Larch trees are quite unusualplants conifersThey have short, soft, light green needles that grow several dozen fromeach szczkopędu , and in autumn - as it happens inspecies deciduous- discolor turn yellow or brown and fall off. What's more, unlike other conifers, these trees do not losecones every yearSmall, very decorative ,light brown "florets"remain on the shoots even for several years. Over time, they blacken and fall off along with the withered twigs.All these features make many of us eager to seelarches in our garden
Requirements and breeding
Big trouble with a bigtreelarches , like all conifers, are photophilous plants. They barely vegetate in the shade, and in the sun they grow even by several dozen centimeters; 20-, 30-year-oldcopies usually exceed20 m in height and havevery wide crownsThey maintain such a growth rate only when properly cared for, but it does not change the fact that these beautiful conifers can be only recommendowners large propertyA few years ago, gardeners finally found a solution.
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Gałęzie modrzewia o winding pędach (Photo: Fotolia.com) |
They grew much lower grafted varieties of these trees, which are perfect forsmall gardensThe natural tendency of larchs to was used. releasing shoots growingin an unusual way and creating the so-called devil's brooms. Twigs from such "creations" were attempted to be grafted ontoyoung specimens of larchin order to obtain a neat umbrella-like, overhanging or spherical form that these trees would never obtain in nature. As a result, new varieties were created withvery attractive appearance
Graftingallows you to obtain low varieties of larch. The rootstock is usually a few years old seedlinglarch EuropeanLarix decidua. The cuttings are grafted close to the ground, thus creating dwarf shrubs, or at a height of 1 to 2.5 m, depending on the size of the tree - rootstockno longer grows upwards, so the tree will have the same height throughout its life, it will only enlarge its crown as it growsgraftedtwigs
Larch care
Beautifulandundemanding graftedlarch varieties thrive best in fertile and moist soil, but they cope even onbarren glebachThey are perfect for cities because they drop needles in autumn, so they aremore resistant to pollutionair than other conifers.
Although trees are usually grown in pots from the beginning, so the planting date does not really matter, it has been assumed that it is best to do it in spring or fromSeptembertoOctoberIn these periods, the conditions are favorable for the rooting of plants: strong sun does notdries out soiland does not causeexcessive transpirationand the substrate is wet afterthaw snoworrains
In the first year of cultivation, it is worth stimulating the plant to spread more strongly.In early spring, the crown should be trimmed hard. The cutting site should be above the 2nd or 3rd bud. We repeat the treatment every 2-3 years. When the crown isnice shaped , remove broken ones regularly,sickandfrozen shoots
Varieties of grafted larch
European larch 'Pendula'- variety with hanging shoots and weeping habit, its branches often reach the ground
European larch 'Repens'- a variety with a weeping habit, slender shoots with light green needles descend vertically towards the ground, in older specimens they often creep over it; grows very slowly
Japanese larch 'Diana'- years later it can reach several meters in height. Depending on the vaccination site, it usually grows up to 2-3 meters after 10 years
Japanese larch 'Blue Dwarf'- the branches stick up stiffly and are arranged almost horizontally, the needles have a bluish shade, characteristic of the Japanese larch
