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Banks Pine, Princess Pine, Blackjack Pine, Hudson's Bay Pine, Labrador Pine, Northern Screech Pine, Canadian Horny Pine and Dandy Pine are all names of the same plant that reflect its qualities. This beautiful coniferous tree with an unusual crown, which lives up to 150, and sometimes 300 years, has recently become popular in the organization of landscape.
Description of Pine Banks
This coniferous tree got its name in honor of the famous breeder Joseph Banks, who studied botany at the turn of the 18th - 19th centuries. The culture is spread from the northwest to the south in Canada and in the northeastern United States. In the United States, it is the northernmost American pine, but Blackjack pine can often be found in the southern state of America - Indiana. In Europe, the plant has been cultivated since 1785. In Russia, the plant is well adapted to the middle lane.
Banks' Canadian Hornpine reaches a height of up to 20 meters. The thickness of the trunk is about 25 cm, in a particularly rare case it grows up to 60 cm wide. In the forests of Canada, rare specimens of the Banks pine, about 30 meters high, were met - real forest giants.
The crown of the plant is rounded, branched. The needles are short and twisted. One bunch contains two needles, up to 4 cm long. The color of the needles changes: young needles are yellow, but eventually turn dark green. The tree blooms in May.
In addition to the beautiful coniferous crown, the Banks pine has a red-crimson bark. Cones are unusual: short, strongly curved and pointed downwards. Scales of young cones shine in the sun, and eventually become dull gray in color.
The tree is quite resistant to low temperatures and an abundance of snow.
Pine Banks in landscape design
Pine is planted in gardens to decorate the landscape and as a hedge. Thanks to its beautiful crown, the Banks pine looks great both as a single plant and in a group. In compositions with deciduous plants, shrubs, as well as with other conifers, this variety looks impressive. Besides the appearance, the coniferous tree has a noble aroma. The shoots give off a pleasant resinous smell.
As a hedge, the Banks pine will not only protect from prying eyes, but also delight with its amazing palette of colors.
Landscape designers use not only the majestic Pines of Banks, but also their smaller copies.
For example, dwarf varieties of Canadian Banks pine transform the garden without focusing on themselves. Miniature needles of the Arktis variety grow up to 2 - 2.5 m in a lifetime, and the dwarf Manomet pine variety - up to 60 cm. The seedling can be planted on an Alpine hill or next to an artificial pond, beat the dark green branches with a bright neighborhood with flowering shrubs. In addition to the upright trees, there is a unique variety of Canadian pines, Schoodic ', which spreads in a green carpet over the surface of the flower bed.
Planting and caring for Banks pine
It is recommended to plant conifers during the warm season. The optimal planting time is from early March to mid-May, when the sun's rays begin to warm the frozen ground.
Plant care is minimal:
- moderate watering as the soil dries out;
- fertilizing young seedlings with mineral fertilizers;
- protection from snow and rodents in winter.
No branch trimming is required as the crown is formed with the correct shape.If desired, you can create the desired geometric shape or shorten too long shoots.
Novice and inexperienced gardeners alike will appreciate this unpretentious evergreen.
Seedling and planting plot preparation
The hardened young Branks pine seedlings are planted in the spring. Before planting, it is important to carefully remove the plant from the container, along with its earthy clod, without violating the integrity of the root system. To do this, a pot with a seedling is watered abundantly with water and carefully removed, holding it by the trunk.
Some nurseries of ornamental and garden plants offer seedlings in organic decaying material for sale. After purchasing in such material, you can immediately plant it in the ground on the site. Over time, the packaging will naturally rot.
The plant takes root well in sandy and peaty soils. It gets along well on loamy soils.
Landing rules
During planting, it is important to follow a simple rule: a coniferous seedling must be planted in a hole along with an earthen clod. A fragile root system without a protective shell can die even with the slightest injury.
The planting hole should be larger than the diameter of the earthy coma in which the roots are grouped. A palm should freely enter between the wall of the hole and the lump of earth: this distance is enough for the root system to adapt to new conditions.
The root collar of the pine should not hide under a layer of earth. For proper air drainage, the transition from the stem to the roots must remain on the soil surface.
The mature Canadian Banks pine tolerates frequent transplants.
Watering and feeding
For normal development, young Banks pines need moderate regular watering. Adult plants develop without spraying or fertilizing. In dry times, Banks pines are able to withstand without water for a long time.
In early spring, it is recommended to feed young trees with a complex of mineral fertilizers.
Mulching and loosening
In order for young Banks saplings to take root better, it is necessary to retain moisture in the soil. Mulch is a material that is laid out around the plantings on the surface of the earth. It gives a decorative look and helps to combat weeds... Gardeners carry out mulching with bark, gravel, sawdust, fallen needles, etc. Landscape designers recommend decorating not the ground, but first laying a special material - spandbond.
In addition to beauty, it is important to take care of the oxygen exchange of the plant. To do this, it is necessary to loosen the hardened soil, especially in young plants.
Pruning
Conifers are so unpretentious that they do not require pruning, trimming or shaping.
For decorative purposes, it is possible to form a crown to the taste of the gardener. To do this, cut and shorten the branches in the spring.
Preparing for winter
The tree can withstand the winter season. Even in the harsh Canadian winters, the Banks pines do not die. However, during heavy snowfalls, the spreading branches of the Banks pine are not able to withstand the snow mass. In the wild, many branches break after winter.
To help a tree survive the winter in the garden, you must:
- in late autumn, carefully fix the branches at the top without damaging them;
- cover with a cotton cloth or special covering material before freezing;
- wrap the tree trunk with material from mice and hares.
A plant insulated in this way will withstand even the snowiest winter. It is necessary to remove the protective material in the spring with the first rays of the sun.
Reproduction
The Banks pine is propagated by seeds. Small, inconspicuous seeds up to 2 cm long are transformed into a luxurious coniferous tree with mighty branches.
The seeds can germinate without human intervention. In the combination of favorable conditions (moderate humidity and freezing temperatures), seeds germinate on the 30th day after sowing.
Diseases and pests
Trees from the Pine family are susceptible to diseases typical of this type:
- Seryanka - from rust fungi;
- Hermes pine - from aphid larvae.
The pine scale insect is one of the hard-to-remove insects that spoil conifers. Butterflies lay millions of eggs on coniferous needles, from which caterpillars will emerge in the future. These larvae eat the crown of the needles, and the plant affected by the pests will inevitably die.
The most dangerous pest for conifers is the pine silkworm. Its caterpillars are capable of destroying entire forest plantations if the trees are not processed in time. Silkworm larvae penetrate the bark, young shoots, buds and feed from the inside. The damaged tree dries up and dies over time.
Timely processing will ensure the normal development of trees and protect against insects and pests.
Conclusion
Banks Pine is an evergreen large tree from the Pine family with a beautiful rounded branched crown. In nature, it grows in the northeastern region of North America, but it is also well adapted to the climate conditions of central Russia. The coniferous plant is frost-resistant and undemanding to care for. It is planted for landscaping the garden and as a green hedge in landscaping. Pine Banks grows very quickly, but after 30 years the growth rate decreases significantly.
