What Plants To Choose For A Northern Garden - Plants With An Open And Closed Root System

2024 Author: Sebastian Paterson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:47

What Plants to Choose for a Northern Garden - Plants with an open and closed root system

So it's time to think about planting material. Spring, sunshine, buds on trees swelled and leaves began to bloom, early forsythia and weigella flowers threw out …

But how did they winter? Were those seedlings planted last year? Was the right shelter chosen for the winter? And how do you choose seedlings this year?

There are a lot of firms, planting material, unlike the Soviet years, abundance. As before, it was simple. We come to any nursery and see what is there? Yeah, nothing new and interesting. We go to the neighbors - Masha has a new variety of anemones, Vasily Stepanovich has three varieties of apple trees on one tree. All our varieties are tried and tested.

And now the apple trees of the new German varieties, the rhododendrons in bloom, the riot of variegated shrubs are at a loss. My wife went into a hypermarket and bought a whole cart - pears, plums, roses. Everything in the pictures is beautiful. The roots are powerful. Sprinkled with clean peat and sawdust - beautiful. But the question arises: will it live?

When choosing planting material, you must first of all pay attention to the following characteristics:

1. The appearance of the plant.
2. The state of the root system.
3. Climatic conditions of growth of the species.
4. Country of origin.

Plants are offered for sale in nurseries in several standard versions:

1. With an open root system.
2. In plastic containers.
3. With a clod of earth.

Plants with an open root system

Plants (usually perennial flowers, fruit and ornamental shrubs, young fruit trees) are dug up in the nursery, the roots are covered with earth, wet sawdust or peat and sold. Sometimes, when planting within 3-4 hours after digging, you can wrap the roots in plastic bags.

Planting time for plants with an open root system in the spring is mid-April-mid-May, in autumn - September-November. But there are methods of planting plants with open roots in the summer. In any case, a sufficient amount of water must be poured into the planting hole and mixed with the local soil until the so-called "pulp" is formed - a very liquid earthen mixture, similar in consistency to sour cream. After that, the plant is gently lowered into the hole. In the summer months, root-forming stimulants are added (heteroauxin, epin, etc.).

When choosing a plant with an open root system, you should pay attention to the general appearance (habit) of the plant, the development of the roots, the presence of a powerful bast made of thin roots, their healthy white or slightly yellowish color, the roots should not be overdried! After all, plants receive all nutrients through thin roots. These roots should be firm, uniform, without dark spots (necrosis) and unhealthy compaction. Seals can talk about various viruses and fungal diseases.

The trunk should be free from frost breaks and mechanical damage. And if there are traces of them, then the damage should be well treated and healed. The bark should be uniform and dense. Swelling, blackening, cracks speak of past or existing diseases.

The crown (branches of the 2nd and 3rd order) must be correctly formed. The branches should not interfere with each other. If the tips of the branches are slightly frozen, they should be cut.

Plants in plastic containers

Immediately after germination or rooting, the seedling or petiole is placed in a plastic bag with holes (container) with specially prepared soil (usually peat-based) and it will spend its entire life in the nursery before selling it in the same containers, naturally, changing them size: 1, 2, 3, 5, 10 liters.

Of course, plants grown using this technology require more careful maintenance than open field plants. Regular watering, top dressing, shading, annual transfer to a larger container - all these technological operations lead to a significant increase in the cost of the seedling. But unlike plants with an open root system, seedlings in containers are less sensitive to planting time and can be stored for a rather long time after purchasing them in a nursery before planting in the ground (with appropriate care).

When buying such a seedling, in addition to those requirements that apply to plants with open roots, you need to pay attention to the state of the coma. It should not dry out, the roots from the lower holes should not be too long and, most importantly, they should not be chopped.

Plants with a clod of earth

It is no secret that in the open field the plants develop better and feel better. The roots are stronger, the trunks are stronger, the branches are better. But how to combine the advantages of outdoor cultivation and the advantages of container technology? There is only one way out - com. If the plant is young, it is grown in a mesh bag. Moreover, the nutrient soil is inside the mesh, and outside there is a rather poor substrate. Any plant understands that there are no nutrients in poor soil, and directs its roots where there are more of them. As a result, the roots practically do not go beyond the mesh sac. Such plants, and with further transplants, do not dissolve their root system too much.

But how are large trees transplanted? Also with a lump. Only the lump itself is much larger - from 60 cm to 1.5 m. To prevent the lump from collapsing, it is tied with burlap or fixed in special frames that are removed after planting.

What to plant?

Now back to the question - what to plant? Of course, many plants can grow in our climatic zone in summer. Palm trees, aucubi, araucaria, orchids and many others, but only in summer. By winter, you need to show courage and intelligence and remove the heat-loving handsome men in the house or greenhouse.

And the most important thing is that you need to buy plants from trusted suppliers who do not resell plants in our climatic zone (not only by the name of the species, but also by the method of cultivation). You need to be aware that anything that looks good when planted will not necessarily look good in the future.

Do not hesitate to ask for a product certificate. The country of origin must be indicated in it. And do not think that the Serbian spruce from the southern Chinese province of Han-Yin, like the eastern migrant workers, takes root well on our soil. Remember: "The climate in Russia is harsh, but fair."