Mysterious Korean spruce: planting and care

Korean spruce is a beautiful coniferous tree that belongs to a pine family. Like any spruce, it has cones (called female strobiles) and small bumps (male strobiles). Spruce never blooms, but is always decorated with cones. It is generally believed that they have a standard brown color. But today you will be pleasantly surprised by the refutation of this error.

Description of Korean fir

In the genus of spruce there are over 40 forest representatives. In the forest zones and in the plots of our citizens, the most common are European and common fir, and Siberia is Siberian. The species of spruce in one or another locality depends on the climatic peculiarity of the strip. For example, the Korean spruce is most widely distributed in the Far East. But they are all perfectly adapted to the changes in our climate, and are also resistant to winter cold.

The first descriptions of this species of spruce appeared in 1919 thanks to the Japanese botanist Takeenoshin Nakai. He studied the plant world of the Korean peninsula and argued that the Korean spruce is a kind of pine family, distinguishing it from Siberian spruce. Here it got its name.

This species of conifers has a bluish color of needles with pointed tips. The shape of the spruce is represented in the form of a pyramid with a height of up to 30 meters and a diameter of up to 40 meters. For a year the forest beauty grows to 30 centimeters. The cones of the Korean spruce are oval in shape, up to 10 centimeters long with removable scales. Needles have a tetrahedral shape and reach up to 2 centimeters in length.

Preparing a planting pit for spruce

Spruce adapts and can grow on any soil, but the most comfortable for it is well-fertilized soil with a lot of humus. In arid ground begins to die, because it requires moisture. The site of planting of Korean spruce should be determined in a well-lit area, without the risk of flooding.

Landing pit should be located at a distance of not less than three meters from other plantations, including between spruce of this species. Depth of planting depends on the root system of the seedling, but usually it is in the range of 50-70 centimeters. In the landing pit it is required to lay drainage on the bottom (broken brick, crushed stone no more than 15-20 centimeters high). And above the drainage layer it is necessary to place a mixture of nitrogenous fertilizers with the addition of phosphorus and potassium. Thus, this will provide the tree with growth and development in the best possible way. The root system needs to be filled with a soil mix of turf and leaf earth in a volume 2 times larger than peat and sand.

Planting of Korean fir

To ensure protection from the drying out of the roots of spruce seedlings, it is necessary to cover them with a clay bolt or a damp cloth when transporting them. Landing is best done with an earthen lump. The level of the neck of the seedling should be at the level of the surface of the earth, and since the spruce does not tolerate dense soil, the neck should not be too tightly packed.

Care of the coniferous beauty

Korean spruce is unpretentious in care. Additional fertilizing (with the exception of tree planting) is not required for her throughout her life. And it lives for a very long time: the peak of maturity falls on 30 years, and in its natural habitat its maximum age can reach 300 years.

In the hot season, watering should be carried out once a week with a volume of water with 1 full bucket. Adult trees can be watered less often: 1 time in 2 weeks. But you need to pay attention that the frequency and volume of irrigation depends on the soil condition and age of spruce.

If the Korean spruce on your site is a hedge, then pruning can be done according to your design ideas. In other cases, pruning is required only for dry and old branches. Thus, the spruce Korean, planting and caring for which - the case is not a hassle, suitable for gardeners of any skill level.

Feature of wood

The coniferous tree harmoniously exists both in solitary state and in group: together with birches, velvet, coniferous and deciduous trees. Has a good noise-absorbing property. Korean spruce is a very decorative tree, capable of beautifying the territory of any site. And it's not just the beauty of its needles, the sweep of branches and splendor, but also in the special shades of cones. The most frequent color, as in most conifers, is a brown shade. But there is a Korean fir tree with blue cones. And they have shades from blue to blue, with smooth scales with white, orange, yellow or blue "aprons". Undoubtedly, such a delightful beauty will become a wonderful addition to the coniferous tree and your garden.

Korean spruce is very resistant to changes in the temperature regime, until the strongest frosts and sunshine does not burn under the rays of the active sun. But it is powerless before pests and diseases. The most dangerous enemies for her are bark beetles, beetle-eaters, leaf-litter, beetle-beetle and silkworm caterpillar feeding on pine needles. To avoid the death of the tree, you should regularly inspect it for the presence of these pests.