Punched forms are commonly used in regular gardens, forming aesthetic and attractive compositions. But such an approach to creating landscape design elements is not just an expression of the decorator’s thoughts. Shrubs and trees, whose crown has a standard shape, develop more actively, receive more light and are better ventilated. Foliage and branches raised upward form a spherical shape, more favorable from the point of view of aesthetic perception and adapted to group planting.
Having appreciated the advantages and appearance of such gardens, many gardeners are interested in how to make a standard tree. Is this possible on your site or garden? Of course, decorating your own site with such green spaces will not be difficult for an experienced summer resident, however, beginners will have to learn in detail about the secrets of the formation of standard forms.
What is a standard?
A stem is a part of the trunk of woody plants that extends from the soil to the branches. Accordingly, the standard form can be applied to all trees and shrubs. In this case, the height of this part varies from a couple of centimeters to several meters - the length depends on the particular instance.
The use of standard forms
From a decorative point of view, standard trees and shrubs can form different compositions. For example, in recreation areas and ceremonial places, solitary plantings of flowering varieties are popular. No less common and group plantings with alleys in park areas. For alleys hawthorn, chokeberry, almonds and other species are suitable. Weeping forms are used near streams and ponds. They can also be used on a personal plot, on a playground in the form of an original hut. Also, trees with stands look spectacular in flower beds and stone gardens.
Which trees are suitable?
The principles of creating standard vegetation can be applied to a huge number of shrubs and trees, but there are varieties that look most harmoniously in this form. It is noteworthy that such trees are not always grown outdoors - for example, fuchsia (standard tree) is quite suitable for development at home. This is a good option for decorating miniature gardens. Weeping trees look quite touching, among them willow, elm, single-leaved ash, weeping rowan, etc. The low umbrella apple and shrub cherries will also please the owner with their appearance, providing it with tasty fruits. Of course, designers achieve the greatest effect at certain periods of flowering. As a rule, these are the spring months, when the green massif of the crown is diluted with elegant flowers of different shades.
Original foliage
Since the crown plays a special role in the standard trees and shrubs, it is important to initially plan what the branches and especially the leaves should be. An example with large leaves and sparse branches is the hibiscus stem tree, which itself is reluctant to let go of leaf buds. Such "behavior" should be prepared. And on the other hand, the cysticis purplinifolia Kalinolistny and the pear loosestrife will demonstrate unusual deciduous strains in their original forms. In this row you can put yellow acacia, which, among other things, will add a characteristic aroma to the atmosphere of the garden. Fans of exotics should recommend the Lorberg variety of caravans. This plant is distinguished by thin elegant leaves and spectacular openwork branches.
Methods of forming a standard form
When purchasing a standard tree, you need to know how it was bred. In the future, this will help to choose the right approach to the maintenance and care of the plant. As a rule, two methods are used: pruning or grafting. Trees obtained by pruning are formed according to their individual needs. However, not every tree or shrub obtained in this way is suitable for creating a stem.
The fact is that the removal of the upper kidney contributes to the development and branching of the shoot. On the other hand, for example, lilac has flower upper buds, therefore, to maintain its ability to bloom, pruning should be done very carefully and selectively. Such a standard tree will require lifelong trimming - the only way to maintain its shape.
Vaccination as a method of obtaining the stem
Stem plants obtained in this way have two main parts: scion and stock. The stock is made up of the same trunk and roots, and either the kidney or the stalk is vaccinated. With the help of vaccination you can create a mini-tree from a bush. The crown of umbellate, undersized and creeping varieties on the stem looks much more spectacular than their pristine form.
In young vaccinated seedlings, the place of vaccination is noticeable. Usually it is at the very beginning of the branching of the crown. There are also traces of the procedure performed - the remains of putty, paraffin or wrapping film that is applied to the vaccine. In the lower part, the standard tree has a stock leading to the roots. In the process of tree development, it is important to ensure that shoots (so-called wilds) do not appear from the roots - they must be removed immediately. If the new shoot goes directly to the root system, then you should get to the place of formation and cut the shoot there already. This is important, since the removal of wild animals at the level of the earth’s surface does not stop the development of the shoot, but rather leads to the abundant emergence of new processes.
How to choose a seedling for the stem?
If you are buying a seedling with vaccination, this place must be carefully examined. It should be free of dried areas and constrictions formed by the action of a wire or film. The trunk should initially be straight, because in the future to give it a vertical shape will be almost impossible. It is immediately necessary to ask about the winter hardiness of a woody plant, since creating shelter in cold weather is not an easy task. Do not forget that the standard tree has a bare trunk, which requires appropriate care for the bark. Sometimes plants purchased in containers are not planted on the site, but they are put up at special points, decorating, for example, the front door. Therefore, it is important to take into account the characteristics of the container in which the seedling is purchased.
Care and establishment of boles
In the process of growing a seedling, it is necessary to monitor the development of its trunk. It should be vertical, without the formation of bends and ringlets. If the trunk deviates from the vertical line, it must be tied to a peg. One of the most important operations that a gardener must decide to grow with his own hands is to remove the shoots. They should be pinched a year after the third leaflet.
After 3-4 years, a stump of approximately two meters height grows from the seeds. Of the young seedlings, the fungi appear in a year. It is advisable to do the vaccine after mid-April. For this procedure, it is necessary to use cuttings with kidneys (the optimal amount is 3-4). After about a month, kidneys appear at the site of the vaccination. Understanding how to grow a standard tree is largely based on regulating the growth of buds and branches. By the time of the onset of autumn, annual growths are formed on the plants. In order to increase branching, it is recommended to cut several buds from them next spring. Further care should be the same as in the maintenance of ordinary seedlings.
Stamps and Mulching
For those who grow stalks as a decorative element on the site, it is worth doing it on the lawn, where the plants look most advantageous, demonstrating all their advantages. It is advisable to open the trunk circles from the lawn and apply mulching. In this case, it is supposed to cover the soil surface with bulk materials, film or suitable paper. In particular, standard fruit trees can be combined with mulching based on peat, wood chips, and pebbles with sand can also be used. The thickness of the mulched layer is 10–12 cm. In the summer, this coating contributes to the heating of the soil, and in the winter it protects against freezing. Mulch also preserves and accumulates moisture in the soil layer and protects the plant from weeds.
Care for fruitful boles
A garden with fruit plants requires special care. In cracks of dead bark, pests often multiply, due to which mosses and lichens form on the surface of the stem. During periods of autumn leaf fall, before embarking on the cultivation of the soil from the stem and the base of the branches, it is necessary to clean off dead fragments of the bark. To do this, you can use metal scrapers and brushes. But when performing this operation, damage to healthy areas of the cortex cannot be allowed.
Whitewashing can be applied only to the stems of adult fruit trees with a rough bark. Plants with a smooth surface are not recommended to be whitened. From time to time, the growing shoots must also be removed - this is due not only to the requirements for maintaining the form itself, but also because the fruit stem tree spends a lot of nutrients on “extra” buds and growths, which can come directly to the top of the crown.
Restoration of the standard crown
It happens that as a result of improper care, the standard crown kills. However, the preserved healthy bole shoots new buds, from which shoots with shoots appear. To uproot such trees is not worth it, especially if the root system as a whole is viable. Turning to the sequence of actions with seedlings, one can answer the question of how to form a standard tree from a shoot. Usually, such cultivation takes less time than the formation of a 2-year-old seedling.
In the spring, at least several shoots are formed on the stem. As they grow, you need to track the most powerful and viable - the weak ones need to be cut off at the very base. Places of removal and hollow must be treated with special compounds. As a result, only one most developed process should remain, from which a new crown will be formed. But it is important to remember that, despite the intensive growth and external strength of growth, he needs good protection and nutrition. Therefore, in the first time of shoot growth, they should not be pruned. A leaf base is needed to power the root system. By the way, sometimes gardeners leave several shoots, forming a multi-stem tree crown. True, the bushy form requires more serious care in order to ultimately get a healthy and outwardly attractive bole.