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Many fans of ornamental gardening are familiar with the Japanese spiraea Crispa - a short, compact round-shaped shrub. This is one of the few plants that combine a lot of positive qualities: excellent appearance, long flowering period, ease and undemanding care. In addition, the shrub has good frost resistance, which allows it to be grown in various regions of the country.
Description of Spirea Crisp
Spirea Japanese Crispa (pictured below) is a small shrub with a dense, cap-like crown. It is a decorative form of Japanese spirea - a perennial deciduous shrub of the Rosaceae family, growing in China, Korea and Japan.
The main characteristics and description of the Japanese Crispus spirea are presented in the table.
Parameter | Value |
Plant type | Deciduous shrub |
Height of an adult bush | Up to 0.6 m |
Crown diameter | Up to 0.8 m |
Escapes | Erect, sinewy, freely branching |
Leaves | Young leaves are reddish, later dark green, in autumn the color changes to scarlet or orange with a bronze tint. The leaf plate is corrugated, deeply cut, ovoid |
Flowers | They appear on shoots for 2 years of life. Collected in lush simple umbrellas up to 5.5 cm in diameter, delicate mauve color |
Flowering duration | 1.5-2 months (July-August) |
Appointment | Ornamental gardening, landscaping |
Spirea Japanese Crisp in landscape design
Due to its compact size, dense rounded crown and long flowering spirea, the Japanese Crispa has found wide application in landscape design. It is planted both in single and in group plantings. Often, a flowering bush is used as a color accent, a central element of a flower bed, or a single plant when planted in containers or flowerpots.
In group planting of the Crisp spirea, it is effective in mixboards, mixed plantings, as an element of the design of paths and alleys, as one of the steps of a multi-level or low separate hedge.
Planting and caring for the spirea Crisp
It is best to plant this ornamental shrub in open ground in spring or autumn, and if the seedling has a closed root system, then in summer. Planting and caring for the Japanese Crispus spirea is simple and will not cause difficulties even for beginners.
Preparation of planting material and site
It is advisable to purchase planting material in specialized stores or nurseries. Sometimes seedlings of this plant can be found there under the name curly spirea Crisp. They are sold, as a rule, in special landing containers filled with earth. Often there are seedlings with roots coated with clay mortar. If the root system is open, it must be inspected. A spirea seedling suitable for planting should have a significant number of thin long roots - lobes, as well as healthy strong taproots without signs of rot.
Spirea Japanese Crispa grows well in open, well-lit areas, it is also allowed to plant it in light partial shade. The plant is unpretentious to the composition of the soil, it grows both on slightly acidic and slightly alkaline soils.However, it is desirable that the acidity is close to neutral, therefore, gardeners often make planting pits of an increased size, filling them after planting with pre-prepared soil with an optimal pH level.
A planting hole is made in advance, usually 1/3 larger than the size of the root system. A layer of drainage from fragments of brick or rubble is laid out on its bottom.
Planting Spirea Crisp
Planting spirea Japanese Crisp in open ground is best on a rainy, cloudy day. Before planting, the container with the seedling is spilled abundantly with water. This will make it easier to retrieve. The plant is planted in a planting hole along with a lump of earth. Exposed roots must first be straightened out. Then the hole is covered with earth in such a way that the root collar of the bush is flush with the ground. Then the seedlings of Crisp spirea are cut by about 1/3, after which they are plentifully watered, and the root zone is mulched with peat.
Watering and feeding
In most cases, atmospheric precipitation is quite enough for the Japanese Spirea Crispa to feel good and grow without any problems. In dry periods, you can make an exception and water the root zone at the rate of 1 bucket for each bush.
If the land on the site is fertile enough, there is also no need for feeding the spirea. If the soil is poor, you can use mineral fertilizers that are applied to the trunk circle. In spring it is any nitrogen-containing substance, for example, nitrophoska, in summer potassium-phosphorus fertilizers for abundant flowering and superphosphate in autumn for better preparation for winter. Many growers use special complex formulations, such as Kemira-Universal, making them 1 time per season, in early spring.
Pruning
Spirea Crispa tolerates pruning well. To keep the shrub clean at all times, it is recommended that you regularly do sanitary pruning by cutting out dried or damaged shoots. In addition, there are several other types of shrub trimming:
- stimulating;
- formative;
- anti-aging.
You can start pruning Crisp spirea bushes 3-4 years after planting. Stimulating pruning is carried out to increase the density of the bush and compact its crown. To do this, in early spring, lignified shoots are pruned at a height of 20-25 cm from the ground. Such a bush will begin to bloom in July. If stimulating pruning is not done, the bush will bloom earlier - in June. In this case, it is advisable to remove the faded inflorescences without waiting for the seeds to ripen in them. This measure contributes to the re-flowering of the shrub in September, if the weather is warm enough.
Formative pruning of the Crisp spirea consists in giving the crown of the shrub a certain geometric shape (most often the correct hemisphere) and further pruning the shoots that go beyond its dimensions.
Older spirea Crispus bushes may require anti-aging pruning. With this procedure, the bush is simply cut off at ground level. The buds remaining in the area of the root collar will begin to grow in the spring, and thus a new bush will form on the existing root system.
Preparing for winter
Winter hardiness of Crisp spirea is very high. In the middle lane, the bush can calmly winter without any shelter. Most gardeners do not carry out any measures to prepare for the winter, however, for greater confidence, it is advisable to mulch the root zone with a thick layer of peat, bark or sawdust in the pre-winter period, and then simply cover the bush with snow.
Reproduction
Like most shrubs, Japanese Crispus can be propagated by seed and vegetative methods. The seeds are harvested 1.5-2 months after flowering so that they are fully ripe. The collected material is stratified by keeping for several months at a negative temperature. To do this, you can use any container that can be stored in the refrigerator or simply buried in the snow. In early spring, seeds are planted under a film, and after 2-3 months, young plants are transplanted into a greenhouse for growing.
However, the seed method does not guarantee that a varietal plant will grow from the seed. When propagated by seeds, only species characteristics are preserved, varietal ones can be lost. Therefore, the spirea Crisp is often propagated in the following vegetative ways:
- cuttings;
- dividing the bush;
- layering from the mother bush.
Cutting is an easy way to propagate spirea, while retaining all varietal characteristics. Cuttings are cut in September from the shoots of the current year so that each one has 5 leaves. The lower ones are removed, the 2 upper leaves are cut in half. The finished planting material is placed in the lower cut for 12 hours in Epin's solution, then treated with Kornevin's powder and planted in a container filled with wet and wet sand. The cuttings are deepened 2 cm at an angle of 45 °. Then the container is covered with glass or foil and placed in a warm place.
From time to time, the cuttings of the spirea are ventilated, removing the shelter, and also sprayed with water, keeping the sand moist. Rooting usually occurs in 1-2 months, after which young spirea seedlings dive into separate containers.
Dividing a bush is a simple, but rather laborious way of reproduction of the Japanese Crispus spirea. This event is usually held in September. A spirea bush at the age of 3-5 years is completely dug out, the pressure of water from a hose is used to wash the soil out of the roots. Then, with the help of a garden pruner, the bush is divided into several parts - the so-called division. Each of them should have several well-developed shoots, tap and fibrous roots.
The finished cuttings are planted in the planting pits in the same sequence as in the usual planting of seedlings.
Layers can be obtained by bending the long side shoot of the Crisp spirea to the ground and fixing it in this position. The place of contact must be covered with earth. If you regularly water this area, the allotted shoot will quickly take root and expel its own sprout. In this position, the plant is left for the winter. In early spring, the cuttings can be separated from the mother's shoot, dug up along with the roots and transplanted to a permanent place.
Diseases and pests
Diseases infrequently attack Crisp's spirea. Most often this occurs on old, neglected bushes, for which there was no care. The lack of trimming leads to a strong thickening of the internal space, a violation of air exchange provokes increased humidity. In such conditions, fungi multiply rapidly, especially if the summer is cool and rainy. When signs of disease appear, the affected shoots must be cut and burned. You can stop the spread of the fungus by spraying the bush with a solution of any fungicide, for example, copper sulfate.
Of the pests, aphids, leaf rollers and spider mites appear most often on Crisp spire. You can get rid of them by spraying with special agents. With early detection, it is sometimes possible to avoid this by simply tearing off the leaves along with the insects.
Conclusion
Spirea Japanese Crispa is a beautiful and unpretentious shrub. They can decorate not only the garden, but also any adjacent territory: a flower bed near the entrance, a flower garden, a path in the garden.Excellent winter hardiness and minimal maintenance requirements make the planting of this shrub doubly justified. And the long flowering period and beautiful appearance will satisfy even the most discerning grower.
