The homeland of the fir is North America, here it can be found in the swamps. It has been cultivated as a cultivated plant since 1850. The name of the fir Abies - abh in translation from the Indo-Germanic language means abundance. Fir branches are densely covered with needles and branch strongly, this is indeed an abundance of fragrant green needles.
Characteristics of nana fir
- Size of an adult tree: height up to one meter at the age of ten years, crown diameter up to two meters.
- Growth rate: grows very slowly, accelerated growth is facilitated by regular fertilization, watering and a sunny place for planting.
- The need for watering: loves moisture, does not tolerate drought, regular watering is necessary in the absence of rain. To reduce moisture evaporation, the soil around the tree is mulched, sprinkled with sawdust.
- Requirements for the composition of the soil: prefers acidic or neutral loamy soils, you can use special earthen mixtures for conifers.
- Attitude to light: shade-tolerant, but grows well in sunny, open places.
- Frost resistance: tolerates severe frosts well. To protect against breakage of branches under the weight of snow, a special frame is installed in winter.
- Pests: affected by spruce-fir hermes.
- Planting: seedlings are planted from March to November in a soil suitable for conifers in composition, avoiding sandy soils.
- Care and protection: regular watering is recommended, preventive treatments against hermes, feeding, if necessary, for young plants.
- Usage: used for decorating small gardens, landscaping roofs, loggias, balconies, alpine slides. Traditional decoration for Christmas and New Year holidays. Ethnoscience.
This small tree, similar to a shrub, attracts with a wonderful aroma of needles, an unusual color and a neat dense crown. The shape of the crown is round or conical. Dark green fir needles have two bluish-white stripes on the lower side, the middle and edge of the needles are lighter - yellowish-green. The height of the tree is from fifty centimeters to one meter, it grows very slowly. It reaches its maximum size in forty years. Life expectancy is three hundred years. It is grown by amateurs in the open field, in containers, in winter gardens and on the roofs of buildings.
Fir fruits are reddish-yellow cones, five to ten centimeters long.
Care features
Temperature, lighting, soil. The tree is unpretentious. Shade-tolerant, frost-resistant, strong wind resistant. Loves cool and humid places. Prefers loose, fertile soil with an acidic or neutral environment. Dislikes sandy soil and high air temperature and drought.
Watering. In the absence of rain, it requires additional abundant watering. You need to water the fir with settled water twice a week. Since the dwarf fir does not like compacted soil, the ground around the tree is regularly dug onto the floor with a shovel bayonet; for additional moisture conservation, it is mulched with sawdust or peat. It is not necessary to dig near the trunk itself, so as not to damage the root system.
Fir formation. The branches of the tree are quite strong, but with a lot of snow in winter they can break.To prevent this from happening, props are installed. Fir is very sensitive to highly polluted city air, so it is better not to plant it in an industrial area. Fir pruning for crown formation is not performed, since this does not lead to branching. The tree is formed by removing the central buds of the lateral shoots in the fall. For the winter, young plants are sheltered in severe frosts.
Pests and diseases. Fir is resistant to disease. When the plant is weakened due to unfavorable weather conditions or rare watering, it can be affected by spruce-fir hermes. This is reflected in the yellowing of the needles. On the needles of a diseased plant, you can see small black insects and white lumps, similar to cotton wool. The disease begins most often in the spring. If its signs are found, fir should be sprayed with systemic insecticides.
Planting balsam fir
Fir seedlings, grown independently from seeds or purchased in a nursery, are planted in open ground from early spring to late autumn. The best earthen mixture for planting will be a combination of three parts of clay, three parts of humus, one part of peat and one part of sand. If the land in which the fir is planted is not loose enough, drainage from rubble is placed on the bottom of the planting pit and sawdust is added.
You need to fertilize the planted tree no earlier than two years later with mineral fertilizers for conifers so that it grows better. When planting, you can also add a little mineral fertilizer. Fir planted in a container is transplanted into a large container as the root system grows. Although the plant is shade-tolerant, it loves sunlight and grows well in an open, lit place.
