The shrub mountain pine Mugus (pinus mugo mughus) was bred in 1779 and became widespread in the south and center of Europe. In the wild, this culture looks like a tree and is often found in the mountains along the forest peaks. Due to its good winter hardiness, this plant is grown in all regions of our country.
Cultivation of the mountain pine Mugus
Features of needles
Several unique qualities are included in the description of pine:
- the plant is distinguished by high growth - at the age of five it reaches 5 m in height;
- the crown is dense, spherical or shapeless;
- creeping shoots;
- in the eighth year, the first cones appear, red or light brown, cone-shaped;
- needles are short, collected in bunches of 2 pieces, up to 4 cm in length, emerald;
- life expectancy is from 5 to 8 years.
The cost
You can buy high-quality seedlings with all the signs of the original variety in the Rosselkhoznitnik. The price depending on the height of the plant will be different:
- from 40 cm - 4000 rubles;
- from 60 to 80 cm - 8000 rubles;
- 1-1.5 m - 35,500 rubles.
Benefits
The increased interest in this culture is due to several positive aspects:
- good frost resistance;
- thanks to the powerful root system, the shrub is not afraid of the winds;
- tolerates drought well;
- not subject to disease;
- grows and develops successfully on any type of soil;
- easily recovers after pruning;
- with good care and proper haircuts, you can create a beautiful garden bonsai from this culture.
Landing rules
The best time to plant is mid-May in regions with cool climates and early September in the southern zone of the country.
Preparation of planting material
You can buy seedlings of this culture in a gardening nursery, where varietal specimens with all the declared characteristics and qualities are sold.
When buying planting material, you should adhere to some rules.
- It is impossible to transplant pines with bare roots from one place to another, since they quickly die from drying out. It is better to choose seedlings with closed roots - plants in containers or with an earthen lump wrapped in burlap.
- The best conifers are considered to be 3 to 5 years old.
- When buying, carefully inspect the aboveground part for the presence of diseases, pests, cracks and breaks - it is better to refuse such.
- Healthy bushes have needles and shoots of a uniform green color without red spots and mold.
A place
The tree is best planted in a sunny place.
Mountain pine is a plant with high immunity against many parasites and diseases, therefore it is planted along fences, arbors, arches. To increase resistance from various infections, sunlight is required, which promotes the release of protective substances.
The landing site must be protected from the wind and with a deep passage of groundwater - at least 0.5 m.
The soil
The characteristic of the variety includes the ability to grow on any soil, but a mixture of turf, clay and sand mixed in a ratio of 2: 2: 1 is better suited.
When planting in heavy soil, ensure good drainage of sand and gravel.
The soil should be slightly acidic and not alkalized, otherwise the shrub will not reveal all the decorativeness in the process of growth.
Disembarkation technique
Pits are dug to the size of an earthen coma, approximately - 70x80 cm. The bottom is covered with drainage - pebbles, gravel or rubble. This nutrient composition is then stacked.
They are lowered along with a lump, sprinkled with soil, trampled and watered. The root collar of plants should be 20-30 cm above the soil level, otherwise the shrub will simply rot and die.
When planting, you need to keep the distance between the bushes, otherwise over time thickets will form, in which the conifers will begin to hurt, turn yellow and dry. When planting adult specimens from 3 years old, holes are dug at a distance of 4 m.
Care requirements
The main care for the Mugus pine is to carry out several manipulations.
Watering
The first moistening is carried out immediately after planting the seedlings - a bucket of warm settled water is poured under one plant.
To prevent it from drying out, the soil near the trunk zone is mulched with peat. All subsequent irrigation depends on weather conditions and the amount of precipitation.
If the summer turned out to be dry, you need to water the bushes at least 3 times per season.
Loosening
The procedure increases soil aeration, provides better access of moisture and oxygen to the roots.
This culture has a branched superficial root system, so you need to loosen the area around the trunk carefully and not too deeply.
As they grow between the conifers, weeds are removed, which drown out the plantings and take away moisture and nutrients from them.
Fertilizers
From fertilizing for needles, nitrogenous preparations are suitable - nitrophoska, azofoska or urea.
Prepare a solution: 100 g per 100 l of water. Watering 5 liters of the substance per one young specimen. To avoid burning the roots, fertilizers are combined with watering.
The pine must be fertilized
Before the onset of persistent cold weather in the fall, the needles can be fed with phosphorus and potassium - these components will strengthen the plants before wintering and increase their frost resistance.
A solution is prepared from 15 g of superphosphate and 10 g of potassium nitrate per 10 l of water.
Pruning
It is an obligatory care procedure - it helps to protect shrubs from diseases, parasites and to form a beautiful shape.
A sanitary haircut is carried out every spring - all shoots damaged by frost, winds and diseases are removed. Twigs growing inside the crown are also cut out. They block access to light and disrupt the circulation of air inside it.
They are engaged in shaping in the summer, during the period of active growing of needles.
Preparing for winter
Young plants need good shelter for the winter, especially in regions with lingering severe frosts. The near-trunk zone is mulched with a thick layer of peat.
All shoots are tied up with a rope to the central conductor, then wrapped with spunbond or roofing felt. Adult shrubs can simply be mulched, and the crown can be overlaid with spruce branches.
Reproduction methods
In its natural environment, pine multiplies by self-sowing from fallen seeds. At home, the grafting method is used, which allows you to get several plants with all the varietal characteristics of the mother shrub.
Landing technique
Pine cutting consists of several stages.
- To obtain planting material, a healthy cultivated plant is selected. Cutting of annual apical cuttings is carried out in the spring. Cut the cuttings so that a part of the tree remains on them (heel).
- Before planting, the shoots must be freed from resins - for this they are immersed in warm water for three hours. Then it is slightly dried and treated with one of the disinfectants - a strong solution of potassium permanganate, copper sulfate (1%). The content of 12 hours in the growth stimulant promotes rapid growth of the root system.
- Cuttings can be planted both in seedling boxes and in separate containers - pots, flowerpots at least 10 cm high.
- The soil is used light, loose - mix sand with peat and turf soil in a ratio of 1: 2: 2. Expanded clay or pebbles are laid at the bottom of the box. Then a nutritious soil mixture is poured upstairs, leaving 2-3 cm of empty space from the top.
- Shoots are planted at a distance of 5-6 cm with a distance in a row of about 10 cm.
Care
The plantings are placed in a warm place with diffused daylight, irrigated with warm water and covered with any transparent material, creating the effect of a mini-greenhouse.
During germination, it is important to avoid hypothermia of the soil, and as a result, the root system. Therefore, many gardeners got used to planting needles in seedling boxes, then lowering them in larger containers filled with humus or last year's manure.
In the greenhouse, organic matter is capable of generating heat, thereby providing heating of the planting container and soil from below.
Housekeeping requires regular ventilation to prevent condensation and mold. Irrigation with warm water, loosening and weeding is also necessary.
Mountain pine takes a long time to take root - from 1 to 1.5 years. Premature transplanting to the site can lead to the death of young shoots. The optimal planting time for spring planting of cuttings is a year later in early autumn.
Diseases and pests
Preventive treatments can help keep trees healthy
The only disease that affects this ephedra is blister rust or seryanka. Signs of infection are the appearance of a yellowish coating on the tips of the needles.
All damaged specimens will lie down for disposal, and the place of their growth will be sprayed with a solution of copper sulfate. These measures are mandatory, since this ailment cannot be treated, and the remaining pits are an excellent environment for the further spread of the infection.
For prophylaxis, plants are treated with any preparation containing copper. Double processing is required - in early spring and autumn, a month before the onset of cold weather.
The second sore is sclerroleriosis, which destroys the apical part of the crown. The main cause of infection is illiterate pruning or lack of it. All affected organs must be removed to healthy tissue, then a sanitary haircut should be carried out. Places of cuts are treated with a solution of copper sulfate.
Aphids and caterpillars are the most inveterate parasites of this plant. They usually appear in wet, rainy weather, as well as in thickened bushes. They settle on needles, young shoots, sucking juices out of them. Some insecticides will help to destroy pests - Actellik, Aktara, Fundazol or Decis.
Prevention
For preventive purposes, simple rules must be followed:
- use healthy material for planting;
- plant in places where there is no swamp;
- avoid thickening of plantings;
- loosen, water and fertilize in time;
- spray the plants twice with preventive drugs;
- regularly remove infected bushes and burn.
Application in landscape design
Due to its high decorativeness throughout the year, the ability to create the most unusual forms, the Mugus pine has gained great popularity in landscape design.
- A bright and succulent plant is one of the best elements in decorating alpine slides, rocky gardens, mixborders, slopes.
- It is grown as a hedge, planted along curbs, alleys, between other stunted conifers.
- Mountain pine not only revives the landscape, but also refreshes, saturates the air with components useful for the body.
- This plant goes well with bright decorative and flowering crops - roses, chrysanthemums, oaks. To create a multifunctional mixborder from different types of needles, the moogus pine is combined when planting with trees in which the crown has a golden or bluish tint.
- In multi-level compositions, the pine is planted at the very top. Lichens, mosses, saxifrage or heather are placed in the lower rows.
- A beautiful and compact bonsai can be created from this shrub. It will become an evergreen element in garden design in both summer and winter.
- Almost all plants tolerate the neighborhood of this conifer well - dwarf maples, cereals, decorative deciduous and flowering specimens. Therefore, it can be combined with any plantings. The only thing that can cause incompatibility is different requirements for the composition and fertility of the soil, and this point must be taken into account when planting in groups.
How to distinguish from Pumilio
Distinctive features of the mountain pine Pumilio:
- has a compact above-ground part - the maximum height is 1.4 m;
- the crown is dense, spreading;
- twigs pointing up form a dense dome;
- bumps are symmetrical, purple;
- fruiting begins a little earlier - at the 7th year of cultivation.
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Gardeners reviews
Gardeners who are engaged in the cultivation of this ephedra are satisfied with its decorative and unpretentious care:
- seedlings quickly take root in the open field and the next year they begin to massively form a young growth;
- many gardeners of the northern zones note good resistance to frost and the ability to resist diseases, provided that all the rules of agricultural technology are observed;
- the plant easily tolerates drought, grows well on all types of soil, which makes the task of cultivation easier for beginners.