Catalpa: how to grow a southern "guest" in the harsh conditions of the Moscow region

Catalpa - a tree or shrub, which many people want to admire. It comes from North America, where it reaches 10-12 meters in height. Unusually beautiful. Catalpa managed to adapt to the conditions of the Moscow region. Only planting and caring for her in this region have their own characteristics.

Acquaintance with the heat-loving southerner

Most species have heart-shaped smooth bright green leaves. They reach a diameter of 25 cm.

The fruit of the tree is a pod-box with a length of up to 55 cm. They can persist in some regions on the tree all winter. Flowers are large unusual beauty inflorescences of white or cream color with a pleasant smell of apple. In shape, they look like a chestnut inflorescence. The crown of the tree is very dense and wide, the bark on the trunk is fine-fibrous, having a tendency to crackle. Huge heart-shaped leaves, beautiful inflorescences gave Maya Indians an inspiration to call it "the tree of happiness."

The grass under the tree does not grow, the bare place under it, resembling a nimbus, gave reason to call the catalpa "celestial tree".

Winter-hardy species

In central Russia, the usual, bignonemic, hybrid, spherical catalpa can grow. In the Moscow region, the most frost-resistant species, such as the magnificent, beautiful, non-flowering standard form of the bignyoniform catalpa Nana, take root.

The most frost-resistant of them - beautiful catalpa. It can withstand temperatures as low as -40 ° C. In some parks there are trees older than 50 years. In the 1930-1950s, the well-known breeder NK Vehov, a very well-known breeder, made great progress in improving the hardiness of catalpa.

Beautiful catalpa blooms near the end of June. Frost-resistant catalp flowers are smaller, but the inflorescences are as large as those of other relatives. Leaves - more light shades of green. Its winter-hardy species do not tolerate heat and drought badly - their beautiful large leaves wilt quickly.

Bignoniform catalpa in the suburbs often reaches only 4 meters. But if you grow seeds and seedlings in the same region, do the right pruning, shelter, feed, the tree will delight everyone with beauty and size.

Use in garden compositions

It can be an ornament to any garden composition. Due to the short stature of catalpa in this region, it is rarely used here as a separate tree. More often, catalpa is made part of the overall composition, combining with deciduous magnolias and oak.

Often they are framed by paths, they well strengthen the soil on the banks of rivers and lakes, small freshwater bodies.

How to choose seedlings when buying

Catalpa can be planted as seeds, cuttings, layering. When choosing seedlings to pay attention, first of all, on winter hardiness of a plant. It depends on the conditions in which the cutting was grown. Seedlings grown in the same region as the landing site in the open ground, more adapted.

The problem is not only in low temperatures in the winter, but also in the short summer. If temperature limits and other indicators were different, then the seedling is difficult to adapt to the new vegetative period. Often, adaptation ends in death, since the needs of the plant development processes do not coincide with the necessary conditions. For transplantation, 1-2-year-old saplings with an open wide root system are best suited. They are better acclimatized with a clod of earth on well-fertilized soil, with a well-designed drainage system.

The choice of location: soil and lighting

So that the tree does not give a big increase in the vegetative period, the soil must be poor, with pH7 acidity. Too quickly formed and a large growth of the tree is subject to more frosting due to the fact that he did not have time to wood.

It is very important to choose the right place for landing.Light and heat-loving catalpa is better suited sunny, closed from the cold winds place.

Step-by-step process of planting seedlings

Catalpa seedlings can be planted in spring or autumn in soil close to neutral. Planted in spring less prone to frosting. For such a picky tree, the pit needs to be prepared a couple of weeks before planting the seedling. It is dug in depth of 0.8-1.2 m and wide, taking into account the fibrous shape and size of the root. In planting soil for catalpa you need to add humus, two parts of leafy ground, one part of peat and two parts of sand. If necessary, you can add a fertile layer of soil, 5-7 kg of wood ash and mineral fertilizers, such as phosphate, to the planting soil.

Pit well shed water. Water the seedling immediately after planting, after having mulched the peat.

Leaving with skill

Growing catalpa in the Moscow region is associated with protection from wind and frost, watering and pest and weed control. Growing a catalpa in the western suburbs requires cutting off frozen stalks.

After planting, the sapling grows slowly, the vegetative activity of catalps in this region is delayed - they stand without leaves until May, they begin to bloom in the 5-7th year.When pruning frozen shoots, one should not be afraid of disturbing the formation of the crown - it recovers well and quickly after pruning.

Warming should be made on time and removed in time so as not to prevent the removal of moisture from the soil.

Watering

Watering seedlings should be regular - 1 to 2 buckets once a week. Watering an adult tree should be more abundant, pouring up to 18 liters at a time. Watering should also be systematic - once a week. At the same time it is necessary to prevent stagnant moisture, waterlogging. In cloudy weather, water when needed.

Top dressing

Catalpa seedlings need not be fed immediately after planting. After a year or two, it is enough at the beginning of the growing season to feed them with slurry or with manure syrup at the rate of 1 l: 20 l of water, pouring 1 bucket of this solution under the seedling.

An adult tree should be fed 2-3 times during the growing season. At the beginning and in the second half of the growing season, the tree should be fertilized with 5-6 liters of slurry in proportion to water 1:10 liters of water. Mineral fertilizers are applied once during the flowering period after watering.

Cropping and crown formation

Trimming the crown is an important part of catalpa care.

Therapeutic pruning of all branches is carried out in the fall and during the rest period of the plant. After such pruning, some branches may frost out. In this case, they are additionally cut over the extreme of the living kidneys. Do it in the spring. In late spring and early summer, designers do decorative trimming.

Shelter for the winter

The heat-loving tree can suffer in the climatic conditions of the Moscow region.

For shelter, their trunks in the fall before the frost are wrapped in spruce or sacking, and around the trunk the ground is covered with leaves. In the spring, it is necessary to remove the insulation in time and loosen the soil in order to avoid the appearance of fungus in it.

When and how to bloom

Catalpa blooms for 3-4 weeks from mid-June. During this period, it is covered with abundant large inflorescences, exceeding in size the chestnut blossoms, but very much resembling it. White and cream tubular flowers with purple and yellow stripes in the middle, with lace edges have a pleasant apple flavor.

How to deal with possible diseases and pests

Catalpa is not too susceptible to pests.

In cases of defeat Spanish fly the tree should be treated twice with Decis, Kinmiks or Karbofos.

In the unblown buds, Comstock worms may start. In this case, it is necessary to treat unblown buds with insecticides.

Fungus of the genus Verticillus can lead to drying and death of the plant, arises due to poor drainage of the soil and its too high density. Systematic soil loosening and good moisture permeability are the main preventive means from the appearance of fungi in the soil and catalpa contamination with them.

Despite the fastidiousness of the tree in the climatic conditions of the Moscow region, the catalpa will become an ornament to any composition, take a look at its colors, a thick crown will shelter from the sun, bizarre fruits will carry into the world of fairy tales, the cracked bark inspires fantasies about the tropics.