Larch is a coniferous plant, but unlike the usual firs, firs, thuja and pines, it drops needles for the winter. Vegetation is actively used in landscape design, it fits particularly well into the overall picture of small-sized territories. Among the larches, the European variety Puli deserves special attention.

Description of the varieties of larch Bullets

The variety under consideration has attractive external characteristics. In addition, it is characterized by unpretentious care and high frost resistance. With regard to soil composition, vegetation is also undemanding. It grows normally on acidic, alkaline and medium-acid soils. Tolerates severe waterlogging and drought.

Larch Puli is a small tree grafted onto a stamb. The average height is 1.5–2 m. Annual growth at a young age can be up to 40 cm, after 10 years - 20 cm. Rhizome powerful, highly branched. The root root is weakly expressed, but on the lateral there are processes that deepen into the soil, which provides the plant with good resistance.

Important! When larch is cultivated in climatic conditions, where the soil is very cold or excessively waterlogged, its rhizome develops only in the surface layers of the soil. Because of this, there is a massive windfall.

The crown of the tree is weeping, with drooping branches. The bark is painted in grayish-red-brown color. The shoots are long, slightly branched at the bottom. Abundantly covered with needles. In the summer, it has a gray-blue hue; in the fall, it turns yellow. Closer to frost completely falls.Cones first appear in the second year after planting. Flowering along with pollination occurs simultaneously with the beginning of the growth of needles: in the central strip and in the south - in April-May, in the north - in June. Cones of red color, from a distance look like small roses. Ripen in the flowering year, in the fall. The seeds are opened and released immediately after ripening or after wintering. Fruits hold on trees for about 3 years. Abundant cones appear at intervals of approximately 5–7 years. Seed material has poor germination.

Advantages and disadvantages of the variety

Like all ornamental plants, the variety in question has pros and cons. It is better to study this information immediately before buying seedlings in order to have an idea of ​​the correct organization of agricultural activities on the site. There are not so many disadvantages in the plant. With good care, they become almost invisible.

• The main advantages of the variety:
• high winter hardiness;
• unpretentiousness in leaving;
• the possibility of growing on soils of any type;
• compact crown;
• high decorative throughout the year;
• there is no need to carry out forming clippings;
• resistance to diseases and pests with proper care and the implementation of preventive measures.

• The disadvantages of the variety:
• poorly tolerates drought and waterlogging;
• seed material has low germination.

Bullet cultivation on the stem

To buy a standard variety of larch Bullets should only be in nurseries. You need to select plants with a height of the stem of about 120 cm - they better take root. For the plants, they select the most illuminated place on the site. The ideal option is the south side of the territory. Spend a landing in the spring. Suitable time is April-May.

Preparing the stem for planting

Larch is sold with a closed root system, i.e., in pots. Given this, the plant will first need to be prepared for planting in the ground. To do this, the day before disembarkation, in the morning, it is abundantly watered. By evening, they remove from the pot. Wash off an earthen ball with water. Assess the condition of the roots. If there are rotten or dried areas, carry out pruning. Then the rhizome is immersed in a growth stimulator at night. For these purposes, "Epin" is suitable. For 1 liter of water add 1 ampoule of the drug.

Important! When using Epin, try to prepare the solution immediately. If surpluses remain, then they can be stored for further use for no more than 48 hours at a temperature of 0 ... + 10 ° C.

Soil preparation

In the fall, they begin to prepare the site for planting larch. First of all, they dig the entire territory to a depth of 40 cm. This is necessary in order to destroy the nests of pests wintering in the surface layers and to increase aeration. For each 1 m² of area, 20 kg of humus, 10 kg of peat and the same amount of sand are added.On sandy loam soils, the last element is not introduced, but is replaced by sod-leaved soil. After this, digging is carried out to a depth of 20 cm. At the time of preparation, it is important to apply a sufficient amount of fertilizer, since only transplanted trees need a large amount of nutrition.

Planting Larch Bullets

A week before planting a seedling purchased in a nursery, planting pits are prepared with a depth of 80 cm. The upper 20 cm of soil is mixed with peat, sand, compost (all elements in equal amounts) and 40 g of superphosphate. At the bottom lay 10 cm of gravel or expanded clay. It will be a drainage layer that will protect the roots from stagnant water. After that, the pit is filled up with about a third of the nutrient soil, carefully shed with water (about 10 l).

Video: Planting a standard larch

After 2 weeks, they plant a seedling in a hole, having previously formed a small hill in it. The roots are spread around the perimeter of the recess, and then fill the voids with soil. Immediately after that, pour 20 liters of water and mulch the trunk circle abundantly with a mixture of peat and sawdust (1: 1).

Cuttings

Cutting of this plant is rare, because the method has low efficiency. In this case, planting material is cut in the summer, when there is an active vegetation, from trees no younger than 10 years old. This is usually done at a time when routine sanitary pruning is necessary. Pick up a good powerful branch. The resulting stalk is shortened to 20 cm. Carefully sprinkle the end with which the branch was attached to the stem, “Kornevin” and put in water. For this, it is best to take a cropped plastic bottle and cover it with polyethylene on top. This will create a greenhouse effect and accelerate root formation. Until the roots appear, planting material is aired daily, taking cover for 1 hour. Water is changed every 3 days.

As soon as the roots appear, you can transplant the stalk into a pot. The substrate is taken purchased for coniferous plants or is made independently by mixing in equal proportions compost, peat and sand. Before a cold snap, a container with larch can be kept on the street or on the balcony. Be sure to water abundantly. For the winter, you need to rearrange it in a cool room, where the temperature is maintained within 0 ... + 5 ° С. In the spring, they land in open ground, in a previously prepared place.

Layering

This method is more effective. For its implementation, it is necessary that the branches reach almost to the ground. The most powerful of them are selected. Pinch the end of the shoot, sprinkle abundantly with Kornevin. Then they bend to the soil, fix it with a metal bracket (so that under the tension of the branch from the gusts of wind the planting material does not break out of the soil), they fill it with a nutrient substrate from peat and sand. Watered throughout the season. Next spring, cuttings are separated from the parent plant by cutting a branch at a height of 20–25 cm from the soil level. Then dig and transplant to a new place.

Seeds

When planting seeds, it should be borne in mind that they have low germination. They can be planted in a pot, after preliminary stratification, but it will be easier to sow immediately in the winter in the ground. Seed is collected from fully ripened cones. Immediately after this, sow to a depth of not more than 2 cm. A step of 10 cm is left between the seeds. Before the cold snap begins, the crops are covered with compost mixed with sawdust in a 1: 1 ratio. The layer thickness should not be less than 5 cm.

From April-May, they begin to actively water crops, adding 1 tsp to the water. "Epina" through time. When the sprouts reach a height of 20 cm, they are transplanted to a separately prepared area.

Further care

It is important to understand that when propagating by layering, cuttings and seeds, a varietal plant will not work right away. The goal is achieved by grafting a seedling. This manipulation is carried out when the plant reaches a height of 20 cm to 1.2 m - depending on what size the horticulturist wants. The higher the vaccination will be, the larger the tree will be.

Did you know? Most of the residential buildings in Venice stand on stilts precisely from larch. By the way, some have stood for more than 500 years.

Until the moment of grafting, all side shoots “under zero” are cut from the tree. This is necessary in order to achieve a beautiful shape in the future. When the plant reaches the desired height, cuttings with a length of 7-10 cm with 3-5 buds are cut from the grafted and fruiting plant. Pinch the top of the stem and make a 4 cm vertical cleavage on it. A cut of the stalk is formed in such a way that it can clearly enter the formed groove on the scion. Then insert it into the cleavage. Thoroughly powder the slices with wood ash, cover with garden var. Then they wrap a piece of fabric, and fix it with tape on top.

Video: Conifers grafting

Then carry out the care of the plant as usual. Tape is removed next spring and the fabric is unwound. Considering the complexity of the work described above, it is still better to buy ready-made mushrooms grown in specialized nurseries.

Proper watering

Larch needs abundant watering, especially in the first years after planting. For 2 years, soil moisture is carried out 1 or 2 times a week. Under each plant make 10 liters of water. Mature trees need abundant watering only during periods of drought. At such a time, the frequency of manipulations is maintained, as for young plants, and water is added to 20 liters for each instance. In other periods, adult larch is watered every 2-3 weeks.

Top dressing

The first top dressing is introduced a year after planting. In April, they use special fertilizer "Kemira wagon." Consumption - 20 g per 1 m² of barreled circle. It is embedded in the soil to a depth of 5 cm. After the needles appear on the branches, to improve its decorative characteristics, they are treated with a urea solution. 10 g of substance are added to 10 l of water. The liquid is poured into a watering can or container with a spray gun, and then abundantly watered on each branch. Subsequently, once a season, in the spring, any fertilizer for coniferous plants is applied.

Temperature and humidity

The temperature regime and air humidity are not particularly important for larch. The main thing: to water the plants on time, adapting to weather conditions. This means that during the rainy season, watering is not necessary.

Lighting

The considered vegetation fully develops in bright sunlight. It is best if it is direct sunlight. But the light shading of the Bullet transfers well. This will not affect the growth rate.

Disease and Pest Prevention

Although larch is resistant to many diseases and pests, this does not mean that preventive treatment is not required. Before the appearance of needles in the spring, branches and soil under the tree must be treated with copper sulfate. Make a solution of 1% concentration. For this, 100 g of substance is added to 10 liters of water.The resulting solution is enough for processing 10 m². As a preventive measure, periodically loosen the soil around the trees so that bacteria do not multiply in a humid environment.

Winter preparations

Young plants should be covered with burlap or lutrasil for the winter 2 years after planting. Otherwise, they will freeze. In the southern regions, shelter is not necessary. Adult vegetation can tolerate a drop in temperature to -45 ° C. Designed for cultivation in the zone of frost resistance 4-7b.

What are the difficulties when growing

With proper care of the plant, difficulties in its cultivation do not arise. The only thing is that in the cold regions the annual growth is much lower than in the southern and central ones. This is normal and not worth the trouble.

If near the site there are dysfunctional farms in which frequent aphid invasions are observed, then larch is also at risk. The first symptom of the appearance of this pest is yellowing of needles in the warm season. To eliminate the vegetation and the soil around it is dusted with tobacco dust. If it does not help, use the drug "Aktara". 4 g of the drug is added to 5 l of water. To consolidate the result, the treatment is carried out 2 times with an interval of 10 days.

Before the first treatment, the following manipulations must be carried out:

• harvesting all the mulch and fallen needles, followed by destruction by burning;
• weeding soil to a depth of 5 cm.

After the first treatment, you can put a new layer of mulch, only after spraying it with 3% solution of copper sulfate (10 g of water per 10 liters of water).

Did you know? Wild larch live on average 300-400 years, but there are also long-livers 800 years old.

With increased soil moisture, larch can suffer from fungal shute disease. A symptom of an ailment is a change in the color of the needles to brownish-brown, followed by death and shedding. To eliminate the problem, all infected branches are immediately removed. Sections are treated with wood ash, then covered with garden var. Then they carry out the cleaning of fallen needles and mulch, burn it all.

Weed the ground. If it is too wet, you can even remove the top layer (remove as much as possible) and replace it with a mixture of dry sand mixed in equal parts with peat. After that, the soil is dusted with a mixture of wood ash and Fundazole. For 2 kg of ash add 100 g of antibiotic. In the future, as a prophylaxis and in order to avoid relapses in water for irrigation in spring and autumn (1 time) add “Fitosporin-M” (use according to the instructions).

Tips for Growing Larch Bullets

Many gardeners are afraid to grow larch in their plots, because they think that plants are too capricious. Perhaps this opinion is provoked by a lack of information regarding their cultivation.

Some tips for growing Larch Bullet varieties:

1. It is not necessary to trim plants of this particular variety without urgent need. In nurseries, young specimens are sold trimmed in the form of a mushroom. But this is done on purpose, while forming a standard by vaccination, that is, while there is a process of adaptation of one plant organism to another and tissue fusion. In an adult grafted plant, after trimming, the shoots begin to branch to the sides exactly at the pinching site, which will look completely unaesthetic.
2. When growing a Bullet, it is not necessary to remove the fallen needles from under it, if fungal diseases and pests are not rampant on the site (in this case, harvesting of needles is mandatory). It, decaying and mixing with mulch, will contribute to the appearance of microflora, favorable for the development of the plant.
3. If it is not possible to water the plant on time, then it is better to plant it in partial shade, and not in the sun. With severe drought, the tree will drop needles.
4. Bullets are perfect for combining with other conifers in the landscape. The main thing is to keep the distance from it to the nearest tree within 3 m. It can also be used as a tapeworm or in a composition with flowers. And the house, surrounded by plantings of several larch trees, will look chic both in summer and in winter.

Larch Bullets are distinguished by unusual external characteristics.She will perfectly fit into the landscape of any territory. Due to its small size, this tree is an ideal option for those who have long dreamed of a coniferous tree on the site, but cannot afford it because of the small area.