Stamp forms are commonly used in regular gardens, forming aesthetic and attractive compositions. But this approach to creating elements of landscape design 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. The raised foliage and branches form a spherical shape, more advantageous from the point of view of aesthetic perception and adapted to group planting.
Having appreciated the benefits and appearance of such gardens, many gardeners are interested in how to make a standard tree. Is this possible in your yard or garden? Of course, decorating your own plot with such green spaces is not difficult for an experienced summer resident, but beginners will have to learn in detail about the secrets of forming standard forms.
What is a bole?
The trunk is called the part of the trunk of woody plants, which runs from the soil to the branches. Accordingly, the standard form can be applied to all trees and shrubs. At the same time, the height of this part varies from a couple of centimeters to several meters - the length depends on the particular instance.
Applicationstandard forms
From a decorative point of view, standard trees and shrubs can form different compositions. For example, in recreation areas and ceremonial places, single plantings of flowering varieties are popular. No less common are group plantations with alleys in park areas. Hawthorn, aronia, almonds and other species are suitable for alleys. 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 boles 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 harmonious 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 also look quite touching, including willow, rough elm, single-leaved ash, weeping mountain ash, etc. A low umbrella apple tree and shrub cherry will also please the owner with their appearance, providing him with tasty fruits. Of course, designers achieve the greatest effect during certain periods of flowering. As a rule, these are the spring months, when the green array of the crown is diluted with graceful flowers of different shades.
Original foliage
Because the crown is in standard trees and shrubsplays a special role, 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 release leaf buds. You should be prepared for such "behavior". And on the other hand, the purple-leaved viburnum vesicle and the willow-leaf pear will demonstrate unusual leafy boles in their original forms. In this row, you can put a yellow acacia, which, among other things, will add a characteristic aroma to the atmosphere of the garden. Exotic lovers should also recommend Lorberg's Caragana variety. 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 exactly 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 shaped according to their individual needs. However, not every tree or shrub obtained in this way is suitable for creating a bole.
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 top buds, so pruning should be done very carefully and selectively to maintain its ability to bloom. Such a standard tree will require lifelong pruning - this is the only way to maintain it.form.
Vaccination as a way to get a bole
Standard plants obtained in this way have two main parts: scion and rootstock. The stock is made up of the same trunk and roots, and either a kidney or a cutting is grafted. With the help of grafting, you can create a mini-tree from a shrub. The crown of umbrella, low-growing and creeping varieties on the stem looks much more impressive than their original form.
In young grafted seedlings, the grafting site is noticeable. Usually it is located at the very beginning of the branching of the crown. Traces of the performed procedure also remain here - the remains of putties, paraffin or wrapping film, which is applied to the graft. In the lower part, the standard tree has a rootstock 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 growth goes directly to the root system, then you should get to the place of formation and cut off the shoot already there. This is important, since the removal of wild game at the ground level will not stop the development of the shoot, but, on the contrary, will lead to the abundant appearance of new shoots.
How to choose a seedling for a trunk?
If you buy a grafted seedling, this place must be carefully inspected. It should be free of dried areas and constrictions formed under the action of a wire or film. The trunk should initially be straight, since in the future it will be almost impossible to give it a vertical shape. You should immediately ask aboutwinter hardiness of a woody plant, since creating shelter in frost is not an easy job. 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 also 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 bought.
Care and creation of stems
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 rings. If the trunk deviates from the vertical line, it must be tied to a peg. One of the most important operations that a gardener who decides to grow standard trees with his own hands must perform is the removal of shoots. They should be pinched a year after the third leaflet.
After 3-4 years, a bole of about two meters in height grows from the seeds. From young seedlings, boles appear in a year. It is advisable to vaccinate after mid-April. For this procedure, it is necessary to use cuttings with kidneys (the optimal number is 3-4). About a month later, buds appear at the site of vaccination. Understanding how to grow a stem 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 next spring, it is recommended to cut off several buds from them. Further care should be the same as in the maintenance of ordinary seedlings.
Stampsand mulching
For those who grow stems as a decorative element on the site, it is worth doing it on the lawn, where the plants look the most advantageous, demonstrating all their advantages. It is advisable to open the near-stem circles from the lawn and apply mulching. In this case, it is assumed that the soil surface is covered 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 mulch layer is 10-12 cm. In summer, this coating helps to warm the soil, and in winter it protects from freezing. Mulch also retains and accumulates moisture in the soil layer and protects the plant from weeds.
Caring for fruitful stems
Garden with fruit plants requires special care. In the cracks of the dead bark, pests often multiply, due to which mosses and lichens form on the surface of the bole. During periods of autumn leaf fall, before starting to cultivate the land from the stem and the base of the branches, it is necessary to clean off dead bark fragments. To do this, you can use metal scrapers and brushes. But when performing this operation, damage to he althy areas of the cortex should not be allowed.
Washing can only be applied to boles of adult fruit trees with rough bark. Plants that have a smooth surface are not recommended to whiten. Time fromOver time, the resulting shoots must also be removed - this is due not only to the requirements for maintaining the form itself, but also to the fact that the fruit standard tree spends a lot of nutrients on “extra” buds and growths that can go directly to the upper part of the crown.
Restoration of standard crown
It happens that as a result of improper care, the standard crown dies. However, the preserved he althy bole sprouts new buds, from which shoots appear with shoots. Uprooting such trees is not worth it, especially if the root system is generally viable. Turning to the sequence of actions with seedlings, you can answer the question of how to form a standard tree from shoots. It usually takes less time to grow than a 2-year-old seedling.
In the spring, at least a few shoots form on the trunk. As they grow, it is necessary to track the strongest and most viable - the weak must be cut off at the very base. Places of removal and hollows 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, even despite the intensive growth and external strength of growth, he needs good protection and nutrition. Therefore, at the first time of growth of the shoots, they should not be cut off. The leaf base is required to feed the root system. By the way, sometimes gardeners leave several shoots, forming a multi-stemmed tree crown. True, the bushy form requires more serious care in order to end up with a he althy and outwardly attractive bole.
