Studying woody plants for many years, I do not get tired to admire them, how they are unique, majestic and unique.
One you meet in travel, parks, Botanical gardens, and they remain in your memory, in photos. Others, planted in suburban areas or adopted by inheritance, become silent witnesses of the life of several generations of the family, watching everyone from the cradle to old age.
Plants-a source of strength, peace, tranquility. I consider myself a happy person, because fate has brought me together with trees and bushes for many years.
Sometimes it seems to me that I am akin to them: every year we meet a heady spring, live a hectic hot summer, enjoy the comfortable autumn weather. And in winter, when they sleep, I admire them: florid shoots and beautiful bark. And let once again forgive me Northern summer residents, but today I again want to show trees and shrubs. And today our attention will be paid to plants with decorative bark.
Trees and shrubs with red and brown bark
Perhaps, this the most spectacular breed. The owners of such guns are often the dominant of the composition and everyone’s favorite.
Traditional red-brown shrubs in Central and North steel:
- Cornus alba, syn. Swida alba, Thelycrania alba, its forms are ‘Sibirica’,’Kesselringii’;
- C. stolonifera, syn. Sericea and its cultivar ‘Kelsey’ in winter, red and green shoots;
- C. sanguinea and its form ‘Winter Beauty’ and ‘Winter Flame’ – shoots bright orange-yellow and red in winter.
It is their purple-red or brown-red shoots that become bright accents in the winter garden, powdered with white snow. They are visible from afar.
Settling decorative dogwood in the country, it should be remembered that only regular pruning of old branches, stimulating the formation of young shoots with red bark, will give the most decorative effect. Ugly old Bush can regain youth and play with bright colors, if gradually, within a few years, cut the oldest branches. Radical pruning is less effective.
Among the trees with red bark for growing in the cottages of the middle lane are the most real:
- Padus maackii;
- P. pensylvanica.
Planting cherry trees in the country, remember that they give abundant root shoots, which when planting immediately limit the protective screen, digging slate, high-quality plastic, metal sheets.
The desire to settle at his southern dacha Arbutus andrachne, which in the summer drops from the trunk of an elegant outfit (bark), the task is not easy even for a professional.
Seeds need warm stratification (at a temperature of + 19…+24°C) for 2 months. Then they cover with a thin layer of soil substrate, which is better to take in the growing areas of Arbutus.
Luxurious Cupressus guadalupensis with smooth exfoliating bark. The desire to acquire and grow on the South the country is like “mission impossible”.
On sale, it is extremely rare, and to grow it from seeds is very problematic, since they are defective due to the small amount of pollen necessary for normal pollination.
The reddish color of the bark of coniferous species-not uncommon.
It is characteristic:
- Cupressus macrocarpa;
- C. arizonica;
- Pinus;
- Taxodium distichum);
- Sequoiadendron giganteum;
- Sequoia sempervirens and others.
Trees and shrubs with green and yellow bark
The singularity of woody plants with such trunks “rolls over”. Those that do not change the green color of the bark all their life:
- Spartium junceum;
- some Genista;
- Ephedra;
- Jasminum nudiflorum;
- bamboos, especially Phyllostachys, and others.
Their trunk and branches partially perform the function of leaves, that is, photosynthesis also occurs in the bark.
In the same category of color in the middle band we will be amazed again: greener form of C. sanguinea f. viridissima and cultivar C. stolonifera ‘Flaviramea’ with green and bright yellow-green winter shoots. In parallel, in the South, but at any time of the year, continues to amaze Golden bamboo with yellow straws.
To be precise, it is the Golden form of Phyllostachys bambusoides cv. Allgold. It courtines initially grow slowly but remain fairly tight and not overly grow. Propagated to the peripheral branches of the rhizome. The most decorative when planting in shading, on dense moist soils.
Trees and shrubs with white and black bark
Summer residents of the middle lane will not be surprised by the white birch, but for them the real exotic will be bamboo with black straws growing in my country.
P. nigra is one of the slowest growing species. Its low thin stems become brownish-black color only by the end of the second year of life.
It is propagated by parts of the rhizome. It grows best on fertile loose soils in shading.
Trees and shrubs with spotted bark
Interesting woody plants with spotted trunks, which are formed by peeling small thin plates of the bark:
- Platanus;
- Lagerstroemia indica and others.
Due to this exfoliation on the trunk exposed lighter areas of the bark, resulting in a mosaic color of light gray, greenish-gray. Of course, large plane trees should not be planted in the southern dachas, especially when its area is limited to 2-3 acres. They will simply visually “fall out”. But to plant Lagerstroemia indica With a light brown spotted trunk is a must: in summer-early autumn, it will delight you with beautiful conical inflorescences.
In February-March, cut off half or a third of last year’s growth, remove underdeveloped shoots. With regular pruning Lagerstroemia blooms with larger flowers. Propagated by winter cuttings.
Unusual spotted bluish-grey barrel shows us Pinus bungeana.
It does not tolerate transplantation, so at first it is raised in containers, with transshipment (which is not difficult to do, since it grows slowly up to 25-35 years). It is desirable to remove appears in the first years, the additional trunks. In care not capricious.
Today my story is over, but we will certainly return to the topic of diversity of bark, in the amazing texture of which lies the inexplicable charm and charm.