The peak of plant evolution is the familiar, but no less surprising and incredibly diverse life form - trees. In many religions, the tree is a symbol of life, fertility or knowledge, and in folklore it is not given the last place. Who does not remember the apple tree saving children from geese-swans, or the epic willow mourning the fallen Russian soldiers? But
today we forget about the fairy-tale characters and talk about the features of this unique life form, the formation of crowns, their types and density.
Types of crown
Dendrologists have introduced a scale for distinguishing the size of trees. They distinguish trees that make up the upper tier - up to 20 meters. The size of the second tier is from 10 to 20 meters, the third - 5-10 meters.
When designing sites, landscape designers must take into account not only the size, but also the shape of the trunk and types of crowns. The crown of the tree is completely independent of its height, but determines the shape. A 30-meter giant tree and a plant that does not reach a meter in height can have the same shape.
The following tree crown shapes are conventionally distinguished:
• pyramidal (poplar);
• elongated (juniper);
• columnar (columnar apple tree);
• umbrella (Italian pine) ;
• spherical, oval (Siberian apple tree, elm, chestnut, larch);
• weeping (weeping willow, birch);
• longline (pine);
• creeping (cedar elfin, creeping species of apple trees).
Crown density
An important factor in the arrangement of parks and gardens is the density of the crown. The most dense is the one in which the gaps are 25%. 25-50% of the gaps create a medium-dense crown. If they occupy more than half, the crown of the tree is light and openwork. Trees can be with an integral-compact or with a separately-compact form, where there are gaps between tiers.
Elongated shape
This shape of the crown is characterized by a fusiform shape. In the center, it is more voluminous, rather narrow at the base and elongated upward. Poplar and Provencal cypress are vivid representatives of this form. This is a win-win option for creating small gardens. Forming strict vertical lines, their crown most advantageously sets off the unevenness of the relief and increases the feeling of height.
Trees of this form perfectly revitalize and represent a long-term perspective. Rows of pyramidal poplars planted at the bottom of the hollows create a unique sight: narrow silhouettes of trees emphasize the steep slopes, contrasting with them. In addition, the orderly planting of such trees creates a magnificent windproof curtain.
Columnar shape
This form is close to elongated, but its representatives do not have a thickening in the middle of the crown, and there is a fairly wide base, almost coinciding with the size of the upper part of the tree, which generally gives the impression of a column. Very interesting are the parks with plantings of trees of a similar shape, giving them a light southern flavor. Planted in a checkerboard pattern, columnar-shaped trees provide effective protection from the wind.
Pyramidal crown
An interesting crown of the tree is the pyramidal. Recently, it is customary to call all trees with a cone-shaped crown with a pronounced dense volume, creating a clear geometric silhouette. Such crowns can be very different from each other. This difference is determined by the growth of branches: branches growing up create a frame elongated dense volume, horizontal branches create a light monumentality, flowing down give the plant a lush and romantic look.
Longline crown
Such a crown gives the impression that the tree consists from a number of tiers - horizontal layers, almost identical in volume. This original crown is found in Lebanese cedars, some shrubs: dogwood, dwarf conifers. Modern designers use longline crowns in interesting landscape compositions with clear geometric lines.
Weeping crown
Flexible thin branches falling to the ground, gentle well-groomed appearance. The weeping crown is admittedly the most moving and romantic. This tree crown, photo
which is presented in the article, for all its entertainment, requires constant care and quality care. Such plants are especially effective near water or at a differentiated level difference. For example, on uneven hills and valleys.
Spherical, oval crown
Spherical or oval crowns can be round, oblate, cylindrical, expanding, etc. The most striking representatives of trees of this shape are beech, oak, elm.
Creeping Crown
This form is often used in the design of modern gardens. Creeping species, as a rule, have a Far Eastern origin. They are exotic and picturesque:
the plant spreads on the ground, as in natural conditions on the coast or in highlands.
Umbrella Crown
The most exotic tree crown is undoubtedly an umbrella. A perfectly smooth trunk ends with a magnificent umbrella. All trees of this type, from the classic umbrella pine tree to the exquisite magnolia - the Virgin's umbrella, have a monumental look. A crown of this shape can be obtained artificially, by special devices preventing the branches of some weeping species from falling down, for example, Sophora. The shape of the umbrellas can be very diverse: domed, more or less pointed. It can have pretty blurry outlines.
Crown Tree Formation
Almost all types of tree crowns growing in city parks or garden plots require proper formation. This is achieved by cropping. Of the several existing crown formation systems, the most universal way is sparse-tier. The pruning method applies to all fruit trees and park crops.
The essence of this method consists in timely pruning of the tree, leaving 10-12 lateral branches on the trunk, tier departing from the trunk at different levels with an interval of 15-20 cm. One-two-year-old seedlings from the nursery are already sold with the first tier of several side branches. Further, the formation of the crown is performed as the plant grows. Given that the growth in the first year of the tree is small, the forming pruning of the crown of trees is carried out only in the spring of the third year. The trunk should be cut approximately
meter height from the beginning of the first tier, not forgetting to leave about 10 buds on it, of which new lateral branches and the continuation shoot will appear in the summer.
In the spring of the fourth year of the sprouted new branches leave some of the strongest, located around the circumference, removing the rest. This will be the second tier of the crown. Over the next two years, a third tier of 1-2 branches is also formed. At a height of 4-4.5 m, tree growth is stopped, truncating the trunk above the base of a strong upper branch. The formation of the crown of trees at this stage is considered complete. Proper pruning allows you to get a magnificent tree, the photo and look of which give a truly aesthetic pleasure.