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Rare trees and shrubs in our garden

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Rare perennials in our garden

Rare perennials in our garden (continued)

Acantopanax sessile-flowered (Acanthopanaxsessiliflorus) - a relative of the legendary ginseng. But the closest to him is Eleutherococcus (Eleutherococcus). Now taxonomists, by the way, attribute Acantopanax to this genus called Eleutherococcus sessile-flowered. Outwardly, they are very similar. Both are medium-sized shrubs with finger-like leaves. Both have similar berry-like black fruits, collected in dense globular fruit. Finally, both have medicinal properties similar to ginseng - tonic and adaptogenic.

Acantopanax sessile-floweredAcantopanax sessile-flowered

You can grow ginseng in central Russia. But you don't need to. Not worth the trouble. Your humble servant once consumed three monthly salaries for the "Michurin experiments" with the roots of life. And I did not learn anything useful (except for invaluable negative experience). It's good that my wife was quite tolerant of my experiments. By the way, I argued that soon this money will return, and multiplied many times over. However, we were married then for a week. Now her reaction would be different.

But to grow relatives of ginseng: Eleutherococcus, Aralia or Acantopanax can be any gardener. At the same time, Acanthopanax has a number of advantages in comparison with Eleutherococcus and Aralia. It is shorter than their growth (usually no more than 2-2.5 m), grows in a compact bush and does not give numerous root shoots. And, what is especially attractive, Acanthopanax has practically no thorns, and it is more decorative.

As for winter hardiness, if it is inferior to both rivals in this, it is not much. Minor frost damage, if it does happen, is no more than once every three years. And the shrub does not threaten to freeze completely.

Barberry medium (Berberis × media) - miniature semi-evergreen barberry no more than 30-40 cm high and about the same width. A hybrid of Thunberg and Chenot barberries (B. thunbergiixB. × hybrido-gagnepainii Chenaultii). Leaves are dark green, leathery, up to 4 cm long, with sharp teeth along the edge. Thorns are tripartite, up to 20 mm long. It is considered not winter-hardy in central Russia, but experience shows that this is not entirely true. Every second winter freezes, but quickly recovers. Leaves on the plant may fall off completely. But in warm autumn, when snow falls before the onset of severe cold weather, they hibernate. Interesting for miniature compositions, rocky gardens.

Barberry mediumCommon barberry Seedless

Common barberry (Berberisvulgaris) "Seedless". "Seedless" varieties are not uncommon in fruit crops. They are found, for example, in grapes, persimmons, oranges, plums, pears ... It is clear that the absence of a seed makes any fruit more edible. As for the barberry, seedless forms of this shrub have existed for a long time.

The seedless barberry appeared in our collection in the late 1990s. It is a rather tall, up to 3-3.5 m, shrub with straight, almost vertical ribbed stems. The leaves are common for barberry, but the spines are very large - up to 4 cm long. Fruits of typical size and shape are collected in clusters of 20 pieces. Moreover, all of them, except one, are devoid of seed. One berry still has a bone.

Hanging birch f. Karelian

Hanging birch, form "Karelian" (Betulapendulavar... witharelica). Ordinary consciousness dictates: Karelian birch is a birch that grows in Karelia. This is partly true, the main "deposits" of this tree are located there. But Karelian birch is also present in separate foci in other areas of the Non-Black Earth Region. Karelian birch is famous for its hard patterned wood, which is of great value for various artistic crafts. But it could also become a fashionable collectible tree.

In fact, the Karelian birch is a “set” of several different forms.She also has rather tall tree-like varieties, and forms that grow in multi-stem "bushes". Most of these forms externally appear in the form of twisted bushes and trees with twisting trunks covered with bulges and nodules. The language does not dare to call them beautiful. But, nevertheless, the “brand” “Karelskaya Birch” is attractive in itself, because the owners of this tree are still much less than, for example, the owners of mansions and expensive cars.

Catalpa bignoniform (Catalpabignonioides)... Catalpa is a subtropical deciduous tree native to North America. Here it can most often be seen in the North Caucasus and in the Black Earth Region. In the south, catalpa is a medium-sized tree with a height of 8-12 (maximum 20) m.At the latitude of Moscow, catalpa grows as a small tree or bush 2.5-4 m in height.

Catalpa bignoniform, flowering

The gardener in this tree, first of all, will be attracted by the unusual. Catalpa has two highlights: large leaves of unusual shape and exotic, also very large flowers, collected in chestnut-like vertical "pyramids" up to 30 cm high. A separate catalpa flower looks like a creamy-white funnel with a wide funnel, up to 7 cm long, up to 5 cm. The end of the bell is shaped like a five-lobed corolla. Inside, it is additionally decorated with brown specks and yellow spots. Catalpa fruits are also unusual - hanging by tassels, long and thin 40-centimeter pod-shaped capsules

Catalpa does not have any special requirements in agricultural technology. The only thing to remember is that the tree should be chosen a favorable place. It should be exposed to the sun, protected from cold winds. An elevated position is desirable so that there is natural drainage. The soil is medium to light, fertile. A variant of the substrate can be a mixture of leafy earth, humus and sand in an approximate ratio of 1: 1: 2.

Catalpa is a representative tree, the purpose of which is landscaping of all kinds of important ceremonial places. For example, it can be planted in the entrance area, in full view. And not necessarily inside the site - the tree can become your "authorized representative" outside of it. For example, in a small prestige garden in front of the entrance gate.

Magnolia cobus

Magnolia cobus (Magnoliakobus)... The originally northern trees do not impress with the size of the flowers, apple and pear - these are our record holders. Therefore, the flowering of the magnolia kobus, with its more than 10 cm flowers, is simply stunning in its unreality. You just refuse to believe in such a miracle! After all, trees with flowers of this size, a "restricted to travel" resident of central Russia can only see on TV. But what you see on the "TV" does not surprise anyone. Eka unprecedented - magnolia on the Cote d'Azur or in Sochi.

It's a different matter when live, and even in your own garden. The spectacular effect of the flowering magnolia is enhanced by the fact that it blooms in a leafless state. Moreover, this event occurs a week and a half before the flowering of the bird cherry, and the first flowers bloom on the tree even before the birch turns green.

The genus magnolia has more than 60 species. Magnolia cobus is one of the three most frost-resistant magnolias. Its homelands are Korea and Japan. Moreover, in Japan, the tree grows not only in the subtropics, but also on the island of Hokkaido, whose climate is temperate. It is from Hokkaido that the northern form (f. Borealis) of this tree is most resistant to frost.

At home, the magnolia kobus appears as a medium-sized deciduous tree, reaching 25 meters in height. But in culture, the height of a tree does not exceed 10 meters. In Moscow, the magnolia kobus reaches a height of 8 m. In our country, at the age of 15, the height of a magnolia is 4 meters. The first flowering of magnolia cobus is observed at the age of 10-11 years. And by the age of 14-15, it becomes quite abundant - the number of flowers on a tree reaches 400-500 pieces.

For central Russia, magnolia is not yet an ordinary phenomenon, and will not become such in the coming years.It will take many years of staggered seed acclimatization to move it north. To do this, it is necessary to sow seeds from the most "northern" uterine testes, and select the most winter-hardy among the seedlings.

Magnolia kobus tolerates urban gas pollution well and, over time, could become a “city” tree for ceremonial places. The city is generally more favorable for magnolia, and if it is planted in the most favorable, protected places, then it will bloom quite reliably. Magnolia farming techniques are fairly common. The tree is sun-loving, rather drought-resistant. The best soils for magnolia are sandy loam or light loamy, rich in humus, with a sandy subsoil.

It should be noted that the kobus magnolia tree is decorative and, in the absence of flowers, has a dense crown and large oval leaves that do not lose freshness from the moment of deployment and almost until the leaves fall. And the flowers of this species have an unusually pleasant smell, similar to the aroma of a night violet.

Metasequoia glyptostrobus

Metasequoia glyptostrobus (Metasequoiagliptostroboides) - a deciduous coniferous tree from a completely unfamiliar to Russians, "relict" subtropical family Taxodiaceae. The family contains 10 genera and only 14 species of conifers, including such "mammoths" of the plant kingdom as sequoia (Sequoyah), sequoiadendron (Sequoiadendron)... It has been established that the flowering of taxodia fell on the Tertiary period. Then large areas of the Northern Hemisphere, up to the Arctic islands (including all of Siberia) were very densely populated with metasequoias, more precisely, the ancestors of the glyptostrobus metasequoia, since over the past millions of years the tree has naturally changed.

Fossils "the remains of a former luxury" are now often found among the oldest fossils. At one time, metasequoia was also discovered by paleobotanists from its petrified cones, needles, and branches. For a time this tree was considered extinct. And in 1941, the Chinese botanist T. Kang discovered three living metasequoia trees in the mountainous, inaccessible terrain of Hubei province (approximately 31st parallel). At first, the plant was identified as another species of the taxodiaceae family - glyptostrobus. Having undertaken a number of expeditions, Chinese botanists found that the total number of metasequoia trees is very small, and even if all the trees are collected in one grove, then its area will not exceed one hectare.

Fortunately, it turned out that the plant reproduces well by seeds and cuttings. In 1947, Chinese scientists collected a large number of seeds from this tree and sent them to all major botanical gardens. The Nikitsky Botanical Garden in the Crimea also received its share of seeds. What was the joy of the scientists when these seeds gave amicable shoots! Moreover, just five years later, cones formed on one of the seedlings. This was the first case of fruiting of a relict tree in a cultured environment.

The discovery of the metasequoia was akin to finding a living dinosaur, and became one of the major botanical sensations of the 20th century. Now the metasequoia is no longer threatened. Even if it is completely exterminated in China (and this will definitely not happen, since the Chinese strictly protect the natural plantations of the tree), its number will remain many times greater than it was at the time of its discovery. After all, now there are plantings of metasequoi in dozens of countries around the world, including Norway, Finland, Poland, Canada ... and even Alaska.

In Russia, the metasequoia grows steadily and bears fruit on the shores of the Black and Caspian Seas, in the Kaliningrad region, in the south of Primorye. Numerous attempts are being made to move it inland, to colder regions. Metasequoia appeared in our garden in the spring of 2014. Over the summer, the 10-centimeter plant grew to 40 cm. The metasequoia somehow survived its first winter 2014/2015. What will happen next, whether this tree will be able to survive in our middle lane, is not yet clear.

Paulownia felt

Paulownia felt (Paulowniatomentosa)- in the genus Paulownia (Paulownia) the family norichnikovye, according to science, there are about 6 species, and all but one are powerful herbs. The only exception is the only one, just the one about which we are talking here - it is considered a tree.

However, in the paulownia felt, too, there is something from the grass. Its trunk only partially woods. It is straight and smooth, as if specially rounded, hollow inside, with partitions in the knots, like bamboo, and just as brittle. It is not difficult to break the trunk even in an adult paulownia tree, which has reached 10-12 cm in the butt. It is interesting that the leaf stalks are also hollow in the plant.

Let's dwell on the leaves in more detail. In the Non-Black Earth Region, where paulownia does not bloom at all, they are its main attraction. The first thing they amaze with is their unprecedented size. At first glance, it is very strange that in our conditions the paulownia leaves grow much larger than in their homeland - in Central China, where they are also not small - up to 30 cm in diameter. But we have twice as many leaf blades of a tree, that is, up to 60 cm in size. And if we take into account the long petiole, then the total length of the leaf reaches 130 cm !! Paulownia branches, by the way, are generally absent in our conditions. So after the fall of leaves, only a powerful 4-meter "shaft" remains from the tree, the foot of which is covered with burdocks of "fallen leaves". The leaves on a tree are easy to count, usually no more than 40. The leaves themselves are densely covered with short hairs, which is why they have a grayish tint. The leaf blades are slightly sticky, and when rubbed, they emit a rather unpleasant "camphor" smell.

Here it should be clarified what is happening with paulownia, what prompts it to grow such giant leaves? It's simple. The first year or two after landing, nothing supernatural is observed. The leaves of the tree at this age, although quite large, are quite consistent with the descriptions. But, starting from the third year, they outgrow the "declared" size, and every year they become more and more, until they reach a maximum by the age of 6-7 years.

The thing is that the aboveground part of the plant freezes annually. Sometimes completely, sometimes the trunk remains alive to a certain height - but not higher than 50-70 cm. Thus, our tree takes the form of a perennial growing annually. But, while the paulownia's “tops” freeze, its root remains intact. Moreover, it grows every year, and its nourishing capabilities increase. This allows the plant to expel larger and larger leaves. This happens until the paulownia reaches its maximum development.

Paulownia is one of the most beautiful flowering trees in the park. Her flowers are very large, pale purple, collected in apical erect paniculate inflorescences. But the tree has a chance to bloom only in the southern Black Earth Region, in Primorye and along the shores of our non-freezing seas.

In the Non-Black Earth Region, paulownia is a real rarity. There are only a few successful examples of its cultivation. But it is quite obvious that over time the plant will expand its garden "area".

Apical pachisandra (Pachysandra terminalis) - the most winter-hardy representative of a small, mostly tropical boxwood family. In appearance, pachisander is a herb, although botanists consider it to be an evergreen dwarf shrub. In essence, it is "neither this - nor that" - not a grass, but not a shrub either. On the one hand, leaves and shoots live for several years, which is not typical for herbaceous plants. On the other hand, the shoots of the plant have a herbaceous appearance, that is, they do not become lignified.

Apical pachisandra

Pachisandra has two characteristic features, which are reflected in her binary botanical name. Her leaves grow mainly in the upper part of the shoots, forming at the top something like whorls - hence the specific epithet "apical". The generic name pakhisandra is composed of two roots: pachys - thick, and andros - a man, that is, the male organ of a flower is a stamen, and can be translated into Russian as a stamen. Indeed, having examined the strange flower (capitate inflorescence) of pachisanda, you will see that the stamens of the plant are unusually thick. With sufficient magnification, it can be seen that the staminate and pistillate flowers are located side by side in the inflorescence. In this case, the stamens are collected in 4 pieces in a kind of "bouquets", and the pistillate flower has only two microscopic petals of a nondescript greenish color.

Pachisandra is a ground cover plant. The filamentous rhizomes of the plant spread in the surface layer of the soil, bringing to the surface numerous erect shoots 10-15 (sometimes up to 25) cm high, crowned at the tops with "shields" of leathery obovate leaves, weakly toothed at the tops. In favorable conditions, pachisandra is capable of forming dense uniform coverings - thickets. Pachisandra inflorescences are located on top of leaf whorls. It blooms in early spring, in early May, and blooms for 20-25 days.

Pachisandra is winter-hardy and rather unpretentious. But the most dense decorative thickets forms in semi-shady places, on rich organic matter, loose, constantly moist substrates.

Ivy, forms Carpathian, Crimean, Baltic (Hederahelix, var. carpatica; var. taurica; var. baltica). Ivy is the only representative of the Araliev family in Europe. Genus ivy (Hedera) has more than 15 species. This confusion is due to the disagreement of taxonomists on the question of what counts as a species. For example, common in Europe common ivy (Hedera helix), some botanists tend to subdivide into several species.

Ivy

Ivy is a predominantly subtropical and even tropical plant. Although its range covers not only the entire Mediterranean with its "surroundings", but extends to almost all of southern and western Europe, the most luxurious paintings of ivy-covered facades can be observed in Spain, in southern Italy, on the islands of the Mediterranean Sea. There ivy thrives, there he is comfortable.

According to paleobotanists, ivy was much more widespread in the preglacial geological period than it is now. As proof, the presence of separate foci of ivy distribution, not associated with the main massif of the range, is cited. One of the strong arguments in favor of such a statement is, for example, the presence of ivy in Ireland, and this, as you know, is an island very far from continental Europe.

The ivy habitats closest to our territory were noted in the Carpathians, in the Crimea and in the Baltic States. It is the Carpathian, Crimean and Baltic forms of common ivy, as well as varieties derived from them, that are the most winter-hardy and most promising for central Russia.

In my garden, I tried five ivy cultivars, including one variegated. Three of them quickly "bent". And the first of them is a pretty variegated one. The most persistent, as expected, were the Carpathian and Crimean forms. Moreover, the Crimean cultivar proved to be more stable and actively growing. The Crimean even “climbs the wall” more energetically, and after winter, not only the whips creeping along the ground, but also the shoots that have climbed to a height of 30-70 cm remain alive for him.

Ivy has a chance to establish itself in central Russia. Of course, our Santa Claus is much stricter and sterner than his European brother Santa Claus. He will not let the ivy climb up. In general, we do not have ivy as an element of vertical gardening, it remains to creep along the ground. But thanks for that, because in the same Germany ivy is used mainly as a ground cover plant.

Design experience shows that ivy is best used separately from other plants in mono compositions. In large companies, it is lost, it becomes hardly noticeable. For example, he is interesting in filling paving windows or concrete flower girls.In order for the coating to be dense enough, the lianas creeping to the sides should be returned to the window, and until they take root, pinned.

Combinations of ivy with stones are original. By artistically decomposing boulders of different sizes (but preferably very large) boulders, you can allow ivy to occupy the voids between them. Liana is easily fixed on flat rocky surfaces. You can't predict what will happen as a result, but usually it turns out very stylish and effective.

The end is in the article

Rare trees and shrubs in our garden (continued)

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