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A lush, low shrub strewn with small white flowers is the oak-leaved spirea. Plants are used for decorative purposes for arranging park areas and garden plots. Spiraea is an unpretentious plant, therefore it is quite widespread, even in the northern regions.
Description of oakleaf spirea
The name of oak-leaved spirea in Latin is written as Spiraeachamaedryfolia. The homeland of the plant is considered to be central Russia. Currently, the shrub is rarely found in the wild. It is mainly grown for landscaping and landscaping.
The description of oak-leaved spirea should begin with a photo demonstration. The shrub is known to reach 2 m in height. It has long branches reaching to the ground. During flowering they acquire a beautiful bend. The crown of the bush is quite lush and has a rounded shape.
The flowers are small, white, collected in lush inflorescences of 20 pieces each. Spirea blooms from the beginning of May until the end of the month, on average about 25 days. The leaf of Spiraea oakleaf is oblong, jagged, dark green above, gray below. It reaches 4–4.5 cm in length.
The lush bush can reach 2 m in diameter.
Planting and caring for oakleaf spirea
On well-fertilized soils, this crop grows and develops better. The plant also needs to be allocated the sunny side of the area where it will grow.
Preparation of planting material and site
It is important to fertilize the land for planting with humus, peat or river sand. Choose a sunny, bright place, with light partial shade possible. The darker the side, the fewer flowers will form on the spirea.
The soil for planting must be thoroughly loosened and slightly moistened. This crop does not tolerate heavy watering, nor does it tolerate the presence of lime in the soil.
Before planting, seedlings are soaked in water to avoid excessive root dryness. For planting in open ground, choose plants with a well-developed root system.
Landing rules
When planting young plants in open ground, they follow certain rules and take into account the characteristics of the plant. Spiraea oakleaf does not like shaded places with drafts.
Planting is carried out in the spring-autumn period as follows:
- Dig a hole no deeper than half a meter.
- Drainage is laid at the bottom: pebbles, gravel or expanded clay.
- Before planting, the rhizome of the seedling should be soaked in water for 1 hour.
- The seedling is lowered vertically into the hole and covered with fluffy soil, no higher than the level of the root collar.
- The soil around the trunk is trampled down a little. Afterwards the bush is watered abundantly. A bucket of water will be enough. Then the soil around the trunk is sprinkled with peat.
Watering and fertilizing
On rainy days, oakleaf spirea does not need watering. In summer, during drought, the bush is watered 2 times a month. The amount of water per watering is 12-14 liters. After watering, the soil must be loosened and mulched. Do not allow moisture to stagnate at the rhizome. During the loosening process, care must be taken not to damage the roots located close to the surface of the earth.
In spring and summer it is necessary to fertilize the plant, but no more than 2 times. For the first time, oakleaf spirea can be fertilized with universal mineral supplements, then with mullein solution.
Trimming
To maintain the beautiful shape of the spirea crown and protect it from pests and fungal diseases, it is important to trim it on time. This is done in the summer after the bush has flowered. The procedure is carried out annually. Pruning begins with cutting off dry, broken branches. Then the too long and old shoots are shortened. Leave branches about a quarter of a meter long.
This can stimulate the growth of side shoots, the crown will lose its shape, and the bush will stop blooming.
Preparing for winter
Spiraea oakleaf tolerates winters well in central Russia. But, if the forecast predicts cold weather, or the crop is grown in the northern regions of the country, oak-leaved spirea must be wrapped. Only the rhizome is insulated. To do this, the soil around the trunk is covered with spruce wood, large pieces of bark, and fallen leaves.
Reproduction
Spiraea oakleaf reproduces by seeds and shoots. To sow seeds, prepare boxes filled with a mixture of soil and humus. The soil is well fluffed up and the seeds are spread evenly at a sufficient distance from each other, at least 5 cm.Afterwards, the planting material is covered with peat. The layer should not be thicker than 1 cm. Sowing in boxes is carried out in early spring.
After about 7-14 days, the first sprouts of oak-leaved spirea will appear. It is important to disinfect them during this period with a weak solution of potassium permanganate. After 2 months, the grown plants can be transplanted into open ground. Choose a shaded place for the garden bed. Young seedlings need regular watering. The annual growth of oak-leaved spirea in the first season after planting will not exceed 10 cm. The next year, the growth of the plant will accelerate.
Also, a young plant of oak-leaved spirea can be obtained by rooting shoots. To do this, choose the longest and strongest shoot. Carefully tilt it towards the soil and fix it. The place where the branch and the ground come into contact is sprinkled with soil. The free end of the shoot is directed upward and tied to a support.
In the warm season, the mother bush and cuttings are watered. The rooting of the shoot will occur this year before the onset of autumn, but it will be possible to separate it from the mother spirea oak-leaved bush only next year. The first color on the layering must be cut off. This way the seedling will develop better.
Spiraea oakleaf can also be propagated by cuttings. They are cut from branches with formed dense bark. Each cutting should not be longer than 10 cm. The cut is treated with a product for better formation and development of the root system.
To plant cuttings, prepare plastic or wooden boxes and fill them with soil from the garden, loosening it well. After about a couple of months, half of the cuttings should have formed a root. In spring, such seedlings can be transferred to garden beds.
Diseases and pests
Spiraea oakleaf is often attacked by the most common pests of garden crops: aphids, leaf rollers, and spider mites. Insects cause particular harm to the plant from June to August.
Female spider mites can even overwinter in the leaves of a plant, and in the summer they can lay eggs and hatch offspring. When you are infected with spider mites, you can see leaves rolled into tubes and cobwebs on the branches. Later, the foliage begins to dry out and crumble.
For preventive purposes, it is important to carry out autumn pruning in order to remove pests from the branches and not give them a chance to overwinter. Trimmed shoots and branches are taken outside the garden area. They are then burned or placed in a compost bin.
To avoid fungal diseases of the rhizome, the soil around the spirea is regularly fluffed up. This prevents stagnation of moisture and the formation of fungi.
Conclusion
Spiraea oakleaf is a beautiful flowering ornamental plant that is successfully used in landscape design. The bush looks good against the background of deciduous and coniferous trees. With the help of spirea you can create a lush snow-white hedge or a fence for a flower bed.
