The organization of gardens in summer cottages is almost in the past. Modern man seeks to make his land a nook of nature, where you can relax and enjoy the fresh air. Coniferous plants, and especially fir, have gained great popularity among gardeners. It is increasingly occupying a leading position in landscape design, pleasing with excellent decorativeness all year round.
Landscaping fir
The use of fir in landscaping has a particular advantage, since the tree does not change the color of the needles year-round. Even in late autumn and winter, when the site looks rather dull, these trees are able to give it a rich, majestic appearance. Fir trees harmoniously combine with flowering and ornamental-deciduous crops, cereal plants, as well as their own kind - conifers.
Dwarf varieties can be grown in pots - this is quite convenient, because if you want, you can always make changes to the design of the site, simply by moving the container. When planting fir, one should take into account the characteristics of the variety, or rather, its size and shape, so that later on the plant harmoniously fits into the geometry of the plot. For example, along garden paths and near artificial reservoirs, mundane dwarf fir trees will look beautiful.
Tall cone-shaped trees are best placed around the perimeter of the plot, and the fence will look more contrasted if you pick varieties with blue needles. Actually, you can arrange a beautiful landscape composition using only fir, but of different varieties, which will differ in size, shape and color of the crown. A beautiful composition can be made from fir and perennial flowering plants. Annuals are not used here for the reason that their annual excavation will injure the roots of conifers.
Any forms of mixborders are welcome, but you must take into account the height of all participants in the composition so that each of them is clearly visible. Also, perennial neighbors that have similar soil requirements to conifers should be selected. For example, hydrangeas, phloxes, barberries, alissum, clematis, hydrangeas, muscari, etc. are suitable. Ornamental and foliage crops are sometimes planted in aisles: ferns, cuffs, hosts.
Approximately, the scheme of planting a flower bed can look like this:
- first tier from the end - cone-shaped tall fir;
- second row - hydrangeas, asters, delphiniums;
- third - undersized and ground-cover phloxes, spells, alissum.
Fir, like all coniferous crops, look great in rockeries, on the expanses of alpine slides. Here they are successfully combined with rocky slopes, small ponds, reviving the landscape landscape. It is important to choose the right variety of fir, which "fits" into the size of the composition. For a small rockery, you should stay on dwarf fir, and in the spacious territory you can find a place for higher ones.
In addition to conifers, the landscape, as a rule, contains grassy and ground cover plants that complement the overall picture, masking the empty areas of the rockery. A magnificent carpet of saxifrage, sedum will blend well with fir. You can also place primrose or primroses nearby, especially since all these crops can grow on almost any soil.
Selection of varieties and seedlings
In nature, there are about 50 species of fir, among which there are real giants, reaching 80-meter height. For private garden plots, house territories and summer cottages, decorative varieties are mainly used, since tall trees require a large space and, in addition, do not look so aesthetically pleasing. When choosing seedlings, it is worth giving preference to fir, resistant to frost, droughts and diseases.
Did you know? The average lifespan of fir in nature is 300–400 years, but there are specimens living up to 700 years.
Before you go shopping, you should study in detail which varieties are less demanding, and once in a store or nursery, consult with the seller in addition. Inspect the seedlings well when buying - you need to purchase those that have reached 4 years of age, do not have damaged, painful or dried up areas.
There are many different species and varieties of fir, but for cultivation in cultural conditions it is better to choose the following:
- Varieties of fir balsamic Nana and Hudson. Both plants are dwarf, their height rarely reaches a meter mark. The needles are small, fluffy, saturated green above, and bluish on the inside. The shape of the crown is pillow-shaped or open. Varieties are great not only for landscaping, but also for terraces, balconies, roofs. They tolerate frosty winters and hot summers.
- Varieties of Fir Korean Blue Standard and Brevifolia. Plants are unpretentious, do not require special attention from the owners. The decorativeness of the Blue Standard variety lies not only in the fluffy crown, but also in the cones, which stand out brightly with their dark purple color. Variety Brevifolia has a dense crown of rounded shape. The upper surface of the needles is painted in swamp green color, and the lower - in white-gray.
- Monochrome fir Violacea. This plant differs from the previous varieties in a conical shape, in large sizes (up to 8 m) and the length of the needles, which can reach 7 cm. Fir needles are blue in color, therefore the tree stands out against the background of the landscape picture.
- Siberian fir. This is perhaps one of the highest decorative firs, the maximum height of which reaches 30 m, so it can only be planted in spacious areas. The culture has varieties, such as blue fir, elegant, and variegated looks completely unusual, with yellowish-white needles on separate branches.
Video: Siberian fir
Landing time
Fir is a persistent plant that takes root well at any time of the year. The tree is able to withstand drought and frost, so it can be planted in spring, summer and autumn, beginning in late March and ending in mid-October. According to experts, as well as gardeners who have already managed to acquire this charming coniferous plant, still the best time to plant is April or September.
Did you know? Unlike other conifers, fir is able to multiply by layering. Its lower branches touch the ground and take root.
It is advisable to plant fir in cloudy weather, and if it is hot in summer, then in the evening, after sunset. It’s best to land in cloudy or rainy weather.
Site preparation
It is very important to choose the right place to plant fir in the garden. Unlike many ornamental crops, conifers prefer not open sunny areas of the garden, but partial shade. Strongly darkened and thickened areas should not be chosen, because such conditions will provoke the development of fungal diseases and pests. In addition, in the shade, trees are poorly developed, and the crown loses its decorativeness.
If you plant several trees at once, you need to keep a certain distance, since horizontally growing branches of plants will interfere with each other over time, and the roots, in fact, too. In preparation, immediately determine the site design, draw a diagram where the fir will be located, will it be a single planting, a group composition with other conifers or flowering plants or a hedge. Choose the right neighbors correctly. It’s best to draw a diagram - it will be easier to find out where to dig the planting pits for trees, because you will need to maintain a certain distance between them.
Coniferous are not afraid of strong gusts of wind, so they feel great in single plantings in open areas. Severely waterlogged soil can cause serious harm. It is advisable that there are no wetlands on the landing site. If underground groundwater runs too high to the soil surface, when planting, it is necessary to lay a drainage layer of crushed stone or broken brick on the bottom of the pit.
In wild forest conditions, firs grow on any soil. However, planting a tree near a private house, each owner first of all seeks to achieve a decorative landscape picture, where the plant will delight the eye with its lush healthy needles, therefore it is desirable to form the most optimal soil composition for fir.
To do this, separately prepare the mixture: take 3 parts of clay and humus and 1 part of sand and peat, mix. In addition, during planting, 6-8 kg of sawdust and 200 g of Nitrofoski, a mineral fertilizer, should be added to each pit, which will provide young seedlings with all the necessary useful substances for safe rooting and development in the first years.
Phased planting of fir
After choosing a site, you should prepare it in advance. It is advisable to start this week 2-3 before landing. The territory should be weeded, cleaned of biological debris (fallen leaves, branches, etc.). Next, proceed to the formation of landing pits. On average, each hole should have a depth of about 80 cm and a width of between 50–70 cm, but these figures can be adjusted depending on what size the seedling rhizome will be together with an earthen lump.
Important! Over time, firs oxidize the soil composition, saturate it with resins, so you can not plant them next to fruit trees, whose yield from such a neighborhood will greatly decrease.
When arranging a hedge of fir, the interval between trees should be about 3-4 m, if it is supposed to form a group flowerbed composition, you can keep a distance of 2.5 m. After digging the planting pits, they are provided with a drainage layer and half filled with nutrient soil mixture, which was mentioned earlier, sawdust and fertilizer are added.
Now you need to wait a couple of weeks, after which you can start planting young trees, following the following procedure:
- From the nutrient soil, which is half filled in the pit, form a small hill.
- Carefully remove the seedling from the pot, place it vertically on a hill, and spread the roots along the edges. Try to immediately place it correctly, at such a height that after planting the root neck is at ground level, if necessary, you can add a little soil to the seedling or, conversely, partially remove it.
- Pour the landing to the top with the prepared soil mixture, lightly tamp.
- Water abundantly, spending at least 10 liters of water on each tree. If you notice that moisture is quickly absorbed into the soil, watering can be repeated again.
- Cover the near-trunk circle with a layer of mulching material, for example, peat, sawdust or wood bark - this technique will retain moisture in the soil and protect young roots.
To improve root growth, a rooting agent is recommended immediately after planting. For example, a 0.002% solution of Heteroauxin will be a good remedy for fir. 5 liters are spent on one seedling. It can also be applied to mature trees that survive stressful situations.
Video: fir planting
Follow-up care
Choosing the right site and planting fir is only half the battle. Now the plant needs care, which, although not complicated, but contains some mandatory rules.
Watering and fertilizer
Fir trees are drought tolerant plants, but they also need periodic watering. This is especially true for young plantings, which should be watered once a week, delivering 10-15 liters of water per instance. Also a good result gives evening sprinkling in the summer. Mature trees are watered as needed. In rainy weather, irrigation is not needed, and in the absence of rainfall, the soil must be moistened once every 2 weeks. Each watering is desirable to accompany the loosening of the soil.
Important! Fir can not be fertilized with manure, as it contains a lot of nitrogen, which adversely affects coniferous crops.
This should be done carefully, to a depth of not more than 10-15 cm, so as not to accidentally damage the roots of plants. Loosening makes the soil more breathable and allows you to simultaneously get rid of the annoying weed grass. Fir is responsive to fertilizers that need to be applied 2 years after planting. Of minerals, such as magnesium, calcium, and sulfur are especially needed. Magnesium is needed for photosynthesis of needles, its optimal amount is in dolomite flour, which should be fed fir at the rate of 0.5–1 kg per planting.
Calcium is needed to stimulate the growth of young shoots in the spring. You can choose as a top dressing universal complex formulations containing all the necessary nutrients, such as Fertika Vesna, Kemira, Bona Forte. They are introduced into the soil in early spring and early summer. Compost will help to effectively feed the soil: 3 kg of fertilizer should be spread around the trunk circle and carefully digged with the topsoil.
Such supporting feeding is carried out in April and July. In autumn, you can fertilize the soil exclusively with superphosphates or special autumn fertilizers, for example, Florovit. Such dry top dressing is introduced for digging and becomes available for the fir root system only in spring. In addition, foliar top dressing is carried out throughout the season by spraying the crown with solutions of Brexil Combi or Quantum preparations.
Mulching and shelter for the winter
The soil around the fir is recommended to mulch. To do this, choose natural materials, each of which is good in its own way. For example, wood chips not only retain moisture and inhibit weed growth, but also warm the soil and enrich it with nutrients. Today, manufacturers produce colored chips, using natural dyes for the manufacture.
Such mulching material can create additional decoration around the trees. You can also use tree bark. The material goes well with tiles, natural stone, so it will look harmoniously in rockeries, on alpine slides, becoming a "mediator" between living and non-living materials. Conifers also mulch peat, which greatly enriches the soil.
In preparation for the winter, you can use a covering material in the form of a black non-woven agrofoil (lutrasil, spanbond, etc.). The dense surface passes air well and can increase the temperature of the soil by several degrees. In the spring, such a shelter must be removed. It is advisable to cover young plantings completely, including shoots with needles. Adult plants can not be covered.
Video: we cover the conifers
Disease and Pest Prevention
Fir, with its fluffy dense crown, is not only an attractive object of the garden plot, but also the favorite of some insects.
In particular, it is not against pests to feast on the plant, such as:
They fight insect pests with the help of chemical preparations of insecticides, such as, for example, Confidor or Acarin. However, it is better to prevent insect attacks than to get rid of them later. Throughout the season, you should take care of the tree, carry out preventive spraying of fir, using different chemicals, so as not to become addictive. For example, in spring you can process trees with Aktara, in summer with Komandor, and in autumn, in preparation for winter with Aktellik.
It is also recommended in the spring to install on the trunk fishing belts of straw or burlap, which will not let pests up. In addition to pests, a danger to firs is represented by a number of fungal diseases, such as brown shute, fusarium, and needles rust. There are completely fatal ailments. For example, rust cancer, manifested by thickening of woody areas. If growths are visible only on the shoots, you can carry out sanitary pruning and thereby save the tree. When the thickenings are clearly visible on the trunk, it is useless to fight - the fir needs to be destroyed.
Diseases most often arise due to improper planting or failure to follow proper measures for the maintenance and care of the crop. Staying all day in the open sun or, conversely, severe shading of the area, waterlogging of the soil, planting a poor-quality seedling or placing it too deep - each of these factors can trigger the appearance of a fungus. If signs of the disease are found, you first need to establish the cause and try to eliminate it. Do not forget about top dressing, since the fertilized tree has strong immunity.
As a preventative measure, it is useful to periodically spray such fungicides as Bordeaux liquid, Hom, etc. Among other conifers, fir has a special decorative effect. Her needles - soft and fluffy, do not prickle at all, which, in fact, is a tree and differs from its counterparts - firs and pines. The plant is able to give people joy and benefit over the centuries, and in return requires only a small fraction of attention and care, which its owners must remember.
