Inversa spruce, or Picea abies Inversa, is often grown to decorate home gardens. The appearance of an evergreen plant fits well with landscape design.
Inversa spruce in landscape design
Botanical characteristic
Inversa vulgaris is a type of weeping spruce that often lacks a central shoot. Only a few specimens have an unexpressed trunk covered with numerous branches.
The crown is almost columnar, narrow, in the absence of formation, unevenly developed. The diameter of an adult tree is up to 2.5 m. The height is about 6-8 m. The branches are of a hanging type, fall down, have a vertical vertical direction of growth, fit tightly to the central part. The lower tier is located on the ground surface.
Most often, the plant is grafted onto a stem, the height of which directly depends on the length.
External description
At the spruce top, the type of growth is overwhelming. The color of the kidneys is brownish-red. Cones are light green, 15 * 4 cm, to the stage of maturity they become brown-brown. The dark green needles are thick and short with a characteristic luster.
The needles change every 6-8 years. The widespread and highly branched root system is superficial.
Life expectancy - up to 150 years (when grown in temperate latitudes). Under natural conditions, some specimens are about 300 years old.
Growth rates
The growth rate of the common Invers varies depending on the age of the tree:
- before reaching 10-15 years, the intensity of the climb is low, up to 1.5 m;
- after 15 years - up to 0.5 m per year;
- from the age of 100-120, the growth practically stops.
The variety has increased winter hardiness, easily tolerates low temperatures. Distributed everywhere.
Where and how to plant
The most favorable time for planting Invers is mid-spring, but frost resistance allows it to be planted also in winter.
The variety is recommended to be planted in a well-sunlit area with salty or sandy moderately fertile soil, avoiding swampiness. Growing in shaded areas is allowed, but such conditions have a growth-inhibiting factor.
The area for planting a tree is chosen far from the passage of groundwater. In a pit with a depth of 0.5 to 0.7 m, drainage must be laid out from a mixture of river sand and broken brick. Layer thickness - at least 15-20 cm.
For planting, the Invers make a soil mixture from leaf and sod land, peat and river sand, taken in proportions of 2: 2: 1: 1.
Fir trees are planted in small groups at a distance of 2-3 m from each other, placing the root collar at the level of the soil surface.
Immediately after planting, trees are abundantly watered in the calculation of 40-50 liters. It is recommended to apply fertilizer at the same time, for example, nitroammofoska (100-150 g), Kornevin (10 g per 10 l of water) or similar.
How to care
The tree needs to be watered regularly
Caring for Invers spruce under artificial growing conditions consists of properly organized watering and timely application of fertilizing complexes.
Watering
Immediately after planting, the tree is watered regularly for a week, almost every day. When watering, it is required to prevent moisture stagnation. In the hot season, it is necessary to moisturize the spruce. Water consumption rate - 10-12 liters.
Loosening and mulching
The variety does not tolerate compacted soil well, therefore, after watering and heavy rains, the soil under the spruce is necessarily loosened. To prevent moisture evaporation, mulching with grass vegetation, which, in the process of decay, will simultaneously act as a fertilizer, helps.
Top dressing
Fertilizer is applied twice a season. The most suitable mineral composition will be a nutrient complex specially developed for conifers.
Pruning
Pruning the tree is often not recommended. The procedure is necessary when it forms a hedge. Usually old and damaged branches are removed. The right time for sanitary pruning is May-June, at the stage of active sap flow.
Reproduction
Propagated by cuttings and seeds:
- when grafting, an exact copy of the original tree with maternal qualities is obtained;
- with seed reproduction, a higher quality plant is grown with increased resistance to low temperatures.
Winter protection
Despite the cold resistance, the Inversa spruce is covered with spruce branches for the winter. The trunk is sprinkled with a peat layer up to 5 cm thick. When the season is over, the peat is mixed with the ground, but not harvested.
Practical use
The main application of spruce was found by gardeners in landscape design. Due to its unusual appearance, it fits well into the interior of personal plots, and its compact size allows you to plant a tree in a limited area.
Spruce is used in landscape design
It is widely used to strengthen the territories adjacent to highways. To decorate the landscape, it is planted as a specimen (free-standing) and as part of other decorative crops.
To form the crown upwards, one strong shoot is selected and tied to an artificial support. The remaining branches are left to grow freely downward. They are regularly pinched, creating the necessary shape.
Diseases and pests
The Inversa variety is often subject to fungal diseases, which is associated with poor air circulation and excessive dampness under the lower tier of branches. Changes in the color of the needles indicate a tree infection.
In the fight against the fungus, they use fungicide treatments and spraying with solutions based on copper sulfate.
Regular pruning of the shoots from the bottom helps to avoid the appearance of fungus, so that they do not come into contact with the ground.
Spruce is often affected by insect pests:
- aphids - leads to yellowness and drying of the needles;
- tick - causes brown spotting;
- hermes - becomes noticeable as a result of the appearance of gall - seals in the form of unopened cones;
- false shield - slows down the growth of young shoots.;
- sawfly - wraps branches in small cobwebs.
Timely insecticide treatment, which is carried out at the beginning and end of the summer season, helps to create reliable protection.
Gardeners reviews
Norway spruce Inversa (picea abies inversa) is quite popular among gardeners.
They fell in love with this variety because of its original appearance, decorating the backyard with spruce both in a single and in a group composition.
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Characteristics such as frost resistance and undemanding soil make it easier to care for a coniferous tree.