Canadian spruce "Sanders Blue": description, planting and care

Among Russian gardeners, Canadian fir trees have many fans. The fact is that these trees have not only an amazing appearance, but also unpretentious care, which is very important in our harsh conditions. The needles of the Canadian spruce have a light blue hue, so the tree becomes the main decoration of the garden. Dwarf varieties are especially relevant for Russian sites, such as, for example, the Sanders Blue spruce.

This variety belongs to the bluish varieties of dwarf spruces. At the age of 10, the growth of the tree is 0.7-1.5 m, the crown width is 35-80 cm. In the early years, the spruce adds about 2.5-5 cm per year, and upon reaching the age of 6-7 years, the annual growth is 15 cm. The crown grows up to 15 years, and then its increase slows down to 1-3 cm per season. At the age of 30, the height of the tree reaches 2-3 m, and the width of the crown is 1.5 m.

A blue-gray young spruce has a crown in the shape of a regular cone, however, over the years, the crown changes somewhat, and in the case of decorative planting, this problem must be dealt with by pruning. The main feature of the variety is the blue color of the young growth. Gradually, it acquires a green color, and not evenly, but in spots. Ripe needles meet winter with a green color with a bluish tint.

Young needles are soft, but over time they become stiff and dense. The rhizome stretches to a depth, then grows in a horizontal position, gradually spreading to a distant distance beyond the borders of the crown. Fruit-cones in this variety are rarely formed. This variety is young, and it is not yet known what the tree's lifespan is, but the description suggests that the spruce lives at least 50 years.

Before you start planting Sanders Blue spruce, it is important to choose the most suitable site for planting. This should be a shaded area.

It is recommended to use loam or sandy loam with an acidic or slightly acidic reaction as a soil; the soil should be loose.

If there are stones in the soil, then they do not have to be eliminated - Canadian Christmas trees are used to rocky mountainous areas. Choose an area that is at least 1.5 meters away from groundwater.

The key to the active development of a tree is its health, which means that it is worth paying attention to the quality of the planting material. If it is an imported seedling, then it must be sold in a container. If it is a domestic specimen, then the shoot can be sewn into burlap.

The rhizome is immediately wrapped in a damp cloth; in the absence of an earthen coma, it is placed in a clay mash and wrapped in cling film.

Planting is recommended at the end of autumn.

The process looks like this:

• dig a hole in the area with a depth of 70 cm and a diameter of 60 cm;

• equip the drainage system with a layer of 20 cm, for this you can use expanded clay or red broken brick;

• fill in a layer of nutrient mixture, it can be prepared from leaf humus, sour peat, sand, clay and 150 g of nitroammofoska;

• remove the tree from the container along with the earthen lump and place it in the hole so that the root collar is at the level of the surface;

• cover the free space with soil, tamp it slightly, but make sure that the neck does not shift;

• from the remnants of the soil, make a roller along the borders of the crown;

• water the seedling abundantly so that the water reaches the edge of the earthen roller;

• mulch the soil under the tree with conifer shavings or sawdust.

Watering, feeding, pruning - these are all the procedures that the Sanders Blue spruce needs. It is customary to water young specimens once a week with 10-12 liters of water, and for young shoots it is better to divide the water into portions during the day so that the moisture is evenly distributed. With age, spruce can be watered less often.

Especially careful attention should be paid to autumn watering. This is due to the fact that the quality of plant wintering depends on the degree of moisture. So, many young specimens die in the first winter not from cold, but from moisture deficit. Periodically, the tree needs to be mulched. This manipulation will ensure the maintenance of moisture in the soil and inhibit the development of weeds. Use sawdust, peat, or tree bark as mulch. The recommended layer is 5 cm.

In the spring, the tree needs sanitary pruning, during which dry and damaged branches are removed from it. Decorative pruning is carried out as the crown deforms.

This is a frost-resistant variety, however, young seedlings still need to be protected from the winter cold, since their root system has not yet taken root in the ground. For more reliable rooting, the plant is wrapped in a net or twine, and covered for the winter.

Adult dwarf trees do not need to be covered during cold weather, they will cope with frosts on their own, but it is important to water them abundantly in late autumn.

Once a year, the plant needs to be fertilized with complex additives. It is recommended to choose fertilizers intended for coniferous ornamental trees. It is customary to water young samples with growth stimulants, for example, such as Gerbamin, Heteroauxin, Epin, but do not overdo this procedure.

Newly planted trees must be sprayed with Ferovit for the first 2-3 weeks. Avoid feeding high in nitrogen. Fertilizers based on vermicompost, compost, potassium magnesia are suitable, feeding with dolomite flour is allowed.

The advantage of the variety is its less significant sun-burning compared to other varieties of Canadian spruce. It is used to decorate rockeries, rock gardens, garden beds. Such a spruce looks beautiful next to heathers and other conifers with green needles. Using shrub shapes, you can create multi-level compositions with this small tree.

Young Christmas trees can decorate a garden alley leading to the house or frame a flower garden, but remember that an adult tree reaches a height of 3 m, which means that it is better not to plant it next to sun-loving plants, otherwise it will hide the sunlight from its neighbors. Blue needles look very beautiful against the background of white and red flowers, and in winter they create a harmonious contrast with white snow.

The gray spruce looks majestic in the decorative garden, decorated with fountains, statues, exquisite stones.

Planting against the background of the monument is possible - and then the exterior of the garden will acquire even greater solemnity.

Some gardeners dare to plant containers, and in this case, the composition made up of fir trees can be constantly updated, but this method is not recommended by experienced farmers,since over time it will become more and more difficult to move the trees, and caring for such a tree is quite problematic.

You will learn more about Sanders Blue spruce by watching the following video.