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Prickly spruce (Picea pungens) is common in the mountains of the western United States of America, where it lives along the banks of streams and rivers. The color of the needles of wild trees varies from dark green to blue or silver. So Blue Spruce or Glauca (Picea pungens Glauca) is not a specific name, but a designation for a group of varieties with the corresponding coloring of the needles. They are widely used in culture and are considered the most beautiful among conifers. Spruce Glauka Globoza is a popular dwarf variety that has become widespread due to its high decorative properties, slow growth and the possibility of propagation by seeds.
Description of the Glauka Globoza spruce
The blue spruce variety Glauka Globoza was isolated by sowing seeds in 1937 in Boskop (Netherlands). In 1955, it already went on sale and became one of the most popular, first in Western Europe, and then in all regions with cold and temperate climates.
When studying the description of the blue spruce Glauka Globoza, it should be taken into account that the variety is obtained from seeds and is often propagated in this way.Consequently, trees will grow in one place for a long time, presumably several hundred years. The maximum size of the Glauka Globosa spruce and its lifespan are unknown simply because the variety is quite young.
Currently, the variety is described in catalogs as dwarf. By the age of 10, the height of the Glauka Globoza spruce reaches 1 m with a width of 1.5 m. Annual growth is from 5 to 8 cm. In the first years, the crown is loose and asymmetrical. With age it becomes dense, the branches are arranged in distinct regular tiers. The shape of the crown gradually changes from flat-round to wide-pyramidal.
When describing the prickly spruce Glauka Globoza, attention is first paid to the color of the needles. Its needles are really blue-white, 1-1.2 cm long, 1 mm wide, tetrahedral, slightly curved, dense and very sharp. It is noteworthy that the color of the needles does not change depending on the seasons.
The Glauka Globoza spruce blooms in June. At 10-15 years of age, male cones appear, female cones only after 20-25 years. Dark brown seeds up to 4 mm in size with a wing of about 1 cm ripen in the fall of the next year, usually in September. The shape of the light brown cones with thin plates is oval-cylindrical, slightly curved, as can be clearly seen in the photo of the Glauka Globoza spruce.
The length of the cones is 6-10 cm, the diameter in the thickest part is about 3 cm. Good fruiting occurs every few years.
The bark of the prickly spruce Glauka Globoza is rough, gray-brown, the root system is deep and powerful. The variety, compared to others, tolerates urban conditions, pruning and wind exposure well.
Spruce Glauka Globoza in landscape design
The prickly spruce of the Glauka Globoza variety is loved by landscape designers, property owners and gardeners.This rare unanimity is caused not only by the fact that the plant is very attractive. Compared to other types of fir trees, it is easy to care for, and errors in placement do not have a fatal effect on the health or appearance of the tree.
Due to its small size and slow growth, Glauka Globoza looks attractive in single and group plantings. It goes well with other conifers, flowers and tree crops. The variety grows in rock gardens and rockeries; it can be planted in flower beds and in the foreground of landscape groups.
The Glauka Globoza spruce grafted on a trunk is expensive, but it looks impressive. It tolerates pruning well and can be shaped into a ball, umbrella or cone. This tree is often grown in a flower bed or container.
Planting and caring for blue spruce Glauka Globoza
The Glauka Globoza variety was obtained by selecting seedlings, and not from the “witch’s broom” or other recessive mutation. It is less capricious and adapts better to different conditions, lives longer and reproduces more easily.
Preparing seedlings and planting area
Under natural conditions, prickly spruce grows on damp rocky soils along the banks of mountain streams and rivers. It can survive even on dry sandstones. Varieties are more demanding in terms of maintenance conditions.
To plant and care for the prickly spruce Glauka Globoza, you should choose a sunny area. In partial shade, the needles will not be so bright, but without any light they will fade and turn from blue to gray. The species prickly spruce prefers loose acidic soils, the varietal spruce tolerates slightly acidic soils, it will grow poorly on neutral ones and often get sick, and it cannot tolerate alkaline ones at all. Glauk Globoza's root system goes deeper into the soil than other spruce trees, so water should not come close to the surface.In any case, it is better to change the substrate in the planting hole and add a drainage layer.
When purchasing seedlings, preference should be given to those grown in local nurseries. Glauca Globosa is easily propagated by seeds, and the main danger when purchasing a small prickly spruce is incomplete compliance with the variety. This happens when producers do not cull seedlings well. But this often happens in foreign nurseries; it is impossible to guarantee that imported spruce trees will be of higher quality than domestic ones. What can be said for sure is that they are less well adapted to Russian conditions.
Prickly spruce trees grafted on a trunk should only be purchased in containers; self-rooted ones can be taken with a burlap-lined earthen ball. Particular attention should be paid to the needles - even if only the tips of the needles have dried out or changed color, the tree should be discarded. You cannot buy spruce with exposed roots, even if it looks good, and the seller claims that the plant was recently dug up.
Rules for planting prickly spruce Glauka Globoza
The container prickly spruce Glauka Globoza can be planted all season long. Only in the south should you refrain from doing this during the hot months. The best time for planting is spring in cool and cold climates, autumn in warm regions. It is better to carry out excavation work in cloudy weather.
The planting pit is prepared at least 2 weeks in advance. On dense soils, the substrate must be changed completely, replacing it with a mixture of turf soil, leaf humus, sand and acidic peat. If the soil is good, it can be added to the planting mixture. Starting fertilizer – up to 150 g of nitroammophoska per planting hole.
The drainage layer is made of 20-30 cm of expanded clay or broken red brick. The pit is filled 2/3 with substrate and filled with water. Let it sit.
The diameter of the planting hole should be 1.5-2 times the size of the container or burlap-lined earthen ball.
Landing algorithm:
- Part of the substrate is removed from the pit.
- A seedling is placed in the center. The root collar of the blue spruce should be level or just above the edge of the hole.
- Gradually fill with the prepared mixture, carefully compacting each layer, starting from the edge.
- A roll about 10 cm high is formed from the remaining soil so that the water does not spread after watering.
- The tree trunk circle is mulched with pine bark or high-moor peat. You may have to lift the lower branches to do this.
Watering and fertilizing
Immediately after planting on the site, watering is of paramount importance in caring for the prickly spruce Glauka Globoza. The soil should not dry out, but there is no need to drown the tree in water either. Moistening is carried out when the soil dries out by 1-2 cm. Water frequently and little by little.
When the spruce takes root a little, the water regime changes. 1-2 years after planting, Glauka Globoza is already able to withstand mild drought. But it’s better not to let this happen, but to water the tree regularly, spending no less than 10-12 liters of water per plant.
For prickly spruce, sprinkling is not vitally important, as it is for Canadian spruce. But Glauka Globoza gratefully responds to any moistening of the crown - the needles become brighter, and the tree gets rid of dust and pathogens. In addition, a stream of water knocks down the larvae of some pests, and high humidity is the best prevention of the appearance of spider mites.
It is better to fertilize prickly spruce with special fertilizers for coniferous plants, produced separately for each season. Spring ones contain a lot of nitrogen, autumn ones are rich in phosphorus and potassium.
All plants respond gratefully to foliar feeding. They are especially important for varietal conifers growing in not very comfortable conditions. In addition, microelements are poorly absorbed through the root, but they are vital for spruce trees. Their shortage is compensated by spraying pine needles. You can use special water-soluble fertilizers containing a complete mineral complex or chelates.
Spruce trees do not tolerate gas pollution and smoke; prickly spruce trees are more resistant to them than other species, but they also suffer. In order for Glauca Globoza to be beautiful and healthy, to better resist unfavorable factors and get sick less, during foliar treatments that do not contain metal oxides, epin or zircon is added alternately to the balloon.
Mulching and loosening
After planting, the soil under blue spruce trees is regularly loosened so that air and water can reach the roots that have not had time to take root well. It is especially useful to carry out the procedure after watering or rain. But it is important not to overdo it - loosening is carried out to a depth of no more than 5-8 cm.
In the future, roots approaching close to the surface should be disturbed as little as possible. Loosening is replaced by mulching. You can use different substrates, but the bark of coniferous trees or acidic peat are best suited.
Trimming
Glauka Globoza's crown is beautiful; it doesn't have to be shaped. But if necessary, all thorny spruce trees are pruned - they tolerate pruning well. It's important to do it right. Young branches can be cut without compromising decorativeness.Old ones are removed only if they are broken, dried out or severely affected by disease. In this case, the wound surface is treated with garden varnish or special paint.
When planting Glauka Globoza spruce on a plot, it is better to immediately decide what shape of its crown will be maintained throughout its life. If you start cutting it early, you can make a ball, oval, cone, or hemisphere out of wood.
Blue spruce Glauka Globoza will not take on a cushion shape without pruning. The crop already grows more in width than in height, and if you remove the top at a young age, several new ones will appear. By restraining their growth by trimming, you can form a tree of an original shape.
Preparing for winter
Prickly spruce has excellent frost resistance. The Glauka Globoza variety is recommended for cultivation in zones 2 to 7, therefore, it will feel good in cold regions.
Only young plants need to be covered by wrapping the crown with white non-woven material. In southern regions and temperate climates, this is done only in the year of planting. In the North, it is recommended to play it safe and protect the prickly spruce from frost for the first two winters.
Adult spruce trees are mulched with peat in the fall.
Reproduction
Spruce is a difficult crop to propagate. Nurseries are engaged in its cultivation, but amateurs have neither the necessary knowledge nor specially adapted premises and equipment, without which it is difficult to bring the seedling to planting in a permanent place. But probably. You just need to be prepared for a lot of lunges at all stages.
Prickly spruce Glauka Globoza can be propagated by grafting, seeds and cuttings. The latter method is preferable for non-specialists.Cuttings are taken throughout the year with a heel (a small piece of bark taken from an older shoot), the needles located on the lower part are removed, and they are powdered with a growth stimulator. Planted in perlite, sand, peat-sand mixture. The cuttings are kept in a cool, shaded place with high soil and air humidity. Replanted several times.
Unlike other varieties, Glauka Globoza spruce can be propagated by seeds. They are sown in spring, after stratification for 1-2 months. Germination rate is about 70%. Sowing rate – 2 g per 1 sq. m (1 g contains approximately 230 seeds). The planting depth in the ground should be 4-5 times the size of the seeds. The bed is mulched with rotted softwood sawdust in a layer of 2-3 cm and kept moist. Glauca Globosa prickly spruce trees are picked and replanted several times. At 1-2 years they begin to cull based on the color of the needles. They are planted in a permanent place at the age of at least 5-8 years.
Blue spruce grafting should be done by specialists.
Diseases and pests
The prickly spruce Glauka Globoza most often suffers from diseases:
- ulcerative cancer;
- rot;
- Schutte;
- necrosis of the cortex;
- spruce spinner.
They are fought with fungicides, and the trunk, needles, branches, and tree trunk circle need to be treated.
Pests are destroyed with insecticides; it is easier to get rid of ticks with the help of acaricides. The following often appear on blue spruce trees:
- spider mites;
- spruce sawyer;
- different types of aphids;
- small spruce moth;
- mealybug;
- spruce hermes;
- bark beetle topographer.
Reviews of spruce Glauka Globoza
Conclusion
Spruce Glauka Globoza is a beautiful variety with blue needles, resistant to urban conditions and forgiving of some maintenance mistakes. If you provide the tree with comfortable conditions, it will grow on the site for many years without causing much trouble to the owners.
