Spruce blue prickly Oldenburg is popular among gardeners and landscape designers. This is due to good survival on various soils, undemanding care, as well as high decorative qualities. However, for all the unpretentiousness of the variety, before starting to cultivate it on the site, beginners should familiarize themselves with its botanical features in more detail.
Botanical tree description
Picea pungens Oldenburg is one of the varieties of blue spruce. In 1970, J. D. zu Jeddeloh (Johann-Didrich zu Edello) was bred in Germany.
Botanical description of spruce:
- life form - tree;
- height - from 12 to 20 m;
- width - 5–7 m;
- krone - broadly conical, with densely planted branches;
- bark - gray-brown, orange-brown on young shoots;
- needles - located evenly around the shoot, short (1.5–2.5 cm), has a spiky tip, color varies from silver-white to bluish-steel, each specimen lives on a tree for 6–9 years, then dies, and on it the place forms a new one covered with a strong wax coating.
The plant is characterized by high growth power. During the year, growth is an average of 30 cm, but with good care - and 50 cm. One of the advantages of the variety is its high resistance to open sunlight, polluted city air, severe frost and drought. In terms of cold resistance, vegetation is intended for cultivation in the 4th climatic zone. This means that the spruce will be able to tolerate frosts without shelter within –28 ...– 34 ° С.
Did you know? The Scandinavians considered spruce to be a symbol of eternal life, so it must have been put in funeral pyres.
Landing
For a seedling, it is better to go to a local nursery, which offers plants adapted to the conditions of a particular region. The next step should be to find a suitable place on the site. The ideal option is the location of the tree on the open southern slope. If there is no such place, it is worth choosing the most lighted area without shading.
The plant is unpretentious to the soil, but it is necessary to provide good drainage. The soil should be loose, moist, but not marshy, and not dense. If the land on the plot is not suitable, then approximately six months before the purchase of the seedling, it must be prepared. For this, a deep digging should be carried out (40 cm). Add 20 kg of sand, 20 kg of peat and the same amount of leaf humus for every 1 m² of land.
After this, digging should be carried out again, to a depth of 20 cm. If the soil is sandy loam, the preparatory measures will consist only in deep aeration of the soil (40 cm). The ideal time for planting spruce of the variety in question is the end of April - beginning of May.Step tree planting:
- Prepare a pit - dig a recess 1.5 times the size of the root system, excluding the drainage layer (15–20 cm).
- Cover the bottom with 15–20 cm of drainage (broken brick or expanded clay). Dig 2–3 stakes near the hole to support the seedling. Given that this is a large tree, then after the first year it will add a minimum of 30 cm in growth, it will need additional support at first.
- The upper 20 cm of the earth from the pit is mixed in a ratio of 2: 2: 1: 1 with leaf and sod soil (can be taken in the coniferous forest), peat and sand. If the soil is sandy, then instead of the last element, you can add compost or put more leafy soil.
- In the middle of the hole to form a hill. In its center, make a recess according to the size of the root root of the seedling.
- Place the seedling in the pit, placing the root root in the central recess, and carefully spread the additional ones around the entire perimeter of the free space around. Make sure that the root collar is slightly above the ground. Fill the remaining gaps with soil.
- Pour a seedling of 20 liters of water.
Spruce care
The plant in question will require minimal care. It consists in the implementation of elementary agricultural rules. It is important not to forget about carrying out such manipulations as moisturizing and feeding. Also, do not neglect the care of the soil — to loosen and mulch.
Did you know? The largest amount of paper is made of spruce wood.
Watering and feeding
You need to water the spruce weekly 1 time in the first year after planting. Under the plant make 10 liters of water. The same watering schedule will be relevant for already adult specimens with severe drought. Otherwise, the soil should be moistened as the soil dries up - it must remain loose and moist all the time.
As fertilizer according to the instructions, you can use specialized additives "Pokon", "Greenworld". In addition, mulching with compost will serve as an additional fertilizer. Also periodically (once a month) during the season, you can add to the water for irrigation 1 tbsp. wood ash.
Loosening and mulching
After watering or rain it is necessary to carry out light loosening. Do not go deeper than 5 cm. After loosening, the soil is mulched. To do this, you can use compost, peat or fallen needles.
The purpose of mulching is:
- moisture retention in the soil;
- additional fertilizer (when loosening is carried out, part of the mulch gets into the soil and rots there);
- providing protection against weeds at first after planting, while the plant is still unable to independently suppress them.
Pruning
The event is optional, because Oldenburg has a beautiful symmetrical crown. Nevertheless, the tree responds well to pruning, which allows you to give it any shape if you wish.
Important! When pruning, do not leave hemp branches. On this grade of spruce, new shoots will not grow from them.
If it is decided to trim, then it is better to perform manipulation in late May - early June. During this period, the activity of the movement of juice decreases after spring awakening.
Mandatory is sanitary pruning. It involves the removal of broken or dried branches. It can be carried out at any time of the year. After any trimming procedures, wound surfaces should be carefully treated with wood ash and covered with garden varieties.
Important! Before carrying out treatments with fungicides or insecticides, be sure to carry out sanitary pruning, removing all affected parts of the plant. Dispose of trimmings outside the site by burning.
Pest and Disease Control
The plant in question is highly resistant to diseases and pests. But this does not mean that it does not get sick at all. There are a number of diseases and parasites that affect blue spruce. You should know more about them, as well as methods for solving problems, in order to be able to help in time and save the plant.
Possible diseases and pests:
| Disease / pest | Methods of struggle |
| Browning needles | Treatment since the beginning of September with systemic fungicides such as Chorus, Falcon, Quadrice (diluted according to the instructions) at least 3 times with an interval of 2 weeks. |
| Dying off apical shoots | The infection is difficult to treat, the most effective is triple treatment with an interval of 2 weeks with different fungicides:
|
| Small spruce false shield | The most effective treatments in June. At least 3 sprays should be done on needles and soil with an interval of 2 weeks. Insecticides have proven themselves well: Angio, Calypso, Aktara. |
| Spider mite | Spray 2 or 3 times with an Aktolik or Caesar two-week break. |
| Aphid | The methods of struggle are similar to those submitted for false shields. |
| Spruce hermes | Processing is most effective in June-July. The same insecticides used to eliminate the spider mite. |
| Bark beetle | You can save a plant from this parasite only if there are few foci of damage on the cortex. Otherwise, you have to destroy the tree. To combat a small number of pests, the trunks are sprayed with the preparations Caesar, Talstar, Clipper CE. The protective effect lasts for 2-4 weeks (depending on weather conditions - the higher the humidity, the faster the drug ceases to act). |
The use of spruce in landscape design
Very often, the plant in question is used in solo plantings, in order to later use it as a New Year tree on holidays.
Oldenburg goes well with other conifers, harmonizes perfectly with juniper, thuja and pine. Stress the beauty of blue spruce will help barberry. Also, this tree gets along well with maples and birches. By choosing the right neighbors for the spruce, you can create a rockery (a garden combining different plants and stone laying on the ground).
Spruce Oldenburg, although bred not so long ago, has already managed to fall in love with gardeners and landscape designers. Unlike many other conifers, it is less demanding on the soil composition, and in addition, it is suitable for cultivation in the middle band. Thanks to its high decorative effect, it looks great both in solo and in compositional landings.
