Growing fir on the site: planting, care and beautiful varieties and species. Single-color fir: planting and caring for a coniferous plant What kind of soil does fir like?

Single-color fir (from the Latin Abies concolor) is an evergreen tree from the Pine family. It received the specific name “one-color” due to its needles, painted bluish-green on both sides. The natural habitat of this luxurious tree is the western and northern regions of America.

It can be found in many European countries, Australia, Africa, as well as Far East and the Caucasus. Winter hardiness, unpretentiousness in cultivation and resistance to metropolitan conditions, as well as the diversity of varieties, have made it a popular plant in many regions of Russia.

Where and how is fir used?

Single-color fir is very often used in landscape design, it can be found in many parks and squares, since the variety is rightfully considered the most beautiful and fragrant among all coniferous plant species.

Coniferous plants are used to improve many design ideas:

Fir is often combined with deciduous trees, especially to contrast the colors of the plants. It looks great when planted with larch, maple, and many shrubs.
Single-color fir is used in creating, it is used to decorate alleys and flower beds, and is also planted as independent tree near the house for shading the area.

The needles of a cut fir branch do not fall off for a long time, which is why it is widely used in floristry. The aroma of its oil is used in cosmetology, in folk medicine, in particular aromatherapy. This is an excellent natural antidepressant and antiseptic.

Fir resin is often used in medicinal purposes, it treats cough, bronchitis, sore throat and even tuberculosis.

It is used to treat otitis media, all kinds of mucous inflammation, as well as many urogenital diseases, scurvy, rheumatism, muscle and joint diseases. Most drugs that contain, strengthen immune system, stimulate hematopoiesis, replenish the body with vitamins and other useful substances, relieve stress and protect against radiation.

More information can be found in the video:

Fir is considered to have presentable green needles that do not change color throughout the season. It takes root quickly and does not require much attention. With a fir, you don’t need to worry about planting and caring for any suburban area becomes more solid and individual.

Purchase planting material Available both in specialized stores and in local nurseries. Before purchasing, you should find out about the varieties that do best in your region. The best option for beginners - purchasing low-growing or medium-growing winter-hardy fir. Beginning summer residents should not take risks buying rare decorative varieties with a low level of frost resistance. In this case, there is a high risk of losing the seedling in the first year.

When purchasing, pay attention to several signs:

seedling at least 4 years old;
the container is proportionate to the size of the plant - this is a guarantee that it grew in a pot and was not replanted before sale;
the soil in the container is moist, without mold;
the color of the needles is even, no brown spots on branches and white flakes at the base of the needles;
absence of mechanical damage and dry branches;
The shoots are elastic and bend when tilted.

If you don’t want to waste money in vain, then you will have to immediately abandon the idea of buying an ephedra with an open root system. Such a plant rarely survives. The only possible option is to purchase a seedling in the container in which it grew.

If you have a plot of more than 6 acres, landscape designers recommend planting 1 large and several dwarfs. Among the massive trees chosen are fir, spruce, berry yew, pine. The tree is planted at the gate or in the center of a well-groomed lawn. From low-growing species form compositions in the flowerbed, near the borders, near the playground.

Selection of varieties:

Blue Glauka, variegated Variegata and neatly creeping Prostrata take root successfully.

Time and place of landing

The dormant period is a good time to plant acquired conifers. IN middle lane And southern regions In Russia it is recommended to plant them at the end of September or at the beginning of October. In northern latitudes it is favorable spring planting fir in the country.

Conditions for successful acclimatization:

soil of moderate humidity, not frozen;
air temperature not lower than +5 °C, but not higher than +12 °C;
spring recruits will need partial shade, autumn recruits will need shelter from wind and frost.

Variety Brillant

Fir of any variety quickly takes root in partial shade in a well-drained and fertile place. Open area and the sun are not suitable for her. For seedlings, shady areas are a prerequisite for successful growth. Mature plants will be able to form their typical crown only with sufficient sunlight, so shady areas are not for them. It should be noted that fir trees have a powerful root system, going far into the depths.

On heavy clay soils the roots form branches and grow superficially, oppressing their neighbors.

To prevent the roots from growing along the perimeter of the site, the planting hole is drained and enriched with fertile soil.

How to plant purchased fir: step-by-step description of the process

Coniferous plants are presentable, distinguished by their endurance and relative ease of care. To achieve this, you need to plant the purchased tree correctly. Before planting a fir, the place for it is prepared 2 weeks in advance. To do this, dig a planting hole 2 times the volume of the container in which the plant is located.

Distance between conifers:

when growing medium-sized trees, maintain a distance of 2-3 m;
the alley group needs more space, so leave 4 m between the seedlings.

Planting fir in several stages:

The pit is spilled generously with water (2 buckets). A drainage layer of broken brick or small crushed stone is laid at the bottom to prevent moisture from stagnating at the roots. The drainage height should be 8-10 cm.
Prepare a fertile soil mixture consisting of peat, sand, humus in a ratio of 1:1:3. Additionally add granular fertilizer for conifers or 200 g of nitrophoska. Fill the hole halfway with the substrate.
After 2 weeks, planting is carried out. The shrub is removed from the container, placed on a mound of soil, its roots are straightened and sprinkled with the remaining substrate. It is important not to destroy the earthen lump removed from the container, since mycorrhiza has already formed on the roots, which is favorable for the growth of the tree.
After planting, the soil is compacted and watered generously to avoid the formation of voids.
The tree trunk circle is mulched with pieces of bark, cones, and pine needles.
If the work is carried out in the fall, then you need to cover the tree with spruce branches before frost. In March, when the weather becomes sunnier, the crown is covered non-woven material to avoid the formation of burns.

IN further care fir care comes down to watering, irrigating the crown at least once a week, seasonal pruning of old and weakened branches. Fertilizing begins from the 3rd year of growth; fertilizers for conifers are applied 1-2 times per season.

Video about the formation of a young bush.

Organizing the transplantation of an adult fir is more difficult than planting a purchased shrub. In this case, you will have to remove a massive lump of earth without damaging the roots. A year before the planned work, the soil around the tree is bayoneted with a shovel at a distance of 1 m. Over the course of a set time, young roots will grow on the root system, allowing them to successfully establish themselves in a new place in the future. Planted before or after the active growing season ( early spring or in September) on fertile soils. When transplanting into a pre-prepared hole, add soil from the previous place of growth.

Common Pests and Diseases

Fir is a hardy plant, with proper care there are no problems with it. To prevent the death of a young conifer, a novice gardener should take into account several recommendations:

The tree trunk circle is not loosened; mulching is enough. When loosening, small shoots (capillaries) come off from the roots. As a result, the amount of nutrition decreases, and the fir dries out within 1-2 years.
Fresh manure and bird droppings should not be used as fertilizers. Some of the roots are burned from such organic matter.

The cause of diseases is insufficient feeding and poor hydration, mechanical damage bark and sudden temperature changes. Rust is a common disease of coniferous trees. As a result of infection, the needles turn brown and the crown thins out. New growths of a rusty color form on the branches. Affected shoots and fallen needles are burned, the sections are covered with resin or varnish, and the fir itself is treated with a solution of copper sulfate.

If not properly cared for, fir trees suffer from hermes (yellow aphids). As a result of the damage, the needles turn yellow and fall off. The drugs Rogora and Antio help prevent pest invasions. The trunks are treated with a solution of insecticides in a ratio of 20 g per 10 liters of water in early spring (late March - early April).

In rare cases, the Siberian silkworm may visit the conifer. It eats needles, young cones and bark, leading to drying out. Caterpillars on branches emerge from laid eggs before buds open; they eat needles for a couple of months, then pupate. In August, butterflies begin to appear to lay new eggs. Treating the crown with any insecticide or biological product helps get rid of the pest. Usually the drug Bi-58 or Clipper is used.

When growing conifers, one must remember to irrigate the crown during the hot season and preventive treatment with the necessary preparations. Then pests will rarely appear on the site, and caring for the plants will become much easier.

If the dacha and plot have additional free space, which is not occupied for utilitarian needs, then such beautiful plant how the fir will decorate it very much (both that very notorious “place” and the entire area as a whole).

Despite the fact that fir and fir oil, based on their useful properties These are the leaders in frequency of use in traditional medicine recipes; planting fir on the site will most likely only bring aesthetic pleasure. I don’t think anyone needs to brew its needles against scurvy. modern Russia, (with all its disadvantages in the field of medicine) still will not arise, and fir oil in pharmacies is not that expensive. We ourselves, having gone through a bunch of things for the sauna essential oils, now we only use fir.

The main advantage of fir for use in landscape design of a site is that the needles do not fall off for a long time, which do not become “rusty”, that is, they do not turn red. The crown of the fir is soft and dense, easily able to withstand shaping.

Fir (lat. Aies) belongs to the Pine family (Pinaceae), the genus includes about 50 species common in the temperate zone of the Northern Hemisphere. Most often used as holiday trees Nordmann fir, noble and balsam. Christmas wreaths and garlands are made from fir branches.

A neat, clearly defined crown, most often of small diameter, dense branches located almost from the very base of the trunk, and shiny dark green needles make fir trees attractive and decorative.

These trees have long been used for park plantings, mainly suburban, since city air has a bad effect on appearance coniferous beauties.

Strict firs are good along the front alley. They also look great in group plantings on their own or in combination with birch, maple, and rowan trees. Fir trees make excellent hedges along the edges of the site. A single fir can decorate a lawn or local area. Dwarf forms look great in.

In plantings, firs coexist well with other large conifers (spruce, pine, larch), and their dwarf forms coexist with their short counterparts, ground cover flowering perennials, heathers, eriks, .

Biological properties and features

Fir trees are large, 10-80 m tall coniferous trees. The crown starts almost from the ground and has a neat conical shape. The trunk is 0.5-4 m in diameter, covered with smooth gray bark, although there are species in which the bark is rough, riddled with deep cracks. The root system is taprooted; most fir trees go deep into the soil. The needles are soft, flat, usually with a rounded tip. The upper side of the needles is dark green, shiny, the lower side is matte, with two white stripes on the sides of the midrib.

Firs are monoecious plants; pollen and seed cones are found on the same specimens. The seed cones are cylindrical, elongated, directed upward, not downward (as, for example, in spruce), so a fir that has reached reproductive age even without decorations looks like a wonderful Christmas tree with candles on the upper branches.

Another feature of fir cones is that when ripe, they fall apart into separate scales, releasing the seeds, while the central core remains on the branch. The seeds are small, winged, and dispersed by the wind.

Fir: varieties and types

Most commonly used the following types and their garden forms.

Balsam fir (Abies bahamea) is the most common species of the genus in North America. More resistant to waterlogging than other fir trees. Lives up to 150-200 years. Reaches 15-25 m in height.

The root system, unlike other species of the genus, does not lie too deep, so strong winds can knock down trees. Frost-resistant, characterized by fairly rapid growth. The first cones appear at the age of 20-30 years.

Suitable for group and single plantings. The species is unsuitable for cultivation in the southern regions, where it suffers from lack of soil moisture and dry air.

There are a number of decorative forms, including dwarf ('Hudsonia, 'Nana'), with bluish needles ('Glauca'), with white-colored needles at the ends ('Argentea'), with yellow-variegated needles ('Variegata'), columnar ('Columnahs), creeping ('Prostrata).

Korean fir (Abies koreana) forms mountain forests in the southern regions of the Korean Peninsula. Tree up to 15 m tall, growing very slowly in the first years of life.

Before ripening, the buds become bright, blue, sometimes with purple tint, and they are already formed by 15-year-old specimens.

It is distinguished by winter hardiness and decorativeness (not too large in size, bright cones). Available decorative forms: with dark purple cones ('Blue Standard'), slow growing, with short needles and small cones (Brevifolia), low growing, with a round dense crown and silver needles ('Silberzwerg'), dwarf with a spreading flat crown ('Piccolo') .

Caucasian fir, or Nordmann fir (Abies nordmanniana), forms forests in the western part of the Caucasus Mountains and in Turkey. Reaches a height of 60 m with a trunk diameter of 2 m. The crown is narrow, cone-shaped. The species is characterized by rapid growth and longevity (lives up to 500 years). Winter hardiness is low, even in adulthood; there are a number of decorative forms (‘Pendula, ‘Aurea’, ‘Albo-spicata’, ‘Gtauca’).

Common fir (Abies concolor) is native to the mountainous regions of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. Reaches a height of 40-60 m, the needles have a bluish tint. It grows quickly and lives up to 350 years. Not afraid strong winds and air smoke, is very drought-resistant and frost-resistant. Quite photophilous.

There are decorative forms: compact tree with long blue-white needles (‘Violacea’), dwarf tree with long blue needles (‘Compacta Glauca’).

Proper planting of fir

Firs are unpretentious. They tolerate shading quite well, especially in the first years of life, when partial shade is almost a mandatory condition for growing. Grown-up specimens develop better in full sunlight. Most types of fir have a deep root system and, therefore, high wind resistance.

Firs do not tolerate dry air and pollution from smoke and gaseous impurities well, so they are not very often found in city parks.

It is best to plant these plants in April or in the second half of August - September. 5-10 year old seedlings have the highest survival rate. On heavy soils with high level groundwater arrange drainage. A 20-centimeter layer of crushed stone or broken brick is laid at the bottom of the planting pit.

Depending on the size of the earthen ball on the roots. When planting, remember that the root collar must remain level with the soil surface. The width of the pit is at least half a meter, maybe a little more (60-70 cm).

For planting, it is useful to prepare a soil mixture consisting of: clay, humus (or leaf soil), peat, sand (2:3:1:1), also add complex mineral fertilizer, and on heavy soils when installing drainage - up to 10 kg of sawdust. The recommended distance between fir trees in alley plantings is 4-5 m, in loose groups - 3-3.5 m, in dense groups - up to 2.5 m.

How to shape a fir crown

In the spring, the crown of these conifers is cleaned, removing dry and severely damaged branches. Fir trees have a neat, strict crown shape, but if suddenly for some reason its additional formation is required, it is carried out in early spring, before sap flow begins. Sometimes not only large trees, but also dwarf and creeping cultivars need crown formation.

Most types and decorative forms of fir are successfully grown without any shelter for the winter. However, it should be remembered that young specimens in the first year after planting are more vulnerable to low temperatures. Usually they are covered with spruce branches, which protects them from spring mornings and from sunburn, especially severe when the snow melts. It is useful to cover the tree trunks of young plants with dry leaves or mulch with peat during the winter.

Single-colored fir is a coniferous plant of the pine family and belongs to the evergreen coniferous trees. Most beautiful view fir trees The homeland of the monochromatic fir is North America, namely the shady slopes of the western mountains.

Planting and caring for single-color fir

A strong and large coniferous tree. The height of single-color fir is from 30 to 60 meters, each year the height increases by 25-40 centimeters. A five-year-old tree grows up to one and a half meters. The trunk is ash-gray, reaching 1.5-2 meters in diameter. The bark is thick, gray, cracked, the crown is broadly conical. The branches grow horizontally. The needles are large (up to 6 centimeters), saber-shaped, soft, bluish-green below and above. It was the color of the needles that determined the name of this type of fir. The needles have a characteristic lemon-orange smell; flowering occurs in the month of May. Fruiting can occur once every three years. The cones are oval, blunt, up to 12 centimeters long. Have dark purple. Single-colored fir seeds are light brown with a pink wing and grow up to 13 millimeters.

Characteristics: resistant to drought, winds, winter frosts, light-loving, grows relatively quickly. It develops normally on any soil, even saline soil. Prefers sandy or dry soils. The hardiest tree of this family. Its root system is deep or shallow and does not tolerate compacted soil. Easily tolerates the unfavorable factors of the city. Can be transplanted. Lives on average up to 350-400 years.

Decorative types and description of single-color fir

The “Purple” fir form grows only up to 8 meters. This is a fairly rare variety. It has a wide cone-shaped crown. It has blue-white, long, large needles. Resistant to smoke, cold and drought. It grows more intensively than other varieties of fir.

A prominent dwarf shrub is the decorative form “Compact”. Its branches grow unevenly, creating an irregular crown. It grows by 3-5 centimeters every year. The needles are very long and blue. Grows from 25 to 40 centimeters. This variety of fir was invented in the first half of the twentieth century. A very rare and decorative form of single-color fir.

Use and purchase of single-color fir

Fir one color capable of purifying the air from sulfur dioxide. It is often used in landscape design, as ornamental plant, planted singly, in groups or in tapeworm plantings. They combine fir with larches, which looks especially beautiful in the fall. Single-color fir is a wonderful addition to parks, gardens, and alleys.

Single-color fir or its decorative forms and varieties of fir (Compacta, Violacea) can be purchased at our Moscow plant nursery. You can always find detailed information about the plant you are interested in on our website or receive it individually. Our prices are affordable, and the quality of seedlings is guaranteed. By ordering fir from us, you will make the right choice.

Plant fir (lat. Abies) represents a genus of the Pine family. The Russian name of the plant comes from German word Fichte, which means "fir tree". Spruce-fir is widespread in subtropical, temperate and even tropical regions of the Northern Hemisphere, including El Salvador, Mexico, Honduras and Guatemala. Most often, fir lives in coniferous forests, in proximity to trees such as cedar, spruce and pine, but it is also found in mixed and even deciduous forests. The genus has about 50 varieties - from shrubs 50 cm high to trees 80 m high. Currently, decorative fir is incredibly in demand in landscaping both household plots and public parks and squares. She is beautiful and unpretentious. Disadvantages include low frost resistance, as well as fir intolerance to smoke, gas and too dry air.

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Planting and caring for fir (in brief)

Landing: planting four-year-old seedlings in the ground - at the end of August or at the beginning of September, but it is also possible in April.
Bloom: grown as an ornamental foliage plant.
Lighting: shade or partial shade, preferably near a body of water.
Soil: moist, well-drained, rich, preferably loamy.
Mulching: in spring, a layer of peat, wood chips or sawdust 5-6 cm thick.
Watering: moisture-loving species are watered 2-3 times per season during the dry period, spending 15-20 liters of water on each plant. Other types of fir do not require artificial watering.
Feeding: mineral complexes, in the spring, from the third or fourth year after planting in the ground.
Trimming: mainly for sanitary purposes in early spring, before sap flow begins.
Reproduction: species firs can be propagated by seeds, and cultivars - only by cuttings, since the seed method does not preserve the varietal characteristics of the parent plant.
Pests: spruce-fir hermes (a type of aphid), spider mites, click beetles, fir longhorned beetles, beetles.
Diseases: rust, root rot.

Fir tree - description

Fir is a monoecious plant, evergreen, heat-loving and shade-tolerant. Its root system is powerful, pivotal, and goes deep into the ground. Fir bark in young years is thin and smooth, but with age it becomes thick and cracked. The crown is cone-shaped, starting right at the base of the trunk - this is what distinguishes fir from other coniferous trees. Fir branches are arranged horizontally, ringed, fir leaves are flat, entire soft needles, narrowed at the base into a short petiole. Fir needles do not acquire a dirty red hue in winter, as happens with many other conifers; each fir needle is decorated with two white stripes from below. On reproductive branches the needles are pointed, on vegetative shoots they have a slightly notched or rounded tip. Male flowers look like earrings of cones, and female flowers are ovoid, cylindrical or ovoid-cylindrical, with cones sticking up (another difference between fir and other conifers, whose cones usually hang). Female fir cones consist of a rod on which cover scales sit, inside which there are fruit scales bearing two ovules. Fir trees are pollinated by the wind. When fir seeds ripen, the scales on the cones become woody and fall off, releasing the winged seeds and leaving only the stems on the tree. In cultivation in one place, fir can live up to three hundred years.

Fir planting

When to plant fir

To plant in the ground, you will need fir seedlings at least four years old. They need to be planted in April, or even better in late August or early September, and it is advisable to choose a rainy or cloudy day for planting. A place for fir is chosen in the shade or partial shade in areas with moist, rich, well-drained soil, ideally it should be loam. It’s great if there is a body of water not far from the place where the fir will grow.

How to plant a fir

Two weeks before planting the fir, dig a hole approximately 60x60x60 in size, although the dimensions of the hole depend on the volume of the root system of the seedling. Pour 2-3 buckets of water into the hole, and when it is absorbed, dig up the bottom with half a shovel and place a layer of crushed stone or broken brick 5-6 cm thick in the hole. Then fill the hole halfway with thoroughly mixed soil of the following composition: 3 parts humus, 2 parts of clay, 1 part of peat and sand, 10 kg of sawdust and 200-300 g of nitrophoska. After two weeks, when the soil in the hole has settled, lower the roots of the seedling into it so that the root collar is flush with the surface of the site - it is most convenient to install the seedling on a mound of soil mixture. Spread the roots of the seedling, fill the hole to the top nutritious soil composition described above and compact it thoroughly. After planting, water the fir. If you decide to grow a fir alley, place the seedlings at a distance of 4-5 m from each other. Group planting of fir trees requires a distance between seedlings of 3-3.5 m for loose groups and 2.5 m for dense ones.

Fir care in the garden

How to grow fir

When caring for seedlings, loosen the soil to a depth of 10-12 cm after watering and remove weeds. It is advisable to mulch the trunk circle of young plants with a diameter of 50 cm with wood chips, sawdust or peat, a layer of mulch - 5-8 cm, just make sure that the mulch does not lie close to the root collar of the fir. It will be necessary to feed the fir after planting only after 2-3 years, adding 100-125 g of Kemira-universal to the tree trunk in the spring. You will only need to water the fir if you are growing a moisture-loving species, for example, balsam fir, which requires watering 2-3 times a season during dry times. The amount of water per watering is 15-20 liters. Other species do not need artificial watering - firs do not like waterlogging; natural precipitation is enough for them.

As for pruning, in the spring, before the sap begins to flow, dry and damaged branches are removed, and the fir crown is formed, if necessary. Pruning is done with garden shears. During one haircut, shoots are shortened by no more than a third of their length. In general, fir has a natural, neat crown that does not require shaping.

Fir transplantation

Compared to other plants, coniferous trees adapt quite easily after transplantation. If you decide to transplant a young plant, use a sharp shovel to pierce the earth in a circle at a distance of 30-40 cm from the trunk, then use a shovel to pry this marked circle at the depth of the bayonet, take it out along with the roots and a lump of earth, transport it in a wheelbarrow to a new hole and carefully move into her. An older tree needs to be prepared for replanting: the soil should be pierced in a circle a year before replanting, and the diameter of the circle in this case should be larger. Over the course of a year, the fir will grow new young roots inside the designated circle and, thanks to this, will more easily withstand the test of replanting. It will be difficult for one person to just remove the fir from the ground, transport it and plant it in a new place, so look for an assistant. The main thing in this process is to prevent the earthen lump from falling apart.

Pests and diseases of fir

As you can see, planting and caring for fir is simple, and the plant will not require any special skills or effort from you. Fir is quite resistant against such troubles as diseases and pests, however, there are cases when fir loses its decorative effect due to spruce-fir Hermes - a type of aphid, from whose vital activity the fir turns yellow. To combat Hermes, the preparations Rogor or Antio are used: in early spring, when overwintered female aphids wake up, treat the fir with a solution of one of these preparations at the rate of 20 g per 10 liters of water. These insecticides will also save your tree from other harmful insects - fir shoot moth and fir pinecone leaf roller.

Sometimes the needles of a beautiful fir begin to turn yellow, and rusty cushions form on the shoots, and the reason for this is fungal disease rust. The affected branches are cut off and burned along with fallen pine needles, the sections are treated with garden varnish, and the crown is sprayed with a two percent solution of Bordeaux mixture. And carefully inspect the area: plants such as chickweed or chickweed should not be there where conifers grow.

Fir propagation

How to propagate fir

Species fir is propagated by seeds, which are harvested at the very beginning of cone ripening, and decorative varieties are taken from cuttings.

Fir propagation by cuttings

Cuttings for rooting 5-8 cm long should be taken only from young trees, and these should be annual shoots with one (not two - this is important) apical bud and always with a heel. If you want to get a cutting with a heel, then it is better not to cut it, but to tear it off with a sharp movement along with fragments of the bark and wood of a more mature shoot. Cuttings should be harvested in the spring, before sap flow begins, on a cloudy morning from the middle part of the crown on its northern side. Before planting, carefully remove burrs from the heel. Make sure that the bark on the heel does not peel off from the wood. To avoid the further development of fungal diseases, the cuttings are kept for 6 hours in a two percent solution of foundationol, captan, or a dark pink solution of potassium permanganate. Then the cuttings are planted in a mixture of sand, humus and leaf soil in equal parts and covered with a transparent cap. In order for the cuttings to take root faster, it is advisable to arrange the bottom heating of the substrate 2-3ºC higher room temperature. You need to keep the cuttings in light, but not sunny place, arranging daily ventilation. For the winter, the container with cuttings can be moved to the basement, and in the spring it can already be taken out to fresh air. It will take a long time for the cuttings to take root - the fir will first grow callus, and only in the second year will roots appear.

Growing fir from seeds

Collecting fir seeds is not easy, since the cones of mature trees ripen high, and as soon as they ripen, the winged seeds immediately fly away. But if you are lucky enough to get a slightly unripe cone, dry it, remove the seeds and store them in the refrigerator or in the basement until sowing. high humidity– before planting, fir seeds need stratification. In April, the seeds are sown in a bed at a depth of 2 cm in soil made of sand and turf and covered with film without watering to avoid the formation of a crust on the surface of the soil and to speed up the emergence of seedlings. When the sprouts sprout after 3-4 weeks, start watering, loosening and weeding the beds. In the first winter, the seedlings are covered with spruce branches. Next year you can plant the seedling in a permanent place. Fir from seeds initially grows very slowly: in four years it reaches a height of 30-40 cm, since it mainly develops the root system. But then growth accelerates noticeably.

Fir in winter

Fir in autumn

The firs recommended for planting in the middle zone tolerate our winters well, but young plants must be covered with spruce branches and the trunk circle mulched with peat or dry leaves with a layer of 10-12 cm.

Wintering fir in the country

Adult plants overwinter without shelter, but at the end of winter you need to cover the fir trees with non-woven material to protect them from the spring sun - they can be seriously damaged by its rays, which are too bright at this time.

Types and varieties of fir

Among large quantity types and varieties of fir there are plants that are more and less in demand in culture. We offer you an introduction to the most popular of them.

Balsam fir (Abies balsamea)

grows in nature in Canada and the USA, its habitat in the north is limited to the tundra, and in mountainous areas it can be found at altitudes from 1500 to 2000 m. It is a shade-tolerant, frost-resistant fir, which, unfortunately, is not distinguished by longevity - it lives no more than 200 years. Balsam fir is a tree with a height of 15 to 25 m with a trunk thickness of 50-70 cm. The bark on young trees is smooth, ash gray color, on those that are older, the bark is reddish-brown, fissured. The buds are resinous, greenish with a pale lilac tint, ovoid or spherical. The needles, 15 to 30 mm long, shiny, dark green with stomatal lines along the entire leaf, blunt or slightly notched at the top, do not fall off for 4-7 years; when rubbed, they emit a pleasant smell. The cones are oval-cylindrical, 5-10 cm in height, 2-2.5 cm in width, unripe have a dark purple hue, when ripe they become brown, very resinous. This species has been in culture since 1697. Balsam fir is used in single and small group plantings. Known forms:

Hudsonia– dwarf mountain fir with a wide crown, very dense branches and short numerous shoots. The needles are also short, wide and flat, black-green on the upper side and greenish-blue on the lower side. In culture since 1810;
Nana– the height of the fir is no more than 50 cm, the crown is rounded, up to 2.5 m in diameter, the branches are spreading, horizontal, dense, the needles are short, thick, very dark green, yellow-green on the underside with two white-blue stripes. In culture since 1850. Used for landscaping terraces, roofs, rocky gardens.

Other forms of balsam fir grown in cultivation include gray, silver, variegated, columnar, prostrate and dwarf.

Korean fir (Abies koreana)

grows in the mountains of the south of the Korean Peninsula at an altitude of 1800 m, forming pure and mixed forests. At a young age it grows very slowly, but with age it accelerates. The height of the Korean fir is about 15 m, the trunk is from 50 to 80 cm in diameter, the crown is cone-shaped, the bark of young trees is smooth, ashen, sometimes with purple tint, the old ones are chestnut with deep cracks. The buds are slightly resinous, almost round, the needles are thick, hard, the needles are saber-shaped, with a notch at the top, dark green on the upper side, silvery on the lower side due to two wide stomatal stripes. The cones are cylindrical, 5-7 cm long, up to 3 cm in diameter, purple-lilac when young. Fir was brought to Europe in 1905. In decorative terms, this beautiful and winter-hardy species with two-color needles has no equal. It was the planting of Korean fir that was described in this article, just as the care of Korean fir was the basis for the subsection on caring for plants of the fir genus. Varieties of Korean fir:

Blue Standard– very similar in characteristics to the original species, only its cones are dark purple;
Brevifolia- a slowly growing cultivar with a rounded dense crown, but with looser needles than the original species, swamp-green above and whitish-gray below. The cones are purple, small;
Piccolo– height is only 30 cm, the crown is spreading, horizontal, with a diameter of up to one and a half meters in an adult plant. Needles, like the original species.

Caucasian fir, or Nordmann fir (Abies nordmanniana)

is a Caucasian endemic, since it grows in nature only in Caucasus mountains. This is a tree up to 60 m high and a trunk up to 2 m thick, with a dense, branched, low-slung crown of a narrow conical shape with a sharp apex, which is not so pronounced in adulthood. The bark is smooth and shiny, but from the age of eighty deep cracks begin to appear on it. The buds are ovoid, almost without resin. The needles are up to 40 mm long, up to 2.5 mm wide, dark green on the upper side, with two white stripes on the lower side, on vegetative shoots the tips are notched, on cone-bearing shoots they are softly pointed. The cones, up to 20 cm long and up to 5 cm in diameter, are green when young and dark brown, resinous when mature. This fast-growing species lives up to 500 years. The following forms of Caucasian fir are known: erect, weeping, golden, golden-tipped, white-tipped and gray.

Single color fir (Abies concolor)

- the queen among fir trees native to northern Mexico and the southwestern United States, where it can be found in river canyons and on mountain slopes at an altitude of 2000 to 3000 m above sea level. This is one of the most drought-resistant species, with a lifespan of three and a half centuries. The height of single-color fir is from 40 to 60 m, the thickness of the trunk is up to 2 m, the crown is cone-shaped, quite dense in youth, and becomes much thinner in old age. The old bark is ash-gray, rough, and full of cracks. The spherical, resinous yellow-green buds reach a diameter of 5 cm. The bluish-green needles are up to 7 cm long, up to 3 mm wide, with a notched rounded tip and have stomatal lines on both the upper and lower sides. The cones are oval-cylindrical, up to 14 cm long and up to 5 cm wide, purple or green when immature, light brown when mature. In culture since 1831. Fir looks most impressive in autumn against the background of yellowing larches. The most famous decorative forms:

Compacta fir– a shrub cultivar of dwarf size with outstretched branches and blue needles. It is sometimes called Compacta Glauca;
Violacea– a fast-growing tree up to 8 m high with a wide cone-shaped crown and long blue-white needles. It is highly decorative and drought-resistant.

Siberian fir (Abies sibirica)

grows in the northeast Russian Federation across the highlands and river valleys. This shade-tolerant, winter-hardy species is protected by the state. Siberian fir is the most famous representative of the genus. This is a tree up to 30 m high with a narrow cone-shaped crown. The gray bark, smooth along almost the entire length of the trunk, cracks in the lower part. The needles are narrow, soft, shiny, up to 3 cm long, dark green on top and with two white stripes on the bottom. The cones are erect, light brown when ripe. Varieties: blue, white, variegated, elegant and others.

In addition to those described by us, in the culture there are subalpine, Fraser, whole-leaved, equal-scaled, Semenova, Sakhalin, myra, graceful, cephalin or Greek, high, Vicha, white-barked or bud-scaled, white or European and Arizona.

Properties of fir

Fir is a special plant even among conifers. Its wood does not contain resinous substances, so it is used to make musical instruments and build ships. Fir bark is a raw material for valuable balsam, and needles and branches are used for fir oil. A decoction is prepared from the needles and bark, which reduces the acidity of the stomach, increases efficiency and immunity, and relieves toothache.

Fir resin – good antiseptic, used in folk medicine to lubricate wounds, cuts, abrasions and ulcers. Early settlers to America and its indigenous inhabitants widely used fir resin, which has a pleasant taste, for medicinal purposes: it was used to treat bronchitis, cough, sore throat and even tuberculosis, as well as cancer, dysentery, otitis, inflammation of the mucous membranes, and some urogenital diseases (for example , gonorrhea and vaginal infections), scurvy, rheumatism, muscle and joint pain.

Medicines containing an extract based on fir cell sap are used in the treatment of rheumatism, inflammatory processes, infectious diseases, chronic and acute heart failure. Consumption of fir cell sap:

stimulates hematopoiesis;
strengthens the immune system, restores protective function body;
has an anti-inflammatory effect in the treatment of pulmonary diseases;
serves as a prevention of cancer and cardiovascular diseases;
prevents the development of hypertension;
improves the functioning of the excretory organs;
normalizes the functioning of the stomach and intestines;
replenishes the lack of vitamins, micro- and macroelements in the body;
protects against the effects of radiation;
relieves stress, has an antioxidant effect and increases the body's resistance to adverse environmental factors.

Fir juice comes on sale in the form of phyto-cocktails, which are ready for use, and in its natural form - this liquid can only be consumed internally in a diluted form.

Fir essential oil helps even in cases in which various chemotherapy drugs are powerless, for example, it slows down and even stops the growth of cancer cells. The oil enters the blood immediately and is collected at the site of the disease, bypassing the digestive organs, and therefore without decomposing. Its combat component is camphor. Fir oil is a universal medicine that has bactericidal, antiseptic, analgesic, anti-inflammatory, restorative, soothing and tonic effects. It is widely used not only in medicine, but also in cosmetology to treat acne, lichen, furunculosis, relieve swelling, smooth out wrinkles, eliminate sagging skin, warts and other skin problems.

The use of fir and medicines made from it requires compliance with certain rules: during treatment it is necessary to refrain from drinking alcoholic beverages, even weak ones, since alcohol neutralizes the effect of the drugs. Stop taking fir medications if you find that your body is intolerant to them. Patients with epilepsy, gastritis or gastric ulcers and those with kidney pathology should not be treated with fir. This is contraindicated for pregnant and lactating women, as well as children. Incorrect use of drugs or violation of dosage can cause allergic reaction. If you experience itching, swelling and red spots on the skin, it is better to stop taking the drug. If you don’t know how the body will react to fir, do a test: drop 10-15 drops of oil or juice on back side hands or feet and rub thoroughly into the skin. If the allergy does not appear within the next two to three days, you can take the drug, but be sure to consult your doctor about the dosage.

Pine

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