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Gardeners strive to create a beautiful garden plot. Therefore, agricultural enterprises offer a large selection of decorative deciduous trees and shrubs. Manchurian maple will delight with its attractive appearance from May to October-November.
The unusually shaped leaves attract the eye with their color, which changes several times a season.
Description of Manchurian maple
In the wild it is found in the Far East, northern China and Korea. Manchurian maple (lat. acer mandshuricum) grows in mixed deciduous forests, along rivers and lakes. The trunk is covered with gray-brown bark.
Due to its high decorative value, the plant has gained popularity in Europe, America and Asia. Peduncles emit a pleasant, delicate aroma, attracting bees. Therefore, trees are planted on bee farms and used as honey plants.
The plant is considered unpretentious. The variety is winter-hardy and moisture-loving. Currently, the tree is mainly grown in botanical gardens.
Flowering begins in late May, early June
The variety is very decorative. Its complex carved trifoliate leaves change color from spring to autumn and are significantly different from their counterparts.Young shoots of red color bloom against the background of a mature green crown, betraying the grace and originality of the tree.
In May-June, yellow-green inflorescences begin to appear. From August-September the foliage changes color from scarlet to burgundy. The Manchurian maple is especially attractive in June, when the young soft green leaves have already opened and yellow-green clusters begin to bloom. Then the tree sends out young pink-scarlet shoots.
The branches, complex in structure, consist of trifoliate carved leaves. The length of the platform is up to 8 cm, and the width is up to 3 cm. The leaf has a lanceolate ellipse shape.
The inflorescences are collected in clusters and have up to five pieces. The size of the green-yellow flowers is 0.5-1 cm. In autumn, fruits appear in the form of a cluster with lionfish. Helicopters reach a length of 3.5 cm.
An unpretentious plant grows in both shade and sunny areas
Manchurian maple propagates by cuttings, seeds or grafting. A young plant is planted in autumn or spring. The delicate plant needs plenty of watering until it takes root. Manchurian maple develops better in a sunny meadow, but is unpretentious and grows quietly in the shade, but not so quickly. In the sun, the tree has a more decorative color. From yellow-green to pink-burgundy.
With the onset of cold weather, the leaves wither. In autumn, the Manchurian maple puts on a purple dress. Depending on the region of growth, leaf fall begins from September to November. In warm regions, the leaves on the crown last longer. After the branches are exposed, the tree enters a state of rest. This has been happening since mid-October.
Manchurian maple is durable, its age can reach 150 years
The plant responds very well to haircuts. If desired, you can create a beautiful cone shape or a spreading ball.
Seasonal pruning is done after wintering before the sap begins to flow. Dried and frozen branches are pruned. At this time, the crown is formed and very long protruding lashes are removed.
Height of Manchurian maple
An adult plant can reach 20 m. A large spreading tree also grows up to 20 m in diameter. Such tall Manchurian maples are found in the south of the Primorsky Territory in the Ussuri taiga.
A tree reaches this size in 50-60 years. Young trees gain growth very slowly, but after 6-10 years they give an annual increase of 30-50 cm.
The growth rate of Manchurian maple is moderate, up to 30 cm in height and width per year
Winter hardiness of Manchurian maple
An adult plant can withstand severe frosts. However, young maples are less resistant to low temperatures. Experts recommend insulating the root circle with humus, leaf litter or sawdust for the first five years.
Advantages and disadvantages
Manchurian maple is characterized by high decorativeness and unpretentiousness, which has become interesting to gardeners. However, like any plant, it has a number of advantages and disadvantages.
Manchurian maple is propagated by cuttings, seeds or grafting
Pros:
- highly decorative;
- unpretentiousness;
- grows in both sunny and shady areas;
- moderate growth;
- responsive to pruning, easy to form a crown;
- fits harmoniously into landscape design and combines with other plants;
- durability 100-150 years;
- high frost resistance;
- wood is used in furniture production.
Minuses:
- loves moist soil;
- may be susceptible to spotting;
- in shady areas it loses its decorative effect with mono-color;
- young trees require winter insulation of the root system.
Landing Features
Manchurian maple is a spreading tree. Therefore, when planting, its further development is taken into account. A distance of 3-5 m is left between the plants. In the first three years, the maple is watered abundantly so that the root system grows and the tree can independently obtain water.
Manchurian maple loves sunny areas, but can also grow in the shade. When planting, experts advise adding mineral fertilizer containing phosphorus, potassium, nitrogen, etc. to the hole.
Care instructions
An adult plant needs watering at least once a month. In dry summers, the norm is increased by 2-3 times. In spring and autumn, root feeding is carried out. After wintering, nitrogen-containing preparations are added, and before - phosphorus.
Organic fertilizer is also used. These include humus, rotted bird droppings or leaf litter. To prevent weeds from taking minerals from the maple, the tree trunk circle is weeded. In the spring, dig up the area under the crown of the tree so that the roots are saturated with air.
Gardeners recommend mulching the soil in the spring so that moisture does not erode and is retained in the soil.
Reproduction
The Manchurian maple is undemanding when it comes to soil. Neutral, slightly acidified soil is suitable for planting. The loam is dug up and sand is added to loosen the soil.
Growing Manchurian maple from seeds is not difficult. Lionfish are collected in the fall. Sand is collected into the container, moistened and the fruits are placed. The seeds are saved until spring.
Before sowing, the fruits are soaked in a solution of hydrogen peroxide
In April-May, when night temperatures are consistently positive, they begin to sow seeds in prepared and fertilized soil. Planting depth - up to 4 cm. Maintain a distance of at least 50 cm from each other.
Manchurian maple reproduces well by young layering. An adult plant produces a lot of shoots that need to be dug up. Young trees are planted in autumn or spring. When planting plants, maintain a distance of up to 1 m. This is the fastest and most reliable method of propagation.
Maple can be taken from cuttings. To do this, young shoots with 2-3 leaves are cut from the branch. The cut is made at an angle. Prepare a substrate from peat sand and earth. Moisten the soil and place the cuttings in it, having previously treated it with Kornevin. Maintain a distance between plants of 25 cm.
Cuttings are buried 5 cm in the ground
Propagation by grafting is used only by experienced gardeners. Young cuttings are cut in early spring. Then the future rootstock is placed in damp moss and stored until foliage appears. The rootstock is planted in the ground.
Select a place on the cutting where the bud is visible and make a cut with a sharp knife with a thin blade. A similar cut is made on the scion cuttings. The two plants are connected at the cut point and tightly wrapped with garden film for grafting.
After the procedure, all leaves are removed
Diseases and pests
Manchurian maple is susceptible to various types of spotting. Most often, the plant is damaged by moths. To prevent insect invasion, preventive treatment of branches is carried out after wintering. A solution is made from copper sulfate, lime and sulfur. The trunk is treated with garden whitewash.
During the rainy season, the plant may be susceptible to rot. This is indicated by plaque on the foliage and the brown color of the crown. In such cases, experts advise treating the plant with special preparations, such as Fufanon or Fitoverm. To prevent the plant from suffering, after trimming the branches, treat the cut site with garden varnish.
Conclusion
Manchurian maple is valued for its unpretentiousness and decorativeness. Young red shoots against a green tree background look very attractive. The plant is especially beautiful in autumn, when the foliage turns purple.
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