The ever-green dull cypress Nana Gracilis is a beautiful coniferous plant with a conical, dark green crown. The homeland of growth is Poland. It takes root well in all regions of our country, since it tolerates long and severe winters well.
Dull Cypress Nana Gracilis
Brief information about the variety
- Colour: needles of different shades - from light green to emerald, with a sheen, thick, dense, densely cover the shoots.
- Height: 0.6 m.
- Crown diameter: 1-1.2 m.
- Landing features: scheme: 80x100 cm, likes a sunny place, protected from winds and with light shading.
- Growing regions: suitable for the Moscow region, the Leningrad region, the central and middle zone, the north, the Urals, can grow in southern places.
- Immunity: good frost resistance, high disease resistance.
- Duration life: 500-600 years.
Characteristics of the variety
The botanical name for the ephedra is Chamaecyparis Obtusa Nana Gracilis. The description of this unique and visually appealing culture includes several distinguishing qualities:
- a plant of the cypress family forms a wide conical or irregularly shaped crown;
- dense branches, gathered in bunches, form decorative bends that resemble shells;
- does not differ in rapid growth - by the age of 10 it reaches a height of 60-65 cm, a circumference of 1-1.2 m
- needles of different colors: from light green to emerald, with a sheen, thick, dense, densely cover the shoots;
- the main conductor is erect, forms numerous skeletal branches;
- the bark is glaucous-brown, light brown on young branches.
This plant has good winter hardiness, suitable for planting in the Moscow region, the Leningrad region, the regions of the central, middle zone, in the north and the Urals, subject to good shelter.
It is possible to cultivate in areas with an arid climate with regular irrigation. this coniferous culture does not tolerate drought well - it quickly turns yellow and dries up.
Landing rules
It is not difficult to grow a dull-leaved cypress tree if you choose high-quality planting material, choose a good place and provide the plant with proper care.
The best time for the procedure is late April or early May. By this time, the threat of return frosts has passed, and the soil will warm up to a temperature of 10-12 ° C.
Sapling selection
You can buy young plants in a specialized nursery. You need to take copies with closed roots (in an earthen coma) or planted in containers. So the likelihood of drying out the roots during transplantation to the site is reduced to zero.
Take seedlings 2-3 years old, at least 40 cm high. When buying, carefully inspect the aerial part - it should be fresh, rich green color without pests, signs of disease, mechanical injury and yellowness.
Site and soil preparation
Cypress loves sunny places
Cypress Nana Gracilis loves to grow under the sun, in a place where there is no stagnant water and strong winds.
The soil prefers light, loose, slightly acidified. If you plan to plant on loam, you need to add a couple of buckets of sand, when planting on sandy loam, add clay in the same amount.
To increase the nutritional value, sod land, peat, sawdust - 15-20 kg each - are introduced into a 1 m² plot.
Additionally, the soil is sprinkled with superphosphate and potassium sulfate - 100 g each. Then it is dug up, leveled and watered. All preparatory work is carried out in the fall.
Landing technique
A hole is dug two weeks before the planned planting of the seedling. During this time, all the components embedded in it will settle. Drainage from brick chips, pebbles or rubble is laid at the bottom. Then it is half filled with loose and fertile soil of peat, turf and sand (1: 1: 1).
The extracted root ball is lowered so that the root collar is 2-3 cm above the ground surface.
The voids are covered with soil, trampled, watered per plant, a bucket of water. After that, mulch with a thick layer of peat or sawdust. These components prevent moisture evaporation and root drying out.
For group planting, you must follow the scheme - 80x100 cm
Basic care
This culture is undemanding to care for. All that she needs is periodic watering, loosening, top dressing and shelter for the winter.
Watering
This is a moisture-loving plant, therefore, in the first two weeks after planting, it must be watered every other day. Moisture contributes to the rapid growth of young roots and shoots. All subsequent moistening is carried out as the earth dries up to a depth of 6-7 cm.
Sprinkling is one of the main treatments for cypress trees. Daily irrigation provides a high decorative effect of the plant and protects it from various parasites. They irrigate the crown in the evening, when the sun goes down.
Loosening and mulching
The loosening procedure after each watering ensures good air and moisture permeability to the roots, and also prevents the formation of an earth crust on the soil surface. This manipulation is combined with weeding and weeding.
Additionally, mulch is applied with a thickness of 5-6 cm. Peat, coniferous sawdust or tree bark are used. Mulching protects the roots and soil from drying out, prevents the growth of weeds.
Top dressing
In the first year of life, the cypress does not need feeding, since it has enough nutrients that were laid in the hole during planting.
The next spring, plants should be fed with a complex coniferous compound, which can be purchased at any gardening store. First, sprinkle the area with dry matter at the rate of 100-120 g per 1 m², then watered.
Moisture prevents burning of roots and promotes better absorption of active ingredients.
Pruning and trimming
The bush needs to be pruned annually
The main care for blunt-leaved cypress is to carry out annual pruning. This procedure is carried out in early spring - all broken off, dried out, frozen branches are removed. They also carry out a shaping haircut - they cut out no more than one third of the entire green mass so as not to destroy the plant.
Each branch is cut obliquely with a sterile pruner or knife. Depending on personal preference, a blunt cypress can be given a different shape - cone-shaped or pyramidal.
The first pruning is allowed to be done no earlier than a year after planting the seedling. Younger specimens are freed only from damaged parts.
In the fall, in order for the bush to become thicker and more luxuriant, it is necessary to lightly trim the shoots of the current year - by a third of the length. Additionally, cut out all the branches on which the needles have crumbled, since such parts of the crown will still die.
Preparation for wintering
Adult plants do not need insulation - they are highly frost-resistant. Young conifers can freeze and die, especially in areas with prolonged frosts and thaws.
Shelter for the winter consists in carrying out several manipulations:
- hilling the near-trunk area with peat, pine sawdust or wood chips;
- garter of shoots to the central conductor;
- crown warming with spruce branches, burlap or roofing felt.
To protect against rodents, the crown can be additionally wrapped in a small chain-link.
Reproduction methods
The description of the blunt-leaved cypress includes several breeding methods, each of them has advantages and disadvantages.
Seeds
The seed has good germination for 15 years. They start harvesting in September or October, then dry well at 40 ° C.
Until planting, the seeds are stored in a cool and dry place at a temperature of 5 ° C. To obtain April seedlings, they are planted in December.
Before planting, the seeds are stratified - they are poured into plastic containers or seedling boxes with a mixture of peat and sand (1: 1).
They are planted in grooves to a depth of 2 cm at a distance of 3-4 cm. Sprinkle with sand and moisten from a spray bottle. They are taken out to a cool room - a cellar or basement for three months. After this time, they are placed in a sunny place with a temperature of 18-19 ° C.
Until spring, the seedlings are periodically irrigated with warm water, weeds are removed. After the emergence of sprouts, watering is carried out by sprinkling. In the spring (at the end of April or at the beginning of May), when the soil warms up and the threat of the last frost has passed, young cypress trees can be transplanted to an open area. The planting scheme and rules are the same as when planting plants from a nursery.
Layers
The procedure for reproduction by layering begins in the spring. The strongest and longest branches are freed from needles, notches are made in the places of the buds with a knife, so that roots appear faster from them.
The branches are bent to the ground, fixed with staples, sprinkled with a nutritious mixture of peat and sand, watered.
The next year, in spring, the rooted shoots are cut off from the mother bush, divided into parts so that each one has roots and several buds, and planted separately in the garden.
Cuttings
Cuttings are recommended in summer
Nana Gracilis multiplies quickly and efficiently using cuttings.
Cutting shoots from the top of the crown is carried out in the summer. For this, adult and healthy plants are used. Cut off segments about 20 cm long with a piece of lignified bark. The lower part is cleaned from the processes and needles, then immediately planted in a wet substrate of sand and peat (1: 1).
Rapid rooting of cuttings is ensured if they are covered with foil and placed in a warm place with a temperature of 20-23 ° C. It will take 60 to 90 days for the roots to germinate. During this time, they should be periodically sprayed, ventilated, carefully loosened the soil and removed weed shoots.
A transplant to the site can be carried out in the fall one year after planting. So the plants will get stronger, build up a massive root system and take root well in a new place. Before the onset of cold weather, young seedlings need to be sprinkled with earth and sprinkled with fallen leaves, otherwise they will freeze and die.
Diseases and pests
This variety is rarely exposed to pests and diseases. Loss of health and decorativeness is possible if the rules of planting, care and use of already infected seedlings are not followed.
- The most inveterate enemy of the ephedra is the spider mite. Signs of the appearance of an insect are massive yellowing and shedding of needles. The drug Nupridom will help to cope with it. 1-2 treatments are enough for young blunt-leaved cypress trees, for adults - 3-4 with an interval of seven days.
- Another dangerous parasite is the scale insect, which sucks juices from needles, buds and shoots. On a tree where this pest parasitizes, the needles begin to dry and fall off. At an advanced stage of infection, the plant dies. Three times treatment of the crown and soil around it with Nuprid or Angio will help to destroy the insect. The interval between each spraying is 7 days.
- From diseases, dull cypress can be damaged by root rot. Fungal infections are caused by persistent overflow or improper care. For prevention, it is necessary to create good drainage from sand, pebbles or rubble when planting plants. With the timely detection of sores, the conifers are dug out, all damaged parts are removed to healthy tissue, dipped in a solution of copper sulfate or Bordeaux liquid, then dried, powdered with charcoal, planted in a new place with fertile soil.
Improper care
It can be determined that the plant lacks something, or vice versa, it suffers from excess water, nutrients can be by its appearance:
- Yellowing of the needles is a sure sign of a lack of moisture in the soil. The second option is growing on poor soil with a high calcium content. In this case, the shrub needs to be transplanted to a new place, fed with the necessary microelements, and watered moderately.
- Rotting of the root system, which can provoke the death of needles, is caused by planting on knocked down, heavy and poorly drained soil. Such a cypress tree should be moved to a pit with good drainage and a loose nutrient mixture.
- In the summer, especially on hot and dry days, the needles quickly turn yellow and dry out. To prevent this, you should irrigate the crown daily in the evening.
Application in landscape
This bright and not picky plant, which pleases with its rich colors all year round, has found wide application in landscape design:
- it is planted near the local area or in secluded corners of the garden, so they become brighter and more attractive;
- several bushes planted in a group create the effect of a Mediterranean landscape;
- cypress is an excellent element for framing a fence;
- it is often used as a hedge;
- young specimens like to be planted in tubs, large flowerpots and placed next to the gazebo, terrace;
- conifers are planted along alleys, curbs, used to decorate city parks;
- evergreen plant goes well with bluish or greenish-gray juniper.
Dull cypress Nana Gratsilis. Overview, description of chamaecyparis obtusa Nana Gracilis
Dull cypress Nana Gracilis
Cypress in the garden. Preparing for the winter.
Reviews
The dull-leaved cypress of the Nana Gratsilis variety fell in love with gardeners, so it earned only positive reviews:
- beautiful, bright green needles look elegant and colorful all year round, many prefer this type;
- some note that this variety requires frequent watering, if they are reduced, it becomes less decorative and begins to dry out;
- others appreciate this crop for its good winter hardiness and the ability to breed in different ways.