Today, more and more often you can see a beautiful bush strewn with white berries in household plots and in urban landings. Looking at him, it seems that in September the first snow fell. Thanks to its compactness, the snow-berry organically fits into any plantations and decorates the design. In spring, it pleases with beautiful flowering, and in autumn - with dense tassels of fruits. The plant is not whimsical at all, so every gardener can plant a snowman on the site. Planting and caring for the bush will not cause trouble.
Snowman Features
The bush has a neat oval-spherical shape and grows to a height of no more than 1.5 m. Growing a snow berry does not cause any particular difficulties, because it is unpretentious, tolerates adverse climatic conditions, so the bush can often be seen in urban landscape design. The plant blooms in summer with pink flowers, and the berries appear in September or October and last until January, falling in severe frosts.
Snowman can grow in the shade, is not afraid of severe frosts, can withstand drought. It can grow anywhere, but still, if you want to grow a luxurious bush, you should choose a sunny area with a slightly alkaline or neutral soil reaction. The plant feels great on fertile loams.
Varieties of the Snowman
Deciduous shrub belongs to the family of honeysuckle, in nature there are 15 of its varieties. Despite the self-explanatory name, the snow-berry fruit not only bears white berries. For example, the Chinese variety surprises with black fruits. In North America, a pink snowdrop grows. Planting and care for this variety are practically no different from its snow-white counterparts. In nature, a shrub chooses places near ponds, as well as in mountain forests.
The best places to plant a snowman
The shrub feels great both in the shade and in the sun, endures long drought, it is not afraid of even severe frosts. That is why it is possible for a snowman to decorate areas on which nothing is accepted. But nevertheless, gardeners noted that the most luxurious bushes grow on fertile soils. Snowman feels great in the sun, loves soil with a neutral reaction, in extreme cases, slightly alkaline. Therefore, if there is a desire to grow a beautiful bush, you should listen to the above recommendations.
Planting a snowman
Before planting a bush for permanent residence, you must carefully dig and fertilize the area with rotted organic matter. Such a preparation will be appreciated by the white snowman. Landing and care do not cause special difficulties. If seedlings are dug out of the ground, then do not shake the lump. If the snowman has transported, then it should be dipped in an earthenware mash before planting.
The shrub can be used both for single plantings and for the formation of hedges. In the first case, you need to dig a landing hole with a depth and diameter of about 0.6 m. To make a beautiful hedge, you should dig a trench up to 0.7 m deep and about 0.4 m wide. Twine must be pulled along it to make a beautiful snowdrop. Planting and care require the placement of bushes 1 m from each other, this distance is necessary for the normal development of the plant. The substrate for the snowman is prepared from humus, peat and sand, the addition of wood ash, superphosphate and dolomite flour is allowed .
Division propagation
Not only care, but also in breeding unpretentious snowman. Ornamental shrubs grow beautiful and healthy both from cuttings and from root shoots, cuttings or seeds. But still, the most popular method of propagation is the division of the bush. An adult plant annually releases abundant root shoots, it can also be used to form a luxurious hedge.
It is best in the fall and spring to settle down in a new place snowman. Planting and care involve the preparation of a pit and substrate. When propagating by dividing the bush, it is necessary to dig up the plant and divide it into several parts together with the root system. Some gardeners like to increase the amount of snowman by layering. To do this, make a small groove, put the shoots of the bush there and for better fixation, pin them with wire. From these layers by the end of the growing season a good root system will be formed . Without a threat to the adult bush, young prunus can be secatered by secateurs. Planting and layering care are no different from caring for other shrubs.
Propagation by cuttings
Everyone can make a beautiful green fence in their own area. Experienced gardeners, in order to save money, buy one bush of a snowman’s bush, and then, when it grows, they cut green or lignified cuttings for propagation. With the right approach, beautiful shrubs grow from such shoots. Green cuttings are harvested in June, and lignified - in the fall. Store them in a cool room in the sand. Some gardeners try to grow pink snowdrops using seeds. Planting and care in this case is very problematic, because this variety rarely survives in our latitudes.
Shrub care
The snow-berry is necessary only to be watered in a timely manner and from time to time to loosen the soil, to weed. Under one bush you need to pour about 25 liters of water, it is better to do it in the evening. Snowberry responds well to dressing. For this purpose, you can use fertilizers for berry crops. For example, with the Agrico preparation per 10 l of water, 50 g can be fertilized twice a season.
It is best to form a bush in early spring, when the buds have not yet blossomed. It should be borne in mind that the buds will be formed on new shoots, so you should not cut them off, otherwise the snowman will not bloom in summer. Description, reproduction, care, planting - all these nuances should be well known to the gardener who decided to make a hedge on his site. When pruning, the shoots need to be shortened by a quarter of the length, in extreme cases - by half (it all depends on the preferred shape of the bush). First of all, it is worth removing the shrunken, broken, thickened, old branches. To rejuvenate the shrub, pruning should be done “on the stump”, that is, make the bush height at the level of 60 cm from the ground.
Decent decoration of the site
Snowberry is used in group and single plantings; it is also good as a hedge. Shrubs can be seen in city parks, on household territories. Owing to its unpretentiousness, the snow berry fills with itself areas on which no more plants take root. The bush pleases the eye with its appearance throughout the year. In spring, it is covered with green leaves, throughout the summer it blooms with delicate pink flowers, and from the beginning of autumn and until severe frosts, the snowman is dressed in a white outfit thanks to its berries. The compactness of the bush allows you to give it any shape. Many have already appreciated the decorative qualities of the snowman, and every year the number of his fans only increases.