Spruce Glauka Arizona: description, planting rules and aftercare

Glauca Arizona evergreen spruce is an attractive ornamental culture that has a wide columnar crown. In young plants, it is asymmetrical, but then levels off. Another distinctive feature of the culture is a beautiful silver-blue color. And as it gets older, it gets brighter. The excellent decorative properties of the plant allow it to be used in landscape design.

Appearance features

Glauka Arizona Prickly Spruce is a long-lived crop that can live up to 300 years. The plant grows in height up to 12 meters. At the same time, the diameter of its crown is no more than 3 meters.

The young plant has an asymmetric crown, but gradually it acquires the correct conical shape. This happens around 5 years of age. A distinctive feature of the plant is a beautiful blue crown, which does not change its shade throughout the year. The length of the needles is approximately 10-12 millimeters.

In a year, a plant grows 8 centimeters in height and 10 centimeters in width. The tree is characterized by small cones, the diameter of which does not exceed 2 centimeters. Moreover, their length is 3-3.5 centimeters. A distinctive feature of the cones is a rich brown color. Thanks to this, they perfectly contrast with the green-blue crown.

Glauka spruce is characterized by a fairly high resistance to frost, which is its undoubted advantage. Plants are able to withstand frosts down to -40 degrees.

Popular varieties

The culture in question has 2 main varieties - Arizona and Keibab. Each species has its own distinctive features. The Arizonic variety is characterized by the following features:

1. Annual growth - 7 centimeters in height and 9 centimeters in width.
2. Dense narrow-conical crown.
3. Maximum crop height up to 5 years - 80 centimeters. Mature plants can reach 10 meters.
4. Crescent dense crown. Needles can reach a length of 1 centimeter.
5. Green color of needles at a young age. In adult cultures, it becomes blue.

Arizona variety is characterized by high resistance to frost. Plants are resistant to temperatures down to -40 degrees. They are also able to survive the return frosts in spring, which are very dangerous for crops.

Keybab spruce is characterized by a wide-conical crown. Its diameter usually does not exceed 90 centimeters. In this case, the height of the culture is 3 meters. The branches of the plant are at right angles. In addition, the culture has even and prickly needles.

Needles reach a length of 9 millimeters. Their shade differs depending on the place of cultivation. When planting a crop in sunny areas, it has a silver-blue tint. When planted in the shade, the color will be rich green.

How to plant correctly

According to the description, spruce is recommended to be planted in open sunny areas. That's where it thrives best. When planted in a shady place, the color of the needles will be dimmer, and the tree will be smaller.

When preparing a soil mixture for young seedlings, it is worth using a composition based on earth, sand and peat. These components must be mixed in a ratio of 2:2:1. Additionally, you can add a mineral preparation and a root formation stimulator to the composition.

The size of the planting hole should be 2-2.5 times the root ball. A drainage layer should be provided at the bottom of the recess. It may consist of stones, gravel or crushed bricks. When planting a plant, it is important to ensure that the root collar is at the same level with the ground. At the same time, damage to the soil clod should be avoided.

After planting, the tree needs to be watered abundantly. 40-50 liters of water should be used per seedling. After that, you can cover the trunk circle with leaves or sawdust.

Aftercare

Spruce of this variety needs proper watering. Young trees are recommended to be irrigated twice a week. This is due to the fact that they are characterized by a rather weak root system and are not able to receive moisture from the soil themselves. Under each plant, pour 20 liters of warm water.

Older plants are recommended to be watered 3 times a month.At the same time, 30 liters of water should be used for 1 tree. Equally important is the irrigation of the crown. This procedure is required to be carried out monthly. Thanks to this, it will be possible to obtain a bright color of the needles and prevent pest attacks.

You need to feed the plant 2 times during the growing season. In the spring it is required to apply nitroammophoska. For 1 tree it is worth using 30 grams of the substance. In autumn, spruce needs superphosphate. For 1 plant, it is recommended to use 50 grams of this product.

Before wetting the soil and fertilizing, loosen the topsoil. This procedure will help the nutrients to better penetrate the soil. This will significantly improve the development of crops - accelerate the growth rate, make the needles brighter and reduce the risk of diseases.

Every 2 weeks the trunk circle needs to be weeded. If this recommendation is neglected, spruce becomes more sensitive to diseases and pests.Culture does not need to form a crown. At the same time, every year it is required to remove diseased and damaged branches. This must be done in early spring.

In autumn, it is recommended to mulch the soil. This procedure is required to be carried out at the end of October. To protect the tree from frost, the trunk circle should be covered with mulch. Its thickness should be 20 centimeters. To do this, you can use fallen leaves, needles, straw or humus. This will protect the roots from frost. Young trees need to be covered for the winter with spruce branches or agrofibre. Shelter can be removed in the spring - after the snow has completely melted.

Arizona Glauca Spruce is a popular evergreen plant with excellent ornamental properties. In order for a tree to retain its attractiveness, it is important to provide it with proper care.

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