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In Siberia, you can often find flowering shrubs spireas. This plant perfectly tolerates severe frosts and severe winters. However, when choosing a spirea for planting in Siberia, you should pay attention to the varieties. Some of them are quite thermophilic. Observing all the rules for planting and caring for spirea in Siberia, you can grow a beautiful plant.
Features of growing spirea in Siberia
Most shrub varieties tolerate frost well, so they are often grown in Siberia and other northern regions. The plant is unpretentious and blooms profusely with proper care. All she needs is proper watering, fertile land and plenty of sunshine.
Planted shrubs in the fall, cover for the winter. Prune the plant in the off-season.
Planting in the spring is carried out only after the soil has warmed up sufficiently. In autumn, it is advisable to have time to do this before October.
For planting spireas in Siberia, they choose a place well-lit by the sun. Thanks to this, the plant will actively grow, bloom and bear fruit luxuriantly.
Spirea varieties for Siberia
There are many species that tolerate frost well. Below are the most frost-resistant varieties of spirea, the most suitable for growing in Siberia with a photo.
- Gray Greifsheim. Arcuate, densely branched shrub. The height reaches one meter. The first leaves appear in May. The fruits ripen at the end of June. Spirea is popular with Siberian gardeners, as it tolerates severe frosts well.
- Rosea (pink). The bush reaches a height and diameter of 1.5 m. Flowers of a beautiful pink hue, collected in paniculate inflorescences. The peculiarity of the variety is its high resistance to severe frosts.
- Wangutta. The variety is unpretentious and has high frost resistance. The shrub reaches 2 m in diameter and height. Small flowers are collected in hemispherical inflorescences and are located along the entire length of the shoots.
- Billard. A popular species for cultivation in Siberia. The shrub reaches a height of 2 m. Small pink flowers are collected in cone-shaped inflorescences. Differs in excellent shade tolerance and frost resistance.
- Spiraea is oak-leaved. An unpretentious plant variety that can grow even on rocky soil. Widespread in Siberia. It is a low shrub with small flowers gathered in spherical inflorescences.
Planting and caring for spirea in Siberia
Before planting, the seedlings are carefully examined: the roots should be dry and flexible, there should be buds and there should be no mechanical damage. Too long roots are pruned. If they are slightly dry, the seedlings are dipped in a bucket of water and left for a while.
For the plant, they dig a hole 50 cm wide and deep. Drainage is laid out on the bottom: pebbles, fragments of brick and expanded clay. Its layer should be at least 15 cm. To fill the seedling, a substrate is prepared from sand, peat and leafy earth in proportions of 1: 1: 2. The plant is placed vertically in the pit, the roots are straightened and sprinkled with the prepared mixture, leaving the neck at surface level. Then mulching and watering are carried out. When planting several plants, a distance of half a meter is left between them.
Spirea care consists in watering, loosening, mulching, feeding and pruning. In Siberia, the plant is watered once a month, bringing about 15 liters of water under the bush.In a dry summer, the procedure is carried out twice. Around the trunk, be sure to loosen the soil so that the root system breathes.
In the spring, spirea is fed with the drug "Kemira" at the rate of 120 g per sq. m. In the second half of summer, an infusion of a cowshed is used for this, adding 10 g of superphosphate to 10 liters of solution.
Formative cropping is performed once, then only corrective cropping. Frozen branch tips are removed in spring. After flowering, damaged and dry shoots are cut off.
Shrubs are sprayed with tobacco infusion, marigold broth or hot pepper, which will protect them from pests. In advanced cases, insecticides are used.
Landing dates
In the fall, any varieties of spirea are planted. The most favorable conditions for this are cloudy autumn weather. The main thing is to have time to plant the plant before the end of the leaf fall. In Siberia, this process must be completed by October. Varieties that bloom in summer can be planted in spring. This must be done before the first sheets appear.
Preparation of planting material and site
Its growth and flowering depend on the choice and high-quality preparation of spirea seedlings and a correctly selected planting site.
First of all, you need to purchase high-quality and healthy spirea seedlings, which are ideal for the climatic conditions of Siberia. It is recommended to buy planting material only in nurseries or garden centers that specialize in plant breeding.
Spirea seedlings are carefully examined. Shoots without leaves and swollen buds are suitable. The root system of the plant must be firm, with no signs of decay or mold. It is best to purchase shoots in containers that can be planted at any time.
To achieve the most lush and abundant flowering, you need to choose the right place for planting. It is best suited for this hill, well illuminated by the sun. It is not recommended to plant spirea shrubs near fruit trees and close to each other, since they have a branched rhizome. The soil should be fertile, nutritious and light so that air permeates well. When planting in the spring, the soil is dug up in the fall, introducing natural organic matter or complex mineral fertilizers.
Spirea planting rules in Siberia
Spirea seedlings are planted in Siberia both in spring and autumn, depending on the flowering period of the selected variety. Plants that bloom in spring are planted in late August or September. In springtime - late flowering varieties.
Pits are prepared a couple of days before the start of work. The depth should be at least 70 cm, and the width is determined depending on the size of the rhizome and the plant variety. If you plan to plant a hedge, leave a distance of at least half a meter between the bushes.
At the bottom of each pit, a drainage layer is poured, which is used as expanded clay or broken brick.
Seedlings with open roots before planting are placed for a while in a container with water. Shrubs in containers are watered abundantly. The shoots are pruned, the roots are shortened.
The soil is mixed with mineral fertilizers. Part of the nutrient mixture is poured into the pit, forming a small mound. A spirea seedling is placed on it and sprinkled with soil, gently compacting it with your hands. A shaft is formed and the plant is watered abundantly. A layer of peat is poured around the trunk.
Watering and feeding
Despite the fact that spirea is a drought-resistant plant, it still needs watering. About once a month, a bucket of water is poured under the plant. In hot weather, the procedure is carried out twice a month. Seedlings and young plants planted in spring need a lot of moisture.
To ensure abundant flowering, spiraea must be fertilized regularly. Mineral and organic fertilizers are applied in the spring before flowering. In early summer, the shrub is fed with full mineral fertilizers.Phosphorus-potassium without nitrogen is applied in late summer and autumn.
Pruning
It is carried out in different periods, depending on the purpose.
- Sanitary pruning is performed in the spring. Remove frozen and dry branches.
- Formative. Spireas blooming on shoots in summer are pruned in spring, immediately after the snow has melted, combining with sanitary. Remove thin branches to thin the bush. Varieties, the size of which does not exceed 40 cm in height, are cut into 2 buds. Shoots with leaves that do not match the color of the variety are removed. Seed boxes, if not planned to collect seeds, are removed after flowering. This treatment stimulates re-flowering. The green hedge is trimmed, giving it the necessary shape. Spireas, which bloom in spring, form after flowering, cutting off the shoots at the level of strong young growth. The crown of the shrub must have a symmetrical shape.
- Anti-aging. Carried out in an adult plant, 7 years after planting. All old shoots are removed, leaving no more than seven young ones, while trying to maintain the symmetry of the bush. This type of pruning is carried out in several stages so as not to weaken the bush.
How to prepare spirea for winter in Siberia
Preparation of spirea for winter in Siberia has some peculiarities. Young seedlings are covered before frost. This is done as follows: the branches are tied into a bundle, bent to the ground and fixed with special fasteners, covered with dry foliage, and snow is thrown on top. Before sheltering a spirea for the winter in Siberia, experienced gardeners recommend treating the plant from pests.
Low-growing varieties tolerate winter well under the snow.
Plant propagation
The plant is propagated in several ways: seed, cuttings and branches.
- Seed method. In this way, mainly hybrid varieties are propagated. Seeds are collected from brown, but not opened boxes. They are plucked and left to ripen for 2 weeks. Then the seeds are carefully removed. The box or container is filled with peat and moistened well. Seeds are sown into it and covered with glass or foil. The container is left in a lighted warm place. As soon as the seeds sprout, the film is removed and germination is continued, periodically watering. After the formation of 3 leaves, the seedlings dive into separate pots.
- Cuttings. Early flowering varieties of spirea are cut in early summer, late flowering - at the end of June, July. When using lignified cuttings, the procedure is carried out in October-November. Choose a strong straight shoot and cut it off. Then divide by the required number of cuttings so that each has 5 sheets. The bottom pair, together with the cuttings, is completely removed, the rest - half. Small cuts are made on the lower part and placed in an epin solution for 12 hours. The lower knot is lightly sprinkled with root. Fill suitable containers with soil and root the cuttings of the spirea at a slight angle. Cover with a glass jar and leave in a shaded place. Twice a day, the cuttings are sprayed with water. For the winter, they drop it in the garden and leave it until spring. Transplanted only after the appearance of young shoots.
- Taps. The easiest and most effective method. Reproduction of spirea by this method is carried out in the spring. On the bush, side strong shoots are selected and bend them to the ground, having previously made furrows. A small incision is made at the point of contact, which will ensure the rapid emergence of roots. Sprinkle with soil so that only the top remains on the surface. In the fall, the cuttings are removed and divided into the required number of young shoots and planted in a permanent place.
Diseases and pests
Spirea is practically not susceptible to disease. In wet summers, gray mold or powdery mildew can attack the plant. To prevent shrubs, they are treated with colloidal sulfur, Fitosporin or copper-containing fungicides.
The most common pests: spider mites, aphids, whiteflies, blue meadow sawfly. Insectoacaricides are used against the first: Metaphos.The rest are fought with the help of Aktellik, Fitoverma.
Conclusion
Planting and caring for spirea in Siberia does not require special skills. The plant is unpretentious, tolerates severe frosts well. In landscape design, spirea is used to form hedges and borders.
