Ornamental almonds
Content:
Ornamental almonds: a description of the shrub
Ornamental almonds, which are a tree or shrub in a garden plot, are especially valuable plants for summer residents planning to create decorative compositions.
The plant has an extremely presentable appearance, it can also be used for arranging hedges - both high and low.
Let's take a closer look at this curious culture, maybe you will be interested in it, wanting to plant it on your own garden plot.
As a rule, the main goal of the summer resident, which he is guided by when planting decorative almonds in his own garden, is an early and abundant flowering, during which the plant appears in all its glory, can breathe new life into a modest, previously unremarkable garden.
Ornamental almonds give an impressive amount of root growth and for a long time have quite successfully mastered in garden plots, so there should not be any special problems with them in the growing process.
Such types are popular ornamental almonds like steppe, low and bean... The plant itself is a small shrub, deciduous, distinguished by an extremely presentable appearance. It is widely used for decorative purposes.
The height of the ornamental almond bush, as a rule, ranges from one to one and a half meters. The crown is thickened, resembles a ball in its shape. The branches are erect, with many shortened branches. The leaves reach an average length of 6 centimeters, are distinguished by a dark green color.
The flowers, playing in contrast, are bright pink, have a peculiar aroma. They grow singly, in rare cases they bloom at the same time as the leaves, but, as a rule, this does not happen. The flowering time of decorative almonds is in May, the dynamics are abundant and intense for 2 or 3 weeks.
Ornamental almonds begin to bear fruit by July, the fruits themselves have a felt-furry structure, a pale yellow tint and an average length of about 2.5 centimeters.
Ornamental almonds: planting a bush
Since the ornamental almond is a light-loving plant and prefers a uniformly heated soil, you should carefully consider the choice of a suitable place - although it should be open to sunlight, it should not be exposed to northern wind currents. Prevent the formation of drafts, which also have a detrimental effect on the plant.
Ornamental almonds also boast a decent level of resistance to dry, hot weather, as well as severe winter frosts.
First of all, obviously, pits should be prepared for planting ornamental almond bushes. Subsequently, each of them should be filled with prepared soil mixture. It should consist of such components as sod land, dung humus, sand of a large structure.
It is also recommended to add fluff lime in an amount of 200 to 300 grams, as well as complex mineral fertilizer in granular form - about 100 grams. All this should be thoroughly mixed with the earth extracted from the pit and everything should be filled back.
When planting ornamental almonds, make sure that the root collar of the almonds protrudes slightly higher than the soil level.
Do not forget that planting ornamental almonds on soils with a high pH level is strictly prohibited without prior treatment.
It is also necessary to water the plant in a timely manner - once every 10 days, the amount of water is determined by the value from 10 to 12 liters for each plant. Be careful not to touch the root collar during watering; water around the perimeter of the main stem.
Ornamental almonds feel comfortable on soils with a moderate level of moisture, and if it decreases in dry weather, there is a risk of a reduction in the flowering period.
You should also mention the timely loosening of the soil, while deepening should be no more than 7 centimeters in order to avoid damage to the root system. Do not neglect the pruning of dead, old shoots, as well as already dried and especially infected with diseases.
Ornamental almonds: shrub care
Since in especially cold winters, frosting of the ends of shoots and flower buds is still noted in decorative almonds, the summer resident should not neglect its shelter.
Also, if there is a high level of snowfall, there is a risk of damping out of the root collar, which also affects the plant in a bad way in the future.
In order to prevent such unpleasant consequences, in advance, after waiting for the flowering to end, you should do pinching. What is it? This is a pinching process used to stop the growth of the shoots so that they have the time and opportunity to lignify. Bushes of short stature must be carefully wrapped using a covering material.
Thus, you help protect the main organs from freezing. It is also recommended to spud the plant with humus or peat.
Top dressing
Ornamental almonds are fed throughout the cycle on average 3 times.
- For the first time, feeding should be done before flowering. For preparation, 3 tablespoons of nitrophoska mineral fertilizer and 10 liters of water are used.
- The second feeding falls on the period at the very beginning of flowering. The solution is prepared by diluting 1 tablespoon of flowering plant agriculture in 10 liters of water.
- Finally, the third feed is best planned after flowering. It is introduced in liquid form - 1 tablespoon of potassium supraphosphate and potassium sulfate (mineral fertilizers) must be diluted in 10 liters of water.
Immediately before flowering, it is recommended to spray decorative almonds from a spray bottle with a growth stimulant.