Spruce Misty Blue: description, planting and care, application in landscape design

Spruce prickly Misty Blue is a fairly common culture that is popular among landscape designers. This plant is often used to decorate parks and cities. Also, spruce is often planted in the adjacent territories. It can decorate even a relatively small suburban area. To get a he althy crop, it is important to properly care for it.

Botanical description

Misty Blue spruce is characterized by a conical crown. It has densely spaced paws, which differ in proportional placement on the trunk. Prickly is has an unusual bluish color of needles. The length of the needles is 2-3 centimeters.

Spruce is characterized by slow development. Within 10 years, it can only increase by 5 meters. By the age of 30, the culture reaches 10-20 meters in height. At the same time, the size of the crown also increases. It is about 4-5 meters.

The buds of the plant always have a brown tint. Their size is 10 centimeters. Inside there are seeds, which are often used to obtain new varieties of coniferous crops. As the culture grows, the color of the needles does not change, but more silvery notes appear in it.

Breeders and gardeners fell in love with Misty Blue spruce not only for its attractive appearance, but also for its undemanding care. The plant is considered very resistant to air pollution and disease. It can withstand low temperatures. Culture also does not put forward specific requirements for the soil. It is important that the soil has good drainage and is not too dense.Therefore, Misty Blue spruce should be planted in a sandy or sandy-gravel substrate.

The following distinctive features are typical for the culture of this variety:

• strong branches;
• gray color of needles;
• dense placement of shoots on the trunk;
• moderate needle size - 2-3 centimeters;
• long brown buds.

Name history

The name of the blue spruce Picea Glauca Misty Blue is borrowed from English and Latin. The word "glauc" is translated from Latin as "blue". The phrase "misty blue" is the English name of the variety and means "blue fog". Also in Latin there is the word "picea", which means "spruce". In addition, the name of the plant contains the word "pungens", which translates as "prickly".

The name of the spruce is due to the fact that the blue fog is similar to the color of the needles, which attracts attention from afar. At the same time, it seems that the tree is shrouded in mist.

How to plant correctly

Spruce seedlings should be planted in late April or early May. Many gardeners spend it at the end of summer - at the stage of a gradual decrease in high temperatures. Spruce often grows in loamy soil and in sand and gravel. Its root system needs a constant flow of air, which is impossible to achieve in heavy soil.

When planting a plant, it is imperative to provide a drainage layer. It will help reduce the amount of moisture that accumulates around the root system. Spruce hardly tolerates abundance and stagnant water.

To plant a Misty Blue spruce, you need to choose an open area that is well lit by the sun. It is recommended to plant the plant away from other crops, as they will interfere with the full development of spruce.

When planting several plants between them, it is required to maintain an interval of at least 2 meters. The recess should be dug, taking into account the size of the roots. In diameter, it should exceed the root system by 5-10 centimeters.

Drainage must be placed at the bottom of the planting hole. To do this, you can use small pebbles, crushed brick or crushed stone. It is recommended to put a seedling on top. It must be placed strictly vertically.

You need to fill the recess with a specially prepared composition of sand, peat and earth. It is important to ensure that the root neck is flush with the ground. After that, the tree needs to be watered abundantly.

Growing conditions

In order for the blue spruce of Glauka to quickly adapt to new conditions, it needs to provide suitable conditions. The tree needs the following:

• full illumination;
• optimum temperature;
• timely watering.

Spruce of this variety needs a sufficient amount of sunlight. If the tree is constantly in the shade, the color of the needles will change. This will lead to the loss of the decorative properties of the culture.

Also, the tree needs a fairly moist soil. It is recommended to water the plant once a week. In this case, one plant requires a minimum of 12 liters of liquid. Young seedlings need more moisture. Therefore, they need to be watered more often.

Care Requirements

To grow a crop successfully, it needs to be properly looked after. Spruce Misty Blue needs enough nutrients. It is recommended to apply the main fertilizer at the stage of planting the crop. At the same time, it is not necessary to constantly feed the tree. Before the development of young shoots in the spring, you need to make a little universal top dressing.

Requires sanitary pruning every year. She needs to remove dry branches. Also during the procedure, it is necessary to remove shoots that are affected by infections or parasites. Sanitary pruning should be done in spring and autumn.

If Misty Blue spruce is planned to be used to create a hedge, pruning should be done to form a crown. This procedure is carried out at a young age. For trees older than 8 years, it is already too late to form a crown.

Mulching and loosening the soil is of no small importance. Young spruces cannot stand the neighborhood with weeds. Therefore, the soil in the trunk circle needs to be regularly loosened. In addition, this manipulation helps to ensure the flow of oxygen to the roots, which will favorably affect the development of the plant. It is required to loosen the soil shallowly, since the tree has a superficial root system.

After the procedure, the near-stem circle needs to be covered with a mulch layer. This helps keep the roots from drying out. In addition, the mulch protects the beds from weeds. For this, it is permissible to use a variety of materials - bark, sawdust, peat.

Application in design

According to numerous reviews of gardeners and designers, Misty Blue spruce is the best suited for decorating the site. In garden and park areas, this culture is used exclusively as a tapeworm. It functions as an accent. In one place, the plant can develop up to 600 years. Therefore, when disembarking, it is recommended to take into account possible redevelopment in the future.

Spruce of this variety goes well with low flowers. It can also be combined with creeping conifers. No less successful addition to the tree will be small ornamental shrubs.

Misty Blue Spruce is a popular ornamental crop that is considered not too demanding to care for. Because the plant is often used in landscape design. It can be used to decorate parks and squares. Also, the culture grows well in small suburban areas.

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