Misty Blue prickly spruce is a fairly common crop that is popular among landscape designers. This plant is often used to decorate parks and cities. Also, spruce is often planted in local areas. You can decorate even a relatively small summer cottage with it. To get a healthy crop, it is important to properly care for it.
Botanical description
Misty Blue spruce is characterized by a conical crown. It has tightly spaced paws, which are distinguished by their proportional placement on the trunk. Prickly has an unusual bluish color of needles.The length of the needles is 2-3 centimeters.
Spruce is characterized by slow development. Within 10 years it can only increase by 5 meters. By the age of 30, the crop reaches 10-20 meters in height. At the same time, the size of the crown also increases. It is about 4-5 meters.
The cones of the plant always have a brown tint. Their size is 10 centimeters. Inside there are seeds, which are often used to obtain new varieties of coniferous crops. As the culture grows, the color of the needles does not change, but more silvery notes appear in it.
Breeders and gardeners fell in love with Misty Blue spruce not only for its attractive appearance, but also for its low maintenance requirements. The plant is considered very resistant to air pollution and diseases. It can withstand low temperatures. The culture also does not make any specific requirements for the soil. It is important that the soil has good drainage and is not too dense. Therefore, Misty Blue spruce should be planted in a sandy loam or sand-gravel substrate.
The culture of this variety is characterized by the following distinctive features:
- strong branches;
- bluish color of needles;
- dense placement of shoots on the trunk;
- moderate needle size - 2-3 centimeters;
- long brown cones.
History of the name
The name of the blue spruce, Picea Glauca Misty Blue, is borrowed from English and Latin. The word "glauk" is translated from Latin as "blue". The phrase “Misty Blue” is the English name of the variety and means “blue mist.” Also in Latin there is a word "picea", which means "spruce". In addition, the name of the plant contains the word “pungens”, which translates as “prickly”.
The name of the spruce is due to the fact that the blue fog is similar to the color of pine needles, which attracts attention from afar. At the same time, it seems that the tree is shrouded in haze.
How to plant correctly
Planting of spruce seedlings should be done at the end of April or at the beginning of May. Many gardeners carry it out at the end of summer - at the stage of gradual decrease in high temperatures. Spruce often grows in loamy soil and sandy-gravel soil. Its root system needs a constant flow of air, which cannot be achieved in heavy soil.
When planting a plant, it is necessary to provide a drainage layer. It will help reduce the amount of moisture that accumulates near the root system. Spruce can hardly tolerate the abundance and stagnation of water.
When planting several plants, an interval of at least 2 meters must be maintained between them. The hole should be dug taking into account the size of the roots. In diameter it should exceed the root system by 5-10 centimeters.
It is necessary to place drainage at the bottom of the planting hole. For this you can use small pebbles, crushed brick or crushed stone. It is recommended to place a seedling on top. It must be positioned strictly vertically.
The hole must be filled with a specially prepared mixture of sand, peat and soil. It is important to ensure that the root collar is flush with the ground surface. After which the tree needs to be watered abundantly.
Growing conditions
To blue Glauka spruce quickly adapted to new conditions, it needs to be provided with suitable conditions. The tree requires the following:
- full illumination;
- optimal temperature conditions;
- timely watering.
Spruce of this variety needs sufficient sunlight. If the tree is constantly in the shade, the color of the needles will change. This will lead to the loss of the decorative properties of the crop.
The tree also requires sufficiently moist soil. It is recommended to water the plant once a week. In this case, one plant requires a minimum of 12 liters of liquid. Young seedlings need more moisture. Therefore, they need to be watered more often.
Care requirements
In order for the cultivation of a crop to be successful, it must be properly cared for. Misty Blue spruce needs sufficient nutrients. It is recommended to apply basic fertilizer at the stage of planting the crop. In this case, it is not necessary to constantly feed the tree. Before the development of young shoots in the spring, you need to apply a little universal fertilizing.
Sanitary pruning is required every year. It needs dry branches removed. Also during the procedure it is necessary to remove shoots that are affected by infections or parasites. Sanitary pruning should be done in spring and autumn.
If you plan to use Misty Blue spruce to create a hedge, you need to prune it to form a crown. This procedure is performed at a young age. In trees older than 8 years, it is too late to form a crown.
Mulching and loosening the soil is of no small importance. Young spruce trees cannot stand proximity to weeds. Therefore, the soil in the tree trunk circle needs to be loosened regularly.In addition, this manipulation helps ensure the flow of oxygen to the roots, which will have a beneficial effect on the development of the plant. It is necessary to loosen the soil shallowly, since the tree has a superficial root system.
Application in design
According to numerous reviews from gardeners and designers, Misty Blue spruce is the best choice for decorating a site. In gardening areas, this crop is used exclusively as a tapeworm. It serves as an accent. In one place, a plant can develop up to 600 years. Therefore, when planting it, it is recommended to take into account possible redevelopment in the future.
Spruce of this variety goes well with low flowers. It can also be combined with creeping conifers. Small ornamental shrubs will be an equally successful addition to the tree.
Misty Blue spruce is a popular ornamental crop that is considered not too demanding to care for. Therefore, the plant is often used in landscape design. It can be used to decorate parks and squares. The crop also grows well in small summer cottages.
