Planting under old spruce treescan be a challenge for the gardener. Creating an attractive corner in such a place is quite difficult. Sometimes it is necessary, however, because the old spruce trees strip themselves of the lowest branches and the places under them are empty. Fortunately, there are quite a few beautiful plants that will grow well under the shade of spruce trees. Seewhat to plant under the spruce treesso that the places are teeming with life and various colors. Here are the bestplants for spruce trees !
What to plant under old spruce trees?
List of plants to be planted under spruce treesprepared for us by MSc.Agnieszka Lach, a graduate of the Faculty of Environmental Management and Agriculture at the University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn. On a daily basis, he is professionally involved in the care and arrangement of plants. The author of many interesting tutorial articles on gardening and an expert on the gardening forum.
What are the conditions under old spruce trees?
Before we startplanting plants under spruce trees , we should get to know the conditions that prevail in this place. Dense spruce branches will largely limit the access of sunlight to the bed. If the spruce trees form a compact group, the shade near their trunks will persist throughout the day. On the other hand, if spruce trees were planted in a row, then for half of the day the sun will be plentiful on one side of the row, which will definitely facilitate the selection of plants.
The location of the discount under the spruce trees will depend on our spatial capabilities. If its place is at the northern exhibition, then we should only choose shade-loving plants.To illuminate the bed, we can remove a few lower, oldest spruce branches so that the sun's rays illuminate the base of the trunk.
Another aspect islow pH of the soil under the sprucesFalling spruce needles for a long period of time they decompose on the surface of the soil, acidifying its top layer. Shallow-rooting plants will have to do well in an acidic substrate. Therefore, we should chooseplants that require a low pH of the substrateor those that easily adapt to their living conditions.
The solution to this problem may bereplacing the soil in the place where plants are planted under the spruce treesFor this purpose, we dig a hole about 30 cm, which we fill with fresh garden soil of neutral pH and compost. When digging holes, however, we must be careful not to damage the spruce roots, which are located shallow underground. Another solution is to fertilize and spread a fresh layer of humus in the area intended for the bed.The humus retains water well, and additionallyenriches the sterilized soil under the spruce trees with nutrientsFrom the surface intended for the bed, select the soil to the depth of the spade and fill the empty space with humus soil.
Spruce, thanks to its shallow root system, dries the soil. In addition, dense branches trap rainwater. Most shade-loving species need a lot of water. Therefore, in hot summers, you will have toirrigate plants under spruce trees .
One should also remember about the falling needles of spruce, which will cover the plants growing under the tree. Some species can be very sensitive to this.
What plants to plant under the spruce trees?
Taking into account the above factors,the selection of plants for planting under spruce treesmust be very precise. Contrary to appearances, the choice of plants that can withstand the extreme conditions under a dense spruce crown is very large.Numerous species of perennials and shrubs, for which drought and shade will not be a problem, can be successfully combined into compositions at the base of spruce trunks.
The bestchoice for planting under spruce trees will be plants with a shallow root system , tolerating shade, drought and no special preferences regarding soil pH. New, untested varieties should not be selected. It is better to focus on traditional species with low requirements. It is also worth observing nature and choosing species, following the example of a forest undergrowth.
For planting under old spruce treesit is worth choosing native species, such as lily of the valley or geraniums, which are properly adapted to our climate and resistant to changing climatic conditions. In addition to flowering plants, it is worthwhile to diversify the bed with species with decorative foliage, such as funkies, which extend the decorativeness of the composition. prefer shady sites (lungwort, bugleaf, wild strawberry, violets, gamekeeper).
Theplants recommended for planting under spruceinclude perennials, deciduous shrubs (cotoneaster, common mahogany, barberry), conifers (Pfitzer juniper, dwarf spruce varieties) and heather plants (Japanese pieris, heather ) with low moisture, soil and light requirements. The choice depends on our preferences. By selecting species in terms of the flowering period, flower color and height, we are able to createbeautiful multi-storey compositions, the colors of which will change depending on the seasonSmall perennials, such as thirsty or crested bugle, better plant in a larger group. On the other hand, tall perennials, such as forest perennials, look much better individually.
A selection of recommendedplant species to be planted under spruce treesis presented in the table.
List of plants for planting under spruce treesyou can download as a PDF for printing:
- what to plant under the spruce trees (PDF)
