Growing globular willow at the dacha

Willow brittle globular - a great plant for landscape design. With its help it is possible to strengthen the banks of small ponds and streams, to create a beautiful hedge, a small alley or even an arbor. This tree is also well suited for lovers of bonsai technology - its crown is great for decorative trimming and forming various shapes from it. Growing it in the form of a bush, you can achieve an excellent aesthetic result in group planting.

Description and popular varieties

Globe-shaped willow can be grown both as a dwarf and as a full-fledged tree, the size of which is up to 20 m in height, it all depends on the variety. A characteristic feature of the plant is the formation of very thick, spherical green caps, while the trunk and lower part of the branches often remain bare.

This tree is quite cold-resistant (able to withstand temperatures up to -45 ° C). It is very common on the territory of Russia, it is found in large numbers on the Eurasian continent, some specimens are present in Australia and some parts of Africa and America.

Willow is considered the herald of spring - it is one of the first to start dissolving the leaves after the winter period. Earrings begin to peck along with the leaves. Their sizes are 4-5 cm, and with fruits they are even larger and reach 6-7 cm.

In our latitudes there are a huge number of varieties suitable for cultivation:

1. Willow eared - shrub 1.5-3 m in height with red-brown young stems and dark gray branches.

2. Purple willow - low shrub, up to 2 m in diameter with purple flexible and thin shoots. Earrings are bright purple color, from where this plant got its name.

3. Willow wholegrain Hakuro Nishiki - can be grown in the form of a bush, and in the form of a small tree with slightly hanging branches. Young leaves have a spotted pink-white color.

4. Willow hybrid memory Bazhova - tree up to 13 m tall. Durable, fast growing. Forms a powerful trunk, which is crowned with an oval weeping crown.

5. Willow Hybrid Spherical Dwarf - reaches up to 3 m in width and height. Crohn - medium density, spherical shape. Leaves 5-6 cm long, 0.6-1 cm wide.

6. Willow hybrid Sverdlovsk meandering - a tree with a height of 4-5 m. The crown is spherical in shape, the branches wilt to the ground, the leaves curl a little.

7. Willow Hybrid Lighthouse - initially derived for basket weaving. It is a bush of rounded shape up to 2.5 m in height.

Where is the best place to plant globular willow

The tree will be great in any place, so when planting, you should first be guided by decorative and aesthetic considerations.

The choice of location and sanctification

The tree grows its crown perfectly, even growing in shaded areas, but it will be preferable to plant the plant in well-lit areas. An open, well-blown area will also not interfere with growing, as the leaves are rather dense and cling tight to the branches, which will allow them to successfully resist gusts of wind.Willow can be used for landscaping lowland and wetlands due to its good resistance to damage from putrefactive processes.

Optimum soil

The best soil for planting this plant will be slightly acid loam and sandy soil. If the soil is excessively dense, it is recommended to add several buckets of sand to it before planting and mix everything thoroughly. Wet soils next to ponds or marshes are perfect for a tree, which will save the gardener from the need for regular watering.

Planting seedlings

Spherical willow requires special rules for planting and caring for it. We should start with the fact that it is almost impossible to plant this tree with the help of seeds, since they ripen in earrings that fall at the slightest breath of wind and are suitable for planting only a couple of days after falling. Therefore, the preferred method of planting - with the help of seedlings.

Timing

The most successful period for planting willow will be from April to mid-autumn. Planting after the specified period may lead to unsuccessful wintering as a result of which the seedlings will die.

rules

Before direct landing it is necessary to prepare pits. They should be up to 50 cm in diameter and 30-40 cm in depth. The bottom of the landing pit should be tamped down with a prepared layer of nutrient soil that can be made by mixing peat, sand and compost in equal proportions.

If the plant will be planted out of a plastic container - use the method of transshipment, which involves planting with a clod of earth on the roots. The seedling should be immersed in the ground with several buds, which will contribute to the better rooting of willow in the future. If planting is done in the middle of autumn, it is worth removing all the leaves, this will help Willow to winter more successfully.

Garden care

To care for a willow tree in a garden is a rather simple task. The whole complex of activities can be divided into daily, which include watering, and others - feeding, pruning and the formation of the crown.

Watering

A young tree should be watered daily, at least during the warmer periods of the year, and until it is strong. The daily rate of water for this plant is only 10-12 liters. An adult tree also needs abundant spraying during hot periods, but not at those moments when it is exposed to direct active sunlight.

Top dressing

If the soil in which the planting was carried out is distinguished by a good fertility index, then a single top dressing in the process of planting will suffice.

However, if the soil is poor, then it is better to do additional feeding from time to time until the plant finally becomes stronger. In this case, the tree should be fertilized 2-3 times during the summer season. Absolutely any soluble fertilizer in the amount of 200 g per one supplement will be suitable for these purposes. Fertilizer should be at the root.

Cropping and crown formation

Pruning is carried out exclusively in the spring season until the bud break. The tree tolerates this procedure well, as a result of which a thick and bright crown is formed. It is possible to start forming the crown from your crown after the tree reaches 1.5 m. Prior to this, it is worthwhile to simply trim overly knocked out and clearly deformed branches. Dwarf willow bushes can be completely rejuvenated with a radical trim cap. Shrubs tolerate this manipulation well, giving off young and healthier fresh shoots. Do not prune willow in autumn.

Propagation of spherical willow

Spherical willow is a plant whose reproduction is possible both with cuttings and with the use of seeds. Seed method is difficult because the planting material matures in the earrings that fall from the tree at the slightest breath, and suitable for planting it remains only for several days. In this regard, the best option is reproduction using cuttings. Cutting the latter should be done before the sap flow in the trunk. Cuttings are cut by 30-40 cm, each of which must contain 4-6 buds. Cut the stalk should be oblique. Then proceed according to the following algorithm:

1. Slightly dry the cut and process it with coal powder.
2. Pour the calcined river sand into a container and moisten it abundantly.
3. Stick the cuttings into the sand at a distance of at least 10 cm.
4. Water the cuttings daily.
5. After about 30 days, you will receive saplings ready for planting.

Globe-shaped willow is a great plant suitable for any gardener who intends to do landscape design. Easy care is an excellent argument for growing it. The only difficulty is finding inspiration for the manifestation of creativity in the process of crown formation.