Engelman spruce
Engelman spruce(Picea engelmannii )
Coniferous tree, type species of the genus Spruce (Picea) of the Pine family (Pinaceae).
An evergreen coniferous tree that grows up to 50 meters, the trunk diameter with such growth can reach 90 cm. Every year the tree increases its height by 20 cm.
This species is a long-liver; in natural conditions it lives up to five hundred years, although the needles last no more than fifteen years.
Spruce has a dense crown in the shape of a cone, drooping branches, most often growing symmetrically. On the trunk there is scaly bark, red- brown, with small cracks. On young branches the bark is yellowish, with a fringe.
Engelman spruce
The buds have the same elongated shape as the crown. Young needles have a more blue tint in color, old ones have more green, the needles are tetrahedral, sharp, but not hard. The length of the needles is up to 2 cm.
In August, the cones ripen, large, egg-shaped, up to 7 cm long, brown in color (young ones are burgundy). Winged dark brown seeds are hidden under scales with sharp edges.
The species is not afraid of winds; it tolerates both high and high altitudes equally well. low temperatures. Drought is also not a problem; only young seedlings require careful watering.
Since in natural conditions the Engelmann variety forms dense plantings, it will develop just as well in a shaded place as in a lighted one.
It is not picky in choosing soil; in nature it grows well on limestone. It is advisable to provide the culture with a drained, moderately moist substrate with a neutral reaction, for example, loam.
The breed is not demanding on growing conditions, is drought-resistant, and light-loving.
It tolerates cutting and shaping well. In principle, the tree does not need formative pruning, but when planting a hedge or alley, it is necessary.
Soil: pH = 4.0-5.5.
Engelman spruce
Frost resistance: high. The species is characterized by increased frost resistance (up to -30°C), but is sensitive to spring frosts.
For the winter, young trees are covered with spruce branches. To protect the seedlings from intense heat and bright sun, they are covered with light material.
Coniferous trees on the site are always beautiful and stylish, they emit a specific fresh aroma and allow you to feel unity with nature.
Most coniferous trees and Engelmann spruce in particular are unpretentious either in planting or care, which is attractive even for inexperienced gardeners.
Landing.
Soil: a mixture of loose soil, peat, sand and sawdust (3-2-1-1).
Drainage should be easy, it is better not to use brick, expanded clay, crushed stone and other hard materials for drainage; perlite, vermiculite, chopped pine needles are suitable (use shears to cut a Christmas tree into a salad of pine needles, cones and firewood), because conifers - not deciduous, even minor damage to the root system can result in death.
When transplanted a year later into individual pots with heavy drainage, about a third of the volume of the root system of everything that was sown is lost (the roots are thin, the stones are heavy, and at the slightest movement everything breaks off).
“Drainage salad” is placed on the bottom of the box, the advantage of this method is that the needles are light, a layer of 4-5 cm allows water to pass through no worse than expanded clay, within a year if it does not rot, it will crumble into pieces and will not interfere with removing the roots of the seedlings intact and safety.
Method 1. The seeds have forced dormancy and germinate soon after they are placed in a suitable environment. Special preparation in the form of stratification is optional.
The best place for sowing is a relatively high film greenhouse. The substrate is preferably based on milled sphagnum peat with a low degree of decomposition. To prepare the substrate, add 35 g of limestone flour and 20 g of Fertika per 10 liters of wet peat, alternately with stirring.
Before sowing, which is preferably at the very beginning of May, whole seeds are separated from empty ones. To do this, the seeds are filled with water and waited for a day. After this time, full-grained seeds sink, while empty ones remain floating.
Full-grain seeds are pickled in a 0.2% solution of potassium permanganate for 30 minutes and dried on newspaper. After this, the seeds are sown. It is better to do line sowing, as this makes maintenance easier.
The top of the crops is mulched with 0.5-1.0 cm of mixture fresh sawdust coniferous species and peat taken in a 1:1 ratio.
In the process of growing annual seedlings, three foliar feeding 0.1% urea solution.
The first is carried out two weeks after emergence. At the beginning of May of the second year, seedlings are planted in the ridge. First, the same peat mixture that was used for sowing is added to this ridge in an amount of 30-50 l/m2.
The distance between seedlings when planting is 15-20 cm. Later, during the process of growing in a ridge, the plants are fed every year in early May with fertilizer for conifers. If necessary, water and weed. The minimum period for growing plants in a ridge is three years.
Method 2. Scarification of spruce seeds. For better seed germination, scarification can be carried out - breaking the dense seed coverings. To do this, the seeds are placed in a jar, previously lined with coarse sandpaper from the inside, and intense shaking is performed, as a result of which the hard covers are broken. Seeds treated in this way must be sown immediately after treatment.
Method 3. When the day length in spring is 10 hours or more (for indoor growing) or the risk of night frost has passed (for street growing) you can start sowing seeds.
For sowing, we will need balcony boxes 40-80 cm in length and 15-20 cm in height. In the absence of balcony boxes, any container will do, even cut-off 5-liter water bottles).
It is not at all necessary to create greenhouse conditions for future Christmas trees. It’s enough just to place them on a south-facing window and ensure regular watering. As soon as the weather warms up, the seedlings along with the box can be planted in the ground. Dig into the ground and next year grow. Don’t forget to periodically water with phytosporin, weed and treat with Epin. Epin should not be used more than once every 2 weeks. Fitosporin - the interval between treatments is fifteen days.
Picea engelmannii (Parry) Engelm.
Species characteristics and description. Tree up to 30-50 m tall, with a narrow cone-shaped, dense, sometimes asymmetrical crown. The trunk diameter can reach 90-100cm. The cones are ovoid-cylindrical, 5-7 cm long, up to 2 cm in diameter. The seeds are approximately 2-3 mm long, brown in color, the seed wing is about 1.2 cm long. Young cones are golden-green, dark brown when ripe, mature ones are nutty, then light brown, covered with thin, relatively soft jagged scales, slightly oblique. The cones ripen in August-September and open in dry weather, releasing the seeds. The cones fall off only in the spring of next year. The needles are bluish-green, with a silvery tint, sharp and thin, but not as hard and sharp as prickly spruce, about 1.5-3 cm in length, has four edges and on both sides, lives 10-15 years, in cultivation only 7-8 years old. The bark is thin, scaly, reddish-brown in color, and becomes lighter with age.
Engelmann spruce is very frost-resistant; in its range it can withstand frosts down to -50 degrees Celsius or more. It resists wind and snow well due to its narrow-cylindrical crown. In nature it grows in rather harsh physical conditions. Prefers moderately moist, light loamy soils and grows in any well-drained and moderately moist or moderately dry soil. Does not tolerate waterlogging and soil compaction. Engelmann spruce is very light-loving; in the shade, the needles quickly lose their shine and darken, and a young spruce can also lose the shape of its crown. Lives in nature up to 300-400 (1000) years.
Engelmann spruce is morphologically similar to prickly spruce, but differs from it in its narrower crown, thinner and less rigid bluish-green needles. In cultivation, it is almost as decorative as the prickly spruce.
Habitat and distribution. Grows naturally in the Rocky Mountains North America at high altitudes, from 1500 to 3500 m, mainly along the shady slopes of mountains and river valleys, up to the upper boundaries of the forest. Forms extensive forests, both pure and mixed, growing together with various species of conifers and hardwood trees and shrubs such as spruce; prickly, black, Canadian, larch; Western and American, Canadian hemlock, pine; twisted, white-trunked, flexible, fir; subalpine, single-color, great, paper birch, aspen poplar, chokeberry, curled maple and other species.
Engelmann spruce was brought to Europe and is cultivated as ornamental plant since 1863. In Russia, Engelmann spruce began to be grown with late XIX centuries, but in very limited quantities.
Application and landscaping.
Engelmann spruce is very frost-resistant and quite drought-resistant, easily tolerating living conditions within the city. First 5-7 years early spring need feeding from complex mineral fertilizers For better growth after transplantation. Also, do not forget to cut off dry and diseased shoots. In too hot or dry weather, young trees need to be watered more often and the soil around them needs to be loosened. trunk circle for good root aeration. IN winter period time, especially in the first winter after transplanting to a new place, it is necessary to cover the plants from direct exposure to sunlight to avoid burns of the needles.
Picea engelmannii, Engelmann spruce – evergreen tree, growing up to 30 m by 6 m wide at an average speed. It is a monoecious plant (individual flowers are male or female, but both sexes can be on the same tree) and is wind pollinated.
Description
The tree has a narrow pyramidal, heaped, sometimes asymmetrical crown shape. The trunk girth of an adult spruce can reach 90-100 cm. The cones are oval-tubular, 5-7 cm, up to 2 cm in diameter. Seeds are 2-3 mm, grayish-brown in color, the seed wing is about 1.2 cm. They remain viable for five years.
Young buds are golden-green; after ripening they turn dark brown, nutty or light beige. They are covered with small and short ragged scales, slightly beveled. The cones ripen in September and open in warm sunny weather, freeing themselves from seeds. The cones remain on the tree until the next spring. The needles are gray-green, with a silver coating, the tips are sharp and thin, they have four edges. Engelmann spruce has been in cultivation for only 7-8 years. The bark is thin, flaky, has a brown-burgundy color, becoming lighter as it grows.
Habitat
Grows in light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clayey) soils, but can grow in poor substrate. Suitable pH: low acidic and neutral, but also tolerates very acidic soils.
Engelmann spruce does not tolerate shade and prefers moist soil. The plant tolerates strong winds well, but not sea salt. The tree is frost-resistant, withstands frosts down to -50 C and piles of snow. But it does not feel very good in the polluted atmosphere of the city.
Grows wild in quite harsh environments natural conditions. Engelmann spruce loves light; in the shade, the needles will soon lose their gloss and fade, and young seedlings may lose their crown.
Picea engelmannii is widespread in the rocky mountain regions of North America, Canada and British Columbia. Here the plants are scattered in small groups along river banks and mountain slopes, choosing semi-shady areas from 600 m to 3700 m above sea level. The climate prefers cold and humid (precipitation above 600 mm per year), with long, snowy winters and short, cool summers. This species forms large areas of pure or mixed coniferous forests. Engelmann's spruce came to European territory as decorative culture in 1863.
Common varieties
Only a few varieties are known:
- silver - a medium-sized tree with silver-gray needles;
- weeping - gray, almost blue, needles. It is not very prickly, the advantage is that it grows quickly;
- blue weeping - has bluish-blue needles and hanging branches, at the base they touch the ground;
- small coniferous – dwarf spherical spruce, with small needles.
Application
Engelman spruce – has knotty, fine-grained, soft and light wood. She's not very high quality, however, is often used for home construction, carpentry, furniture, plywood and specialized applications, such as musical instruments(piano, violin). Once upon a time, its wood was used to make railway sleepers and telephone poles, but today mass production is aimed at pulp and paper industry. Engelmann spruces are used as Christmas trees, and in Europe they are the most common species for this purpose.
The twigs and roots are crushed and used to make ropes. Baskets and various small household items are woven from the bark.
In medicine
The healing properties of spruce trees have been used for medicinal purposes for centuries. Few people know that they ate as much vitamin C in the branches as black currants and sea buckthorn contain, and 7 times more than in lemon. In addition, the needles contain carotene, vitamins E, K, P, B1, B2, B6, PP and N. The bark is rich in tannin. Tinctures from the bark were used for respiratory diseases and tuberculosis. A decoction of leaves and bark is used to relieve cancer and treat coughs. The ashes of the branches mixed with oil are used to treat skin lesions. The resin obtained from the trunk treats eczema. Refreshing tea made from young shoots - rich in vitamin C.
A bathtub made of pine needles will calm stress, relieve fatigue and restore working energy. Therefore, it is recommended to take it for vegetative-vascular dystonia, sleep disorders, neuroses or fatigue.
The needles fill the forest with phytoncides - a biologically active substance that kills pathogenic microorganisms. Such air can even cope with the tuberculosis bacillus; for this reason, tuberculosis hospitals are often located in coniferous forests.
Decoration of the site
Engelmann spruce is often planted on a site as a hedge against wind, snow, and to suppress noise. Such plantings are found both outside the city and within its boundaries, in the form of alleys and squares. The plant looks elegant in single and group plantings with any plants. Low growing varieties Perfectly suitable for rock gardens, fencing flower beds, and planted in bonsai compositions. The magnificent crown and flexibility of curly pruning make it possible to widely use spruce to decorate the site and city squares.
The famous Captain Cook and his sailors were able to avoid contracting scurvy through wine made from spruce branches. Healing properties This wine is due to the vitamin C content in its composition.
