Among those representatives of the flora that adorn the gardens of our cities, decorative conifers occupy an important place. Thanks to them, these parks acquire a noble appearance and seem well-groomed and bright throughout the year, even when the leaves fall off the trees. These plants are also loved by florists for the fact that they have a very beautiful, slightly solemn appearance and can set the tone in various floral arrangements. However, conifers are especially popular (see photo in the article) on New Year's Eve and Christmas. Even if the owners of a house do not install a decorated Christmas tree, they nevertheless decorate their doors, walls, courtyards with spruce or pine branches. In Europe, for many centuries, these trees have been associated with the New Year holidays. However, today more and more often people use conifers as a building material, as an element of decor when creating ikebans, ritual wreaths and various flower bouquets, as an excellent cosmetic and even medical product, and northern housewives even make jam from cones.
Characteristics of conifers
In nature, there is a huge variety of trees of this species. These are pines, arborvitae, juniper bushes, larches, firs, cedars, etc. All these trees are centenarians. Most of them live for centuries and reach very large sizes. What is especially characteristic of conifers? The fact that they do not change their color throughout the year, so they are called evergreens. True, not everyone has this quality. So, for example, larch turns pink in the fall, then turns yellow, and in winter it is freed from needles. The rest change their needles gradually, in stages, and this happens every few years. Plants perfectly tolerate moisture and lack of light. Gardeners consider these two qualities, as well as the fact that almost all representatives of this species basically have the correct shape, the main advantage of conifers. In addition, they fit perfectly into the landscape design. In general, there are a lot of advantages. Nevertheless, if you decide to buy and plant conifers on your garden plot, then their choice should be treated very carefully.
Classification
Conifers are dwarf or, conversely, high. They can be in the form of a pyramid or cone. Some have needles, while others have peculiar needles. Their main species are araucariaceae, capitate, cypress, pine, podocarpaceae, sciadopatis, yew, etc. Further in the article we will present you the names of some of the conifers with photos and tell about each of them.
Spruce
The name of the tree decorating our house for the New Year, which we affectionately call the Christmas tree, in Latin sounds like Pícea. This is an evergreen wind-pollinated gymnosperm monoecious plant. It is widely used in industry. This is due to the lack of a kernel in spruce wood and its softness. Trees have a pyramidal shape. By the way, botanists in nature have more than 50 species of this plant. True, only 8 of them are known in Russia. Unlike other conifers, spruce prefers strong lighting. The roots of the tree do not go deep into the earth, but are close to the surface of the earth. In the matter of soil, spruce is very whimsical. It needs fertile land - light, loamy and loamy sand.
Especially good for landscape design are Serbian spruces, which, incidentally, can rise up to 40 meters in nature. They have a very interesting color - a shiny dark green top, and the bottom with fairly noticeable white stripes. Such trees are called blue. Their cones have a brown-purple color. In nature, there are dwarf spruces, the height of which does not exceed two meters. But Siberian spruce (Picea obovata) grow up to 30 m. Their crown is very dense, broadly conical and sharpened to the top. The bark of these plants is fissured, gray. Cones are ovoid-cylindrical, brown. Spruce has several subtypes that differ in the color of the needles - from pure green to silver and even golden. European spruce (Picea abies) can reach 50 meters in height. This is a real long-liver. Many trees of this species “live” for more than 300 years, while the width of their trunk can reach 100-120 centimeters.
Pine
This is another very famous name for a coniferous plant. Pine trees come in over 100 species. These trees grow mainly in the Northern Hemisphere. Pine forests can also be seen in the Southern Hemisphere, but all of them are artificially planted plantations. There they feel very good, because these trees perfectly tolerate humidity. In a city with a polluted atmosphere, these conifers, the photos of which you see in the article, suffer very much and can even die. Unlike spruce, which does not require sunlight, pine trees do not like to be in the shade and tend to the sun, they tolerate drought very well, but are also quite resistant to frost. Surely many are interested in what the value of pines is and how these people use conifers. The trunks of these trees are excellent building material, they are also good as fuel. The resin of these trees is also widely used in the national economy and medicine. These plants have some amazing properties, for example, with the onset of cold weather, pine needles are “laminated”, covered with a thin layer of wax, and their stomata are closed, that is, the plant stops breathing and hibernates.
Species of pines
As already mentioned, these plants have a lot of species. Here are some of them: Veymutova pine, Walichcha pine, cedar, mountain, ordinary (Russian), yellow, white, etc. Speaking of the Russian species, we mean an ordinary pine. It grows very quickly and can reach 40 meters in height. The trunk girth in this case can be about one and a half meters. Her needles are very different - bent, sticking out, gathered in bundles of 2 needles, etc. Its pine changes every three years. This happens in the fall. Pine cones are either single, or three pieces on one leg. They are not very large, have a size of 6-10 cm. If an ordinary pine is in adverse conditions, then it stops growing and remains dwarf. A tree lives from two to four hundred years.
Mountain view (Pinus mugo) is a multi-stem coniferous plant. These pines reach a height of 20 meters. And dwarf varieties can be up to 50 cm high. These trees seem to grow in breadth and can reach up to three meters in diameter. Dwarf varieties are most often used in a park landscape. In North America, yellow is the most common pine tree species. They practically do not tolerate urban conditions. Trees also do not like to be in the wind, which is why they grow in groups to protect each other. Their cones are ovoid in shape.
Another species of pines that grow in North America is the Weimouth tree. This is a very beautiful coniferous plant, the needles of which have a blue-green hue. Their cones are very large and have a slightly curved shape. This tree got its name thanks to Lord Weymouth - an Englishman who in the 18th century took this tree from North America and safely delivered it to the British Isles.
Fir
This coniferous plant, whose name in Latin is Pihta, can have a 60-meter height. Crohn conical shape. Fir at first glance looks like spruce. The diameter of the columnar (cylindrical) trunk can reach two meters. Some representatives of these conifers can live up to 700 years. Fir needles have been kept on a tree for about 10 years, and then they fall, and young and fresh are in a hurry to replace them. These trees begin to bear fruit in the thirtieth year of life. Fir has very large cones. Despite its impressive size, it is a very delicate tree. It does not tolerate frost, heat, drought. But he is comfortable in the shade. However, in bright light it grows better. Landscape designers love to use these trees to create malls.
Types of Fir
There are several varieties of this plant, for example, balsamic fir - Abies balsamea Nana. This is a dwarf pillow tree. In the wild, it grows in North America. It loves bright lighting, is afraid of gusty winds. Such a fir has a growth of not more than 1 meter. That's why it is perfect for decorating small garden plots. This tree propagates both by seeds and by annual cuttings with an apical bud. Its needles are bright green, have a special luster and exude a delicate resinous aroma. Fir cones are red-brown, have an elongated shape and are medium in size, about 5-10 centimeters.
Caucasian, or Nordman fir, is an evergreen coniferous tree. This plant in nature grows on the slopes of the Caucasus Mountains and in Asia Minor. Under favorable conditions, it can even reach 80-meter height. The crown has a conical shape, which, unlike other plants of this family, is very neat, as if trimmed. In some European countries, it is the main decoration for Christmas, as it is much more convenient to hang toys on it. Branches, unlike spruce, have raised edges. Its needles are dark green and also have a luster, the length of the needles is from 15 to 40 millimeters, making the tree look very fluffy.
Juniper
It is also an evergreen coniferous plant that belongs to the cypress family. It can be either a shrub or a tree. As a rule, this plant - Juniperus communis - grows freely in nature in the Northern Hemisphere, and in Asia Minor and on the shores of the Mediterranean it forms whole forests. Here you can also meet undersized species that almost creep along the land of natural parks. In Africa, they can also be found. However, this is a special kind of juniper - East African. Biologists have described more than 50 species of this coniferous plant. It is very hardy and undemanding. Juniper is also a long-liver. Can live up to 500 days. This plant has a characteristic bluish-green color of needles, and the cones are not elongated, but, on the contrary, have a spherical shape. And in color they are either gray or blue. From ancient times, a tree is considered the owner of magical properties. For example, they say that a wreath of juniper can scare away evil spirits and bring good luck to the owner. That is why many Europeans before Christmas, hang wreaths of this coniferous plant on the doors of their houses. In addition, the aroma of juniper needles calms the nerves. That is why, if you ask gardeners what kind of conifers it is better to plant in their mini-park, they will certainly name juniper among others. The most common species used for these purposes is flake juniper.
Thuja
Everyone has probably seen this plant, because it is a mandatory attribute of any city park - it is called the base. Hedges are created from thuja. They can be quite small, the size of a shrub, and can rise up several meters. Thuja is slightly different from other conifers in the shape of its needles. And she lives less than other conifers. The oldest representatives of this species live to 150 years. However, everything happens in nature, and scientists found such specimens that survived even up to 1000 years. The most common types of thuja are: western, giant, eastern, Japanese, Korean, etc. Tui needles are not sharp, they have a light green color. Thuja - gymnosperm coniferous plant. Its cones are oval in shape, and they ripen immediately - in the first year of life. And this is perhaps the most unpretentious of all types of conifers. It perfectly tolerates gas contamination, and therefore it feels quite well in urban conditions.
Larch
This is one of the rare conifers whose needles fall in the winter, like many deciduous plants. Hence its name. Larches are quite large, they love light, grow quickly and feel good in the polluted air of cities. They are especially beautiful at the end of March, when their branches are again covered with delicate light green needles, but in late autumn they turn bright pink. Larch cones appear only when the tree is 15 years old. They have an ovoid shape, and if you look closely at them, you will notice a resemblance to a rose. At first, the cones have a bright red, even purple color, and after they mature, they become brown. Larch trees are also long-livers. They can live up to 800 years, for which they can reach 25-30-meter height. Larch wood is an excellent building material. However, the nuclear part of the trunk, which has a red tint, is in special demand. Larch also has medicinal properties, due to which it is widely used in medicine. Turpentine is made from it, or, as it is otherwise called, Venetian turpentine, and the bark of the plant is used as a vitamin remedy.
Yew
This coniferous plant is found in the form of a bush, and in the form of a rather large tree. Its needles have a special shape - it is dark green, flat, short, like noodles. And very densely sticks around the branches of yew. This plant is unpretentious and does not require special care, which makes it very convenient for use in landscape design. But the choice of soil during planting should be treated with extreme caution. The tree likes to grow on calcareous soil, which is well drained, but in acidic it can get sick. Yew also quickly gets used to gas pollution, however it does not tolerate frosts. Yews can save snow from them. This, in particular, applies to dwarf varieties of this plant. The natural yew is a very picturesque tree. One of its varieties - berry - is especially beautiful. It grows bright red berries, which gives the tree an incredibly colorful look. However, the same cannot be said about their taste. They are toxic, although they have a very, very appetizing appearance.
Landscape design
Designers are very fond of using conifers when forming a garden (see photos in the article for names). Here are a few reasons for this:
- A variety of colors of needles, making plants very convenient to combine.
- Trees are great for landscaping in any style - from classic to modern.
- They are able to decorate the garden year-round.
- The magnificent specific aroma emanating from the needles is another plus of these plants.
- Unpretentiousness in leaving also appeals to designers.
- The ability to use to create hedges and mixborders is also a definite plus of conifers.
Conclusion
As you can see, there are a great many coniferous trees, but they are all united by common properties and qualities, among which the most pronounced are the presence of spiny needles, an evergreen color, a specific aroma, resinousness, large size (under favorable conditions), a conical or pyramidal shape, well, , of course, incredible beauty. Their wood is widely used for industrial purposes, which can also be attributed to the undoubted advantages of these plants.