Pine Louis: description of the Weymouth variety, planting and care, pros and cons
Louis Weymouth Pine is a medium sized ornamental tree. It has a universal purpose and is actively used in landscape design to create a variety of compositions. Another important advantage of the culture is its high frost resistance. Thanks to this, the culture can be grown even in the most severe regions. In order for the plant to develop normally, it needs to be properly looked after.
Description and origin story
This American variety is considered relatively new. It was introduced by Greg Williams in the early 1990s. Louis Weymouth Pine is an ornamental crop that has long thin needles. They are distinguished by a light green color with golden notes.
Under natural conditions, this culture grows in the east of North America. The variety is a short conifer. An adult culture reaches 6 meters in height and 3 in width. In addition, the conifer is distinguished by a pyramidal crown. For 1 year, the plant increases by 25 centimeters.
Louie Pine grows well in lighted areas in fertile loamy soil. It needs moderately moist soil. The undoubted advantage of the plant is its high frost resistance. The culture perfectly withstands temperatures as low as -34 degrees.
Pros and cons of the variety
The key benefits of pine include the following:
- high frost resistance;
- beautiful decorative properties;
- resistance to strong gusts of wind;
- penumbra tolerance.
How to plant
First you need to make a planting hole, which should be twice the size of the root of the purchased seedling. When growing pine in clay soil, 10-20 centimeters of drainage should be placed in the pit. It can be crushed brick, crushed stone, expanded clay, gravel. It is advisable to fill the pit with a special substrate for conifers or make the soil yourself. In the second case, you need to mix earth, peat and sand in a ratio of 1:2:2.
When planting a pine tree in a recess, it is permissible to add "Kornevin" or another root growth stimulator. It is also worth using WMD for conifers. Maintaining the integrity of the root ball during planting is of great importance.
The seedling should be placed so that the root neck is flush with the ground. After planting, the pine needs to be well watered and covered with a mulch layer. To do this, you can use wood chips, bark, coniferous sawdust. If WMD was not applied to the substrate, it is permissible to put any fertilizer for conifers under the mulch.
Care Requirements
To grow a crop successfully, it is important to strictly adhere to the basic rules for caring for it.
Water time
At the first time after planting, it is recommended to moisten the seedling every other day. Thanks to this, the root system will be able to take root faster. Subsequently, watering should be carried out as the soil dries to a depth of 6-7 centimeters. From the age of 3, trees need to be watered abundantly, but not more than 3 times a year.
Krone should be sprayed from time to time in the evenings. This will help remove pollution and dangerous parasites, as well as activate the growth of greenery. This should be done 4-5 times during the summer.
It is recommended to feed the pine with organic and mineral substances. They start doing this 4 years after planting:
- In the spring it is required to make ammonium nitrate, nitroammophoska or urea. For 1 square meter, it is worth using 500 grams of the substance.
- In the middle of July, you should use 350 grams of superphosphate and potassium sulfate.
- A few weeks before persistent cold weather, it is worth adding 350 grams of superphosphate and potassium sulfate per 1 square meter.
After using the nutrients, the earth needs to be watered. This will help improve the absorption of valuable substances. 3 times during the season it is worth additionally irrigating the needles with chelates. For this, "Epin" , "Heteroauxin" are used. Manipulation should be done in the evenings.
Cutting
Louie's pine has a fairly compact and symmetrical crown, so it does not need pruning. If you want to trim the culture, do it in the fall or in the first half of spring.
In this case, it is imperative to carry out sanitary pruning. To do this, use a sharp sterile instrument. During the procedure, it is required to remove dry, broken and disease-damaged shoots. After completing the manipulation, it is worth spraying the crown with copper sulphate, and after half an hour - with Epin. This will speed up the recovery of the plant.
How to prepare for cold weather
Pine of this variety is considered frost-resistant, so adult plants can not be covered. Young seedlings up to 3 years old are characterized by poor resistance to cold. Therefore, before the first frosts, they need to be spudded with peat, bend the shoots to the central conductor and secure with twine. Then the tree should be overlaid with spruce branches or insulated with burlap.
Louie's pine is an unusual ornamental variety that has a beautiful color of needles. Therefore, it is often used to decorate garden plots. At the same time, it is important to strictly follow the rules of agricultural technology.
