When looking for unusual plants to decorate your garden, you should pay attention to the conifer family. The mountain pine variety Karsten is widely used in landscape design. The low-growing plant looks like a shrub and is unpretentious. Unlike ordinary pine or spruce, its needles change color with the seasons. Karsten is a universal pine that is suitable for any composition, from alpine slides and hedges to sculptures and stone gardens.
What kind of variety is this
The full name of the variety is Karsten Wintergold. The pine was bred by Dutch breeders in 1969. The plant is adapted to southern, central and northern latitudes.Karsten is a low-growing and slow-growing variety.
External description:
| Criterion | Characteristic |
| Height | Up to 1 meter |
| Width | Up to 1.5 meters |
| Crown shape | Ball-shaped |
| Needles | Tough, short, two pieces in a bundle |
| Branch location | Dense, vertical |
| Bark | Smooth, brown or gray in color, becomes covered with cracks and scales with age |
| Cones | Round, brown, up to 5 centimeters in diameter |
| Root system | Branched, located close to the soil surface |
Karsten pine is resistant to frost, diseases and pests, but its main feature is the color of the needles. In the cold season it becomes bright orange. In summer, the pine turns pale and acquires a pleasant yellow-green hue.
How to plant it
Mountain pine Karsten thrives on sandy and rocky soil. A suitable place for the plant is the sunny side of the site. The Wintergold variety grows at a speed of 4 centimeters per year, so perennials can be planted around in a permanent place. Karsten happily coexists with vertically growing flowers, fruit and berry trees and shrubs, and coniferous relatives.
Against the backdrop of the bright Karsten, other low-growing plantings stand out. The mountain variety is also planted in the foreground of group compositions.
The favorable season for planting decorative mountain pine is mid-spring, late summer and early autumn. The plant requires warm soil to take root. Planting begins in early April and continues until the end of May.
The latest planting date is early October, if the weather is still warm. Karsten is less likely to take root during early frosts. In autumn, it is better to plant mountain pine from the end of August to the second half of September.
Selection of planting material
Seedlings are sold in nurseries and online stores. The Latin name of the variety is Carsten Wintergold. Plants are ready for planting in open soil at the age of 2-3 years. The seedling looks like a round, needle-shaped bush 80 centimeters high and 120 centimeters wide. Seedlings are also sold on a trunk 100 centimeters high with a crown with a diameter of 150 centimeters.
Young Karsten pine is selected according to the following criteria:
- closed roots - seedlings are usually sold planted in containers;
- fresh crown - tightly compresses and elastically straightens the branches, the needles do not fall off;
- one trunk - a seedling with several trunks is more difficult to shape, and in strong winds it may fall apart.
Preparing the site
For successful rooting, Karsten pine will require acidified soil and drainage. The planting hole is prepared after purchasing the seedling and the width and depth are selected according to the volume of the earthen clod. Pebbles, coarse gravel, and crushed brick are suitable for the drainage layer.
If the soil is dry, remains moderately moist during precipitation, and the groundwater is deep, you can do without drainage. If there is a high moisture and clay content, a layer of sand is poured over the pebbles or crushed stone. Sandy soil, on the contrary, is diluted with an admixture of clay.
Landing instructions
The Karsten seedling is transferred to the planting site along with a lump of earth from the container. To easily remove the plant, the soil needs to be lightly watered.
How to plant Karsten mountain pine:
- pour 20 centimeters thick drainage onto the bottom of the hole, add sand or clay if necessary;
- install the seedling clearly vertically;
- cover with soil, leaving the root collar on the surface;
- compact the soil and water.
The volume of water for the first watering after planting is 2 buckets. When planting several seedlings, maintain an interval of 1.5 meters between them.
Further care
Mountain pine Karsten Wintergold does not require frequent watering and fertilizing, but does need to acidify the soil. The variety is resistant to pests, especially with preventive treatment.
Main recommendations for caring for seedlings:
- In the first month, water once a week with two buckets of water. Then the pine will have enough moisture from precipitation. Additional watering will only be required during prolonged drought;
- in the first three years, feed with a growth stimulant;
- to acidify, add manure, garden sulfur to the soil, mulch with pine spruce branches or sawdust, water with water with diluted citric acid or vinegar;
- To prevent Schutte fungus, Hermes pine aphid, mites and bark beetles, treat with Bordeaux mixture, sodium humate, Actellik acaricide, or any fungicide.
In the first winter after planting, it is recommended to wrap a Karsten pine seedling in burlap or agrofibre and tie it with spruce. Branches tied with twine to the trunk will not break due to snow. Ice can damage the bark. If you sprinkle the trunk with peat or earth before frost, the pine tree will safely thaw from the ice when the weather warms up and will delight you with bright needles.
