The choice of plants for the garden, taking into account the conditions: type of illumination and soil, wind on the site, etc.
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GARDEN WITH OWN HANDS IN UNISON WITH LIEBIG'S LAW
At one time, the German scientist Justus Liebig, the founder of the science of nutrition and plant development, formulated the law of the limiting factor. It sounds simple: for the body, the most significant factor is the one that deviates the most from the optimal value. To visually show the effect of this law, a figurative model was invented - the so-called Liebig barrel.
Imagine a wooden tub assembled from boards of different lengths. When it is filled, water will begin to pour out through the shortest board, the length of the rest does not matter anymore. You can pour as much water as you like, but its level will always be held back by the “limiting factor”.
It is very difficult to adapt heat-loving crops to the conditions of the northern areas.
A lot of time and effort will be spent on adapting them to their climate, but everything will end, most likely, sadly - they will fall out. Therefore, gardeners, choosing plants, have long learned to focus on frost resistance zones, but here everything is not so simple. It is always necessary to take into account factors such as the type of soil and its degree of moisture, the level of illumination, as well as the individual characteristics of the microclimate of the garden.
It is worth remembering Liebig's law when choosing plants for a garden, especially trees and shrubs that make up its "skeleton", which is designed for a long time. Of course, crops must be climate-resistant, but it will be possible to “raise the water level in the barrel”, that is, to achieve complete decorativeness, only if the conditions of the site meet the requirements of the plant. Moreover, some "boards" - the characteristics of the garden - cannot be changed, and the correction of others requires unreasonably high costs and efforts. Therefore, it makes sense to determine which factor is limiting on the site, and based on this, select crops.
GARDEN LIGHT LEVEL
This is one of the most important factors affecting not only the decorativeness of the plant, but also its resistance to adverse conditions and diseases.
So, in prickly and Engelman firs, the needles grow dull in partial shade, the crown becomes loose, and the plants themselves become more vulnerable to diseases.
Penumbra is well tolerated by black and common spruce, pseudo-hemlock, fir, including monochromatic, microbiota. Shady places require yews. And the thuja in the shade will be liquid and stunted. They, like junipers, love full sun. True, there are some exceptions - columnar varieties of common juniper, such as Hibernica, Suecica, are best planted in light partial shade.
Larch is quite photophilous, except for Japanese, which is more comfortable in partial shade. Pine trees love the sun, but Rumelian and Weymouth pines tolerate partial shade relatively well.
Many deciduous shrubs (mock oranges, spireas, red and black elderberry, mountain ash, etc.) begin to bloom noticeably weaker without full sun. But, for example, bird cherry trees in partial shade absolutely retain their
decorative. And rhododendrons do not even tolerate sunny areas, they, like Loebner magnolias and stellate magnolias, need shading and wind protection. Partial shade is suitable for hydrangeas, holly mahonia.
Barberries can grow in partial shade, but retain the rich color of purple or yellow leaves only when planted in sunny places, with a lack of light, the plants turn green. White-variegated varieties of white turf (Albovariegata, Elegantissima) keep their color in partial shade, while yellow ones (Gouchaultii, Aurea) lose their color.
It tolerates shading without problems, is perfectly formed by a haircut and is suitable for zoning a garden or a hedge cotoneaster brilliant. Tatar honeysuckle can grow and bloom for a long time in some shading.
An exceptionally shade-tolerant snowberry is white, pinkish-white flowers in racemes appear in June, and if the weather is warm, then in autumn. More whimsical and not so frost-resistant, but at the same time the Snowberry of Doorenbos Amethyst is very unusual, forming a rounded bush, which is decorated with purple-pink berries.
The ornamental toringo (Siebold) apple tree puts up with a lack of light. Very shade-tolerant field maples, Tatar. Variegated varieties of Norway maple (Drummondi) and ash-leaved (Flamingo) achieve high decorativeness precisely when planted in partial shade.
Reference by topic: Shady area - what to plant on it and how to equip it. Selection of plants for shade
SOIL STRUCTURE AND MOISTURE IN YOUR GARDEN
Almost all trees tolerate short-term flooding in the spring without much damage. Another thing is if the water stays for a long time even after the snow melts. Tolerant to such conditions are derens, fruit bubbles, many viburnums, some willows, for example, white, brittle, five-stamen, ashen, Ginnala and Tatar maples.
Scots pine can adapt to a high groundwater level: young plants are able to change the direction of their roots growth so as to bypass the wet layers.
Dense clay soils pose particular problems. Clay is nutritious, but heavy, poorly passes water and air, it is difficult for weak roots to break through it. Therefore, clay soil is loosened with peat, compost and coarse sand, and raised plantings are used.
Of the conifers on clay soils, spruce and arborvitae grow well. The roots of the mountain pine are very plastic, which allows it to develop well on almost any soil and put up with different humidity conditions, but under the condition of full sun. On waterlogged soils, the root system becomes more fibrous and is located closer to the surface of the earth, and a long root is formed on the sand, extracting moisture from the deep layers of the soil. Compact cultivars are often found on sale - for the most part they are neat green “balls” (Mini Mops, Picobello), there are varieties with long needles (Varella) and with yellowing needles in winter (Wintergold, Ophir, Zundert). Such varieties form a denser crown on clay soils.
Clay is suitable for red elderberry - very elegant during the fruiting period. In gardens, its decorative forms Nana, Plumosa, Tenuifolia, Purpurea, Flavescens are often used.
Of the lilacs, it is worth choosing the Hungarian one, which is more undemanding to soil conditions than its relative, the common lilac. It blooms about half a month later and blooms longer, about 3 weeks, almost does not give shoots.
In waterlogged areas with clay soil, kali grows well on Sargent, which is very beautiful not only during flowering, but also in autumn, when the leaves turn bright red.
Dry sandy soils are the other extreme. They, like a sieve, retain neither water nor nutrients. To create a root zone for trees and shrubs, claying with the introduction of humus and peat is required.
They do not lose their beauty on soil with a predominance of sand, prickly spruce and Siegelman. Junipers are good for sand - Dahurian, Sargent, hard, which can grow well even on the poorest soils. Cypress trees in such conditions will grow less actively, but due to better ripening, it is better to endure winter.
From deciduous, you can safely plant all varieties of barberry, rowanberry, rowanberry, stefanandra incised leaf, silver sucker, which is suitable not only for sandy soils, but also for heavily podzolized sandy loam and loam.
Spireas develop and bloom beautifully on the dry sands - an indispensable attribute of a low-maintenance garden: Van-gugga with a cascading crown, oak-leaved with gracefully broken shoots, Cantonese with thin arcuately curving branches and gray spirea, reminiscent of a white fountain during flowering.
Dryness is also suitable for birch. Its various species are unusually diverse in the color of the bark. In warty birch, it is white, exfoliating; in adult trees, the lower part of the trunk is covered with a blackish crust with deep cracks. The bark of a young paper birch is pink; as it matures, the tree becomes bright white. Cherry bark also changes color with age from pink or slightly reddening to flesh-gray. The Far Eastern beauty ribbed birch stands out for its unusual trunk - light yellow, shaggy, but, unlike many other species, it must be planted in the shade.
Reference by topic: Flower garden blooming to frost - choose plants
WIND IN THE PLOT
Trees and shrubs with a branched root system, a strong trunk and flexible branches well resist gusts of wind. Constant drafts dry out the soil and take away moisture from the leaves and shoots, so the plants must tolerate such drying well.
The leaders in wind resistance are lilacs. It is worth paying attention to the re-flowering hybrids of the Bloomerang series, which belong to the fluffy section. They are attractive for their compactness (height up to 150 cm), small openwork inflorescences woven from small pinkish flowers, abundant flowering and pleasant aroma.
For a place open to all winds, many types of willow are suitable. One of the most popular goat willow and its standard forms Kilmarnock (with straight shoots) and curly Locks grow well in both sun and partial shade, but do not tolerate flooding. For odds
formation of a symmetrical crown, young shoots after flowering are annually cut to 15-20 cm above the bud, looking outward. Purple willow can also be recommended, but it must be borne in mind that it is photophilous, has a deep root system, and therefore heavy clay soils are not suitable for it.
Bird cherry Maaka is good for a windy sunny place, it is winter-hardy, wind-resistant and very decorative throughout the year due to its glossy trunks and branches.
Shade-tolerant and wind-resistant maples.
True, a strong wind can fray the foliage of young trees, but as they grow older, the leaves become more dense and durable. The slow-growing maple of false sibolds is an elegant tree with a dense crown. It blooms with yellowish-purple flowers, and in autumn the foliage is painted in rich scarlet, bright red, yellow-orange tones.
Green-skinned maple comes from the Far East and is distinguished by beautiful bluish-striped branches and trunks. Large three-lobed leaves resemble linden in shape, in autumn they turn yellow. It is winter-hardy, grows rapidly and has a fairly dense crown in adulthood. Norway maple.
The vesicle is not afraid of the wind. If the natural species, which was widely used for landscaping cities, seems boring and you want colors and brightness, then you can choose excellent varieties with dark red, almost black leaves - Diabolo (up to 3 m high), more compact (up to 2 m) and less sprawling Red Baron. There is also a miniature yellow-leaved Darts Gold variety, the foliage of which changes color to chartreuse in mid-summer, and becomes bright yellow again by autumn.
Of the conifers, the Siberian larch with an openwork crown that transmits light is well tolerated by the wind. Its root system is deep, lateral roots go far to the sides. It can grow on almost any soil, it does not tolerate only waterlogging.
The densely branched pyramidal crown of the western arborvitae is wind-resistant. Black pine does not suffer from wind and drafts. But here it is worth noting that the planting material may have a different origin (the distribution area of black pines in nature covers a third of Europe and almost the entire Eastern Mediterranean) and differs significantly in stability in our climate.
Reference by topic: New plants for the garden - buy sparingly, choose wisely
SEEDLINGS: OPTIONS ARE POSSIBLE
All the characteristics of an ideal seedling are clearly spelled out in the regulatory documents - the corresponding GOSTs. But the trouble is that certification according to these standards is voluntary, nurseries and garden centers can interpret the quality of plants in their own way. To save your wallet from unnecessary spending, you need to be able to navigate the categories of planting material.
OKS SEEDLINGS
For the Russian gardener, the abbreviation OKS, which means that the seedling has an open root system, is alarming and thought-provoking, which, in general, is quite reasonable.
The main advantage of such planting material is its low price. If you need a lot of seedlings at once, and the budget is limited, then this is the only option to satisfy your need. Seedlings with ACS are grown in open ground and develop well not only the root system, but also the crown, which can also be attributed to their advantages. However, when digging, they inevitably lose part of the roots, which reduces the survival rate in a new place. In addition, open roots are very vulnerable, dry out quickly, even if they are dipped in a clay mash or kept in a bag of moist soil. But on the other hand, bare roots can be examined and their condition fully assessed: to determine how developed they are, whether they have damage and traces of rot.
Seedlings with ACS have a very limited planting period: autumn, from the beginning of leaf fall to frost, and spring, until buds swell. With a high degree of probability, they simply will not survive a landing at another time. In addition, it is necessary to plant as soon as possible, ideally on the day of purchase, if this is not possible, then you need to arrange a joke.
Thus, buying bare root seedlings is always risky. For example, for conifers, ACS is like an open wound - the same threat to life.
The plant will take root or die - largely depends on the ability to choose planting material. Not the last role is played by landing. The plant is placed in a pit or trench, held on weight, and soil is poured to the roots. It is necessary to tamp the earth from the edges of the pit to the center, the soil near the root neck is compacted last. After planting, the plant is watered. When planting "in the mud", that is, in a well-moistened hole in advance, there is a danger of deepening the plant, as the earth, drying out, can pull the seedling down.
PLANTS FAST AND SLOW GROWING
According to the growth rate, all tree species can be divided into several groups.
Particularly fast-growing ones include warty birch, ash-leaved and silver maples, black and red elderberry, mock oranges, mountain ash, Van Gutt's spirea, and viburnum vesicle.
Larch, Scotch pine, Scotch spruce, Pseudo-hemlock, Tatar maple, honeysuckle, red and white derains, and common viburnum have a slightly less active growth.
Moderate growth in prickly and Engelman spruce, mountain pine, Siberian fir, western arborvitae, virginian juniper, field maple, Norway maple and Ginnala, common lilac. Cedar pine, common juniper, and holly mahonia do not differ in rapid growth.
The minimum annual increments in all dwarf forms of deciduous and coniferous species.
SEEDLINGS FOR POT AND CONTAINERS
Plants grown in containers are commonly referred to as seedlings with a closed root system (ZKS). Their main advantage is the possibility of landing at any time. In nurseries, such seedlings are transferred every year from one container to another, larger in volume. This requires a lot of labor, plus the cost of soil and the containers themselves - hence the high price of such plants. By the way, planting material can initially grow in open ground and only after some time is transferred to a pot. When its root system has fully mastered the entire landing capacity, it will be assigned the status of ZKS.
But it happens that the plant was dug out of the ground on the eve of the sale and simply placed in a pot. At best, this is a seedling with an open root system, at worst, a plant with roots barbarously chopped off to fit the size of the container, which will not take root under any circumstances. To expose the deception, you need to try to pull the plant out of the container. In a seedling with a ZKS, an earthen ball should be braided with roots. The braid can be more or less dense, but it is always present - even pine, which in nature has one central root, when grown in a container, begins to curl around its walls.
There is also such a category of seedlings as container plants - dug out with an intact clod of earth and root system and placed in a container. They have a good survival rate, but sellers sometimes “forget” to inform you that this is just such an instance in front of you, and they sell it at the price of seedlings with ZKS.
In order for the roots of the container seedling to quickly master a new place after planting, it is advisable to slightly stir up the dense root felt that has formed around the earthy coma.
SEEDLINGS WITH Lump of Earth - ZKS
Seedlings with a clod of earth packed in a net or burlap are usually categorized as plants with CCL. But let's try to figure out if this is always the case.
It's one thing if the plant was successively "re-schooled" several times - it was transplanted from one ridge to another and grown in compliance with all the rules of agricultural technology. At the same time, both the underground part and the crown were formed. This allows you to get a seedling with a compact dense root system with better survival. After all, as you know, fibrous roots recover most quickly, plants with a taproot endure transplantation very painfully. But if the roots are correctly formed, then even the tap root system becomes more adapted to rapid regeneration.
Therefore, a plant grown in one place without transplants and dug out, albeit with a huge lump, will take root very hard. It is difficult to plant it, and it will require more careful care.
There is also such a category of seedlings as trees and shrubs with an artificial root ball. This is planting material that was dug up with a bare root during the dormant period. Then, an earthen ball was formed around the roots using a wet substrate. According to the rules for standardization of planting material for ornamental plants (GOST R 59370-2021), such seedlings must be appropriately marked, since, in fact, they belong to trees and shrubs with ACS.
As for the packaging, the natural burlap and non-galvanized mesh can not be removed from the clod so as not to injure the roots of the plant once again. It is enough when planting to cut off the burlap near the trunk and bend the net.
Reference by topic: Saplings for the berry - choose correctly (memo + table)
WE READ THE MARKING ON SEEDLINGS!
In catalogs, planting material is usually accompanied by a special marking, which can be used to determine the main characteristics of the seedling.
The combination BR (from the English bare root - “bare root”) indicates that the plant has an open root system. RB (the initial letters from the words root - “root”, and ball - “ball”) means that the seedling is sold with a clod of earth wrapped in burlap, and if a wire mesh is also used for packaging reliability, then this is indicated by the abbreviation WRB ( wire root ball).
Container seedlings grown in square containers are denoted by the letter P, in round pots - C. The number following the letter determines the size of the side of the container in centimeters or the capacity of the pot. If the plant has recently been transplanted into an open field container, this is indicated by the RB/C marking.
Reference by topic: Universal unpretentious ornamental plants for the garden - photo, name and description
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