: hence the name of the species. It can be bluish white, steel blue, silver and bluish green.
3. Sizaya - has more than 20 decorative forms. The species got its name due to the ash-gray color of the bark and the bluish shade of the needles. Dwarf forms of this species have a spherical and nest-shaped crown, and tall ones have a conical crown. The color palette of needles is quite wide, starting from yellowish-golden and gray-blue and ending with bright green.

Ate, like any plants, are divided into three groups: dwarf, medium and tall. When landscaping household plots, dwarf and medium-sized representatives of conifers are most popular.

Among the variety of coniferous ornamental plants in landscape design, creeping and dwarf varieties are especially popular.

Dwarf varieties

The stunted forms include plants, the size of which in adulthood is several times smaller in comparison with the original parent species. For example, in natural conditions, the common spruce, referred to as Picea abies, is a 50-meter beauty with a neatly shaped crown, the width of which reaches 8-10 meters.

The decorative form of this tall ephedra, known as Picea abies "Nidiformis" or "pillow-shaped" spruce, reaches no more than two meters in height with a crown width of 2-3 meters.

The main advantage of dwarf forms of conifers is the minimum annual growth of young shoots, which in most cases is limited to 10-15 cm

Among modern varieties created on the basis of common spruce, conifers are famous for the greatest decorative effect, the crowns of which have a nest-like or spherical shape.

The miniature shrub Picea abies "Nidiformis" is perfect for the formation of low borders and the design of rocky gardens.

Dwarf spruce "Nidiformis" in adulthood reaches a height of only 40 cm, forming a spreading crown with a diameter of up to one meter

The thin graceful shoots of "Nidiformis" arranged in a fan-like manner are decorated with soft and short needles of a delicate emerald shade.

Little Gemm is no less attractive. The shoots extending from the middle of the crown, framed by dark green thin needles, form a neat hemispherical "pillow". It looks especially interesting in the form of a standard form, planted in a floor container or flowerpot.

The branches of the miniature beauty Picea abies "Little Gem" are surrounded by soft short needles of a rich dark green shade

Picea abies "Will's Zwerg" has a beautiful narrow conical dense crown shape. The plant is interesting due to the soft green shade of young needles covering the milk shoots, which contrasts favorably against the background of the dark green of old needles. An evergreen shrub is well suited for small backyard gardens.

Serbian spruce "Glauka Pendula" with flexible thin shoots hanging along the trunk is a win-win option when implementing non-standard solutions in garden compositions

The Canadian spruce is more adapted for our climate. Konika is famous for its frost resistance and unpretentious care. It is interesting for landscape design in that it has a decorative conical crown shape, gives a small increase in a year and fits harmoniously into the design of even very small areas.

"Piccolo" - a bright, elegant variety with emerald-green needles, casting a light bluish tint in the sunlight, looks spectacular in group plantings

Picea pungens “Maigold” stands out against the background of monochromatic green “sisters”, which added to the collection of varietal beauties in 1988. It will look great as a tapeworm.

Ecology of life. Farmstead: Spruce is the "queen" of the forest, leading the popularity rating among masters of landscape art. This sacred tree, acting as a guardian of the site and a powerful source of bioenergy, is valued not only for its unique healing properties, but also for its extraordinary decorative effect.

Spruce is the "queen" of the forest, leading the popularity rating among masters of landscape art. This sacred tree, acting as a guardian of the site and a powerful source of bioenergy, is valued not only for its unique healing properties, but also for its extraordinary decorative effect.

Needle foliage of emerald, dark green and even blue shades can transform plant compositions, giving a unique zest to the landscape design of the site.

Spruce applications in landscape design

Rarely can anyone remain indifferent to the luxury of color and the frozen beauty of the conifers' needles. It is not surprising that spruce is used quite often in landscaping a site. It looks great as container plantings to frame garden paths and when decorating rocky gardens.

Ephedra is ideal for creating multi-level compositions, harmoniously combined with low-growing shrubs and flowering perennials.

Trees with needle-like foliage of a rich green hue look interesting in combination with bright flowers of annual and perennial plants. Perfect for creating compositions: Japanese anemones, pansies, aquilegia, phlox and hosts. Conifers are the ideal basis for creating evergreen sculptures that can make the garden look richer and more colorful.

Among the main advantages of using spruce in the design of the site, it is worth highlighting:

1. Ephedra will delight you with the saturation of shades of needle-like greenery in the summer, without fading under the sun's rays, and in the winter, contrasting with the whiteness of the snow.

2. The phytoncides secreted by the plant are capable of efficiently purifying the air, providing a healing effect on the human body.

3. Spruce is great for all landscaping styles.

4. Fluffy branches are convenient to use when making crafts: creating paintings, herbariums, New Year's compositions.

But spruce, like any other plant, has its drawbacks. For example, this ephedra is able to grow strongly, darkening the territory and depleting the soil. Therefore, for the decoration of gardens, types of spruces are used that have a dwarf shape.

Spruce is also convenient because it is easy to prune. Thanks to this, even an experienced gardener does not have any problems with giving the crown a unique shape.

It is advisable to plant spruce along the fence. In a short period of time, the ephedra grows lush forms, and its thick paws form a solid and dense wall.

Varietal variety of decorative forms

There are more than 20 types of spruce in modern parks and gardens. The main thing when choosing a type of ephedra is the configuration of its crown and the size of the plant in adulthood.

In landscape design, 3 types of spruce are most common:

1. Ordinary - a typical species represented by more than 50 garden forms. Low-growing forms created on its basis reach a height of 1.2 m, and medium-sized ones - 3 or more meters. A wide palette of needles coloring, starting from golden and ending with rich green, on branches collected in pyramidal or pillow-shaped crowns, makes this type of conifers welcome guests on garden plots.

2. Barbed - more than 70 varieties are represented in the culture. Most of them are medium and tall trees up to 40 meters high with a beautiful cone-shaped crown. Although there are also dwarf forms up to 2 m high. The needles are very prickly: hence the name of the species. It can be bluish white, steel blue, silver and bluish green.

3. Sizaya - has more than 20 decorative forms. The species got its name due to the ash-gray color of the bark and the bluish shade of the needles. Dwarf forms of this species have a spherical and nest-shaped crown, and tall ones have a conical crown. The color palette of needles is quite wide, starting from yellowish-golden and gray-blue and ending with bright green.

Ate, like any plants, are divided into three groups: dwarf, medium and tall. When landscaping household plots, dwarf and medium-sized representatives of conifers are most popular.

Among all the variety of coniferous ornamental plants in landscape design, creeping and dwarf varieties are especially popular.

Dwarf varieties

The stunted forms include plants, the size of which in adulthood is several times smaller in comparison with the original parent species.For example, in natural conditions, the common spruce, referred to as Picea abies, is a 50-meter beauty with a neatly shaped crown, the width of which reaches 8-10 meters.

The decorative form of this tall ephedra, known as Picea abies "Nidiformis" or "pillow-shaped" spruce, reaches no more than two meters in height with a crown width of 2-3 meters.

The main advantage of dwarf forms of conifers is the minimum annual growth of young shoots, which in most cases is limited to 10-15 cm.

Among modern varieties created on the basis of common spruce, conifers are famous for the greatest decorative effect, the crowns of which have a nest-like or spherical shape.

The miniature shrub Picea abies "Nidiformis" is perfect for the formation of low borders and the design of rocky gardens.

Dwarf spruce "Nidiformis" in adulthood reaches a height of only 40 cm, forming a spreading crown with a diameter of up to one meter.

The thin graceful shoots of "Nidiformis" arranged in a fan-like manner are decorated with soft and short needles of a delicate emerald shade.

Little Gemm is no less attractive. The shoots extending from the middle of the crown, framed by dark green thin needles, form a neat hemispherical "pillow". It looks especially interesting in the form of a standard form, planted in a floor container or flowerpot.

The branches of the miniature beauty Picea abies "Little Gem" are framed by soft short needles of a rich dark green hue.

Picea abies "Will's Zwerg" has a beautiful narrow conical dense crown shape. The plant is interesting due to the soft green shade of young needles covering the milk shoots, which contrasts favorably against the background of the dark green of old needles. An evergreen shrub is well suited for small backyard gardens.

Spruce "Will's Zwerg" looks interesting in group compositions and as a tapeworm when arranging gardens with a small area.

Glauka Globoza, bred by selection, is famous for its extraordinary decorativeness. The dwarf plant does not have a clearly defined trunk. Its spreading branches, dotted with millions of fine needles in an elegant silver-blue hue, form a beautiful spherical crown. The cones that form on the branches, reminiscent of New Year's decorations, give the tree a special appeal.

The blue beauty "Glauca Globosa" is often used to decorate city landscapes, often acting as an elegant addition to park alleys.

It is impossible to ignore the picturesquely creeping undersized varieties on the ground. The miniature "Nana" resembles a soft pillow, and the "Echiniformis" is identified with a kolobok, the round shapes of which are the original framing of garden paths.

Most types of spruce are shade-tolerant in themselves, but often their dwarf forms are very sensitive to a lack of light.

Medium-sized species

When creating a backyard design, it is also customary to use medium-sized conifers, the height of which reaches no more than 15 m. A low single tree with a clearly outlined crown looks picturesque against the background of a lawn "carpet" or walls of a house. A spectacular driftwood or white stone will help to complement the picture.

Spruce trees with spreading crowns are able to create a shady area for relaxation, filled with a special atmosphere of home comfort and unity with the wild nature.

Blue spruce is one of the most popular types of ephedra, revered by designers not only for unpretentious care, but also for the mesmerizing change in shades of needle-like foliage throughout the year. Only 20% of the representatives of this species have a pronounced color of the sky, the rest are rich in green and gray tones.

Blue beauties are not able to withstand temperature fluctuations in the northern regions and feel comfortable only in temperate latitudes. Spruce with blue needles looks advantageous along the garden paths, against the background of wooden buildings or stone buildings.

A bright representative of this species is Picea pungens "Blue Diamond", which means "blue diamond".

The graceful beauty of the Blue Diamonds, with a tall, thin trunk and neatly shaped conical crown, is often used for mixed mixborders.

Weeping types of firs will help to diversify the collection. Given their aspiration to the aquatic environment, ephedra can be safely used when decorating the banks of reservoirs.

Full-size weeping spruce trees reach a height of 10-15 meters and a width of 2-3 meters. Thin branches, hanging down, bend around the curved trunk of the plant, giving it a weeping shape.

Serbian spruce "Glauka Pendula" with flexible thin shoots hanging along the trunk is a win-win option when implementing non-standard solutions in garden compositions.

The Canadian spruce is more adapted for our climate. Konika is famous for its frost resistance and unpretentious care. It is interesting for landscape design in that it has a decorative conical crown shape, gives a small increase in a year and fits harmoniously into the design of even very small areas.

Young shoots sparkling in the sun's rays make the coniferous beauty "Maygold" look like a queen wrapped in gold.

The mantle of the crown of the tree, reaching a height of 6 m, has a loose pyramidal shape. After a few weeks, the creamy yellow needles on young shoots gradually change their color, acquiring an equally attractive bluish-green hue.

Combinations of ephedra

If the area of ​​the site allows, then to create a picturesque and original picture, it is better to use spruce of different types and varieties.

Tall trees fit well into any landscape as tapeworms, more compact forms of conifers can be safely combined with other plantings.

In order for the conceived composition to turn out harmonious and attractive, the masters of landscape art advise taking into account a number of main points:

• The composition should not be too colorful. For a group of three conifers, use two colors. When composing a composition of five evergreens, use only three colors.
• When composing a multi-level composition, including 20-30 plantings, place the elements in groups, matching them by color.
• The fir-tree and shrub ensemble requires a competent placement of accents: the foreground is occupied by undersized plants, the back - by medium-sized conifers.
• To avoid the feeling of the density of Christmas tree plantings, arranging an ordinary or Moorish lawn in the near-trunk area of ​​conifers will help.

Luscious needles of a dark shade will emphasize the beauty of the flowering shrub located nearby. In addition to flowering plants, shrubs with unusually colored foliage will be a successful addition to the coniferous beauty: weigela, chubushnik, barberry.

Ate is perfectly combined with other coniferous varieties and flowering perennials, creating a picturesque picture that looks elegant at any time of the year.

Recommendations for the care of spruce

Proper planting and care is a guarantee that coniferous beauties will delight with their presentable appearance almost all year round.

Wanting to decorate your site with one or more spruces, experienced gardeners advise you to adhere to certain rules:

Landing time. It is better to plant ephedra in early spring or early autumn, when the plant has not yet entered or has already passed the phase of vigorous growth. To keep young shoots from frost and rodents, it is advisable to mulch the near-trunk zone with peat for the winter.

Location... Under natural conditions, the spruce grows well near the river valley, where it receives a sufficient amount of moisture to feed its powerful root system. But at the same time, she does not like wetlands, and therefore needs a drainage arrangement.

Soil composition. All types of firs love fertile alkaline and acidic soil. They are intolerant to heavy soil types. When planting ephedra in depleted soil, the planting pit should first be enriched by adding 100 g of complex mineral fertilizer. With a lack of oxygen and nutrition, the plant may even die.

It should be borne in mind that spruce strongly affects the flowers and shrubs surrounding it, so it is better to place it at a short distance from sun-loving plants. You should not plant conifers close to each other, since with their branches they will restrict access to sunlight.

Observing these simple rules when selecting varieties and drawing up herbal compositions, you can create a cozy and picturesque design on your site that will delight the eye throughout the year.

Video instruction: we equip a hedge of fir trees

Spruce is called "mathematical tree" - because of the geometrically correct silhouette of the crown. It is believed that the roofs of temples and houses in Asian countries are copied from the spruce crown. Let's try to understand the wide variety of species and varieties of this beauty.

Spruce in the garden

Spruce description

Spruce (Latin Picea, English spruce or fir-tree) is an evergreen tree with a superficial root system. Crown branching is monopodial, branches often approach each other, forming whorls. Shoots are elongated and shortened. The leaves are narrow needle-like (needles), have one vein. The needles are tetrahedral, on each side there is a white strip, the needles are located one by one. In the bark, wood and needles are resin passages containing essential oil. Cones are unisexual, male cones are collected in groups, female cones ripen in one growing season. Cones are drooping, not decaying.

The plant is shade-tolerant, but with a lack of light it develops one-sidedly, unevenly. Moisture-loving, tolerates slight waterlogging. Very slow growing in the first years of life. Poorly tolerates gas pollution and urban conditions, the life expectancy of needles decreases. Fir trees grow better on light sandy loam and podzolic soils.

Varieties of firs

The genus spruce (Picea), belongs to the department of gymnosperms, class Pine-bearing, order Conifers, Pine family. The genus includes 45 species of valuable conifers, of which 10 grow in natural conditions on the territory of the CIS.

1. Norway spruce (European) - Picea abies. Distributed in Western Europe and the European part of the CIS. The height of the tree is 30-50 m, the trunk diameter is up to 2.5 m, the crown is up to 8 m. It lives up to 300 years. It is of great economic importance.

   Picea abies

2. Siberian spruce (Picea obovata). Distributed in the northeastern part of Russia and Western Siberia. The height of the tree is up to 25 m, the diameter of the trunk is a meter or more. Has subspecies: lutescens, Krylov, lucifer, cerulea (Siberian blue spruce).

   Picea obovata (photo by Maria Novikova)

3. Oriental spruce (Picea orientalis). Distributed in the Caucasus. Height up to 50 m, width up to 10 m. Lives up to 500 years. Very undemanding.
4. Colorado spruce (Picea pungens), also known as blue spruce. Distributed in the mountains of North America, is widely used as a decorative species in the CIS and Western Europe. Height up to 45 m, width up to 10 m. In landscape design, blue spruce is used for group plantings in parks. Lives up to 100 years.

   Blue spruce (prickly)

5. Ayan spruce (small-seeded, Yez, Komarova, Kamchatka, Yezon) - (Picea jezoensis). Distributed in the Far East. Height up to 50 m, width up to 10 m. Lives up to 350 years. It well reduces the background noise in park plantings.

   Ayan spruce

6. Shrenk spruce, or Tien Shan (Picea schrenkiana). It grows in the Tien Shan, Dzhungarskiy Alatau, China, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. Up to 60 m in height, trunk up to 2 m in diameter. Slow-growing species in youth, which allows it to be used to create hedges.

   Spruce Tien Shan

7. Spruce Glen, or Sakhalin (Picea glehnii). Grows in the forests of South Sakhalin and on about. Hokkaido (Japan). Tree up to 30 m in height. It has very small needles (6-12) mm. The Japanese call it red spruce.

   Spruce Glen

8. Korean spruce (Picea koraiensis). It grows in the Far East and North Korea. Height up to 40 m, trunk up to 1 m in diameter. It has three varieties: pungsanensis, tonaiensis, koraiensis. Promising in landscaping as a very hardy species.

   Korean spruce

9. Red spruce (Picea rubens). Grows in the Appalachian Mountains of North America. It grows up to 30 m, trunk diameter up to 1.5 m.Lives up to 400 years. It is rarely used in our country.
10. Serbian (Balkan) spruce (Picea omorika). Grows in the Balkans, in a small area. Height up to 40 m, width up to 5 m, trunk up to 1 m.Lives up to 300 years. Very decorative look, widely used in landscape design.

    Serbian spruce

11. Engelman spruce (Picea engelmanii). Grows in the mountains of North America. Height up to 50 m, trunk up to 1 m. Lives up to 400 years. It is planted mainly singly.

    Engelman spruce

12. Canadian spruce (gray, white) (Picea glauca). Homeland - North America. Height 20 to 40 m, trunk up to 1 m, width up to 1.2 m.Lives up to 500 years. There are many dwarf varieties.

    Spruce canadian

13. Black spruce (Picea mariana). Grows in North America. Height up to 30 m, trunk up to 0.5 m. Natural hybridization with red spruce and gray spruce. Differs in beautiful purple cones.

    Spruce black

14. Brever spruce (Picea breweriana). It grows in a small area in the mountains of North America. One of the most ancient species. Height up to 40 m, trunk up to 1.5 m. Differs in weeping branches. Lives up to 900 years. Used as a tapeworm in large areas.

    Brevera spruce

15. Likiangensis purpurea spruce, or Lijiang spruce (Picea likiangensis purpurea). Synonym: Lizzyan fir. It grows in the mountains of China. Height up to 50 m, width up to 10 m. Has purple-violet cones.

Fir types such as Alcocca Spruce (Picea alcoquiana); Japanese spruce, or graceful (Picea torono); Maximovich spruce (Picea maximowiczii) - are endemic to Japan. The two-color spruce (Picea bicolor) used in landscaping is the cultivar of the Alcocca spruce.

Wilson's spruce (Picea wilsonii), Meyer's spruce (Picea meyeri), Chinese spruce (Picea brachytyla) are endemic to China.

Growing spruce

Many gardeners ask themselves the question: “How can you propagate a spruce yourself? And how to grow a spruce from seeds? "

All types of spruce are propagated by seeds, which begin to germinate in the year of sowing. For better germination, seeds are stratified using low temperatures. In the natural environment, the seeds crumble, they are covered with snow and they are stratified for 2-3 months. Under artificial conditions, it is necessary to tie the seeds in a gauze bag and keep them in a cool room before sowing, at a temperature of + 4-6C. Sowing of spruce is carried out in the spring, when the spring frosts have passed, to which the spruce is very sensitive.

Before sowing, the seeds must be treated with a growth stimulant to increase germination energy. For example, the drug "Epin-extra". Sowing is carried out to a depth of 1.5-2 cm.

In the nursery, spruce is grown in the formation department, periodically replanting and increasing the feeding area with each transplant. Areas where plants are grown during different growth periods are called schools.

According to the period of cultivation in the school department, the spruce belongs to the slow-growing and has been in it for 8 years.

The period of stay in the first school is 4 years, then there is not enough food for the seedling at this place. This leads to a delay in the development of roots and crown. Therefore, the seedlings are dug up and transplanted to another place in the second school, where the plants are kept until the next transplant. Plants are planted in a square way, with an area of ​​0.7 * 0.7 m per seedling.

Ate in the nursery

In the third school, our trees will be kept for another 2-4 years, the planting scheme is 1 * 1 m, for uniform development of the root system. When transplanting, seedlings are planted along the root collar (it is permissible to deepen it to 2 cm below the ground level, leaving a margin for earth shrinkage). The root system must be straightened out, without bending the roots. If individual roots are overgrown, they can be pruned with pruning shears. After planting, the soil is well trampled and spilled with water so that no voids remain.

Blue Spruce Nursery

In addition to seed propagation from the cone, many varieties of Christmas trees are cuttings to accelerate the propagation of planting material, less often they are grafted. The grafting is also used to obtain standard spruce forms.

Cuttings are harvested from trees at least 5 years old. Grown in greenhouses, pretreated with growth stimulants: "Kornevin", "Heteroauxin".

Planting and leaving

The optimal planting of fir trees is carried out in the autumn-winter period.The further south the region, the later the trees are planted; by the beginning of planting, the growing season of the seedling should be completed.

Planting fir trees

The size of the planting pit depends on the size of the tree. The width and depth of the pit when planting a seedling with an open root system should be 20-30 cm larger than the size of the roots, they should not touch the bottom and walls of the pit. We recommend planting conifers with a clod of earth, this contributes to better survival. When planting a plant with a lump, the hole should be 0.5-0.8 m wider and 0.1-0.3 m deeper than the lump.

If we plant spruce large-sized trees, then the metal frame from the lump in the pit is carefully cut, the burlap can not be removed, just untie the knot around the root collar. It is good to treat such trees after planting with the Lignohumate stimulant, and then repeat this treatment about once every 2 weeks throughout the year, only at above-zero temperatures.

Often gardeners are interested in: “How to plant a blue spruce? What kind of care for a blue spruce? " The care for varieties of blue spruce is the same as for all spruces. But feeding blue spruce trees must be carried out regularly so that the needles do not fade. For example, with the preparation Florovit for Conifers, Green Needle. Planting a blue spruce on the site should be done in a sunny location.

For all types of Christmas trees, the first fertilizing is carried out no earlier than the next autumn after planting. Especially for plants with an open root system, there is a risk of burning the roots.

It is not worth watering the spruce too much, this will lead to a rapid infection with fungal infections. If you are not sure about the amount of watering, it is better to purchase a moisture meter, its scale will show whether you need watering or not.

Fertilizing

You only need to cut the spruce yourself if the branches are broken, or if you are forming a hedge. Spruce trees are formed even in the nursery, but you can pluck out rapidly stretching shoots so that the plant does not become bare, and cut the lateral fast-growing shoots, but only during the period of active growth.

The most common diseases of spruce trees include: coniferous shute, necrotic necrosis of the bark, tracheomycotic wilting (fusarium), root and stem rot, ulcerative cancer.

Diseases ate

All of them affect weakened trees in dense plantings, when the root collar is deepened during planting.

Control measures are universal: timely removal of dried branches, disinfection of wounds with a solution of copper sulphate and subsequent filling of wounds with oil paint. Seasonal prophylactic treatment with one of the drugs: "Abiga-peak", "HOM", "cuproxat", 1% Bordeaux liquid. If it rains in the summer, then add one more treatment.

It is necessary to ensure that the lower branches do not sink into the soil, it is better to cut them then. The needles under the crown must be disinfected with drugs: "DNOC", "nitrafen".

The spruce has a lot of pests: shoot gall midge, shoot moth, hermes, sawflies, needle-eater, spruce moth, carpenter beetles, spider mites, silkworms.

Control measures: preventive spraying in spring, during the summer of butterflies, during the period of regrowth of young shoots with one of the insecticides: "Iskra", "Actellik", "Decis Profi", "Fufanon". With repeated treatments, the preparations must be changed among themselves.

If you see on the trunk flight holes of woodworm beetles or sawdust pouring out of the wound, then drop Actellic into the hole from a syringe and close the wound with plasticine. Conifers should be regularly inspected for trunk damage. If you have coniferous stumps in your area, remove the bark from them and burn them, and treat the stump with a wood preservative.

Care work in the autumn-winter period consists in tying the paws of wide-crown spruces so that they do not break under the weight of snow, covering the roots of young seedlings with spruce branches, sawdust, and snow. If the winter is snowless, it is better to cover young spruces with agrofibre, spunbond.

It is also important to cover the graft site in the grafted forms of spruce, to protect them from strong winds in order to prevent injury to the scion.

Canadian spruce and its varieties need to be shaded in spring with thin agrofibre from sunburn.

Ate in landscape design

We will not give a detailed description of the varieties often used in landscaping, but we will consider the most interesting varieties.

Type: Norway spruce (European). Varieties: Acrocona, Cupressina, Goblin, Frohburg, Palacek, Echiniformis, Inversa, Gold Drift, Nidiformis, Procumbens, Little Gem, Will * s Zwerg, Pusch, Maxwellii, Pumila Glauca, Virgata, Vermont Gold, Pygmaea, Hasin, Ohledbruffii , Formanek, Blue Tron.

1. Variety "Akrokona / Acrocona": height 3-5 m and 2-4 m in diameter. Wide-conical shape. Hanging cones, bright red, then darken, appear even on young trees. Species plant in the landscape of a small area, can be grown in a tub.

   Spruce Akrokona

2. Sort "Maxwell / Maxwellii": height and width up to 1.5 m. Shape: wide cone. A dwarf, slow-growing variety. Does not give cones. Used in rockeries, rock gardens.

   Spruce Maxwell

3. Variety "Barry": height and width up to 1.5-2 m. Shirokokonicheskaya form. Slow growing dwarf tree. Looks good in compositions and alone for small areas.

   Spruce Barry

4. Sort "Pygmy / Pygmaea": height up to 3 m, width up to 1.5. The shape of the variety is similar to the Canadian spruce "Konika". Good to use as a "Christmas tree".

   Picea pygmea

5. Variety "Vermont Gold / Vermont Gold": height up to 0.3 m, diameter up to 1 m. The form is recumbent cushion. Planted in full sun can burn. Very suitable for rocky gardens.

   Spruce Vermont Gold

6. Variety "Waldbrand / Waldbrund": height up to 0.6 m, diameter up to 0.8 m. Pillow-shaped form. The needles are bluish. Slow growing variety. For rockeries and rock gardens.

   Spruce Waldbrand

Type: Canadian spruce (gray, white). Varieties: Alberta Globe, Blue Planet, Tennis Ball, Skra, Conica, Daisy * s White, Piccolo, Sanders Blue, Dendrofarma Gold, Echiniformis, Green Planet, Skrzat.

1. Variety "Blue Planet": 0.2 m height and 0.2 m diameter in 10 years. The shape is spherical. The variety is dwarf. Suitable for rockeries.
2. Variety "Daisy White /": height up to 2 m. Conical shape. Young needles are golden. Drought intolerant. Used singly and in compositions.

   Spruce daisy white

3. Variety "Piccolo / Piccolo": height 1.2, width 0.6 m in 10 years. Conical shape. Slow-growing dwarf variety. Dislikes fertile soil. Shade in the spring from the sun. Used in rock gardens.

Type: Serbian (Balkan) spruce. Varieties: Wana, Pimoko, Kamenz, Berliner * s, Weeper, Wodan, Pendula, Peve Tijn, Machala, Nana.

1. Variety "Kamenz / Kamenz": height 0.3-0.4 m. Dwarf variety with silvery needles. They are planted in sunny places in rockeries and heathers.

   Spruce Kamenz

2. Variety "Wodan / Wodan": up to 1 m in height and 0.5 m in diameter in 10 years. The shape is pyramidal. Dwarf variety, growing slowly. Loves moist soils. Used in landscape compositions.

   Spruce Wodan

3. Sort "Pendula / Pendula": height up to 10 m, width up to 1.5 m. Weeping shape, long needles. Used in landscaping large parks.

   Spruce Pendula

4. Sort "Peve Tijn": height and width up to 1 m. Dwarf tricolor variety (green-yellow-blue). It grows up to 5 cm per year. The shape is conical. The place is light and partial shade. Prefers acidic soils. A very original variety. Used in compositions and heaths.

   Spruce Peve Tijn

Type: prickly spruce. Sorts: Maigold, Glauca Globosa, Blaukissen, Hoopsii, Koster, Pali, Glauca, Edith, Bialobok, Hermann Naue, Hoto, Donna's Rainbow, Iseli Fastigiata, Fat Albert, Oldenburg, Lucky Strike, Baby Blue Eyes, Wendy, Montgomery, Early Console , Benno, Nimetz, Blue Horizon.

1. Variety "Hoopsi / Hoopsii": height up to 15 m, width up to 5 m. Grafted form. Bright silver-blue needles. Used alone. Affected by spider mites.

   Spruce Hoopsie

2. Variety "Lucky Strike / Lucky Strike": height up to 2 m. The shape is asymmetric, shoots of different lengths. Beautiful purple young cones. The soils are light, planted in a sunny position.

   Spruce Lucky Strike

3. Variety "Fat Albert / Fat Albert": height 3-5 m, width 2-2.5 m in 10 years. Shirokokonicheskaya form. The needles are silvery-blue, green when shaded. In landscaping, they are used for single plantings and in compositions.

   Spruce Fat Albert

4. Variety "Hermann Naue / Hermann Naue": height 0.5, diameter 0.7 m in 10 years. The shape is round. Slow growing variety. The needles are gray-blue, with crimson cones at the tips of the shoots. Undemanding. Used in rock gardens.

   Spruce Herman Nau

5. Variety "Meigold": height up to 3 m. Conical shape. Young needles of golden color. A very beautiful variety, planted singly.

   Spruce Maygold

From other types of spruce, pay attention to the following varieties: oriental spruce "Aureospicata", "Professor Langner", "Tom Thumb Gold"; black spruce "Nana", "Beissneri"; Engelman's spruce "Pendula", "Bush * s Lace", "Virgata", "Snake"; Sitka spruce "Rom", "Thomas".

Conclusion

It so happened that spruce in landscape design is the most attractive, festive coniferous species. A rare site does without a prickly beauty. Let it bring holiday and magic to your garden.

Literature:

• Khrzhanovsky V.G. Botany ed. High School - 1974.
• Treyvas L.Yu. Determinant atlas. Diseases and pests of conifers ed. Fiton - 2010.
• Sheshko P.V. Encyclopedia of Landscape Design ed. Astrel - 2008.
• V.S. Kholyavko Dendrology and Foundations of Green Building ed. High School - 1976.
• Plant catalog recommended by the Association of Polish Nurseries Warsaw _ 2007.
• Lorberg tree nursery catalog ed. 82

Article author: Marina Lukyanova

Norway spruce: varieties, varieties and decorative forms (with photo)

Spruce belongs to the genus Picea (resinous plants) of the pine family. It is common in the Northern Hemisphere, from the Arctic Circle to the south. About 50 species of spruce are known, you can find their photos and descriptions on this page.

In the European part of them grow up to 10 species of spruce, they have a great variety of varieties. But in landscaping, there are mainly five types of decorative fir trees.

This culture is a monoecious evergreen tree with a conical crown, gray bark and dense needles. The root system is superficial. The advantage of all decorative forms of spruce is that they form the crown naturally and do not need pruning.

Norway spruce is a tree up to 40 m tall with a trunk up to 1-1.5 m in diameter. The crown is conical, with distant or drooping branches that rise at the end, remains sharp until the end of life.

The bark of the common form of spruce is reddish-brown or gray, smooth or fissured, of varying degrees and character of fissuring, relatively thin.

Shoots are light brown or rusty yellow, glabrous. Buds 4-5 mm long, 3-4 mm wide, ovate-conical, pointed at the apex, light brown; their scales are obtuse triangular, light or reddish brown.

The needles are 8-20 mm long, 1-1.8 mm wide, tetrahedral, have a sharp apex, with 2-4 stomatal lines on each side, dark green, shiny; needles last 6-7 (up to 10-12) years.

Cones 10-16 cm long and 3-4 cm thick, oblong-ovate, initially light green or dark purple, brown when mature. Seed scales obovate, slightly longitudinally folded, convex, notched along the upper edge, sometimes truncated.

The seeds are 2-5 mm long, brown to dark brown, with a light brown wing, which is about 3 times the size of the seed. Seeds open and scatter in the second half of winter.

Lives in nature for 250-300 years. Annual growth is 50 cm in height and 15 cm in spread. Grows slowly up to 10-15 years, then quickly.

Grows wildly in Europe and Asia. Very demanding on moisture and soil composition. Does not tolerate sandy loam. Grows satisfactorily only in low areas. Very sensitive to air pollution.

All varieties of common spruce are not plants for the garden. It is attractive only at a young age, and over the years it loses its decorative effect, stretches, becomes thinner. Various forms of common spruce, with bushy, spherical, weeping crowns, are of value.

In the garden, it is better to use decorative forms of this spruce: below are the names and descriptions of the most popular of them.

Spruce "Ehiniformis" in the photo

"Ehiniformis" (spiny)... Dwarf, slow-growing form, reaching 20 cm in height and 40 cm in width. This variety of common spruce has a pillow-shaped crown, unevenly developed in different directions. Shoots are light brown, glabrous, slightly shiny, tough, relatively thick. Annual growth is 15-20 mm. The buds are light brown, large, cylindrical, rounded.

As you can see in the photo, this variety of common spruce has needles from yellow-green to gray-green, the lower needles are flat with a short sharp tip, the upper one is star-shaped, located under the final cone:

Propagated by seeds and grafting. Recommended for group and single plantings in rocky gardens, for growing in containers, for landscaping balconies and roofs, for cemeteries.

Spruce "Compact" in the photo

"Compact"... Dwarf form, usually about 1.5-2 m tall. Older plants sometimes reach 6 m in height with the same crown width. Shoots are numerous, short, raised in the upper part of the crown, brown. The needles are about 9 mm long, shorter towards the top of the shoot, shiny, green.

Spruce "Nidiformis" in the photo

"Nidiformis" (nested)... Dwarf form, just above 1 m, wide, dense. The crown is cushion-shaped, flattened, which is obtained in the form of a nest due to obliquely growing shoots from the middle of the plant and the absence of main branches. The branches grow evenly, fan-shaped and bell-shaped. Numerous shoots. The annual growth is 3-4 cm. The needles are light green, flat, with 1-2 stomatal lines, which are a distinctive feature, 7-10 mm in length. Very effective for low curbs, in small groups created on parterres and rock gardens. Currently, one of the most common dwarf forms.

Here you can see a photo of the varieties of the common type of spruce, the names of which are given above:

What are the varieties and varieties of the Canadian type of spruce

Canadian spruce in the photo

Spruce canadian - tree 20-35 m tall, with a trunk 60-120 cm in diameter, with a dense regular dense cone-shaped crown. The branches of young plants are directed upwards, in old plants they are mostly lowered and flat.

The bark is smooth or scaly, ash brown. Young shoots are yellowish or whitish-light brown, glabrous. Buds up to 6 mm long, 4-5 mm wide, almost spherical, non-resinous; their scales are obtuse-ovate, light brown, shiny.

The needles are 8-18 mm long, about 1.5 mm wide, tetrahedral, bluish-green, densely arranged and rather rigid, slightly curved, when rubbed, they smell rather sharply, the needles last up to 11 years.

Look at the photo - this type of decorative spruce has ovoid-cylindrical cones, up to 7 cm long and 1.5-2.5 cm thick, light green before ripening, light brown when ripe:

Seed scales are thin and elastic, whole along the upper edge.

Seeds are 2–3 mm long, light brown, with an orange-brown wing 3 times the length of the seed. Cones ripen in September.

Hardy and drought-resistant enough. Lives up to 300-500 years.

All varieties of Canadian spruce are recommended for single and group plantings, dwarf forms are promising for rocky slides. It grows successfully in both maritime and continental climates. Sufficiently drought-resistant. Not demanding on soils, tolerates poor and sandy soils. Good wind resistance, bred as windproof. It is less sensitive to gases and smoke than European spruce.

Currently, about 20 decorative forms of this type of spruce have been described, with a description of the most popular of them you can find below.

Spruce "Konika" in the photo

The most amazing variety - "Konika"... If everyone knows the blue spruce, then another tree, which dendrologists briefly call "conic", i.e. conical, while a rarity.

"Konica" is a mutation of Canadian spruce native to eastern North America. It differs from its progenitor not only in diminutiveness, its height rarely exceeds 2 m, but also in a surprisingly dense cone of the crown and soft light green needles.

By the middle of the last century, the Konica variety of Canadian spruce conquered the whole world, settling in the gardens of countries with a temperate climate and developed decorative gardening.

Its real discovery in Russia took place only relatively recently, together with the rapid development of ornamental gardening, when Konica seedlings began to come to us in large quantities from Holland, Poland, the Czech Republic and other countries of Western Europe, where its reproduction has long been established. "Konica" propagates exclusively by cuttings, as it does not bear fruit.

In central Russia, it is quite winter-hardy. But in urban conditions it is less stable than prickly spruce. With a strong gas content, the decorative effect of the Christmas tree decreases.

It grows slowly, which is a virtue in garden design.At the age of five, the Christmas tree reaches a height of 20 cm and already at this age is strikingly superior in decorativeness to the seedlings of the same age as ordinary spruce. By the age of ten, "Konika" reaches an average of 80 cm and is full of decorativeness. And by the age of 20, its height is usually 150 cm, the diameter at the base is about a meter.

"Konika" should be planted in open places protected from cold winds with cultivated, light loamy soil. Caring for her may be limited to watering during dry periods.

The development of the Christmas tree, and therefore its decorativeness, is facilitated by periodic surface loosening and mulching of the tree trunk circle with rotted organic matter. Mulching is best done in early autumn, and in spring the mulch is shallowly embedded in the soil.

In favorable conditions, "Konika" retains a high decorative effect until old age. It does not need trimming and shaping. Like a blue spruce, it is designed to play the role of a tapeworm in decorative design and is just a godsend for a small garden.

This Christmas tree fits well into large rock gardens, it is desirable in the background of flower arrangements, harmoniously combined with other low conifers. Looks especially elegant on the lawn. At the same time, it is advisable to plant it with an even line of three or more plants or a group of several Christmas trees.

Of the other decorative forms, "Aurea" is known, characterized by strong growth. The needles on the upper side are golden in color.

"Aureaspikata"... The form is distinguished by the yellow color of the needles and young shoots, which persists only in summer, but later they turn green.

Spruce "Elegance Compact" in the photo

Elegance Compact... The crown is conical, but the growth is stronger than that of "Konica", young shoots and buds are yellow-brown, the needles are fresh green, 8-10 mm long, the annual growth is 5-4 cm.

"Nana" (low)... Dwarf form up to 1-2 m high. The crown is wide, rounded. Branches are dense, numerous, unevenly spaced, gray, very flexible. Annual growth is 2.5-4.5 cm.

Pay attention to the photo - this variety of Canadian spruce has radial needles, 5-7 mm long, thin, hard, gray-blue:

The culture is hardy. Propagated by cuttings.

Currently, it is rare. Recommended for group plantings, as well as for growing in containers for landscaping balconies, roofs, for planting on alpine slides.

Spruce "Pendula" in the photo

"Pendula" - weeping form, has strongly drooping branches, branches abundantly, needles are densely located on the branches, bluish-green.

Among the forms with blue needles deserve attention:

Alberta Blue, Arenson Blue,

Cerulea, Sander Blue.

All of them have a dwarf growth and retain the color of the needles well in open sunny places: alpine hills, heather gardens. They are suitable for growing in containers.

Spruce of Engelman and Schrenk: photo and description

Speaking about what rare types of spruce are, it is worth mentioning the forms of Engelmann and Schrenk.

Engelman spruce in the photo

Engelman spruce - originally from North America. In terms of the slenderness of the crown, this is the most decorative spruce. The tree amazes with grace and healthy appearance. Even the completely lower branches are never bare. It is very resistant to the unfavorable conditions of the city and to soil and climatic influences. When describing Engelman's spruce, it is worth mentioning such qualities as winter hardiness, shade tolerance and drought tolerance.

It has many decorative forms that are widely used in landscaping.

Spruce "Glauka" in the photo

Most popular "Glauka" (gray)... The tree is 20-40 m tall, with a dense conical crown, without a clear horizontal tier of branches. The needles are less prickly, more flexible and less spaced than those of prickly spruce, gray-blue, especially clear color appears in early spring.

As you can see in the photo, in the Engelman spruce, the needles are not so attractive in winter, but still decorative:

Growing fast. Winter hardiness. Propagated by seeds, cuttings, grafting.Recommended for single, group and alley plantings in large gardens.

Shrenka spruce in the photo

Shrenk spruce, or Tien Shan, Is a powerful tree with a narrow cone-shaped crown, a sharp top and branches hanging down to the ground. The needles are light green or bluish. Photophilous, not demanding on soils, but moisture-loving and low frost resistance.

Look at the photo - this type of spruce has high decorative qualities, which makes it desirable in garden compositions, and its slow growth in the first years of life makes it possible to form dense hedges from it:

It has a spherical shape - a tree up to 1.8 m tall with a rounded crown.

Varieties of prickly spruce (with photo)

Colorado spruce in the photo

Colorado spruce. Among the numerous representatives of the genus, it stands out for its harmony and beauty, undemanding to growing conditions, frost resistance and resistance to air pollution, surpassing many brethren in this indicator.

Decorative at any time of the year. The most valuable evergreen tree up to 25 m, lives up to 100 years.

The crown is pyramidal. The branches form regular dense tiers, horizontal or hanging at different angles. Particularly beautiful are specimens in which the branches are evenly spaced in regular tiers around the trunk from the ground to the top.

The needles are prickly, their color varies from green to light blue, silvery, up to 2.5 cm long. Under good growing conditions, the needles live for 5-7 years, more often 3-4 years.

It is considered resistant to dust and smoke, but in urban conditions it must be washed with water at least 5 times a month. Photophilous. Demanding on soil fertility and moisture, but does not tolerate too fertile soil and waterlogging.

Tolerates pruning well. Propagated by seeds, grafting.

It is recommended to plant at some distance from roads and industrial enterprises, against the background of a lawn, preferably in illuminated places. Usually single specimens or small groups are planted in the ceremonial places of the garden. It is especially good in combination with Serbian spruce, pseudo-tree, single-color fir, etc.

Popular forms of prickly spruce are described below:

"Argentea" (silver)... A straight-stemmed tree 30-40 m tall with a conical crown and clearly arranged horizontal branches. The needles are silvery-white, a light waxy bloom is preserved on old plants, young needles have a pale green color with a whitish tint. It is widely used in landscaping, in single and group plantings;

"Glauka" (gray)... It differs from the main species in bluish-green needles, which retain their color throughout the year. The lifespan of needles of this variety of prickly spruce, depending on conditions, is 3-10 years. Plant height 20 m. Annual growth of more than 30 cm. The crown is symmetrical, conical. Shoots reach the ground, arranged in tiers almost horizontally. Branches do not break under the weight of wet snow. Suitable for creating large arrays, small curtains, for single plantings;

Spruce "Glauka Globoza" in the photo

"Glauka Globoza" (gray spherical)... Dwarf form up to 1 m in height and up to 1.5 m in diameter. Young shoots are yellowish-brownish, thin. The crown is round, dense only in old age.

Pay attention to the photo - this variety of prickly spruce has dense, slightly crescent-shaped, blue-white needles, about 1 cm long and 1 mm thick:

It grows slowly. Propagated by cuttings. Recommended for rocky gardens, for growing in containers, on balconies.

Spruce "Hoopsie" in the photo

Hoopsie. The height of the tree is 12-15 m, the diameter of the crown is 3-4.5 m. The crown is evenly branching, very dense. Annual growth is 12-20 cm, branches are horizontally spaced from the trunk. Shoots are light red-brown, apical buds are ovoid, 1 cm long. The scales are short, bent. The needles are needle-like, hard, sharp, bluish-white, 2-3 cm long, directed forward, thick, lasts 4-6 years.

Spruce "Bonfire" in the photo

"Bonfire". The tree is 10-15 m tall, with weeping branches hanging down. Crown diameter 4-5 m.The needles are slightly sickle-shaped, bluish-green with a light waxy coating, thin, sickle-shaped, short, 20-25 mm long. The silvery-blue color of the needles remains in winter. Young shoots are orange-brown. The trunks are bent. One of the most famous blue forms of spruce is prickly. The crown is uniformly developed, conical. Recommended for solitary and group plantings near houses, for decorating ceremonial places.

Spruce "Moorheim" in the photo

Moorheim. Strongly and unevenly growing, narrow conical shape. The needles are 20-30 mm long, adjacent. In the second year, it becomes an intense silvery blue.

As you can see in the photo, this variety of prickly spruce does not change the color of the needles in winter:

Branches are short, horizontal. Apical bud 10-15 mm long, obtuse, yellow-brown. The lateral buds are very different and are located spirally below the apical bud. The scales at the apex are strongly deflected.

Spruce "Mall" in the photo

"Moll". Dwarf form, growing slowly. At 20 years old, the height is about 1 m. The annual growth is 3-5 cm, the crown is wide-conical and very densely branched. Shoots are yellow-brown. The needles are beautiful, bluish-white, 10-15 mm long and 1 mm thick.

Spruce "Montgomery" in the photo

Montgomery. A dwarf form, slow-growing, very squat, at 35 years old, the height and diameter of the crown is 1.8 m, the annual growth is about 6 cm, shoots are yellow-brown, the buds are ovoid, yellow-brown, the scales are bent. The needles are 18-20 mm long, blue-gray, sharp.

Spruce "Oldenburg" in the photo

Oldenburg. The tree is 10-15 (20) m high, with a crown diameter of 5-7 m. The crown is conical. The bark is brownish-gray, scaly, shoots are orange-brown.

The photo shows that this variety of prickly spruce has needle-like needles, dense, tough, prickly, steel-blue:

It adheres very tightly to the branches. Growing fast. Annual growth 30-35 cm in height, 15 cm spread. Photophilous. It is undemanding to soils, but grows better on chernozems and loams, tolerates temporary excessive moisture. Frost-resistant, frost-tolerant. Application: single landings, groups.

Blue spruce: description of the type and photo of a decorative tree

In this section of the article, you can familiarize yourself with a photo and description of the type of blue spruce from the Pine family.

Blue spruce in the photo

The blue spruce tree is an evergreen coniferous tree, 25-30 m high, rarely up to 46 meters. The trunk diameter is up to 1.5 meters. The bark is thin, scaly. The crown is narrow-conical in young trees, in old trees it becomes cylindrical. The needles are 15-30 mm long, rhombic in cross-section. The needles of blue spruce deserve a special description - the color of the needles in this species of plants is from grayish-green to bright blue.

The crown is conical, compact, tetrahedral needles, dense, very prickly. The bark of the trunks and branches is grayish-brown, smooth at first, later fractured.

Cones of decorative blue spruce in the photo

The cones of decorative blue spruce are weakly cylindrical, 6-11 cm long and 2 cm wide when closed, up to 4 cm when opened. The color of the cones is from reddish to purple, the mature cone is light brown. Seeds are black, 3-4 mm long with a light brown wing 10-13 mm long.

Look at the photo - the blue spruce has cylindrical cones, up to 9 cm long, light brown, ripen in the first year:

Blue spruce is one of the most hardy spruces in all respects. It is inferior to ordinary spruce only in shade tolerance. But it is extremely resistant to atmospheric pollution, frost-resistant, drought-resistant, very unpretentious to soil conditions.

However, the blue spruce reaches its best development and a greater decorative effect on fertile structural loams, under full illumination.

This tree has a pronounced root shaft, which makes it drought-resistant. And yet, in the first 6-8 years, seedlings should be watered 2-3 times during the summer, and in case of drought, be sure to at least once a week. This will allow the trees to grow stronger. The greatest increases in height in blue spruce plants are observed after 8-10 years.And by the age of 20-25, the trees are already fully formed. The first cones can sometimes be seen on 15 year old trees.

Until the age of 8-10 years, it is better to keep the trunk circle under black steam, mulching with humus. In the future, the land should not be cultivated, and care consists only in periodic mulching and watering during prolonged drought.

As you can see from the photo and description of the blue spruce, this beauty will decorate your garden for many years. She is a great tapeworm, not needing any community. Looks good alone or in a group on a flat lawn. When creating groups, spruce should not be planted closer than 3 m from each other, so that there is no shading, and the trees have low, dense crowns.

These photos show the varieties of the blue spruce species, the most popular among gardeners:

The healing properties of spruce

Spruce is not only an ornamental, but also a useful plant in the garden and in personal plots.

The healing properties of spruce are well known. Moreover, common spruce is recognized as the leader in this respect among all species. Needles, young shoots and young cones are medicinal. They are rich in essential and tannins, resins, vitamins, trace elements, phytoncides and fatty oils.

Various inflammatory diseases of the respiratory and urinary tract organs, as well as sinusitis and other diseases in the nasopharynx are treated with ate preparations and decoctions. Baths of spruce branches and buds are used for skin diseases, gout, arthritis and arthrosis.

The infusion from fresh ate buds can be used as a vitamin tea, which is contraindicated in case of stomach ulcers. The simplest infusion is prepared by roughly grinding 40 g of needles, pouring it with a glass of boiling water, boiling for 20 minutes, then insisting. The resulting infusion is drunk during the day with a lack of vitamin C.

Spruce needles contain significant amounts of phosphorus, potassium, iron, vitamins. Especially there is a lot of ascorbic acid and carotene in it, thanks to which the needles are an excellent raw material for the manufacture of special prophylactic pastes for scurvy and periodontal disease, pine extracts for baths and medicinal chlorophyll carotene preparations.

From the essential oil of spruce, camphor is obtained, which is indispensable for heart ailments. Inhalations from the essential oil of pine needles cure catarrhal conditions of the throat and bronchi.

The ecological significance of spruce is also important. Air pollution, especially urban air pollution, currently exceeds all existing standards. The needles take on a filtering role in the gas exchange of atmospheric air. Dust particles, together with harmful microorganisms, settle and are fixed in the wax coating of the needles.

The air, saturated with secretions of conifers, has a beneficial effect on the body, improving respiration and blood circulation, and heals even a sick human psyche.

Phytoncides secreted by needles help to clean the air even in gas-polluted places. At the same time, the spruce itself feels good. She has straight trunks, dense rump, low-hanging crowns.

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