(2
estimates, average: 4,75
out of 5)
Recently, plants in the form of a trunk are gaining more and more popularity in landscape design. They look very impressive and original. But not everyone knows what a bole is. A plant on a trunk is a plant that has an even trunk, without unnecessary branches, looking like a stick stuck into the soil, and above the foliage going down or a fluffy crown in the form of a ball.
Flowering species of standard trees and shrubs look very beautiful. This form can be achieved using two methods: grafting on an even trunk, on which there are no side shoots, and using a special haircut.
Types of standard plants
Standard plants can be of different heights, although they usually range from 1.5 to 2.5 m. Sometimes there are specimens that can reach a height of 5 meters. Such plant species attractive at any time of the year - from the earliest spring to late autumn. In the summer season, trees and shrubs bloom magnificent flowers and fruits.
In addition to their special beauty, these trees have their own advantages:
- they can help save space due to a compact crown;
- trunk circles are easier to handle;
- it is easier to harvest from standard bushes with berries.
Some of the most common forms of standard trees are weeping... These include weeping mountain ash, goat willow, apple varieties that have hanging shoots, elm and many others.
Plants with such shoots were found in the wild or artificially bred. When plants are grafted into the lower part of the rootstock, the seedlings are obtained with creeping branches. And if the grafting is carried out on a high trunk, then a penetrating crown is formed at the tree. It is customary to distinguish between four types of penetrating branches:
- reflex - there is a growth of shoots vertically down, which is similar to weeping elm;
- inverse - the growth of shoots down the arc is noted;
- pendula or weeping form - when the branches hang down at an angle of 30 or 60 degrees;
- umbrella - with a similar shape, the tree has curved shoots, some of which can be directed horizontally, and some slightly up. An example is an umbrella-shaped apple tree.
It is worth noting that shrubs that spread, for example, juniper or cotoneaster, when grafted onto a stem, become owners of a crown close to weeping. A characteristic feature of all weeping forms is a powerful growth of shoots that are directed downward.
In addition to the weeping forms of plants, the spherical shape is also widely known. With her, the crown of the tree resembles a ball. Especially often it can be seen in maples, larch, acacia, thuja and other trees.
Standard ball-shaped plants are often used in planting along alleys, around buildings, when it is necessary to maintain asymmetry. They look very nice with shrubs and trees in the shape of a pyramid.
Gallery: standard trees and shrubs (25 photos)
Molding
The easiest way to make a stem is to form required type of crown. It is available even to inexperienced gardeners who have decided to have a standard tree. According to this method, it is necessary to cut the side shoots of the trunk, and this may take a longer period of time. However, the result will be remarkable and will exceed all expectations.
To make such a tree with your own hands, you should adhere to a few simple rules:
- The seedling for planting must be chosen correctly, it must have a smooth, even trunk;
- After planting the plant, you must tie it to a metal peg;
- In addition to growth, the top of the tree is tied further to the support until the required height is reached;
- Once the required height is reached, the top must be pinned.
After completing these simple manipulations and pinching the crown of the tree, side shoots will begin to grow. They usually do not keep themselves waiting long. Young shoots must also begin to pinch. Thus, a fluffy crown will begin to form.
Graft
Graft - this is another way to end up with a beautiful standard tree. However, this method will be a little more complicated than the first. This procedure will require two seedlings. The first is a stock, which will act as a stem, and the second is a scion, from which the crown will eventually form.
In order for the stem to turn out to be successful, you must first decide on the seedling that will serve as the stock. Most often used the same by plant culture, but the stock must be genetically stronger. For example, a rose can be grafted onto a rose hip, a weeping elm variety on a rough one, etc.
One of the easiest grafting methods is to plant two of the same crop. However, there is a more complicated one - when related plants are grafted, but at the same time their different types. For example, the stem is made from mountain ash, and pears are grafted. It should be noted that such pears begin to bear fruit several years earlier, that is, already 2-3 years after planting.
To obtain a standard plant, several rules must also be followed. As a result, you will get a wonderful tree that will definitely decorate the landscape design:
- First of all, you need to grow a stem. This is done in the same way as when forming a crown, that is, the seedling is tied up and grown to a certain height.
- Then it's time to graft the plant. To do this, take a stalk suitable for culture. It needs three or four living kidneys. Better to do this in April.
- On the scion at this time, an oblique cut is made over the upper bud. And in the lower part of the scion, you need to form a wedge using two cuts.
- The wedge, which turned out as a result, must be inserted into the stem. This must be done very carefully so that the stem itself is not damaged. The place where both plants are connected must be tied with plastic tape; in order to avoid decay, the plant of the cut site is treated with garden pitch.
- After about a month, the stalk should take root and the first buds should awaken on it. In the future, young shoots will begin to develop from them. These shoots need more careful care, because they need to be pinched on time. By the end of the second season, the tree on the trunk will look fully formed and beautiful. And making a standard tree with your own hands is not at all as difficult as it might seem at first glance.
Formation of a trunk on bushes
Not only trees are formed into trunks. Are becoming increasingly common standard bushessuch as currants, gooseberries, irga and other fruiting garden plants. And this popularity is understandable. Such plants are easier to care for, harvest, etc.
Standard currants, gooseberries and other shrubs, like other trees, are obtained in two ways: by removing side shoots and forming a crown or by grafting.
You can easily transform an ordinary currant bush or other garden berry shrub by grafting. This is done in early spring, when active sap flow begins. Well suited as a stock for currants golden currant.
It can also work for gooseberries. Everything else happens in the same way as grafting on trees. The junction of the plants is wrapped in foil. After a while, buds will begin to appear on the scion, and the growth of shoots will begin. At this time, the film is no longer needed. After removing the film, the resulting bush should be protected.
I must say that neither currants nor gooseberries in the form of a standard tree can grow without supports... Strong gusts of wind can easily break down unusual new bushes. Support can be wooden pegs or metal rods. Unfortunately, such intervention is indispensable. In the next season, the tree will give the first fruits from the standard shrub, which usually have slight taste differences and a larger shape, to taste.
We received a question from Antonina Stepanovna: “What is the difference between standard varieties of vegetables and non-standard varieties? What are the features of both species? "
Standard grades
Stamp forms are more convenient for growing. Harvesting in this case will also be much easier. This type is distinguished by the compactness of the root system, which means that more vegetables will fit in the garden. Standard varieties ripen gradually and evenly. Each crop has a high yield. That is, standard varieties are industrial crops. Even with the usual planting scheme, they remain productive.
Features of standard varieties
All standard vegetables are compact and have a large number of leaves. At the same time, the leaves are powerful, attached to short cuttings, it seems that they hold the plant in an upright position, and the lower leaves rest on the ground. Fruits can be very different in color and shape. There are fewer varieties than non-standard varieties.
Standard varieties are a type of determinant. But their stem is stronger, and the length of the plant is shorter. Such varieties are undemanding - no formation or tying is needed. The first brush may appear after 4 sheets. The rest are located through a couple of sheets.
Non-standard vegetables
Such varieties can have a large number of leaves or, conversely, few leaves, while all plants are of low growth. The main difference from the standard ones is the weak stem. He cannot independently support the weight of the plant and lies on the ground under the weight of the fruit. If you do not tie the culture to a support, you can not expect a good harvest. There will be flowering, ovaries will appear, but since the leaves will be in constant contact with the ground, vegetables can become infected with various fungal diseases.
The leaves of non-standard vegetables can be of different sizes - large and medium, their color can also vary - from light to dark green. The fruits can also be different - flat, in the form of a ball, ribbed, rounded. Their number varies. Fruit color - raspberry, white, red, yellow, orange. Basically, it is non-standard vegetables that grow in the average garden.
Those who are not ready to carefully look after the crops in the garden should give preference to standard varieties. They can be planted and forgotten, the harvest will still be high. But mostly non-standard varieties are used on the plots, which need care, pruning and garter.
Standard plants in the garden have always attracted increased attention, as something extraordinary. It would seem that it is a completely standard rose or currant, but it grows completely differently than it should. And it's already difficult to call it a bush. Imagine: on a perfectly flat high trunk there is a dense crown-cap or a cascade of falling branches. The most interesting thing is that this effect was achieved not by breeding new varieties, but by proper formation or grafting. Usually, specialists are engaged in the cultivation of boles, and amateur gardeners acquire them already formed in nurseries. However, you can try and create a standard culture yourself - it's not too difficult if you know some of the nuances. We will talk about them now.
Of course, the most luxurious standard plants are flowering species: roses, hydrangeas, Japanese chaenomeles, budley. Hungarian lilacs and Bulldonezh viburnum are also grown in the form of a trunk. If desired, and with a certain amount of perseverance, plants that give active root shoots, which will have to be removed regularly, can also be turned into a neat tree. Among such difficult species, common lilac and mock-orange are the most preferred.
Some decorative deciduous plants can also look very impressive in the form of a trunk. For example, the goat willow has a luxurious weeping crown, which in early spring is covered with fluffy flowers-earrings. Japanese willow with a variegated, rising crown will also decorate the garden unusually. Mountain ash, maple, ash, gooseberries, currants and many other species are grown as a stem.
An alley of standard lindens in autumn is an incredible sight
The standard forms of conifers - spruce, pine, thuja, larch, cypress - are not yet very common. Therefore, if you want to be original, choose them to decorate an alpine slide or front garden.
The easiest way, if you are a person far from gardening delights, is to try to create a stem by shaping the trunk and trimming the crown. This method will take a significant amount of time, but the result will meet the wildest expectations.
To bring this idea to life, it is important to choose the right young seedling. Planting material should be as even as possible, without knots. Immediately after landing, its trunk is tied to a vertical support - a wooden or metal peg driven into the ground.
Further, as it grows, it is necessary to tie the growing top to the support, and mercilessly remove all lateral shoots. This procedure continues until the stem reaches the desired height. Only then can you pinch the apical shoot so that the crown begins to grow. Very quickly, young shoots will begin to appear near the pinching site, which, as they grow, also need to be pinched. Then the crown will turn out to be thick and fluffy.
In this case, a scion is grafted onto the stock, which will serve as a stem, - the future crown. First you need to decide on the stock. Usually this plant is of the same botanical genus as the cultivated part, but genetically stronger. For example, a rose is traditionally grafted onto a rose hip, a weeping elm - onto a rough elm, etc. You can go a more complicated way, "crossing" related plants of different species, for example, a pear scion easily takes root on a mountain ash trunk, and a Siberian cedar scion - on a pine tree. Such mixes can enter the fruiting period much earlier, for example, a pear on a rowan trunk yields fruits already 2-3 years after planting.
In order to get a beautiful standard plant by grafting, a stem is first grown. This is done in the same way as with the forming method, that is, the seedling is tied to a support, the side shoots are removed and they wait until it grows to the required height. After that, it is time for grafting using a cuttings of a suitable cultivated plant, on which there are 3-4 living buds. This process is best done in early to mid April. To do this, cut off the top of the trunk with a sharp knife, and then make another vertical cut in the middle on this cut - a split.
At this time, an oblique cut is made on the scion handle above the upper bud, and a wedge is formed from the lower part with two oblique cuts. The resulting wedge is carefully inserted into the split so as not to damage the stem, and the junction is tied up with plastic tape. In order to prevent the top of the cutting from beginning to rot, the cut is treated with garden pitch.
In a month, the buds should awaken on the engrafted cuttings, from which young shoots will go. They need to be monitored and pinched in time to form a beautiful crown. Already at the end of the second season, if you take proper care of the seedling, you will get a fully formed stem, which you can be proud of.
In fact, creating such a miracle is not difficult, but it takes time and patience. If you have all this, try growing a standard plant and it will surely become a precious pearl of your garden.
The rapid development of the selection of ornamental plants, caused by the high demand for their various forms and varieties, presented gardeners with one of the most spectacular forms - plants on boles. These are not independent varieties or varieties, but decorative deciduous, coniferous or flowering shrubs and trees, just formed and grown on boles. We can say that this is such a way of growing.
The bole plants have a single trunk, devoid of lateral branches, and only at the top of it does a beautiful branchy crown begin. But the shape of the crown depends both on the culture and variety itself, and on the imagination of the gardener, who can shape it to his liking. The crowns of bole plants can be very different, for example, spherical, similar to a dense deciduous or coniferous ball-cap, or in the form of a bush, which has risen above the ground, covered with flowers. Falling or weeping crowns are also widespread in decorative deciduous, coniferous and flowering plants. Umbrella crowns are also found, for example, near a decorative standard apple tree.
The advantages of standard plants, in my opinion, include not only a spectacular appearance, but also their compactness, which allows you to save space in small areas. In addition, it is easier to work the land under them: to loosen, water, fertilize. The most beautiful part of the plant seems to hover above the ground and immediately attracts the eye. You cannot pass by such beauty, and standard crops are attractive at any time of the year.
Plants-stems create an unusual design of the garden, and also perfectly fit into any flower arrangements. They can be planted in independent alleys, used in symmetrical plantings around buildings or along fences. For example, such an alley was planted in the Ulyanovsk state farm of decorative gardening. Trunks look great in single plantings on the lawn. They go very well with pyramidal or globular shrubs and trees.
Many growers are interested in what plants can be grown in standard form?
The most attractive, in my opinion, are flowering flowers, and first of all - roses, hydrangeas, budley, Japanese chaenomeles. Viburnum Buldonezh and Hungarian lilac are also formed on boles. Even such plants that actively give root shoots as common lilac and mock-orange can also be grown in a standard or half-stem form.
Decorative foliage in standard form are no less effective. For example, the well-known goat willow with a weeping crown in spring is covered with delicate touching catkins of flowers, and then all summer it pleases with a decorative tent of its crown. The garden is beautifully decorated with the willow of Hakuro Nishike with a variegated lace crown hovering above the ground. In my garden there are two forms of Japanese willow - bush and standard willow, and of course, the second option looks much more spectacular and gives less trouble with care and pruning. Maple, mountain ash, ash and many other deciduous crops are also grown in the standard form.
The garden is beautifully decorated with the not so common standard forms of conifers - spruce, pine, thuja, juniper, cypress, larch. My garden is decorated with a mountain pine in a standard form with a spherical crown and a standard weeping larch.
I am often asked: how the standard forms are created familiar plants? Or maybe they occur in nature?
Yes, some deciduous plants in standard form with a weeping hanging crown are found in nature. But basically, they are created by breeders and are divided into two types - formed and grafted .
Usually, both the formation and the grafting are carried out by professionals in nurseries, and amateurs acquire and grow such seedlings. Can an amateur create a standard seedling himself? Concerning grafted forms, then their creation requires not only special knowledge and skills, but also suitable material for the stock. It is not easy to acquire it, to grow it yourself from seeds and to ensure that the stem is even without bends and knees, also, in my opinion, is not a task for an amateur. Therefore, rather than creating your own curve, a low-quality seedling, it is better to buy a beautiful one, prepared by professionals.
If speak about formed boles, then it is within the power of the lover. With the help of pruning, you can get a standard tree from common privet, maple, mountain ash, bird cherry or Virginia juniper, pine, yew. To do this, it is necessary to pinch the lateral shoots during the entire growing season. Very young seedlings should begin to form during their initial most rapid growth. According to experts, it is best to form stems from plants grown from seeds.
I tried to experiment with panicle hydrangea and common lilac. As for the first, the formation process is still underway. I chose a young seedling of the Vanilla Fraz variety, and I am forming it into two trunks for now, next summer I will choose one, stronger and more even, and cut the second. While the plant is bent to the ground and covered with spruce branches for overwintering.
Two saplings of common lilac varieties Taras Bulba and Mechta have already formed on boles. Looks nice and really saves space. But, as it seems to me, this form of cultivation has gone to the detriment of flowering - after all, there are fewer flowers on such a plant than on an ordinary bush! Therefore, I advise you to think carefully before getting carried away with standard forms, since not all plants benefit from this.
For amateur gardeners who want to grow standard forms in their gardens, I want to say that mainly grafted crops are offered on the market. Firstly, this method of obtaining standard plants is more common in ornamental gardening. And some crops simply cannot be obtained on a stem in any other way, except for grafting. For example, a rose on a stem can only be grafted. And, secondly, the care of grafted plants is much easier, they do not require constant pruning and pinching, unlike simply formed ones, which need “lifelong” pruning to maintain their shape, and at least twice a season.
If the rose bushes, as it seems to you, do not look expressive enough, or if you want to give an extremely unusual look to the already familiar fruit trees, then perhaps the standard growing method is what you have been looking for for so long.
The stem is the same plant we are accustomed to, but as if on a stand, which makes it easier for us to contemplate shape and color, raising it to eye level. In this case, a number of genetically resistant plants act as a support, which form an approximately even trunk (the smoother, the better, of course). We will tell you more about how the stem is formed and how to grow crops on it in one of the following articles.
Rose, viburnum, apple tree, willow and other plants that grow on the trunk, as if re-created anew, as if brought from some kind of parallel Universe, where everything is almost the same as ours, but only almost.
Especially popular for standard cultivation are cultivated plants that form an oval or spherical crown - independently or with the help of light molding. For example, a standard rose blooms in the summer, as it should,, in the fall it is covered with red-yellow leaves, and in the winter, under the snow, it looks like a modern sculpture. If fruit crops and shrubs are grown on the trunk, then access to their processing is facilitated, there is no need to bend over the berries, and all the fruits and the entire crown are concentrated in one place, which allows the observer to perceive the space more orderly.
What are the most popular forms of standard plants? And what plants are most often grown on a trunk?
Weeping forms are interesting in themselves, but when grown on a trunk, drooping and weeping forms acquire a special charm. There are weeping forms of apple, mountain ash, willow - probably many people know about this. But few have heard of ash, larch or elm in their weeping interpretation.
Many varieties and varieties of plants we are used to are bred artificially so that they look especially expressive on the trunk. As a result, four main types of drooping crowns can be distinguished. Umbrella shape - branches and shoots grow mainly horizontally, but with further growth they tend to droop downward, forming an umbrella shape. Inverse - "classic" weeping form, shoots hang down at a certain angle. Pendula - observed in weeping rowan, branches grow downward at an angle of 30-60 degrees. Reflex - the growth of branches is directed almost vertically down, for example, a weeping elm.
Plants, when grown on a trunk, begin to acquire this crown shape due to gravity - such as, for example, creeping forms of ornamental shrubs, or shrubs (trees) with a horizontal arrangement of branches: cypress, juniper, and even the crown of climbing roses acquires a drooping shape.
Almost all plants grown on a trunk are characterized by the fact that they form downward shoots, which, over time, also take on drooping forms. Such shoots develop especially quickly in the standard rowan.
To be continued