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Rumelian pine is a beautiful fast-growing crop that can often be found in southern parks and gardens. It is not suitable for most of Russia - it is too thermophilic, and it is unrealistic to cover it in winter - the tree quickly gains height. But there is already one variety that can grow in the Moscow region, and perhaps over time there will be more of them.
Description of the Rumelian pine
Rumelian pine (Pinus peuce) has other officially recognized names, under which the species can be found in reference books - Balkan and Macedonian. The culture belongs to the genus Pine (Pinus), family Pine (Pinaceae), distributed in the mountains of the Balkan Peninsula at an altitude of 600 to 2200 m above sea level. Naturalized in eastern Finland.
Rumelian pine grows quickly, adding more than 30 cm per year, the average height of a fully mature tree in North Macedonia, Greece, Albania, Yugoslavia is 20 m. In Bulgaria, the culture reaches a maximum size of 35 m (several specimens of 40 m have been recorded). The diameter of the trunk, measured at chest level, is from 50 cm to 1.5 m.
Rumelian pine forms a more or less symmetrical crown with oval or pyramidal outlines. Rarely does it narrow to columnar. In natural conditions, at an altitude of 1800 m above sea level, you can find multi-stemmed trees, which some sources pass off as a bush, which the crop is not.
In fact, this is just the “work” of squirrels and other forest inhabitants, storing cones for the winter and then forgetting where they were hidden. So a peculiar coniferous “hedgehog” emerges. But if other species usually end up with one seedling, or in rare cases two, then for the Rumelian pine such an impromptu “bouquet” of several trunks is common. It is somehow difficult to call several trees growing close to each other, up to 20-40 m high, a bush.
The branches on the Rumelian pine start almost from the surface of the ground; the branches are bare, thick, and meek. In the lower part of the crown of an adult tree they grow horizontally, at the top - vertically. The shoots located in the middle of the trunk first run parallel to the ground, then climb up.
Young growth is green, becoming silver-gray towards the end of the season. On mature branches the bark darkens but remains fairly smooth. Only on really old trees does it crack and turn brown.
The needles are 7-10 cm long, collected in bunches of 5 pieces, and live from 2 to 5 years. The needles are green, shiny, pleasant to the touch.
The cones are numerous, grow in 1-4 pieces, hanging or on a short stalk, ripen 17-18 months after pollination, usually in October.The young are very beautiful, green, narrow, often curved, resinous. Ripe ones change color to light brown, immediately open and lose their gray-brown seeds. The size of the cones of the Rumelian pine is from 9 to 18 cm.
Varieties of Rumelian pine
To date, not many varieties of Rumelian pine have been created. Perhaps this is due to the fact that the culture is already very beautiful; species trees are planted in parks or large gardens. Low frost resistance is also important, which limits the spread of Rumelian pine.
Caesarini
Pinus peuce Cesarini is intended for hardiness zone 5. The variety is a dwarf, slow-growing tree with a wide pyramidal crown and soft gray-green needles.
At 10 years old, the Roumelian Caesarini pine reaches a height of 1 m with a crown diameter of 60 cm. Seasonal growth is 5-10 cm.
Gedello
Pinus peuce Jeddeloh is a new, fast-growing variety that appeared at the beginning of the 21st century, adding 30-45 cm annually. At a young age, the Rumelian pine Jeddeloh forms a rather narrow crown, the height of the plant is 3-5 m, the width is 1.3 m.
An old tree significantly increases in volume due to the fact that the lower branches move into a horizontal plane. This significantly changes the shape of the crown; it becomes like a wide cone. The needles are blue-green, long, thick.
Pacific Blue
The new variety Pinus peuce Pacific Blue overwinters in zone 4 and can be grown in most of Russia. This Rumelian pine gives an annual growth of more than 30 cm. An adult tree reaches a height of 6 m with a crown diameter of 5 m. A young plant, in which the lower branches have not had time to move into the horizontal plane, is significantly narrower. The needles are thin, bright blue.
Arnold Dwarf
The name of the variety Pinus peuce Arnold Dwarf is translated as Arnold's Dwarf. This is a dwarf plant, reaching 1.5 m by the age of 10. It grows slowly, adding no more than 15 cm per season. The crown is broadly pyramidal, the needles are thin, bluish-green. Can grow in partial shade, overwinters in zone 5.
Planting and caring for Rumelian pine
The culture is hardy, with the exception of low winter hardiness. Prefers to grow on moderately fertile soils and tolerates urban conditions satisfactorily. Rumelian pine develops best in full sun, but will tolerate light partial shade.
Preparing seedlings and planting area
Rumelian pine is not very winter-hardy, and can only grow in regions with a warm climate. They plant it in the fall and all winter, in the spring - only container plants.
This species will not grow well on excessively poor or fertile soils - Roumelian or Macedonian pine loves the golden mean. When preparing the substrate, sand and turf soil must be added to chernozems. If there is gravel or crushed stone on the site, stones are used not only for drainage, but also mixed into the soil mixture. Too poor ones are improved with the same turf soil and leaf humus. Clay and lime are added if necessary.
The size of the planting hole depends on the age of the seedling. The depth should be such as to accommodate 20 cm of drainage and the root of the Roumelian pine, the width should be no less than 1.5 times the diameter of the earthen ball.
Drainage is placed in the dug planting hole, covered 2/3 with substrate, and filled with water. It should sit for at least 2 weeks.
It is better to buy a small seedling of Rumelian pine in a container; large ones can be taken with a burlap-lined earthen ball.The needles should be fresh and smell good, the branches should be flexible, the substrate in the pot or burlap should be moderately moist.
Landing rules
Rumelian pine is planted in the same way as other coniferous crops. Prepare a hole, fill in the drainage and most of the substrate, fill it with water, and let it sit for at least 14 days. The operation itself is carried out in the following sequence:
- Part of the soil is taken out of the planting hole and set aside.
- Rumelian pine is installed in the center. The root collar should be level with the edge of the hole.
- The substrate is added gradually, constantly compacting.
- Water so that the water stops being absorbed and stands in the circle around the trunk.
- After some time, the space under the tree is covered with mulch with a layer of at least 5 cm.
Watering and fertilizing
Unlike other pines, Roumeli is moisture-loving and requires regular watering throughout its life. This does not mean that the tree needs to be drowned in water or even the top layer of soil should not be allowed to dry out.
In the spring, in the absence of rain, the pine is watered once a month, in the hot summer - twice as often. In autumn, moisture recharging is required.
Feeding is carried out twice per season:
- in spring, complex fertilizer with a high nitrogen content;
- in early autumn - phosphorus and potassium.
Foliar feeding is useful for Rumelian pine, allowing the tree to receive microelements and other substances that are poorly absorbed through the root. If the crop is grown in difficult conditions for the culture, it is recommended to alternately add epin and zircon to the balloon.
Mulching and loosening
The soil under the Rumelian pine needs to be loosened during the year of planting and part of the next season.When it becomes clear that rooting was successful, it is stopped, limited to mulching.
For this purpose, it is better to use pine bark that has been treated against pests and diseases, or completely rotted sawdust, wood chips, or other wood processing waste. Walnut shells, painted marble chips, or other similar materials may decorate the area, but will harm the plant.
Trimming
Rumelian pine does not need formative pruning. But to make the crown denser and limit the growth of a species tree or tall varieties, the growth can be pinched by 1/3 or 1/2. This is done in the spring, when the young branches have already stopped growing rapidly, but the needles have not yet separated from the shoot. There is no need to cover the cut areas - the pine secretes resin, which itself will disinfect and cover the wound surface.
During sanitary pruning, dry, broken and diseased branches are removed.
Preparing for winter
Rumelian pine overwinters without shelter in zone 5. It needs to be protected from the cold only in the year of planting, covering it with spruce branches or white non-woven material. In subsequent seasons, they limit themselves to mulching the soil.
Reproduction
Pine trees are not propagated by cuttings. They are bred by grafting and sowing seeds. Hobbyists can propagate species-specific pine on their own.
Only a small proportion of seedlings of varieties, if they are not obtained from a witch's broom, inherit maternal characteristics. Nurseries carry out culling from the first year of pine life.Amateurs do not have such skills; they can grow anything - from a species plant to a new variety, which experts would immediately separate from the bulk of plants.
Seeds can be sown without preliminary preparation, but it is better to carry out stratification for 2-3 months, keeping them at a temperature of 2-7 ° C.
Diseases and pests
Rumelian pine rarely gets sick, even blister rust - the scourge of other representatives of the genus, this species usually avoids.
Of the insects that harm crops, the following should be highlighted:
- mealybug;
- common pine scale insect;
- pine cutworm;
- various types of aphids.
Conclusion
Rumelian pine is very beautiful; its soft shiny needles are sometimes compared to silk. This crop differs from other species in its increased requirements for soil moisture and resistance to tar cancer.
