Pseudotsuga is an evergreen coniferous tree from the Pine family. The natural habitat for the plant are China, Japan and the Pacific coast of North America. Most often, these giant trees resemble a familiar spruce with a conical crown and slightly drooping branches. Cones with small “ponytails” under wooden scales are also highly decorative. Pseudo-tsuga can easily compete with familiar pines, firs and firs. In just a few years, a beautiful evergreen tree with a dense emerald or bluish crown will grow on the site.
Plant description
A pseudo-tsuga or a false tsuga is a tall slender tree. She can live up to 1000 years and reach a maximum height of 100 m. The diameter of the trunk of an adult plant is 4.5 m. The trunks and skeletal branches are covered with a smooth gray bark. With age, it acquires a brownish-gray hue and cracks. Entire plates of the cortex are gradually peeling off, and under them is a thick cork tissue. Due to this feature, the pseudo-survivor can survive after forest fires and other disasters.
Whorled branches are arranged horizontally. Cone-shaped, and with age, the rounded crown of the pseudo-suction differs in density. Lateral shoots on branches usually wilted. On the shoots are soft emerald needles that grow in all directions. They have an elongated, flattened shape. The edge of the leaf is rounded, its upper side has a plain green color. Two whitish longitudinal grooves are visible on the lower surface. The length of the needles is 2-3 cm. Each leaf is stored on the tree from 6 to 8 years.
Cones begin to appear on trees aged 15-20 years. In the sinuses of one-year-old shoots, male cones are formed. They are small in size and covered with beautiful red-orange pollen. The tops of young branches are decorated with decorative female cones. The oblong ovoid or cylindrical cone is 7-10 cm long. The ligneous scales of the young cone fit snugly together. Inside are small seeds that have long wings. These wings look out and give the bumps an extra appeal. The ripened cone opens independently and the seeds are released.
Varieties of Pseudo Services
The genus of pseudo-suds is small in number, only 4 species are registered in it. The most widespread Menzies pseudo-service. It grows on the rocky mountains of North America. The monumental plant up to 100 m high has a pyramidal uneven crown. The tuberous cracking bark is painted in a bureau-gray shade. Horizontal branches with a whorled structure are covered with greenish-yellow needles. Straight or curved, soft-touch needles grow 2-3.5 cm long and 1-1.5 mm wide. Cones have a cylindrical shape and grow 5-10 cm in length. Yellow-brown scales open in the same year and rounded seeds spill out onto the ground. Popular varieties:
- Glauca is a slowly growing, frost-resistant tree with straight shoots and lowered side branches covered with bluish short needles;
- Blue Vander - a tree up to 5 m high is distinguished by a conical bluish crown;
- Holmstrup - a plant 3-8 m high has dense emerald vegetation of a conical shape;
- Maierheim - short, upright branches grow in a tree up to 10 m high, they form a cylindrical bluish crown.
Pseudotsuga gray. The strong monumental tree is covered with soft bluish needles. The height of adult specimens reaches 55 m. This species is resistant to drought and cold. It grows faster than others and has slightly ascending branches.
Large pseudo-slug. A tree with a height of 15-30 m is found on low mountain slopes. It has a thickened cork bark with a brown-gray coating. The bluish-green needle-shaped leaves are 2.5-5 cm long. They remain on the branches for up to 5 years. The length of large oblong cones is 10-18 cm; large seeds hide under brown three-toothed scales. The plant prefers a more humid and mild climate.
Breeding methods
You can propagate a pseudo-succule by seeds and cuttings. If the seeds are stored in a cool place, then they can sprout after 10 years. In a warm room, they become unusable after a year. The embryo in the seed is under a dense crust, in order to awaken it, cold stratification is necessary. Sown pseudotsugu in the winter in greenhouses or pots, in loose soil. The seeds are buried by 1.5-2 cm, and covered with mulch on top. In winter, it is worth dusting the crops with snow. The first shoots appear in the spring, a month later they are dived and thinned out. It is necessary to grow seedlings at a temperature of + 18 ... + 23 ° C in a well-lit place. Protect from direct sunlight. From spring, plants are kept outdoors, and in winter they are covered with foil. They can be planted in open ground next year.
To propagate the pseudotug by cuttings, it is necessary in the spring, before the buds awaken, to cut branches of young plants. At the base they should have an old piece. Cuttings are buried in loose, well-drained soil at an angle of 60-70 °. It is important to maintain the orientation of the needles. The pot must be covered with a cap to maintain high humidity. During the rooting period, the air temperature in the greenhouse should be + 15 ... + 18 ° C. The soil should be moistened with great care so that rot does not divorce. When the buds on the cuttings open, the air temperature is raised to + 20 ... + 23 ° C. Rooting takes 1-1.5 months. In the first winter, it is advisable to keep seedlings in greenhouses, and from next year, shelter is no longer needed.
Plant care
Seedlings of pseudotug are recommended to be placed in partial shade. They can withstand direct sunlight in the morning and evening, but the midday sun will negatively affect the beauty of the tree. It is best to take plants aged 5-8 years. Transplantation and planting is performed in early spring, before the awakening of the kidneys. It is necessary to dig a hole with a depth of 80-100 cm. Use well-drained soil with neutral acidity.
Broken bricks and coarse river sand are poured into the bottom of the pit. The optimal soil mixture should consist of leaf soil, leaf humus and peat. The distance between plants is 1.5-4 m, depending on the variety.
Young pseudo-servants love regular watering. The soil is moistened as it dries. A bucket of water is poured under the root weekly. Regular sprayings of the crown with warm water are also welcome. So that after watering the air penetrates to the roots, the earth needs to be loosened.
Fertilizing a pseudo-burden will only be necessary in the first 2 years. To do this, use organic top dressing in the form of peat or rotted manure. In the future, the tree will have enough trace elements from its own fallen needles.
Although the crown of the pseudo-suction is attractive in itself, it can be cut off and given any shape. Even a small tree tolerates pruning normally.
An adult plant can withstand even severe frosts, but it is better to protect young seedlings for the winter. To do this, the soil near the trunk is mulched with peat, and also covered with fallen leaves and spruce up to a height of 20 cm. It is recommended to tie up young flexible branches before wintering, as they can break under the weight of snow.
The pseudo-slug is resistant to plant diseases and pests. Only in extreme cases, its roots and trunk afflicts a fungal disease. Sometimes aphids settle on a plant, spraying with insecticides saves from it.
Garden use
Pseudo-tsuga serves as a wonderful decoration of any site. Tall monumental trees are planted in the central part of the courtyard. These evergreens will delight blue or emerald needles in any weather for the whole year. Of the undersized specimens often create hedges. Thanks to a haircut, pseudo-bar you can give any form, as well as try your hand at creating green sculptures.
