Pine is a very valuable coniferous tree, quite widespread in our country. The evergreen tree is our constant companion. From childhood, we are accustomed to seeing him on New Year's Eve in the house, forever remembering his wonderful aroma. Yes, and in forest plantations, mainly pine trees predominate. Under favorable conditions, they reach forty meters in height. But sometimes even a hundred-year-old tree can remain forever a small dwarf. This plant is very photophilous. It can be safely attributed to the centenarians.
Description of the pine tree
The tree reaches forty meters in height. It belongs to the plants of the first magnitude. The circumference of the trunk can reach one meter. Pine bark has a reddish-brown color with furrows of exfoliating parts. At the base of the tree, it is much thicker than at the top. Nature is so conceived for protective purposes. Thick pine bark at the bottom protects it from overheating during fires.
The young plant has a cone-shaped crown. Growing up, it rounds, becomes wider, and an aging treeacquires an umbrella-shaped or flat shape. Pine needles are usually bluish-green in color. It is a bundle consisting of two needles. They are located throughout the branch. The needles are very prickly and pointed, slightly flattened, with a thin longitudinal strip. Needles live for three years. In autumn, it partially falls off. Most often this happens in September. The needles before this are painted yellow, which makes the pine tree take on a motley appearance.
Pine cones
Description of pine would be incomplete without mentioning cones. They are located either one by one, or two or three pieces on legs looking down. The green pinecone is cone-shaped and dark green in color. Sometimes a brown color is also possible. And only in the second year it ripens, acquiring a brown or brown hue. The length of the cone ranges from 3 to 6 centimeters, and the width is 2-3 cm.
Her life begins with the formation of a small red balloon. This is a pine germ. It appears at the end of spring, at the moment when young shoots from the buds begin to grow on the tree. At first they do not have needles, and cone embryos are located on their tops.
The bumps grow all summer long and with the advent of autumn they become green in color the size of a pea. They stay that way all winter. And with the advent of spring, they begin to develop further. By the end of summer, the cone reaches an adult size. And by next winter it will turn brown, ripen, but not yet open. Its scales are still tightly pressed, so the pine seeds have not yet spilled out. And this process will begin only on the third spring, when the snow melts. The buds will begin to dry out in the sun, causing the scales to open and the winged pine seeds to leave their home.
In pines, female and male cones are distinguished. They are located in different places. Female ones are at the tops of young shoots, and male ones are near their base. So it is the males that pollinate the females with their pollen. Fertilization occurs only after a year. All this time, pollen, hitting the female cone, is at rest.
Structure of a pine tree
Basically, the structure of a pine tree is the same as that of any other tree. It has a trunk, root, branches with needles. The root system of pines deserves special attention. Currently, there are four types of root systems:
- Powerful, which consists of a highly developed tap root and a couple of side roots, which is typical for well-drained soil.
- Powerful with a weak stem, but strong lateral roots that grow parallel to the ground. This option is typical for dry soils with deep groundwater.
- Weak, consisting only of short branching processes. Such a pine root is found in marsh and semi-marsh places.
- Shallow, but rather dense root system in the form of a brush is typical for hard soils.
The root system of pines depends on the structure and nature of the soil on which the tree grows. Its lamellar shape makes the pine very valuable. It makes it possible to use trees forartificial afforestation. Pine is planted on swampy, dry and unsuitable lands. It should be noted that the pine root begins to grow at temperatures above three degrees. It penetrates to a depth of 230-250 centimeters and grows rapidly in the first years of life. By the age of thirty, the roots reach their maximum size and maximum depth. In the future, there is a quantitative increase in surface processes. Horizontally in different directions, they grow by ten to twelve meters. As observations show, pine roots penetrate deep through the gaps left from the rotten roots of other trees. Entire bunches of young shoots rush down such ready-made passages.
Pine trunk
Pine, growing in dense stands, has a fairly even and slender trunk without knots. In rare plantings in open spaces, the tree grows less tall and with a more knotty trunk. The bark on different parts of the pine has a different color and thickness. At the bottom of the tree, it is thick and red-brown, and in the middle part and at the top it is yellow-red in color with thin peeling plates.
How does a conifer grow?
If we talk about how and how much pine grows, it should be noted that the largest increase in height occurs at the age of thirty. And by the age of eighty, the tree reaches thirty meters.
Most pine trees are fast growing. At the age of 5 to 10 years, they grow annually from 30 to 60 centimeters. Then the growth can reach one meter annually under favorable conditions.conditions. Further, from 30 to 50 years, the pine grows not so much in height as the thickness of its trunk increases. So, how much does a pine tree grow? Coniferous trees are long-lived. On average, they live from 150 to 300 years. Impressive numbers, aren't they?
Pine crown
The shape of the pine crown in the forest depends primarily on age. The young tree has the shape of a cone. Then it gradually changes and becomes umbrella-shaped in old age.
Usually the branches on a tree are arranged in tiers. On each of them, at the same level, four or five branches diverge to the sides. These are the so-called whorls. And every year new ones are formed. However, it is impossible to determine age by this principle, except perhaps only in young plants, since in old ones, as a rule, the lower tiers die off and turn into branches.
Pine growing
Chinese belief says that pine is a magical tree that drives away misfortune and brings happiness to people. Therefore, planting it near housing symbolizes longevity and well-being. And do not be afraid of the size of the tree, because there are tall pines, and there are also decorative, dwarf forms. If desired, you can choose the desired option.
Pine tree planting
When choosing seedlings, you need to pay attention to how the root system of pine trees looks like, whether it is damaged, whether there is an earthen clod. All this is very important. After all, pine transplantation is stressful for the plant itself. The less damage, the easier and faster the tree will take root. We want to emphasize that the seedling should not be older than five years. Mature plant is bettertransplant in winter with a clod of earth.
In general, there are two periods when conifers can be planted:
- Spring - April-May.
- Early autumn - August-September.
How is pine transplanted? First of all, a hole up to a meter deep is prepared. If you are sure that the soil in your area is heavy, then before planting it is better to make drainage by pouring gravel and sand to the very bottom (the layer thickness should be 20 cm). It is recommended to fill the planting pit with a fertile mixture of soddy soil with sand, adding nitroammophoska. With acidic soil, 200 grams of slaked lime should be added.
When transplanting, it is important not to damage the pine roots. Planting depth should be such that the root neck is above ground level. If you plan to plant not one plant, but a whole group, then the correct distance should be maintained between the trees. Here you need to consider the size of future trees. If it is a large pine, then the distance should be large, but if it is dwarf plants, then the distance can be reduced. On average, between coniferous trees, a distance of one and a half meters to four is provided. With proper planting, the pine quickly takes root and does not get sick. Most young seedlings tolerate the transplant quite calmly. But with age, this process becomes more painful.
How to care for a pine tree?
Pine is a beautiful coniferous tree. In addition to beauty, its indispensable advantage is unpretentiousness. And this means that the treedoes not need much care. However, in the first two years after transplantation, it makes sense to fertilize. In the future, feeding can be omitted. Never remove fallen needles; they form a litter under the tree. It will accumulate organic nutrition necessary for normal growth.
Pine trees are drought-resistant trees, and therefore they do not need watering. Moisturize only seedlings and young trees. But conifers do not like waterlogging. Even water-resistant varieties tolerate two to three waterings per season. Mature plants do not need to be watered at all. They tolerate not only the summer heat, but also the winter cold. Young plants can suffer from the scorching rays of the sun. To prevent such troubles, they are covered with spruce branches or shaded. Shelter can be removed in mid-April.
Features of reproduction
Pine trees can be grown from seeds, but decorative forms are obtained by grafting. Plants do not propagate by cuttings. To get the seeds out of the cones, you just need to dry them thoroughly, for example, on a battery. Soon the buds will begin to crackle and open. Seeds can be easily obtained. Sow them in small boxes. Drainage is placed at the bottom, a loose mixture of sand and peat is poured over it, sprinkled with a layer of earth, and watered. The seed planting depth is 5-10 millimeters.
Pine seedlings are recommended to be grown on sandy and light clay soils. Sowing seeds is done, as a rule, in the spring, although it is possible in the fall. Crops are recommended to be mulched. In three weeks shouldthe first shoots appear. Seedlings in open ground grow up to three years, and then transplanted to a permanent place. As long as the tree is not yet quite large, there is less risk that the pine root system will be damaged during transplantation.
There is also a technique for growing seedlings in greenhouse conditions for two years. Those who are familiar with the grafting system may try to propagate the tree in this way. For this, cuttings are taken from a growth of one to three years. As a rootstock, trees of four to five years of age are used. All needles must be removed, leaving it only near the kidney located above the rootstock. Vaccination is done in the spring, before the buds open. You can also try to do this in early summer. If the vaccination is done in the spring, then last year's shoot is used, and if in the summer, then the current year's shoot is taken.
Shaping the crown of a tree
Pine trees usually don't need pruning. However, with its help, you can stop, or rather slow down the growth of the plant, making its crown more dense. To do this, you do not even need any special tools, just break a third of the young growth with your fingers.
In general, with the help of simple tricks from pine, it is quite possible to make a garden bonsai or just a cute miniature tree. Umbrella pine haircut is very popular. If you have already set out to grow bonsai, then you need to ensure that it does not lose its decorative form. It needs special pruning of shoots once a year. An adult formed bonsai is sheared with garden shears. youngthe plant does not yet have a densely formed crown. Therefore, each shoot is cut separately. Conifers are sheared from the end of May until almost the end of June. The best time is the period when the needles have not yet blossomed.
Pests of coniferous plants
Although pines are unpretentious plants, even they are affected by some diseases. Conventionally, they can be divided into infectious and non-infectious. The latter diseases are caused by unfavorable conditions. This may be a lack of lighting, poor soil, excessive moisture.
Infectious diseases are caused by bacteria, fungi, viruses, all kinds of worms and parasites. The most dangerous are fungal diseases. The coniferous litter itself can become a source of infection, because a lot of viruses and fungi accumulate in it. They are dangerous because they grow in the dead tissues of the tree, release toxins, as a result of which the tree dies.
Pine can also be affected by pests. Often plants suffer from scale insects. At the same time, the needles fall off. It is extremely difficult to deal with such parasites; it is better to spray with chemicals at the time the larvae emerge. The root bug is also common. Pine rust is caused by fungi that infect pine needles. The disease manifests itself in early spring when yellow-orange spots appear on the greenery, which causes further yellowing of the needles.
However, with proper care and timely treatment with special preparations, all pests can be de alt with in a very short time. Basically, pine is a wonderful and rather unpretentious plant, alwayspleasing to the eye with its unusual pristine beauty. Knowing some of the nuances of proper care, you can easily grow such a wonderful tree on your site.
