Poplar: description, care, reproduction

Everybody knows the poplar (plant) well. The description of the poplar is also known to everyone, but there are some features of this tree, which certainly not everyone knows. These are traditional ornamental plants that "live" in every village. They grow very fast, creating beautiful green fences. In Ancient Greece, they planted the area and called "folk" - "populus", from which the name of these plants went. All its types are ideal for both single and group landings. Alleys with poplars are a classic of park landscapes. One of the varieties of these plants is the poplar. Description, care, reproduction of fragrant tree - all this is discussed in this article.

What types of poplar exist in nature?

The genus of these plants includes 110 species. Very beautiful tree poplar! The types of poplars all differ from one another in some ways, they have become irreplaceable in the greening of parks and streets. Breeders crossed them among themselves, as a result of which there are now a lot of fast-growing hybrids.

Types of poplar are divided into five sections:

1. Leucoid.
2. Mexican.
3. Turangi.
4. Deltoid.
5. Balsamic.

Balsamic ones include fragrant poplars, which got their name because of their fragrant buds. It is about these fragrant trees that will be further discussed in the article.

Poplar sweet: description

The height of the fragrant poplar is about 20 m, the crown is dense, ovoid. The bark of the trunk is brown-gray, the branches are olive-gray. The root system is highly developed, the powerful roots are located close to the surface and take up a lot of space.

Kidneys are resinous and, as already mentioned, fragrant. Young shoots are roundish, greenish-brown in color, resinous and very fragrant. Leaves are leathery, oval, pointed at the apex. The leaves are dark green, glistening on top, whitish below with pubescent petioles. With the blossoming leaves, the color immediately dissolves.

Sweet poplar is a dioecious plant. Single-homed species are very rare. The poplar starts even a little sooner than all the leaves completely blossom. Male and female specimens form distinctly spiky inflorescences. As they mature, they turn from erect to dangling. In the people such inflorescences are called earrings (men's earrings - 10 cm, female earrings - 5 cm). At the beginning of summer, the boxes - poplar fruit - are ripening. Very small seeds are supplied with a huge amount of the finest villi, this is the famous poplar fluff.

Place of distribution

In nature, fragrant poplar is common in Northern China, Eastern Siberia, Mongolia. This tree is also found in the reserves of the Far East and Siberia. It grows in river floodplains and on islands, less often it can be seen in mountainous areas along small rivers and streams.

Reproduction

In the natural environment the poplar poplar propagates by the seed method. The same way can be used in nurseries, but there is one difficulty: seeds must be sown immediately after they are harvested, and they must be ripe. To achieve this, you need at a time when poplar fluff flies, pick up a suitable place, fence it and water it periodically with water. The site must be placed so that a large amount of fluff is collected on it. Because of such difficulties, little is used in the seed method.

Propagation of poplar by cuttings is a method that is much simpler and more convenient. Use for this cuttings only male copies of poplar, and do this before the buds begin to bud. For rooting take last year's shoots up to 12 cm long with two buds. They should be planted at a distance of at least 10 cm from each other, the kidneys should remain on the surface. Immediately after planting, it is necessary to water the cuttings well, then water them every day until they grow to 15 cm, then water as the land dries. After a year, the seedlings will be ready to "move" to a permanent place of residence.

There are species of poplar, which reproduce by root processes. But this method has big drawbacks. Plants grown from shoots have underdeveloped roots and are often affected by pests and diseases.

Poplar fragrant: care, cultivation

In youth, the tree grows very quickly, for which it is valued when creating living fences. The poplar poplar likes sunny places, well tolerates too moist soil, is able to withstand severe frosts. The tree is rather unpretentious, but prefers fertile, well aerated, mineral-rich soils. In cities, poplar does not live long, although it gives many shoots.

As mentioned earlier, this fragrant plant is unpretentious and does not require special care, but some rules still need to be observed, so that poplar would rejoice with its beauty. The earth around the tree should be aerated, for this you need to periodically loosen it and weed out the weeds. Do not allow the soil surface to be blocked, this can lead to the death of the plant. To avoid such trouble, next to the poplar planted shrubs.

In a haircut, poplar does not need. To maintain a beautiful appearance of the plant, you need to remove dry branches and lower branches in time.

Diseases and pests

Like every other plant, poplar fragrant sometimes gets sick and it is attacked from time to time by pests. The most common diseases of these beautiful trees are some types of necrosis and cancer. The diseased tree must be cut down urgently and the stump treated with fuel oil.

Young plants are often subjected to fungal diseases. In this case it is necessary to urgently apply forestry and agrotechnical measures. In addition, do not overmoist the soil.

The list of pest of poplar is quite large. There are a lot of insects that like to lay larvae on the leaves of trees. To combat them, insecticides are used. To each pest is selected its own drug, so first you need to find out which enemies attacked the tree, and then already look for them against "weapons."

Interesting facts about poplars

How poplar looks and what a poplar fluff is, even children know, but there are also many interesting facts about this beautiful tree:

1. Poplar leaves give off aromatic substances, thanks to which around there is a breathtaking aroma, besides they disinfect the air.

2. Inflorescences and poplar leaves are used to make natural dyes.

3. Buds of black poplar are used in the manufacture of "Riga Balsam" and they are used in folk medicine for the treatment of many diseases.

4. Poplars are valued for the beautiful shape of the crowns. In addition, they have very beautiful foliage. In some species of autumn it sometimes becomes yellow or golden.

5. The leaves of the poplar are very close to each other, at the slightest blow of the breeze they come into contact and publish a very unusual and pleasant "whisper".