Tree Peony, Hibiscus, Juniper

Shrubs - spectacular garden decorators

Shrub plants as excellent decorators for summer cottages and gardens have been known for a long time. Natural beauty, long flowering, compactness are the main qualities that attract summer residents and gardeners to these types of plants.

Shrubs are easily propagated by seeds, layering, cuttings and just root shoots. They are unpretentious and grow quickly. If trees begin to bloom and bear fruit from about 10 years old, then the shrubs turn into wonderful bouquets already in the third or fourth year after the seeds germinate, and those grown vegetatively sometimes bloom in the first year. At the same time, combining plants of contrasting colors, you can create picturesque ornaments that change depending on the time of the growing season. There are also evergreen types of shrubs that remain a decoration of the garden even in winter.

The practice of using ornamental shrubs in summer cottages and garden plots shows that these plants are distinguished by very extensive genetic variability, ease of hybridization. Many of them can be planted by grafting on a stem, create a multi-storey plant, and with a haircut give them the most bizarre shape, with the help of crossing, you can get a new variety of decorator.

Unfortunately, judging by the majority of plots, so far most often they use a limited number of decorating shrubs: wild rose, hawthorn, barberry, honeysuckle, irgu, lilac … At the same time, tree peonies, Syrian hibiscus, our junipers and others are clearly underestimated. With the features of these shrubs, reaching a height of 1.5-2 m and used in group and single plantings, in flower beds and on lawns, I was able to get acquainted in several areas located in the neighborhood.

As it turned out, the tree-like peony can be propagated by seeds, but to speed up the process, it is best to do this by cuttings, layering and dividing the bush. To plant it, it is better to choose open areas: among the lawn, framed by stones or tiled surfaces. Tree peonies prefer fertile humus soils, and top dressing in spring (a mixture of mineral fertilizers and urea) and autumn (peat, compost or manure) is effective.

Fertilizers are added dropwise in the root system zone at a distance of 0.3-0.4 m from the bush. Every year in spring, the soil around the bushes must be loosened, removing weeds that drown out peonies. It should also be noted that the tree-like peony does not tolerate drought and does not grow well with a lack of moisture, its leaves turn yellow, and the flowers even crumble. Therefore, peonies should be systematically watered with moderate doses, avoiding excessive soil moisture. The most winter-hardy varieties of tree peonies, which do not require shelter for the winter in our zone, are Banks (with double pink flowers), Pink (with simple pink flowers) and Gumme (with white or reddish flowers).

An excellent decorator for single and group plantings on plots is also the Syrian hibiscus, which already in June is covered with large flowers of the most varied colors. Hibiscus propagates by seeds, usually sown in autumn in boxes with sod-sandy soil (1: 1), which are either carefully covered with foliage, or kept in a basement or cellar. In the spring, young plants dive to the garden bed, where they grow until late autumn, and in the winter before frost they are well covered with rags, coniferous paws, and the crown is cut off before this, leaving only large skeletal branches. Hibiscus also reproduces well by cuttings and layering, and the method of such reproduction is common.

In winter frosts below -22 … -25 ° C and if the hibiscus is not properly covered, branches may freeze. However, experienced summer residents and gardeners overcome this disadvantage by cutting off the frozen parts of the plant in spring, after which they quickly recover and bloom normally. You can increase the color effect of hibiscus either by cutting off wilted flowers and preventing them from setting fruits, or by cutting off some of the weak shoots and lateral tops, which take away nutrients from the plant.

Common juniper, often referred to as the northern cypress, is also a very effective decorator for the site. This shrub on the site either serves as a background for various decorative curtains of other trees and shrubs, or acts as a specimen composition on lawns. By cutting it, you can create a wide variety of sculptural compositions from it. The juniper is propagated by cuttings, but most often it is transplanted into the garden from the forest. In this case, the following requirements must be observed:

early transplant, when the ground has just thawed;
planting without deepening and spreading the roots in the soil to a depth of no more than 10 cm;
mulching the soil with coniferous litter;
annual haircut before the start of regrowth of new needles and others.

If all this is provided, then the juniper usually becomes a real decoration of the site. It goes well in compositions with tree peony and hibiscus and also serves as a source of phytoncides and a tamer of putrefactive fungi, bacteria and viruses in the garden.

All of these decorating shrubs go very well with other shrubs: rhododendron, weigela, forsythia, which overwinter well, grow quickly and bloom luxuriantly.

How To Transplant A Garden Tree Or Bush

Sometimes it is necessary to move already fruiting trees to a new location. On a plot with a small area, this happens often, since, in an effort to use the area more efficiently, we often plant trees too close to each other, and then they have to be planted