Content
Photos and descriptions of the exochord shrub show that the ornamental plant looks great in landscape design. Caring for the crop is quite simple, although it has its own characteristics.
Description and photo of exochord
Exochorda, or string fruit (Exochorda) is a plant of the Rosaceae family. It has simple leaves on petioles with a whole or serrated edge. The plates are located on the shoots in the same order. The height of the plant averages about 2 m above the ground.
In May and June, the shrub blooms with white five-petalled buds up to 5 cm in diameter. The flowers are collected in small brushes. In mid-summer, the fruits of the exochord ripen - hard, fused leaflets, inside of which there are flattened winged seeds.
In its natural form, the shrub grows in Central and East Asia.The plant is cultivated all over the world in warm and temperate climates. The shrub is quite hardy, but at the same time has high requirements for lighting.
Winter hardiness of exochord
The winter hardiness of the cystic exochord is quite good, although in nature the shrub grows in warm regions. With minimal shelter, the crop can withstand cold temperatures down to -30 °C.
Types and varieties
The exochorda plant is represented by several popular species. Before planting a crop, you need to study the characteristics of the most famous varieties.
Exochorda grandiflora
Large-flowered exochorda (Exochorda grandiflora) is a shrub about 3 m tall. It has branched gray-brown shoots and a spreading crown, the leaves are ovoid, bluish in color. At the end of spring it blooms with large white buds with wavy petals. The flowers reach 5 cm in diameter, brushes are formed at the ends of the shoots.
The decorative period of the large-flowered stringcarp lasts about three weeks.
Exochorda serrata
The rather rare serrated exochorda (Exochorda serratifolia) reaches no more than 1.5 m in height. It has a neat spherical crown, the leaves of the plant are wide and long, up to 7.5 cm. It blooms with five-petaled white flowers, one brush can consist of 8-10 buds. The serrata-leaved stringcarp is distinguished by its light-loving nature and tolerates drought and frost well.
The serrated exochord is an endangered species and is listed in the Red Book
Korolkoff's exochord
Korolkow's string fruit (Exochorda korolkowii) is a fairly large shrub up to 4 m tall. The shoots of the plant are erect, gray-brown, the crown is oval-round, rather dense.The leaves are matte, dark green, broadly lanceolate in shape with sharp tips. In April and May, the shrub blooms with snow-white buds up to 45 cm in diameter, forming short curved racemes.
Exochorda Korolkova is considered the most frost-resistant compared to other species
Exochord cystosa
Brush exochorda (Exochorda racemosa) is a shrub up to 3 m tall with a spreading crown. It is distinguished by oval leaves with a solid edge; the plant's brushes are bright white and consist of large buds. Flowering of the racemose stringcarp is later, starting in early June.
Cyst exochorda does not tolerate cold well and is suitable for growing in warm areas
Exochorda Albertus
Albert's stringweed (Exochorda alberti) grows up to 4 m above the ground. It occurs naturally in the mountainous regions of Central Asia. The branches of the bush are spreading, the leaves are pale green and large. At the end of spring, white buds bloom on the shoots, forming inflorescences of 5-8 pieces. The brushes are quite long, up to 8 cm.
With good care, Albert's exochord blooms for 3-4 weeks.
Exochorda Tien Shan
Tien Shan string fruit (Exochorda tianschanica) is quite rare in cultivation, but is highly valued by gardeners for its grace. The buds are small, but the racemes of this variety are very long and consist of 15-18 flowers at once. It has rather low frost resistance and can freeze out in the middle zone. It grows naturally at an altitude of about 1200 m above sea level in the Western Tien Shan.
Flowering in the Tien Shan exochord is short and takes about 12 days
Exochorda Giralda
Exochorda Giralda (Exochorda giraldii) grows on average up to 3 m above the ground. The branches of the bush are thin, slightly pinkish, and directed upward. The leaf blades are slightly pointed, oval in shape, with reddish veins. At the end of May, white concretes with five petals, tapering towards the base, bloom on the shoots of the bush. Like most species, flowers form apical racemes of 6-8 pieces.
The exochord Giralda develops quite slowly and reaches 2 m by the age of ten
How to plant an exochord
Planting an exochord in a summer cottage is quite easy. For the shrub, select a place that is well-lit, but protected from wind and cold drafts. The soil should be fertile, but sufficiently loose and neutral in composition. The area is dug up and humus and sand are added to the soil, and then a hole is prepared up to 1 m deep. The further algorithm looks like this:
- Drainage made of pebbles, expanded clay or coarse sand is laid at the bottom of the recess.
- Fill the hole halfway with fertile soil with the addition of mineral fertilizers.
- Moisten the soil properly.
- Place the exochord seedling in the center.
- Sprinkle the roots of the plant and the remaining voids with substrate.
- Compact the soil and water thoroughly again.
To ensure that moisture from the soil evaporates more slowly, you can immediately mulch the tree trunk circle with compost or wood chips.
Features of care
To grow a beautiful serrated exochord on a plot, it is necessary to provide the plant with proper care. Attention needs to be paid to several main points.
Watering
Stringweed belongs to the category of moderately moisture-loving plants. The shrub does not like waterlogged soil, but it is also undesirable to allow the soil to dry out completely. During hot periods, it is necessary to moisturize the exochord at least once every two weeks. Watering is carried out in the morning or in the evening, using settled and slightly lukewarm water.
How to feed the exochord in the spring
For abundant flowering, the shrub requires periodic feeding. Fertilizers should be applied first in the spring, about a week before the buds begin to bloom. You need to use complex minerals containing nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. It is also allowed to use organic matter, for example, an infusion of bird droppings or a solution of mullein.
The second time the bush is fed a couple of weeks after the buds have withered. The main attention is paid to phosphorus and potassium - these substances help the plant prepare for winter.
It is recommended to fertilize exochords in open ground no more than once every six months.
Trimming
The exochord does not need frequent pruning, but sanitary pruning for the bush is necessary. It is usually performed at the end of flowering; in the process, all weak, diseased and old shoots are removed. To stimulate the growth of new branches, healthy stems are shortened by 1/3 of the total length.
Wintering
Exochorda is a heat-loving plant. With the onset of autumn, it is necessary to carefully mulch the tree trunk circle with humus or peat with a layer of at least 10 cm. Along the crown, the shrub is covered with burlap or lutrasil, and also covered with spruce branches.
In warm regions, hardy string fruit species are allowed not to be insulated.But if the winter is expected to be snowy, the shoots of the bush should be tied to a support so that they do not break under the snow.
Disease and pest control
The exochord shrub very rarely suffers from fungi and parasites when grown in open ground. In this case, the danger to the plant is:
- root rot - with this disease, string carp leaves lose their elasticity and turn pale, and flowering becomes less abundant;
Root rot of string carp develops on marshy soil
- Wireworm is a pest that digs tunnels in the soil and can damage the underground processes of the exochord.
Dusting the soil with wood ash helps prevent wireworms from appearing on the site.
When growing string carp, you need to avoid shading the bush. With a lack of sun, the plant begins to stretch and set flower buds worse.
Reproduction methods
Exochord can be propagated on a site either by seeds or by vegetative methods. Gardeners mainly use three methods.
Growing from seeds
Growing exochord from seeds at home allows you to obtain a particularly hardy and strong shrub. At the end of autumn, planting material is placed in a substrate with the addition of sawdust, slightly moistened and placed in the refrigerator until spring.
At the end of March or April, the container is removed and moved to a well-lit windowsill to provide the plant with comfortable conditions for development. When grown from seeds, the cystic exochord is transferred to open ground only after final warming.
Layerings
Stringweed has flexible lower shoots, so it can be propagated using layering. The diagram looks like this:
- At the end of spring, several young shoots bend to the ground.
- Bury the stems with the middle part into the soil and secure them from unbending.
- Water generously with warm water.
- After about a month, the emerging stem is covered with soil.
You can separate the cuttings from the mother bush and transfer them to a permanent place in the fall. In regions with cold winters, it is recommended to postpone the procedure until spring.
Cuttings
String fruit can be propagated by cuttings after the decorative period has ended. From an adult shrub, several strong, not completely lignified shoots up to 15 cm long are cut.
The cuttings are placed in a moist substrate with the addition of humus, moistened and covered with film or a cut bottle. After the shoots begin to grow, the mini-greenhouse can be removed.
Application in landscape design
The description and photo of the large-flowered exochord show that the shrub is widely used in landscape design. Most often it is used for single or group planting against a background of bright lawn greenery.
With the help of string carp, you can create a beautiful hedge or high border on your site
String fruit can be combined with most perennial plants. In particular, the shrub is often planted next to azaleas and daffodils, periwinkles and spirea. In a hedge, it is recommended to combine exochord with lilac. Planting next to the Japanese chaenomeles is popular. Two ornamental shrubs begin to bloom almost simultaneously and look especially bright in the garden.
Conclusion
Photos and descriptions of the exochord shrub allow us to get an idea of a beautiful, generally unpretentious and hardy plant.The downside of string fruit is considered to be its low frost resistance; otherwise, the crop is very undemanding.
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