Planting and caring for forsythia in the Moscow region: we comply with the requirements of the plant
Planting and caring for forsythia in the Moscow region allows you to grow healthy strong plants. Plantations need to be skillfully watered, fed, protected from diseases and pests, and prepared for winter.
Brief description of forsythia
Planting and caring for forsythia in the Moscow region implies taking into account all its characteristics. It is a garden shrub with a trunk covered with hardened dark brown bark. Shoots form a spreading crown with a diameter of 2 meters. Leaves are oval, yellow or bright green, 10-15 cm long. Flowers are made in the form of bells and are colored orange, white or yellow. They are arranged in small bundles. The fruit is filled with winged seeds. Depending on the variety and species, the height of an adult plant varies from 1 to 2.5 m.
Flowering begins in early spring, before the leaves open, and lasts about a month. The culture is undemanding to soils, resistant to hot weather, frost and pests. In general, the plant is unpretentious, but prefers well-lit areas.
There are several types of forsythia, which differ from each other in external parameters. These include:
- drooping;
- ovoid;
- intermediate;
- dark green;
- European;
- average.
In the Moscow region, only the first three varieties are widespread.
The most suitable varieties of forsythia for the Moscow region:
- Variegata;
- Fortune;
- Siebold;
- Lindwood;
- Beatrix Farrand;
- Fiesta.
Planting and caring for forsythia in the Moscow region
In the Moscow region, planting and caring for forsythia is very simple. Before sowing, the seeds are stratified for about two months. If possible, they should be freshly harvested. When buying seedlings, pay attention to the fact that they have a strong root system with a lump of earth and shoots with a lot of buds. Traces of damage by pests and diseases are not allowed.
The planting site should be sunny or slightly shaded. Lowlands with an accumulation of excess moisture are not suitable for the plant. If the soil is acidic, then liming is carried out, and when digging, they introduce wood ash... Loams should be diluted with humus and sand. The width and depth of the planting pit is 50-60 cm.
The bottom of the hole is strewn with a 10-centimeter layer of drainage, which is used as chipped brick or crushed stone.
Close proximity to other plants has a bad effect on the state of the plant, depresses it. It is better to maintain a spatial isolation of 2 meters.
Landing
Planting and caring for forsythia in the Moscow region begins with a date selection. Saplings are planted in the first half of spring or early autumn. Fine sand is poured into the prepared landing hole in a layer 10 cm high. Following this, a seedling is placed there and a soil mixture of leafy earth and peat, taken in a 2: 1 ratio, is added. It is needed in order to sprinkle the root system.
The well is carefully tamped and immediately spilled abundantly. To preserve moisture in the soil and prevent weed growth, the root zone is sprinkled with a layer mulch.
Dry foliage is suitable as mulch.
Plant care
In the spring, planting and caring for forsythia in the Moscow region consists of standard procedures. At moderate temperatures and precipitation from watering, you can refrain. If the summer is dry, then irrigation is carried out 1-2 times a month. One large bucket is sufficient for each plant.Plantings should not be spilled too abundantly.
Forsythia should be fed three times during the season. Before it blooms, add to the near-stem sector humus and thoroughly moisturize. In April, while the flowers have not yet crumbled, it is necessary to apply mineral complex fertilizers. The last dressing should be universal.
In March, sanitary pruning is carried out on the bushes. Frozen, diseased, dry and injured stems are removed. When flowering is over, forsythia can be shortened again. This time they get rid of overgrown shoots.
In the last decade of August, sawdust or humus is covered with a layer of 10-12 cm in height in the near-stem sector of the plant. In October, the stems are tilted to the ground as much as possible and fixed there, covering them with a thick layer of spruce branches or fallen leaves.
Reproduction methods
Forsythia is often grown by seed, but its germination rate rarely exceeds 30-50%. Even with a successful outcome, you will have to wait several years to get a full-fledged shrub. It is better to propagate the plant vegetatively.
At the beginning of summer, cut green or semi-lignified cuttings 10-15 cm long. On each of them, two buds are left and foliage is removed. Then the planting material is placed in a container with a solution of any root stimulator for 1-1.5 hours. Cuttings are set at a slight angle in a soil mixture consisting of sand and garden soil in equal proportions.
Rooting is best done under a transparent shelter or in a greenhouse for a month.
If there is an adult forsythia on the site, it is easier to reproduce by layering. The branch, which is closest to the ground, is bent downwards, fixed with wire brackets and covered with soil. Only the upper part of the stem should remain outside. It will take root and can be cut and transplanted next spring as a full-fledged plant.
Despite its resistance to pests, in the conditions of the Moscow region, the plant can suffer from nematodes and aphids. The most dangerous diseases for him are bacteriosis, wilting and moniliosis... Appropriate fungicides and insecticides are used against them. You need to know which varieties of forsythia are unpretentious for the Moscow region, and select the most resistant ones.