Content
Coniferous trees and shrubs are quite widely used in landscape design and ornamental gardening. Amateurs and professionals are attracted by the beautiful appearance and longevity of such plants. They harmoniously combine with many garden plantings, although they can also be used in individual plantings. Caring for conifers in the spring and the rest of the year is simple, it does not require much labor or time, and even beginners can easily cope with it.
Planting dates for conifers in spring and summer
Spring is the best time to plant coniferous trees and shrubs. A favorable period for planting such plants in open ground is the period from April to the end of May. The exact dates will differ in each specific region, so you only need to focus on weather conditions.
You can start planting conifers in open ground immediately after the ground thaws. If spring is late and cool, planting plants with a closed root system (from containers) can be done at the beginning of summer, choosing the morning or evening of a cloudy day.The success of such planting is largely determined by the age of the seedling. The older he is, the less likely he is to have a successful outcome.
Planting conifers in spring and summer
You can start planting coniferous plants in open ground after the ground has completely thawed. In the middle zone this is approximately the beginning or middle of May. Depending on the weather, the time favorable for planting may extend until the beginning of summer, then all work on planting conifers must be stopped. Otherwise, the planted plants may simply die due to the so-called biological drought - a condition of the plant when the root system, which has not taken root in a new place, cannot replenish the amount of moisture evaporated by the tree crown.
Selection and preparation of a landing site
Most conifers feel better in open sun or partial shade, so the site for planting them must be selected accordingly. The soil at the planned planting site is preferably loose, well-drained, with a neutral or slightly acidic reaction. In places where water stagnates after heavy rains or melting snow, conifers grow poorly and often get sick.
In order to provide the plant with balanced nutrition for many years, many gardeners completely replace the soil with a special soil mixture consisting of peat, river sand and topsoil from a coniferous forest. This soil is universal and suitable for growing almost all conifers. You can prepare it yourself or purchase it in specialized stores.
When deciding to plant a coniferous tree, it is necessary to take into account its future dimensions. Over time, the significant size can become a problem, as the wide crown begins to cast additional shadow. Therefore, large forms of conifers must be planted away from beds with sun-loving crops, as well as from buildings and structures whose foundations and walls may be damaged by the roots or branches of the future tree.
It is better to prepare holes for planting conifers in advance. It is best to dig them out in the fall, then before spring the soil will have time to settle and be well saturated with air. Drainage must be laid at the bottom - a layer of coarse crushed stone, expanded clay or broken brick. The size of the planting hole itself should be larger than the earthen ball on the roots, along with which the seedling will be transplanted.
The basic requirements for the planting site of conifers are given in the table:
Plant type | Lighting requirements | Planting depth, m | Drainage, cm |
Spruce | Shadow, partial shade | 0,5-0,7 | 20 |
Pine | Sun, partial shade | 0,8-1 | 20 |
Larch | Sun, for Japanese - partial shade | 0,7-0,8 | 20 |
Fir | Shadow | 0,5-0,6 | 20 |
Cypress | Sun, variegated varieties - partial shade | 0,7-1 | 20 |
Thuja | Sun, partial shade | 0,6-0,8 | 20 |
Yew | Penumbra, shade | 0,6-0,7 | 20 |
Juniper | Sun, light partial shade | 0,6-0,7 | 15-20 |
Seedling preparation
It is best to purchase conifer seedlings from branded stores or specialized nurseries. They are usually sold in special containers filled with nutrient soil. It is very important to keep this earthen lump on the roots intact when transplanting conifer seedlings into open ground in the spring. Therefore, you need to handle the container very carefully.
When choosing conifer seedlings, you need to pay attention to the appearance, color of the needles, and the absence of dry branches.High-quality planting material is the basis for the future health of the garden. You should choose the strongest and most developed seedlings, at least 4 and no older than 10 years old.
Landing rules
A cool, cloudy day is best for planting conifers. To painlessly remove a seedling from a container, the soil in it must be spilled with water 15-20 minutes before starting work. It is necessary to remove the plant as carefully as possible so that the earthen lump on the roots remains intact. The seedling is installed vertically in the planting hole and covered with soil, while the root collar should be flush with the ground surface. The root collar of conifers cannot be buried. When backfilling, you need to make sure that no voids form in the roots. To do this, the soil is periodically compacted during the backfill process.
After planting is completed, the trunk circle of the planted tree or shrub is shed abundantly with water, and then mulched with pine needles, bark or peat. Mulch retains moisture well in the soil and prevents it from drying out. The first time after planting, young conifer seedlings are shaded, thereby limiting their heating and evaporation of water from the surface of the needles.
This precaution will limit access to dogs and other pets, who will certainly try to mark the new tree. Animal urine has a strong alkaline reaction and if its concentration is high, the seedling may simply die.
Conifers that are no more than a few years old can be transplanted to a new location in the spring.Such a procedure may be necessary due to an incorrectly chosen initial landing site or for some other reason. In this case, the ground around the trunk of the plant is first bayoneted, and then the tree or bush is dug up along with a lump of earth on the roots. The procedure for planting conifers itself does not differ from the usual one.
Caring for conifers in spring and summer
Caring for conifers in the country in the spring begins from the moment the winter shelter is removed from the plants. At this time, trees and shrubs are inspected, existing damage to the crown is identified and measures to eliminate these defects are outlined. The complex of measures for caring for coniferous plants after winter includes the following types of work:
- pruning;
- watering;
- mulching;
- treatment against pests and diseases;
- feeding
Watering conifers in spring and summer
Watering conifers should begin in early spring, before the snow completely melts. In different regions, this time comes in March or April; it is important that night frosts stop at this time. Spring watering will allow conifers to quickly restore the water balance disturbed during wintering. It is better to use slightly heated water for this (+ 12-15 ° C) in order to quickly warm the frozen ground in the root zone. You need to water the conifers in the middle of the day so that the water has time to be completely absorbed. If there is stagnant water in the soil, watering trees and shrubs should be limited or stopped altogether.
Watering conifers in summer is carried out only during periods of stable hot weather. At such times, most plants respond well not only to root watering, but also to crown irrigation.However, sprinkling conifers should only be done in the early morning or evening hours so that the plants have time to dry before sunrise. This will prevent the needles from being burned by bright sunlight focused by drops of water.
Top dressing
Spring fertilizing has a beneficial effect on the appearance of coniferous plants, improves the decorative appearance of the needles, which, thanks to fertilizers, acquire a bright, rich color. Conifers are usually fed in the spring with granular nitrogen fertilizers, for example, nitroammophos, scattering it in the tree trunk circle. Granules have a prolonged effect; such a substance will slowly dissolve and provide the plant with mineral supplements for a long time. A good option is to use specialized preparations for coniferous plants, such as Khvoinka or Green Needle, for feeding in the spring.
Loosening and mulching
Conifers do not need regular loosening. In many plant species, especially dwarf ones, the root system is close to the surface, so any maintenance work in the tree trunk must be carried out with great care. Mulching the soil of conifers is necessary. This procedure solves several care problems:
- Retains moisture in the soil and reduces the frequency of watering.
- Limits or inhibits growth weed.
- Increases the decorativeness of planting as a whole.
Tree bark, crushed cones, painted wood chips or peat can be used as mulch for conifers.
Pruning coniferous trees
In the spring, usually in early or mid-March, sanitary pruning of conifers is carried out. At this time, all dead and dried branches are removed from trees and shrubs, and damaged and diseased shoots are cut out. During the same period, the formation of young conifers is also carried out. Decorative species are pruned in accordance with the selected type of crown, cutting off unnecessary or oversized branches. To prune conifers, choose a cloudy but not rainy day. Before work, all tools must be properly sharpened and disinfected so as not to introduce infection into the wound.
When trimming coniferous trees in the spring, all precautions must be taken. Avoid getting resin on exposed areas of the body and clothing. Be sure to use safety glasses and gloves.
The subtleties of pruning conifers in the spring - in the video:
Treatment of conifers in spring against diseases and pests
In the spring, as soon as the air temperature rises to + 5-6 °C, you can begin sanitary pruning, and then preventive treatment of conifers against diseases and pests. If during the inspection signs of fungal diseases were discovered (drying of branches, gray or brown plaque, red spots or black spots on the needles), then work must begin immediately.
To prevent the development of fungal diseases in the spring, conifers are sprayed with solutions of fungicides, for example, Bordeaux mixture, iron or copper sulfate. Treatment is carried out in cloudy weather, in the evening or morning hours. After 10-14 days, the trees are sprayed again with the same composition. The crown of conifers is treated completely, walking around the trees in a circle and spraying each branch.
In the spring, insect pests that have overwintered in the tree trunk or in the folds of the bark also appear on conifers. These are sawflies, bark beetles, scale insects, and hermes. At the same time, sucking pests, such as aphids or spider mites, may also appear on the needles. To prevent their appearance, plants are treated with insecticides, acaricides or biological preparations, for example, Hom, Actellik, Iskra, Decis, etc. Conifers are treated several times at intervals of 10-14 days, changing the type of product used. This significantly increases the effectiveness of the products used.
Constant monitoring of plantings plays an important role in protecting conifers from diseases and pests. If the disease is detected at an early stage, most often the plant can be saved. Advanced diseases are much less treatable, and in some cases the infected plant cannot be cured at all and must be destroyed.
Conclusion
Caring for conifers in spring and summer includes quite a lot of different tasks. If you do all of them on time and in full, the plant will feel great for a long time. However, there is no need to strive to carry out all these events at any cost. For example, in some cases, watering, fertilizing or pruning can cause more harm than good to conifers.Therefore, it is necessary to focus, first of all, on the principle of reasonable sufficiency, as well as control the condition of the plant and the conditions in which it grows.
