Do I need to cover the spirea for the winter and how to do it without much spending
Content
Pruning plants in autumn
Due to the variety of shapes, colors and sizes, spirea shrubs are widely used in landscape design. A decorative bush can act as an independent or composite element. This crop easily and quickly adapts to different growing conditions, therefore it is grown in almost every region of Russia.
Trimming the crown of a shrub is an important step in the care of this ornamental crop. Please note that there is no single scheme for trimming the spirea. The technique depends on the flowering period of the shrub.
Video: "Autumn pruning of Japanese spirea"
In this video, you will learn how to prepare an ornamental shrub for wintering.
Blooming in summer
Early flowering varieties include oak-leaved, nippon, sharp-toothed, medium and other spireas blooming in May. In early spring - at the end of March and beginning of April - pruning of the shoots frozen over the winter and withered is carried out. Then several mature branches should be selected to be removed. Pruning vigorous branches helps maintain the shrub's shape and stimulates flowering. Adult and strong shoots should be removed once every 2-3 years. Branches aged 6 years and older are cut off at the very base. This procedure is necessary to build up a new vegetative mass.
If the shoots are not removed, the plant loses its attractiveness, becomes weak, painful and unstable to various natural phenomena. Winter hardiness and endurance decrease.
Blooming in spring
Late-flowering, or summer-flowering varieties of spirea are cut according to a different scheme:
- During the period of bud formation, which falls in mid-April, frozen and damaged branches are removed.
- Most of last year's shoots are shortened to the healthy and most developed buds.
- On strongly overgrown bushes, all thin and short shoots are cut off. Thus, the endurance of the stronger and stronger branches increases.
- When the spirea reaches the age of 4 years, all shoots (young and old) are cut off at a height of 30 cm from the surface of the earth.
The brightest and most widespread representatives of the late flowering group in our area are the varieties of Douglas, Billiard, Bumald, as well as Japanese, willow and birch spireas.
Types of pruning
There are several techniques for pruning an overgrown spirea shrub. We bring to your attention a few of the most common options.
Formative pruning is carried out in order to increase the aesthetic appeal of the bush. This procedure can be carried out both in spring and autumn. With the help of a sharp garden pruner, all old shoots are shortened. The bush takes on a new shape, which stimulates the growth of young shoots.
Rejuvenating pruning is considered one of the stages of preparing spirea for winter. Shoots of young shrubs are shortened in such a way that the plant can successfully overwinter and quickly recover with the arrival of spring.As for the spirea bushes aged 6 years and older, it is recommended to cut off all the shoots almost under the stump. For further development, several branches are left with mature and healthy buds. It is necessary to rejuvenate ornamental crops in early autumn, so that the bush has time to "heal wounds" and restore strength before winter.
Preventive pruning helps to build endurance and increases resistance to various diseases and attacks of parasitic individuals. All old shoots injured by diseases, insects and rodents, as well as branches damaged by winds and other natural phenomena are subject to removal.
Other preparatory work
Autumn care of plants growing in the garden begins with cleaning the area. First, you need to harvest from fruit crops, inspect all vegetation for the presence of harmful insects and symptoms of various diseases, remove weeds and remove fallen leaves.
Spirea is characterized by high drought resistance. Shrubs are watered only in the absence of precipitation. On average, one adult bush requires 15-17 liters of water. Do not forget to feed decorative crops with potassium-phosphorus supplements. Mineral fertilizers increase the endurance of plants and increase their resistance to diseases and precipitation.
After loosening the soil, watering and feeding the shrub with fertilizers, you can start the mulching procedure. Dry oak leaves, tree bark, sawdust, hay, straw, peat, pieces of thick cardboard and scraps of non-woven fabric are used as mulch. The average height of the mulch layer is 10-15 cm.
Winter covering activities
Now let's figure out how to properly cover the spirea for the winter. The root collar and the base of the branches are mulched, but the crown can be left intact or insulated with a covering material. To prevent the wind from breaking thin shoots, it is recommended to collect all the branches in a bunch and tie them with twine. The formed bundle is insulated with dry opal foliage or pine spruce branches, the top of the shrub is covered with burlap, white polypropylene bags, agrofibre, lutrasil or geotextile.
Shelter nuances in different areas
The territory of the Russian Federation covers several climatic zones. Accordingly, the features of autumn care and shelter of plants for the winter should be different. For example, spirea shrubs growing in the south of the country do not cover at all. In order for an ornamental culture to successfully winter, you need to mulch the trunk circle and the base of the bush.
The middle zone of Russia, the Leningrad region and the Volga region are distinguished by sharp temperature drops. If the winter is snowy, you do not need to cover the spirea. Winters with little snow and unstable require more careful maintenance of the plants in the garden. The crown is covered with any non-woven fabric or pine spruce branches.
In Siberia and the Urals, only frost-resistant varieties of Billard, Douglas, gray, crenate, medium, willow and birch-leaved spireas are grown. The mulching layer is increased to 20–25 cm, the bush itself is covered with a “non-woven cloth”, opal foliage and pine branches.
In order not to injure the ornamental bush on the eve of the winter cold snap, it is recommended to abandon the autumn pruning.
Common mistakes of beginners
The main reason for the death of an ornamental shrub in winter is ignorance or violation of the technology for caring for spirea in the fall. The most common mistakes that negatively affect the endurance and winter hardiness of the crop are called excessive soil moisture, the introduction of nitrogen-containing mineral fertilizers and late pruning of shoots.
Many novice gardeners choose the wrong covering material for insulating spirea. Roofing material and plastic wrap do not allow plants to "breathe". The lack of normal air exchange leads to the formation of mold on the shoots and rotting of the root collar.