The Weymouth Louis pine is a medium-sized ornamental tree. It has a universal purpose and is actively used in landscape design to create a wide variety of compositions. Another important advantage of the culture is its high frost resistance. Thanks to this, the crop can be grown even in the harshest regions. In order for the plant to develop normally, it needs to be properly cared for.
Description and history of origin
This American variety is considered relatively new. It was bred by Greg Williams in the early nineties of the last century.Weymouth Louis pine is an ornamental crop that has long, thin needles. They are distinguished by their light green color with golden notes.
Under natural conditions, this crop grows in eastern North America. The variety is a low-growing conifer. An adult crop reaches a height of 6 meters and a width of 3. In addition, the conifer is distinguished by a pyramidal crown. In 1 year the plant grows by 25 centimeters.
Louis pine grows well in sunny areas in fertile loamy soil. It requires moderately moist soil. An undoubted advantage of the plant is its high frost resistance. The culture can withstand temperature drops down to -34 degrees.
Pros and cons of the variety
The key advantages of pine include the following:
- high resistance to frost;
- excellent decorative properties;
- resistance to strong gusts of wind;
- penumbral tolerance.
How to plant
First you need to make a planting hole, which should be twice the size of the root ball of the purchased seedling. When growing pine in clay soil, you need to place 10-20 centimeters of drainage in the hole. It can be crushed brick, crushed stone, expanded clay, gravel. It is advisable to fill the pit with a special substrate for conifers or make the soil yourself. In the second case, you need to mix soil, peat and sand in a ratio of 1:2:2.
When planting a pine tree in a hole, it is permissible to add “Kornevin” or another root growth stimulator. It is also worth using WMD for conifers.Maintaining the integrity of the root ball during planting is of great importance.
The seedling should be placed so that the root collar is flush with the ground surface. After planting, the pine tree needs to be well watered and covered with a mulch layer. For this you can use wood chips, bark, and pine sawdust. If WMD was not added to the substrate, it is permissible to add any fertilizer for conifers under the mulch.
Care requirements
In order for the cultivation of a crop to be successful, it is important to strictly adhere to the basic rules of caring for it.
Watering time
During the first time after planting, it is recommended to moisten the seedling every other day. Thanks to this, the root system will be able to take root faster. Subsequently, watering should be carried out as the soil dries to a depth of 6-7 centimeters. From the age of 3, trees need to be watered abundantly, but no more than 3 times a year.
The crown should be sprayed from time to time in the evenings. This will help remove dirt and dangerous parasites, as well as stimulate green growth. This needs to be done 4-5 times during the summer.
It is recommended to feed pine with organic and mineral substances. This begins to be done 4 years after planting:
- In the spring it is necessary to apply ammonium nitrate, nitroammophoska or urea. For 1 square meter it is worth using 500 grams of the substance.
- In mid-July, it is worth using 350 grams of superphosphate and potassium sulfate.
- A few weeks before persistent cold weather, it is worth adding 350 grams of superphosphate and potassium sulfate per 1 square meter.
After using the nutrients, the soil needs to be watered. This will help improve the absorption of valuable substances. It is worth additionally irrigating the needles with chelates 3 times during the season. For this purpose, “Epin” and “Heteroauxin” are used.The manipulation should be carried out in the evenings.
Trimming
Louis pine has a fairly compact and symmetrical crown, so it does not need pruning. If it is necessary to trim the crop, this is done in the fall or in the first half of spring.
In this case, it is necessary to carry out sanitary pruning. To do this, use a sharp sterile instrument. During the procedure, it is necessary to remove dry, broken and disease-damaged shoots. After completing the manipulation, it is worth spraying the crown with copper sulfate, and after half an hour - with Epin. This will speed up the recovery of the plant.
How to prepare for cold weather
Pine of this variety is considered frost-resistant, so adult plants do not need to be covered. Young seedlings up to 3 years old are characterized by poor resistance to cold. Therefore, before the first frost, they need to be covered with peat, the shoots bent to the central conductor and secured with twine. Then the tree should be covered with spruce branches or insulated with burlap.
Louis pine is an unusual decorative variety that has a beautiful needle color. Therefore, it is often used to decorate garden plots. It is important to strictly follow the rules of agricultural technology.
