Slender arborvitae, fanciful junipers, various spruce trees ennoble any territory. Coniferous shrubs and trees - an evergreen decoration of the site, dramatically changing its appearance for the better. With proper placement and proper care, they look decorative throughout the year.

Types with names and their description

Unpretentious and gas-resistant coniferous shrubs for the garden perfectly complement the chosen style of landscape design, are used to decorate the courtyard, decorate the main entrance to the country house or office. Modern dwarf forms of junipers, spruces and other evergreens significantly reduce labor costs for pruning.

Undersized coniferous shrubs

Evergreens are suitable for the realization of bold and original ideas of landscape design. In small gardens, undersized, dwarf, and creeping species of coniferous shrubs, as well as varieties with a domed crown, are more often used. Slowed annual growth ensures the preservation of plant height of 50 - 80 cm at a age of five with a diameter of 0.80 - 1.2 m.

  • Juniper medium "Gold Star". A compact, slowly growing shrub shaped like a star. Within 10 years, it reaches a height of 50 cm, and a width of 2 m. Suitable for the formation of hedges, tolerates a haircut without any problems.
  • Juniper Daurian. Under natural conditions, an evergreen bush rarely grows to half a meter, but the diameter of the creeping juniper in a garden or park reaches five meters.In warm time, the needles are painted in blue-green color, in winter - in bronze. Lush spherical bushes of the Expanza Variegata variety are distinguished by light tops on a green background. Siberian juniper looks similar to M. daursky, grows in height up to 1 m.
  • Juniper ordinary "Repanda". The shrub grows to a height of 0.5 m, spreads branches to the sides from the center by 1 - 1.2 m. The needles are evergreen, dense, fragrant. Ideal ground cover shrub, undemanding to the substrate. Juniperus spread “Ice Blue” in the shape of a crown is similar to M. ordinary “Repanda”, but differs in the bluish color of the needles.

Adult shrubs are more resistant to low temperatures and lack of moisture, compared to young specimens.

  • Juniper Cossack "Variegata". The height of a slowly growing shrub by the age of ten is only 0.5 m, diameter - 1.5 m. The needles are soft, with highlights of cream and golden yellow on a green background.
  • Thuja western "Golden Taffet" and "Globose Aurea". Dwarf ornamental coniferous shrubs up to 0.6 m high and with a diameter of less than 1 m are great for decorating an oriental-style garden or rock garden. Crohn attracts attention with shades of gold and bronze. Shrubs prefer lighted garden areas.
  • Weimutov pine. "Minima" is a dwarf variety with a compact crown. The color of the needles is green with a lemon tint. Radiata is a dwarf shrub with a crown in the shape of a ball.

Medium plants

Coniferous shrubs with a height of 0.8 to 1.5 m are well suited for the original green compositions in the garden and single plantings.

  • Thuja western "Globose". A coniferous shrub in the shape of a sphere up to 1 m high grows better in partial shade, prefers light fertile soils. Resistant to frosty winters. A close variety in crown shape is the thuja western Golden Globe.
  • Thuja western "Erikoides". Crohn at a young age has a round or oval shape, then becomes like a pyramid more than 1.5 m high. The needles outwardly resemble juniper needles. The plant tolerates a haircut, resistant to gas contamination.
  • Thuja western "Erikoides Gold". An elegant plant with a crown of rounded conical or oval shape. The adult shrub has a height and a diameter of 100 - 120 cm. The name of the variety was given by the color of golden yellow needles.

Read also:thuja in the open ground

Tall shrubs

Junipers, arborvitae, cypresses are distinguished by their enviable longevity, they live in nature for hundreds of years. Important for a temperate climate are other useful qualities - high winter hardiness, good drought tolerance.

Slowly growing species, dwarf varieties of spruce and pine at a young age resemble shrubs, retain their compact form in adulthood.

  • Juniper rocky "Munglow". The plant attracts attention with a slender crown and the "moon" color of needles. It is highly resistant to droughts and low temperatures.
  • Thuja western "Brabant". The plant reaches a height of 5 - 20 m. Crohn at a young age has a strictly conical shape, with age it becomes more friable. The color of the needles is green; it does not change seasonally.
  • Blue spruce "Belobok". A unique variety with a compact crown, young shoots of golden white color. Adult spruce "Belobok" takes on a characteristic pyramidal shape.
  • Spruce ordinary "Pygmy". The green crown-shaped crown is formed by highly branched shoots. The adult Pygmy spruce reaches a height of 2 m with a diameter of 1.5 m. The needles are bright green in color.
  • Weimutov pine. The height of plants of the Nana variety is 1.5 m, the needles are bright green, with age they acquire a silver hue. “Pendula” is a Weimutov pine variety with a weeping crown shape that responds well to a haircut. Https: //www.youtube.com/watch? V = ySwv121ME8M

General rules for placing conifers in the garden

Favorite garden or front garden will become even more elegant if the golden balls of dwarf arborvitae, slender junipers and spruce find a permanent "residence" in it. Shade-tolerant shrubs - a find for secluded corners of a country estate, a summer residence.

The ability of conifers to disinfect the air makes them popular neighbors of other plants and people. A valuable feature is noise and dust protection. Coniferous shrubs and trees are used to create hedges, green walls. It is not recommended to place large specimens too close to buildings and paved paths, since the root system of conifers is quite branched and usually located in the surface layers of the soil.

Many species and varieties of thuja, young spruce, juniper poorly tolerate direct sunlight. But even a complete shadow does not suit them at all - the crown loses its decorative appearance.

If there is a problem where to place conifers in the garden, then partially shaded corners are chosen, which are characterized by the formation of a microclimate with coolness in the hottest time of the day. Daurian juniper grows well in partial shade under large trees, buildings, tolerates drought, frost, strong wind. You can plant it on a slope or coastal slope to fix the soil.

Interesting compositions from shrubs: schemes

Conifers are used to create spectacular groups with decorative hardwoods. Low and dwarf spruce, junipers look great against the background of stones in rock gardens and rockeries. Shrub and creeping forms of pines are successfully combined with decorative cereals, roses.

Composition for a small garden:

  1. Coniferous plants with spherical and oval crown: Cossack juniper, Western thuja (varieties "Erikoides Gold", "Golden Taffet" and "Globosa Aurea"), ordinary juniper "Repanda", Veymutova Pine (varieties "Minima" and "Radiata").
  2. Decorative-deciduous and beautiful-flowering shrubs: European forsythia, common lilac, roses, hydrangeas.
  3. Perennials and annuals: delphiniums, irises, asters, peonies.
  4. Perennial and annual garden creepers for terraces and gazebos: morning glory, climbing roses, campsis, honeysuckle.
  5. Flowerpots and containers with dwarf conifers and beautiful flowering plants.
  6. Mini well or pond.

Alpine slide - miniature mountain landscape. Planted on an elevation among the stones of thuja and juniper spherical shape, decorative deciduous shrubs. When creating the composition, plants with a contrasting color of needles are chosen, for example, thawed "Erikoides", blue spruce, Weimutov pine. Between trees and shrubs, you can plant a saxifrage, stonecrop, tenacity, Alpine forget-me-not.

Rockery - imitation of a rocky ledge, rocky slope:

  • Large pieces of granite, quartzite, sandstone, limestone with sharp edges.
  • Plants of the upper tier: pine, spruce, high coniferous shrubs.
  • Middle tier: juniper and thuja of medium height.
  • Lower tier: creeping junipers.
  • Between stones and conifers: ground cover flowering plants with blue, purple, blue, violet and white color petals.
  • Decorating the soil around stones and plants with granite chips, pebbles.

Conifers are used to create a lively openwork or dense hedge, planting an alley in the garden. Variants of application - topiary, dwarf spruce, pine and thuja in tubs or containers, bonsai.

Decorative hedge of coniferous shrubs

Low-growing evergreens look better in the form of a green border. It is more convenient to create a hedge or wall from medium-tall and high junipers, arborvitae with a columnar or oval crown. With a single-row planting method, seedlings of shrubs are placed at a distance of 1 m from each other.

The step of planting low-growing conifers for the border is 0.5 m. For a low two-row hedge, the distance between the bushes is 0.5 m, between the rows - 0.7 m.

Conifers are planted in March or October, preferably with a root lump of land. When performing haircuts, no more than a third of the length of the shoots is removed.

Features of growing and caring for plants

When planting seedlings must take into account the characteristics of the variety.

  • The distance between undersized shrubs leave 0.5 - 2 m.
  • A pit or trench is dug up to a depth of 70 cm.
  • At the bottom, it is necessary to arrange drainage from broken brick, rubble or ceramic shards.
  • The bottom layer is covered with a mixture of peat with sand and garden soil.

After placing the root system, the plants add the prepared substrate, compact, water the soil and mulch. In the first weeks after planting, young plants need more frequent watering. In the future, drought-tolerant shrubs are enough 2 - 3 irrigation during the growing season. In the spring, it is recommended to introduce complex fertilizer nitroammofosku - 40-50 g per square meter. In summer, the trunk circle weed from the weeds.

In the first two years after planting, young shrubs will need winter shelter.

In late autumn, you can tie branches so that the bushes do not fall apart under the weight of snow. The pruning of coniferous shrubs is carried out to give the crown a more compact shape, the correct shape.

Conifers will delight for a long time with their appearance, if you choose the right seedlings, plant and competently care for. Almost all representatives of this class emit volatile and essential oils that repel insects, are useful in combating many pathogens in the air and soil, trap dust and clean the atmosphere from harmful emissions.

Similar:More from the author: