Fast-growing conifers: unpretentious species and varieties for the garden, photo

Content

1 Advantages of fast-growing conifers
2 Types and varieties of fast-growing conifers with photos
3 Which fast-growing conifers are the most unpretentious?
4 Conclusion

Landscaping is the main direction in design techniques. Along with flowering crops, evergreens are planted, which give the garden a decorative appearance throughout the year. In order for the landscape design to acquire a complete look in a short time, fast-growing coniferous trees and shrubs are planted.

Advantages of fast-growing conifers

Fast-growing shrubs and trees include plants that provide significant crown growth in the first two years, then slow down the growing season. In other crops, growth activity is observed after 4-6 years, they give an increase of no more than 5 cm. Fast-growing seedlings actively gain green mass in the first years, they are given the desired shape, after the middle of the biological cycle they grow slowly and intensive pruning is not needed.

Fast-growing coniferous crops include pine, spruce and juniper. What makes them popular for garden landscaping is their evergreen crown. Non-deciduous trees and shrubs are used as hedges and tapeworms.In the design of hedges, the fast-growing quality of plants is especially important. In a short time they are able to protect the area from the wind, divide the garden zones, and give a complete look to the design.

Fast-growing conifers are mainly represented by hybrid crops. In the wild, classic varieties give a slight increase. Selected species, along with fast growing season, are adapted to a specific climate, resistant to diseases and pests, and do not require special care. Coniferous varieties take root poorly in a new place. Fast-growing representatives take root on the site with virtually no losses; this quality is also one of their advantages.

Types and varieties of fast-growing conifers with photos

Not all varieties of fast-growing crops can grow everywhere. Each of the varieties requires certain conditions corresponding to their characteristics. Basic requirements to be taken into account when choosing a plant:

climate features. It is necessary to find out how frost-resistant the coniferous plant is and how it tolerates high temperatures;
soil composition. There are varieties that grow on any soil, but most conifers prefer a certain soil composition;
attitude towards light. This biological feature will help you decide on the planting site, as well as in which composition is best to use;
nuances of agricultural technology: does a fast-growing coniferous crop require fertilizing, watering and crown formation;
How does the proximity of certain plants affect growth?

The names, descriptions and photos of fast-growing conifers will help you choose a crop for your garden or garden plot.

Junipers

Junipers are widely used in landscape landscaping; they come in various varieties.There are ground cover, low-growing shrubs and taller representatives growing in the form of a tree.

Prince of Wales

Horizontal juniper Prince of Wales is one of the brightest representatives of the dwarf type of culture. In design it is used as a ground cover plant.

Characteristic:

Creeping shoots grow horizontally, reach a length of up to 1.5 m, a height of 20-25 cm. The needles are green with a silver tint; by autumn the crown becomes dark purple. Annual growth is 8-10 cm.
Frost resistance is high up to -30 ⁰C, does not require shelter for the winter, drought resistance is average.
Planted near ponds in partial shade; in open areas, sprinkling is required.
It is unpretentious to the composition of the soil, feels comfortable on saline soil, the composition should be neutral or slightly alkaline. Does not tolerate waterlogging of the root system.

Grows throughout Russia, except the Far North.

Juniper virginiana Hetz

Juniperus virginiana Hetz is a medium-sized shrub; depending on pruning, it is grown as a tree or shrub:

Height – 2.5 m, crown volume – up to 3 m, annual growth in height – 23 cm.
The branches are horizontal, the needles are light blue with a green tint, becoming dark burgundy in the fall.
The fast-growing conifer prefers open areas, is light-loving, and does not lose its decorative properties at low air humidity. Reacts poorly to drafts.
Frost resistance is high, the root system and shoots are not damaged at -35 ⁰C, only young seedlings are covered for the winter.
Grows only in neutral sandy loam soils with good drainage.

Important! Hetz juniper produces small cones that are not suitable for consumption.

Blue Arrow

Blue Arrow juniper, a variety of Virginian, grows as a tree with a columnar, narrow, arrow-shaped crown.

Mass planting is often used to form hedges. Description:

Height – 4.5-5 m, volume – 1.5 m.
The branches fit tightly to the trunk, the needles are small, thick, dark blue.
Growth is 25 cm in height, the length of the branches increases by 5-6 cm. The main growth is up to 4 years, then sharply decreases.
The fast-growing conifer is frost-resistant (up to -30 ⁰C), photophilous.
The variety is drought-resistant and is planted in open areas.
Does not tolerate drafts and shaded areas.

Grown in temperate climates and in the South.

Juniper Cossack

Creeping Cossack juniper is represented by several varieties. The fast-growing conifer is one of the most unpretentious representatives of the culture.

Characteristics of the variety:

It reaches a height of 40 cm.
The crown is fluffy, dense with a bright green color.
It grows quickly to the sides, requires constant pruning, annual growth in width is up to 30 cm.
Frost-resistant, at -35 ⁰C shelter for the winter is not required.
Drought-resistant, light-loving, can grow in partial shade.
The soil composition is undemanding; a prerequisite is that there should be no stagnation of moisture.

They are grown everywhere, regardless of climatic conditions.

Fir

A fast-growing representative of the coniferous crop is balsam fir. In its natural environment it grows up to 25 m. For garden design, dwarf varieties represented by shrubs are used; the most common variety is Nana balsam fir.

Balsam fir Nana

The spherical shrub grows up to 80 cm. The main growth occurs before 3 years. At a height of 0.5 m, vegetation slows down. Description:

the crown is dense, volume up to 1.8 m, needles are small, bright green in color with a pronounced pine smell, not prickly;
dark burgundy cones up to 10 cm long;
the culture is frost-resistant, shelter for the winter is not required;
does not tolerate shade well, planted only in open areas;
the perennial plant practically does not take root after transfer;
Heat resistance is average, constant watering is required.

A fast-growing coniferous crop grows only in fertile, well-drained, neutral soils. In a temperate climate it feels much more comfortable than in the subtropical zone.

Fir one color

Single-color fir with a dense, regular-conical crown is a tall plant.

The height of an adult tree is up to 50 m. Seasonal growth is 30-40 cm. In design it is used as a tapeworm. Description:

horizontal branches with raised tips;
the needles are large, flat, dark blue with a lemon scent;
cones are vertical, purple, length – 11 cm;
coniferous tree resists wind well and is drought-resistant;
due to the late formation of buds, it is suitable for cultivation in regions with cold climates, high frost resistance;
The crop is light-loving; it is planted in sunny areas;
does not tolerate waterlogging of the soil, and is not picky about the composition of the soil.

Important! Tolerates gas pollution of megacities well. It has a high survival rate after transplantation.

Douglas fir

Douglas fir is a tall, fast-growing coniferous tree reaching a height of 50 m. With a beautiful dense pyramidal crown. There are varieties of fir that are blue and dark green in color.

The annual growth is 45 cm, the frost resistance of the coniferous tree is average.It does not tolerate waterlogged soil well; in lowlands with stagnant water, the plant dies. The light-loving culture does not tolerate shading. It resists wind, drought and air pollution well. Unpretentious to soil composition.

Spruce and pine trees

Serbian spruce is one of the fast-growing coniferous representatives of the species. The growth is 50 cm annually.

Serbian spruce

The coniferous tree is tall, the main growth occurs up to 6 years of growing season. Characteristic:

the crown is lush, conical in shape;
the needles are small, thick, pointed at the end, bright green at the base with a white stripe along the edge, it seems that the tree is touched with frost;
dark purple cones grow downwards, length – 12 cm;
the culture is frost-resistant, the needles react well to direct sunlight;
placed in an open area;
low humidity does not affect decorativeness;
does not tolerate waterlogging of the soil.

Can be grown throughout Russia.

Weymouth Pine

Weymouth pine is considered the fastest growing coniferous crop with an unusual decorative crown.

Pine growth is 60 cm per year. General review:

The perennial coniferous crop grows up to 17 m, with the main growth occurring in up to 4 years.
The crown is asymmetrical, with a poorly defined apex, dome-shaped.
The needles are long - up to 12 cm, wide, growing downwards, bluish in color in spring, closer to green in autumn.
Frost-resistant, light-loving, loses its decorative effect in the shade.
Prefers loamy, well-drained soils.

Weymouth pine comes in a variety of varieties, differing in color, shape and height.

European larch

European larch is a fast-growing coniferous plant. Its annual growth is up to 1 m.

A tall, bright coniferous tree with a dense pyramidal crown reaches a height of 20-25 m. Suitable for large garden plots and city squares. The tree is deciduous, thin long needles are rich green in spring, becoming bright yellow in autumn. With the onset of frost, larch sheds its needles. The culture is unpretentious in terms of care, soil composition, and place of growth. Frost-resistant, does not respond to moisture deficiency.

Thuja

Western thuja is also a fast-growing coniferous species. The plant is very popular in design; it is planted as part of a composition and is often used as a material for hedges.

Thuja grows quickly (up to 55 cm per year), responds well to pruning, and has a pleasant smell. A light-loving, drought-resistant coniferous tree grows on all types of soil. Depending on the variety, the crown is pyramidal or oval, tapering at the top.

Which fast-growing conifers are the most unpretentious?

Criteria by which the unpretentiousness of fast-growing coniferous trees and shrubs is determined:

frost resistance - no need to cover for the winter;
rapid restoration of frost-damaged areas;
drought resistance - the needles do not bake in the sun;
undemanding to air humidity - the needles do not dry out or fall off;
full vegetation on all types of soil;
during the rainy season the crown does not lose its decorative effect.

Unpretentious fast-growing coniferous representatives of the flora include:

junipers: Blue Arrow, horizontal Prince of Wales, Cossack;
fir: balsam, monochrome, Douglas fir;
thuja occidentalis;
Serbian spruce;
European larch;
Weymouth pine.

Advice! In order for the plant to take root and give good growth, a variety is selected that is suitable for the climatic zone and soil composition.

Conclusion

Fast-growing coniferous trees and shrubs are necessary for landscaping a site; they can give the design a complete look in a relatively short time. Coniferous plants are unpretentious in care; most species grow on any soil except wetland. The trees are frost- and heat-resistant, do not require shelter for the winter and constant watering in the hot summer.