Content
The Canadian Konik spruce is very much loved by landscape designers and quietly hated by conscientious gardeners. This is a very beautiful coniferous tree - miniature, with a dense crown of the correct shape and small greenish-blue needles. Photos of Konik spruce in landscape design show that it can be entered into any garden, and even planted in a flower bed.
But caring for a plant is difficult. However, this applies to all miniature Canadian fir trees. If the tree is incorrectly placed on the site, it will quickly lose its decorative effect. Even regular and conscientious grooming cannot save the day.
Pros and cons of ate Glauka in landscape design
If you perceive Konica only as a decorative element, the tree has no minuses at all. When it comes to leaving, problems arise that some owners are not ready to deal with. When planting a dwarf Canadian spruce on a site, you need to weigh all the pros and cons, answer the questions:
- who will look after the plants;
- how thorough care can be provided to Konike;
- whether the inhabitants of the house are ready to take all the work on themselves or use the services of a gardener;
- what qualifications the host can afford to hire;
- how much time should he spend on the site;
- how much he will be paid;
- Do the owners agree to the use of chemicals on the site or prefer to do with folk remedies (which, by the way, are not always as harmless as it is commonly believed).
These are just some of the questions, new ones will arise along the way. So: if a Canadian Konica spruce grows in the garden, you need to be prepared:
- to thorough care of the garden;
- you will have to work even on a tiny area several times a week, in the summer - every day (to carry out sprinkling);
- in order to do without a qualified specialist, whose services are not cheap, you will have to study literature on your own, communicate in forums - problems constantly arise with Canadian spruces in Russia;
- if a gardener takes care of the plants, you need to hire a competent, qualified - a kind aunt from the next house, who needs money, simply cannot cope with the work due to lack of knowledge, and Konika may simply be ruined;
- repeatedly use drugs of chemical origin on the site;
- cleaning Konika in spring and summer, and this is not only unpleasant work, but also harmful.
Without careful, and necessarily competent care, it is better not to plant dwarf Canadian spruces on the site. If time or health does not allow - for this you need to invite a specialist. There are no funds (a qualified gardener is not only expensive, you still need to find one) - you should think about planting other plants.
Among the undoubted advantages of Koniki, it should be noted:
- the beauty of the plant;
- slow growth;
- small size, which allows the use of blue glauca spruce in the landscape design of any site;
- Konica does not require shaping scraps;
- high frost resistance of the variety.
To the problems listed above, you can add:
- the complexity of care;
- Konik is prone to burning in summer and early spring;
- dwarf Canadian spruces on the site must be placed so that they are covered from the sun on the south side, or are completely in partial shade;
- the need for chemical treatments.
In addition, over time, Konika grows not so small, even in Russia it can reach 3 m by the age of 30. The tree will have to be replanted if it was originally located in a small flower bed.
The use of Konik spruce in landscape design
Landscaping styles are emerging and becoming a thing of the past. Today the name Chor-Bakkh is known to few people, while the geometrically correct gardens of ancient Persia and India were symbols of paradise. Not so long ago, a new direction in landscape design appeared - high-tech. How long it will last, time will tell.
To list all the styles of landscape design is a thankless task. Today they are at the peak of popularity, and tomorrow they will be forgotten. Meanwhile, they can be divided into three areas:
- regular or formal style, characterized by artificiality and geometric accuracy of compositions, here often individual components are arranged symmetrically to each other;
- landscape or informal design, which is characterized by the formation of a site in a spirit that creates the illusion of naturalness and naturalness;
- eclecticism - mixed style.
Using Konica in a regular style
It seems that the Canadian Konica spruce was created by nature for formal gardens. Landscape designers are happy to use the tree in regular plantings. Thanks to its shape, Konica looks good in complex geometric compositions. If over time, the clear lines of the crown of the Canadian spruce are somewhat distorted, it is easy to fix it by pruning - the culture tolerates spring haircut well.
Koniki are planted in the form of an alley, as a framing of the parterre lawn, on both sides at the entrance to the gazebo or on the terrace. It is used as a repeating element in parterres, front gardens and rabatkas.
Photo of spruce glauka in landscape design, made in a regular style
Konica in landscape style
Only an experienced landscape designer can fit the Canadian Konik spruce into an informal style. Well, she does not even create the illusion of naturalness in Russian landscapes. Perhaps with a little imagination, Konica can be planted on a country-style plot that creates the illusion of a piece of North America.
In any case, dwarf Canadian spruces must be used carefully in a landscape garden. In case of inept construction of the composition, Konica may look ridiculous there.
Konica in eclecticism
Mixing styles gives a lot of room for imagination. Designers willingly use Konica to create various compositions to highlight the beauty of the surrounding plants, or to make it the very center of a landscape group.
In eclecticism, the main thing is a sense of proportion and accurate calculation. Otherwise, on the site you can get a pile of plants that are beautiful individually, but together create the impression of chaos.
Konik in flower beds
In landscape design, flower beds decorate the front entrance to the house, the recreation area and the reception area. Often they are used simply to decorate the territory, planting them against the background of a lawn or tree groups. Konica can act as a central element around which a flowerbed is formed, or be part of a composition, for example, in a rock garden or on a bed with other dwarf conifers.
Canadian spruce, although it grows slowly, will eventually reach a height of 2-3 m, and it will have to be removed from the flower garden, or the layout of the garden has to be changed. Fortunately, nowadays most landscape projects are initially done as self-developing. This means that plants can be transplanted, transferred from place to place, etc.
But Koniki adults do not like transplants. It is better to plan right away that the flower garden will "move" over time to a new place. And around the Canadian spruce, for example, a small landscape group will be formed, consisting of medium-sized trees and shrubs.
The color of the needles and the shape of the crown of Konica allows you to combine it with flowers of any shape and color. It is important to place them so that cultures do not compete with each other for the attention of site owners or guests.To do this, you must first determine whether Konica will be a focal plant, or just a background for flowers and ornamental shrubs. And already based on this, build a landscape composition.
Photo of gray spruce Konik in landscape design on a flower bed
Care features
All the subtleties of growing Koniki were discussed in detail in the article:
https://gardens.decorexpro.com/en/sad-i-ogorod/derevo/el-belaya-konika-glaukonika.html.
In short, the list of procedures required for care is as follows:
- In spring and autumn - mandatory prophylactic treatment of Koniki with copper-containing preparations.
- Since the end of February, the Canadian spruce is covered from sunburn - at this time, the needles actively evaporate moisture, and the roots cannot replenish it. In summer, the south side of the tree should be covered with other plants or buildings.
- Twice at the beginning of the season and once in the fall, the Koniki crown is cleaned.
- Regular watering throughout the season. The soil should be moist, but without stagnant water.
- In summer - daily sprinkling of the crown.
- Loosening of the soil - the first two years after planting. Then it is replaced by mulching with sour peat or pine bark.
- Only Konica needs shelter for the winter in the year of planting. Then it is enough to mulch the trunk circle.
- Fertilization - at least twice a season with special fertilizing for conifers.
- Konica needs regular processing of the crown with a complex of chelates with the addition of epin and magnesium sulfate. If Canadian spruce grows in the sun, they are made every 2 weeks.
- Once every 7 days, Konika should be examined with a magnifying glass for pests and signs of disease.
Gardening tips
When using Konica in landscape design, one should not forget that it requires careful maintenance. This must be taken into account when designing a site. Here are some guidelines:
- The konik must be planted so that it has access to it. Sprinkling and crown treatments are carried out throughout the season. To do this correctly, and not only to wet the needles, Konica branches are gently spread apart by hands. It is impossible to do this at a distance, and you should not break and trample the plants surrounding Konica. In addition, the Canadian spruce crown is cleaned at least three times a season. This will take a long time. It is better to clean Koniki while sitting, and to put a stool, you also need a place.
- Crops growing next to Canadian spruce should make the same requirements for soil composition and irrigation, and respond favorably to sprinkling of the aboveground part. You can adjust soil moisture by drip irrigation. If this is not possible, a border tape is dug in around the moisture-loving plant, the upper edge of which should protrude above the ground surface. They mask it with mulch or unpretentious ground covers. Thus, Konica and hydrangea can coexist safely, requiring frequent watering.
- If there are few conifers on the site, it is irrational to buy a whole pack of special fertilizers for one or two plants. They will be successfully replaced by high-quality lawn dressing.
- The magnesium added to the Konica spray bottle should not be used on plants with variegated needles or leaves. Light color will fade when applied. But the lawn will treat this treatment favorably - the color of the grass will become bright and saturated.
Conclusion
Photos of Konik spruce in landscape design always look attractive. But you should not plant it anywhere. It is better to invite a competent landscape designer to draw up a project, who will give recommendations not only on the placement of plants, but also draw up a care schedule.
