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Daisy White's Canadian spruce is a random mutation of the famous Konica, discovered in 1979. It was isolated in a Belgian nursery, where they polished and fixed the signs of a new variety. Daisy White's Canadian spruce could surpass the parental form in popularity, as it has exceptional decorative qualities. But she is even more sissy than Konica, so that the tree does not survive, but becomes a real decoration of the site, he will have to constantly pay attention. But the result is worth it.
Description of the Canadian spruce Daisy White
One of the smallest varieties of Eli Sizoy, Canadian or White (Picea glauca) is Daisy’s White. By the age of 10, it grows to 80-100 cm, at the age of 30 it reaches a maximum - about 2 m with a width of 0.8 m.It is interesting that in Russia and neighboring countries by this time, Daisy White has a height of 1.5 m. All varieties of Canadian spruce are distinguished by this feature - in our country they grow lower than in Europe or America. This is probably due to the peculiarities of the soil and climate.
The annual growth of the Canadian Daisy White spruce is 2-4 cm.At 6-7 years, a kind of leap occurs, and over the next several seasons, the variety can add 10 cm in height. Then the growth rate slows down again to 1-2 cm.
It is noticed that the color of the needles of this variety depends on the growing conditions. Young shoots of the Canadian spruce Daisy White can be white, cream, golden light green, yellowish white. In the second half of summer, they darken and turn green. The needles of any age do not exceed 9 mm in length, are soft to the touch, and when rubbed, exude a strong aroma. In the photo of Daisy White ate, the contrast between old and young needles is clearly visible.
The crown of the tree is dense, since there are as many internodes on it as on a species plant, just as a result of mutation they have become very short. The Canadian spruce Daisy White grows like a small cone of the correct shape, the branches completely cover the trunk. The deformation of the crown occurs only as a result of cutting off shoots that are frozen or burnt in the sun.
Cones on Daisy White's spruce appear extremely rarely. The root system comes close to the soil surface.
Spruce gray white Daisy in landscape design
Conifers not only decorate the garden, but also cleanse the air of dust and pathogenic bacteria, saturate it with phytoncides. In addition, they do not lose their attractiveness in winter, and at least slightly enliven the monotonous white landscape.
The diminutive size of Daisy White's Canadian Spruce makes it indispensable for small areas. The tree is grown in rockeries, rock gardens, flower beds and ridges. This spruce is planted in the foreground of landscape groups.
Although Daisy White is very attractive, she should not be used as a tapeworm even in small gardens - she simply does not look alone in an open space. In addition, without a cover, the needles are badly burned under the sun. A brown, or, even better, bald on one side, the spruce somehow does not pull on a single focal plant.
But Daisy White looks good in gardens made in Japanese or regular French style. A small variegated spruce will be appropriate in regular plantings, for example, as a repeating element when framing a parterre lawn or in long narrow ridges.
Just do not plant Daisy White's Canadian spruce in the sun without cover from the south side - it will burn and spoil the view. But you can place it in the shade - the white needles will fade a little, but it will still look attractive. Spruce looks good when placed together with plants that set off its beauty. White and green needles allow you to plant flowers of any color nearby.
Daisy White Canadian Spruce can be grown in containers. On the one hand, it is convenient, the pots can be rearranged from place to place, if necessary, decorating the front area, resting place or receiving guests. On the other hand, Canadian spruce in containers requires more careful care than in the open field.
Some coniferous plant lovers collect a collection of dwarf varieties. With skillful placement of plants, they can create a wonderful composition. The Canadian spruce Daisy White will also fit into it.
Planting and caring for Canadian spruce Daisy White
Canadian spruces, including the Daisy White variety, have adapted well to Russian conditions, only they grow lower than at home. Species plants do not tolerate gas pollution in the air, while cultivars are more resistant to urban conditions.
The vitality of trees is quite high, the main problem when planting and caring for Daisy White spruce is to maintain decorativeness. In the Central lane and in the North-West, the needles suffer more from early spring burns of needles, in the southern regions they burn out in the summer.
Seedling and planting plot preparation
The description of the Canadian spruce Daisy White has little in common with the species plant, despite this changes only affected the appearance of the cultivar. The needs of the tree remained the same as those of the original form, with the exception of the attitude to the sun - the white young growth burns under direct rays.
Daisy White can grow in rocky areas. In any case, the soil should be well-drained, permeable to air and water, acidic or slightly acidic. Moderately fertile sandy loam and loam, fresh and moist, are well suited.
Canadian spruce will tolerate temporary slight waterlogging, but not constant moisture in the root area. The water should not come closer than 1.5 m to the soil surface. It is especially dangerous for Daisy White to lock the root collar - the tree may die.
To prevent the needles from burning, the Canadian spruce must be planted in partial shade. It is better if the crown is illuminated only early in the morning. But the areas are different, some have a lot of shade, others - the sun, in addition, the landscape concept may require that the Daisy White spruce be in an open place. Then the tree is placed so that on the south side it is covered from the sun by the shade of other plants. There is no other way - the soft needles of the spruce will constantly burn. It is recovering, but it takes a long time.
Always covering the tree from the sun in the middle of the day is not an option. Firstly, for this, someone must always be at home, and secondly, the needles will burn, even if you forget to throw protection on the Canadian spruce once.
It is best to buy Canadian spruce seedlings at the age of 4-5 years, when the side branches appear. The tree must be grown in a container or sold with an earthen lump lined with burlap. You can buy a spruce with an open root only if it was dug up in the presence of the buyer, immediately dipped in a clay chatterbox and wrapped in cling film.
Landing rules
Daisy White's Canadian spruce is best planted late in the fall. In the south, they do it all winter. For the North-West and Siberia, early spring planting is permissible until the buds of the tree open.
A planting hole is dug with a diameter of 60 cm and about 70 cm deep. At the bottom, a drainage layer of expanded clay or broken red brick is poured at least 20 cm.The planting mixture is prepared from sod land, leaf humus, clay, sand and sour peat. As a starting fertilizer, add up to 150 g of nitroammophoska.
The pit is filled with the prepared mixture by 2/3, completely filled with water and allowed to settle. Not earlier than 2 weeks later they start planting:
- So much soil is taken out of the hole so that the root collar of the Canadian spruce is flush with its edge.Important! If Daisy White was sold with a burlap-lined earthen ball, the fabric does not need to be removed.
- The root is poured with the planting mixture, constantly compacting it in order to avoid the formation of voids.
- Check the position of the root collar, correct if necessary.
- A roller is made from the remaining soil along the contour of the planting pit and the seedling is watered abundantly.
- When the liquid is completely absorbed, the soil is mulched with the bark of coniferous trees during spring planting, in autumn - with sour peat with a layer of at least 5 cm.
Watering and feeding
In the first 2 weeks after planting the Canadian spruce Daisy White, the soil is not allowed to dry out, the seedling is watered at least 2 times a week, if necessary - more. Further, moisturizing is carried out regularly, but not excessively. During hot summers, weekly watering may be required.
Canadian spruce Daisy White is demanding on air humidity. It should be regularly doused with water from a hose. If the area has automatic irrigation with retractable nozzles, it can be turned on daily for 5 minutes at 5-8 o'clock in the morning. Daisy White spruce is small, the crown will have time to be saturated with moisture and dry until the sun becomes too active (up to 10-11 hours).
Sprinkling of the crown can be transferred to the evening. Water procedures at 17-18 o'clock will not provoke a sunburn, and the branches will have time to dry before night. If the spruce remains wet in the dark, it can provoke the development of fungal diseases.
It is imperative to feed a young Canadian spruce, after 10 years it is desirable. It is better to use fertilizers specially designed for coniferous crops. When buying them, you should pay attention to which season the feeding is intended for - this is indicated on the package. In spring, nitrogen should prevail in fertilizer, in autumn - phosphorus and potassium.
Foliar dressing is no less important for the Canadian spruce Daisy White. The necessary trace elements are better absorbed through the needles, in a chelated form. You can give them no more than once every 14 days. It is recommended to add an ampoule of epin or zircon to the balloon, and when the young needles turn green, an additional dose of magnesium.
Mulching and loosening
The spruce root system is close to the soil surface. It must be loosened to a depth of no more than a few centimeters. This procedure is most important for young plants after watering.
A few years after planting, loosening is replaced by mulching with acidic peat or bark of coniferous trees treated with fungicides.
Mulching not only protects the soil from drying out, but also prevents the lower branches from falling directly on the ground. This, in turn, protects the spruce from infection by pathogenic bacteria and fungi in the soil.
Pruning
The Canadian spruce Daisy White has a beautiful cone-shaped crown. You don't need to shape it. It is almost impossible to do sanitary pruning of dried up shoots - the variety is obtained as a result of mutation, and a tiny tree has as many branches as a species plant. It's just that internodes are close to each other. You can cut them only by pushing the needles apart, and it will take all day.
Although very rare, sometimes a branch of a normal size grows on a small Canadian spruce. It must be cut out immediately to preserve the variety.
Crown cleaning
The squeezed dense crown of the Canadian spruce Daisy White contributes to the rapid drying of the needles inside and the shoots deprived of access to light. Not only the sun's rays cannot penetrate there, but also vital moisture cannot get there. If you shake an unkempt spruce, a cloud of dust will fly out of it. Such a plant will not only hurt often, but will also quickly lose its decorative effect. It will saturate the air not with phytoncides, but with irritating mucous membranes with tiny pieces of needles and bark mixed with ticks.
To avoid this, you should annually clean the crown of the Canadian spruce Daisy White, and when processing and foliar dressing, be sure to push the needles apart, moistening the whole tree with preparations. Without this, the stem and internal branches will become a breeding ground for diseases and pests.
When cleaning the crown, you should take protective measures - wear a respirator, goggles, armbands and gloves.
Cleaning is carried out at least 3 times per season:
- the first two times in early spring with an interval of 14 days;
- the third - in the fall, during preparation for winter.
The procedure itself is carried out on a dry, windless day:
- Gently push apart the needles of the Canadian Daisy White spruce with their hands, peel off all the dry needles.
- Fallen needles are removed from the lower branches and soil.
- The outer and inner parts of the crown, as well as the soil under the tree, are treated with a fungicide, preferably copper-containing.
- Wash hands and face thoroughly with soap.
Preparing for winter
Daisy White, like all Canadian spruces, tolerates Russian conditions well. Without shelter, it hibernates in zone 4. Only young trees require protection in the year of planting - the soil under them is mulched with sour peat, the crown is wrapped with white agrofibre or spandbond, and fixed with twine. You can use spruce branches instead of non-woven material.
In subsequent years, they limited themselves to mulching the tree trunk circle of Daisy White with peat. If frost is expected in the North-West, the Urals and Siberia after the young needles bloom, the tree should be covered with burlap or other material. The trunk, root and mature needles are not in danger, but white young shoots can freeze slightly.
Winter hardiness of spruce gray or white Daisy White increases moisture recharge and autumn phosphorus-potassium dressing.
Sunburn protection
Beginning in mid-February, the Canadian spruce should be covered with a white non-woven material to protect it from sunburn. At this time, the needles quickly lose moisture, and the root located in the frozen ground cannot replenish it.
When the water balance is restored, Daisy White spruce, planted without cover, still suffers from direct rays - sensitive white tips can burn. They fall off, and the tree loses its decorative effect for at least a season. Increase resistance by sprinkling the crown, regular fertilizing and spraying with epin twice a month.
When the needles turn from white to green, only the southern side of the Canadian spruce will suffer. To avoid unnecessary trouble, you can plant a plant next to Daisy White, at least slightly covering her from direct sunlight.
Reproduction
A species plant will grow from the seeds of the Canadian spruce Daisy White. It is propagated by grafting or cuttings. Vaccinations should be done by a specialist, and you can try to root the shoots yourself, although there will be a lot of attacks.
Cuttings are planted all season, until the first frost, but spring cuttings take root faster. A shoot 10-12 cm long is cut off from the older branch together with the heel (a piece of bark), the lower part is freed from the needles, and treated with a growth stimulant.They are planted in a cold greenhouse to a depth of 2-3 cm.
You can root cuttings of Canadian fir Daisy White in perlite, clean sand, or a mixture of sand and peat in containers with drainage holes. The substrate should be kept moist at all times, but not wet.
Only part of the shoots will take root. When they grow, the cuttings planted in a cold greenhouse begin to feed, and from containers they are transplanted into separate cups with a mixture of sand and leaf humus. They are moved to a permanent place at the age of 4-5 years, when side shoots appear.
Diseases and pests
To make the Canadian spruce Daisy White less likely to get sick and less affected by pests, you should regularly clean the crown, carry out sprinkling and preventive treatments. Experienced gardeners inspect the tree once a week with a magnifying glass to notice the first signs of trouble as early as possible, and immediately begin treatment.
Canadian spruce is most often affected by diseases:
- regular and snow shute;
- rust;
- spruce whirligig;
- fusarium;
- rot;
- wound cancer;
- bark necrosis.
Common pests;
- ticks;
- butterfly nun;
- gall aphids;
- spruce leaf roll;
- mealybug;
- spruce sawyer;
- hermes.
When conifers are affected by insects, insecticides should be used immediately, and diseases should be fought with fungicides. Particular attention should be paid to the inside of the crown.
Reviews of the Canadian spruce Daisy White
Conclusion
Spruce Canadian Daisy White requires special attention. It needs to be protected from heat and sun, the crown should be cleaned and sprinkled. But the tree is so beautiful and small that it will not be difficult for a true connoisseur of conifers to keep its crown in order.
