Coniferous trees - names of species and examples. Coniferous plants for the garden: types and compatibility of evergreen trees and shrubs All coniferous plants

Coniferous trees - names of species and examples. Coniferous plants for the garden: types and compatibility of evergreen trees and shrubs All coniferous plants


Sometimes, looking at the evergreens coniferous trees, people wonder: why does a person have such a short life on earth? Intelligent beings who can think, feel and create live on average 70-80 years, and ordinary trees- more than a thousand. Perhaps someday the dream of eternal life will come true, and then people will be able to enjoy environment fully. Until this time comes, it’s worth getting to know different types of coniferous trees better in order to decorate your summer cottage with them.

It is these evergreens that fit harmoniously into any landscape design. Their strict and sophisticated forms stand out clearly on the green lawn in summer. And in cold weather, they refresh Vacation home rich greenery and pleasant resinous aroma. Many gardeners grow evergreen beauties on their plots, because their diversity is truly impressive. They are tall and dwarf. They are found in the form of a pyramid or cone. Therefore, the unforgettable landscape of coniferous trees remains in the hearts of grateful people forever. Let's take a closer look at the most popular types.

Among the huge number long-lived conifers The unique specimens are especially impressive: the “Old Tikko” spruce in Sweden (more than 9 thousand years old), the “Methuselah” pine in the USA (about 5 thousand years old). In total, there are up to 20 such trees on the planet.

The people's favorite - spruce

There is probably not a person on earth who has not heard about this tree. Many poems and songs have been written about him, paintings and fairy tales have been written. The plant is associated with various holidays, customs, and sometimes with bad omens. Because of this, the plant suffers from excessive cutting, which brings a lot of grief to nature lovers.


Spruce is an evergreen coniferous tree that belongs to the Pine family and can grow to a height of 35 meters. It has a pyramidal or triangular shape crown ending in a sharp tip. The branches are located along the entire trunk, so it is practically invisible from the side. They grow dark green needles with a glossy shiny coating, which are much shorter than those of pine.

The tree is found almost everywhere in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the main component of the Russian taiga, where it grows next to oak, pine, hazel and. There are about 50 species of spruce in nature. Some of them successfully take root on lawns country houses. The following types are especially widely used.

The spruce roots are close to the soil surface, so a strong hurricane wind can knock it down. Therefore, the tree should not be planted near residential premises.

Akrokona

This type of spruce is characterized by a wide conical crown with hanging branches. Considered to be slow growing. In 30 years it grows up to 4 meters in height. The diameter of the plant is about 3 m. It prefers shaded places. Spruce tolerates cold temperatures well. In the summer heat it needs watering.

Inverse

The tree has a columnar crown and cascading weeping branches that, like a train, touch the ground. Grows up to a maximum of 8 meters. The diameter of an adult plant is about 2.5 m.

European Maxwelly

Dwarf shrub in the form of a wide cone. Transfers without problems winter frosts and shaded areas. Grows up to a meter in height. The diameter of an adult bush is 2 m.

Glauka Globoza

The famous spruce stands out with its blue needles. Grows in height up to 2 meters. Used in many countries to decorate landscapes of urban and suburban areas. Due to the fact that the tree can be trimmed, it is used to make original blue balls who delight their fans all year round.

Fir - a tree with purple cones

An evergreen representative of the Pine genus. It differs from its close relatives in the characteristics of its needles:

  • softness;
  • shine;
  • flat shape.

White stripes are visible on the underside of each needle, which gives the plant a festive look. The fir tree is decorated with purple cones, which is its main highlight. It grows slowly for 10 years, after which growth accelerates. Lives about 400 years. Breeders bred decorative varieties, which are used to decorate urban and suburban areas.

Since the needles of the tree have healing properties, growing fir in your summer cottage is great idea. It helps in the fight against colds, radiculitis and wound healing.

Columnaris

The tree has a straight trunk and a narrow crown, reminiscent of a column. Grows up to 10 meters. The dense branches point upward, giving the tree a majestic character.

Prostrata

This fir is famous for its long branches spread above the ground, which can reach 2.5 meters in length.

Argenta

The variety is characterized by original silver needles, the tips of which are painted whitish. Every spring, shoots of a luminescent yellow color emerge from its buds. This unusual combination creates a stunning view of the site country house. And it lasts almost a whole month.

Nana

A dwarf tree that grows only up to 50 cm. The diameter of an adult plant is 1 m. The crown is rounded, slightly flattened. It takes root wonderfully in small areas.

Majestic cedar

Since time immemorial, these trees have been considered a symbol of greatness. In their natural environment, they grow at an altitude of 3 km above sea level and resemble real giants. They grow up to 50 meters. They live for more than two centuries.

Despite its greatness, this is a unique tree because it can decorate any garden landscape. If you plant it at the front entrance, an atmosphere of some kind of celebration is created. The spacious lawns provide the comfort of home.


Some dwarf varieties used for growing bonsai plants. For creating original landscapes There are widely used types that vary:

  • needle color;
  • length of needles;
  • the size of the tree.

Picking up suitable look It is advisable to first become acquainted with the plant. The following varieties are used for home cultivation:

Mysterious larch

Many people think that if a tree is called larch, it means it is not a conifer. Actually this is not true. The plant is a representative of the Pine family, but unlike its relatives, it loses its needles in the fall.

Larch grows up to 50 m in height. In this case, the trunk reaches 1 m in diameter. The branches grow in a chaotic manner, with a barely noticeable slope. As a result, a cone-shaped crown is formed. The needles are noticeably flattened, soft to the touch, and bright green in color. In the natural environment there are 14 different varieties. For garden design the following types are used:


This diversity allows you to create magnificent landscapes on the territory of summer cottages.

Majestic pine

Biologists count more than a hundred different varieties of this evergreen plant. Moreover hallmark– the number of needles on one bunch. The pine tree often grows to a height of 50 meters. The straight trunk is covered with reddish-brown, cracking bark. Long needles are located on the spreading branches of the tree and have a rich aroma. Pine lives for about 600 years and tolerates cold and summer heat well.

Planting a pine tree should be done quickly, since its roots can dry out in a quarter of an hour. Such a plant does not take root in a new territory.

For garden decoration breeders created original miniature species:


Without a doubt, such evergreen living decorations are suitable for creating landscape rock gardens or mixborders. In any case, pine can become a business card summer cottage.

Her Majesty - Thuja

An evergreen tree of this type is almost always used to decorate city parks and green areas. Recently, this plant has been widely used to decorate home gardens. It is valued by gardeners for its ability to withstand severe winter frosts, drought and high humidity.

The thuja tree is distinguished by lush branches on which scaly leaves of a dark green color are located. Every year the plant is covered with miniature cones that resemble scattered beads on green fabric. In addition to traditional forms, thujas come in:

  • dwarf;
  • weeping;
  • creeping.

Most often for design personal plot They use seedlings called "Occidentalis". The tree can grow up to 7 m in height, and create a crown of about 2 m. Another species - “Cloth of Gold” - has a golden hue of needles. It takes root well in shady areas of the garden.

A medium-sized variety - “Columna” amazes with its needles of dark green coloring with a glossy tint. It does not disappear even in winter, for which it is highly valued by lovers of green spaces. "Columna"

The compact appearance of the thuja tree - "Holmstrup" has a conical shape, despite its height - 3 m. It tolerates cold winters wonderfully, can be pruned and is used as hedge. Another giant – “Smaragd” – grows to approximately 4 m. The diameter of an adult tree is up to 1.5 m. The needles are juicy, dark green in color with a shiny tint. Such a beauty will surely decorate the garden landscape of greenery lovers.

Having become more familiar with the majestic coniferous trees, it is easy to choose suitable option. Let it go suburban area will turn into a green oasis of joy, where persistent coniferous trees grow.

Conifers in landscape design - video



Coniferous trees are beautiful all year round; their resistance to changing seasons invariably attracts gardeners and landscape designers. For the most part, they are undemanding in terms of growing conditions and care, and can withstand both summer heat and winter cold. In addition, currently there are many varieties of coniferous plants - trees and shrubs; choosing something suitable for a given site is not at all difficult.

Spruce

Spruce is a landscape classic, an evergreen tree suitable for any site. Spruce will look great both as a central element and as a background for other plants; in a single planting, in a group, in the form of a hedge. Currently, there are more than 40 species of spruce, including species of natural origin and hybrid varieties. Many of natural species There are several decorative varieties.

Spruce is a long-living tree, in Sweden national park There is a spruce tree that is 9550 years old. This is a record figure even for spruce trees, whose life expectancy is on average 200-500 years. Centenarian received given name- Old Tikko.

The spruce grows slowly, in 10 years it grows to only one and a half meters in height, but it grows for centuries. IN natural nature this tree can be seen in the forests of the Northern Hemisphere. Spruce forest is dark and dense, most often without undergrowth, consisting of beautiful, slender trees up to 30 meters high.

Spruce is a monoecious tree, the crown is cone-shaped or pyramidal, with a whorled, prostrate or drooping arrangement of branches.

The roots of young trees are taproots, but with age main root dries out and is replaced by numerous shoots that spread horizontally and shallowly in the ground.

The bark is gray or brown-gray, with thin flaky plates. The needles are tetrahedral, short, sharp, green. Each needle grows separately, from a leaf cushion, which becomes noticeable after the needles fall.

The cones are oblong and pointed, up to 15 cm long, 3-4 cm in diameter. They do not crumble, but fall off after the seeds ripen in the year of fertilization. The lionfish seeds ripen in October and fall out of the cones. At this time, the wind picks them up and carries them around. Once in favorable conditions, they germinate and give birth to a new tree; their germination capacity lasts for about 10 years.

In the photo, one of the representatives of the family is a dwarf Canadian blue spruce:

Cedar

Cedar is another coniferous tree that has numerous forms that are attractive to designers. Naturally, if it is real cedar and not cedar pine. Cedar differs from other coniferous trees in the arrangement of its needles; they are collected in bunches of 20-50 pieces, whereas in pines and spruces they are single. A similar fastening of needles is observed in larch, but its needles are soft, while those of cedar are prickly and hard, and do not fall off in the fall.

Cedar cones stand on the branches, and do not hang down, like those of pines and spruces. They are similar in shape to fir cones, but rounder. After ripening, they crumble into pieces, while the seeds are scattered by the wind.

The shape of the crown is also unique. In Lebanese cedar it is wide, spreading like an umbrella. The branches in it are arranged in tiers, the symmetry of which is not observed in all trees. The needles are green, gray-green, blue-green, the length of the needles is 3-4 cm, they are collected in bunches of 30-40 pieces.

Atlas cedar

Atlas cedar has a cone-shaped crown, which makes it similar to a regular spruce. Its needles are also collected in bunches, they are very short - about 2.5 cm. The color is silver-gray or blue-green.

There is even a weeping form of Atlas cedar, which, without a doubt, will become the highlight of the landscape, especially if it is rocky Japanese garden with a natural or artificial reservoir. Let's look at the photo:

Atlas cedar

Its branches hang down just like weeping willow, only instead of delicate leaves there are prickly needles that look unusual, but quite gentle and attractive:

Atlas cedar

Himalayan cedar

Himalayan cedar has a wide cone-shaped crown with a blunt top and horizontally growing branches. But it also has hanging shoots, although a non-specialist will easily mistake it for a spruce of a slightly unusual shape:

Himalayan cedar

The needles of the Himalayan cedar are light green, up to 4-5 cm long, and grow in bunches.

Despite certain differences, cedars have a lot in common. All of them are evergreen trees that grow up to 50-60 meters in height. At an early age they grow slowly, then increase in height faster.

The bark of young specimens is smooth, but with age it becomes scaly, cracking, and dark gray in color.

Cypress

Cypress is a completely different matter, special kind in the family of evergreen coniferous trees and shrubs. It’s not for nothing that in the East it is considered the standard of harmony. This tree with its entire appearance seems to indicate that it will not take up much space in your garden and will not require special care. But not all cypresses are laconic; among them there are also shrubs with wide, spreading crowns. This large family consists of 20 genera and 140 species.

Cypress prefers warm climates. In the Northern Hemisphere, it can be seen in the tropical and subtropical zones, on the coasts of the Black and Mediterranean Seas. And also in the Himalayas, the Sahara, and China. In the Western Hemisphere it grows in Central America, Mexico and the southern states of the USA.

The leaves of cypress trees are small, at first they are needle-shaped, like needles, then scale-like, tightly pressed to the branches. Cypress is a monoecious plant - male and female flowers appear on the same tree. The cones are ovoid or round, ripen in the second year after appearance, the seeds are flattened, with wings.

Cypress evergreen

Evergreen cypress is a tree that can be seen on Black Sea coast Caucasus and Crimea. Its height reaches 30 meters, the crown is narrow, columnar, with short branches raised up and pressed to the trunk. It has been cultivated since ancient times; it is a true long-liver, capable of living for more than 2 thousand years. In Turkey it is considered a tree of sorrow and is planted in cemeteries. Pictured are evergreen cypress trees:

Cypress evergreen

Arizona cypress

Arizona cypress is native to the southwestern regions of the United States and Mexico. This is a fairly tall tree, up to 20 meters high, with well-developed roots. Despite its southern origin, it can withstand frosts down to -25 degrees, but young trees must be covered with agrofibre for the winter.

Arizona cypress

Large-fruited cypress

Large-fruited cypress has a columnar crown. But this feature occurs only in young specimens; with age, the branches become gentle, bend and form a wide, spreading crown.

The needles of large-fruited cypress have a pleasant lemon smell, so they are readily grown in winter gardens, or in bonsai culture.

Large-fruited cypress

Weeping Cypress

Weeping cypress has drooping branches. The plant comes from China, where it is often planted in cemeteries.

Cypress is also part of the Cypress family, and there are 7 species that grow in the Northern Hemisphere. The plant is evergreen, monoecious, coniferous, with a cone-shaped crown. Branches growing upward or prostrate and drooping, trunk scaly, brown or brown. Under natural conditions it grows up to 70 meters, in culture – up to 20-30 meters.

The leaves of the cypress tree are pointed and look like small scales. The cones are not large, woody, round, up to 12 mm in diameter. The seeds ripen in the first year.

Weeping Cypress

Lawson's cypress

Lawson's cypress is a tall and slender tree with a narrow cone-shaped crown that widens downward. Its top is tilted to one side. The trunk has thick, red-brown bark, which becomes patchy and scaly over time. The needles are shiny, green, with whitish stripes. The cones are oval and round, about 1 cm in diameter, light brown, with a bluish-blue coating.

In general, the tree is very beautiful, looks great in alleys and in plantings together with other types of cypress trees, but, unfortunately, low frost resistance does not allow it to be grown in regions with harsh winters. In the photo there is a Lawson cypress:

Lawson's cypress

Pea cypress

Pea-bearing cypress is a tall, up to 30 meters, tree with a cone-shaped crown, native to Japan. Outwardly, from a distance it looks like deciduous trees, but its needles are the same as those of all members of the family.

Pea cypress

Cryptomeria

Cryptomeria - the name of this evergreen tree is often written or pronounced along with the definition: “Japanese”. And for good reason - the tree comes from the Japanese islands, is considered a symbol of the Land of the Rising Sun, and has a second name: Japanese cedar. Although it belongs to the Cypress family, it does not belong to the cedar genus.

In nature there is only one species of this plant, hybrid varieties There is no one based on it yet, although it has been known in culture since 1842. In Russia, it is grown in Crimea and on the Caucasian coast of the Black Sea.

The tree is quite tall and fast-growing, growing up to 70 meters. The crown is dense but narrow. The bark is fibrous, red-brown, the trunk is massive - up to 4 meters in diameter.

The needles are subulate, more like rose thorns than needles, but up to 3 cm longer. The color of the needles is light green, but in winter it acquires a yellowish tint.

The tree is monoecious, male flowers grow from the axils of the shoots in bunches. Female single, located at the ends of the shoots. The cones are round, 2 cm in diameter, ripen in the first year, but fall off the following summer. Seeds with wings, about 5-6 mm in length.

In the photo, Cryptomeria japonica:

Cryptomeria japonica

Larch

Larch is a deciduous tree of the Pine family. The leaves of this tree are very similar to needles, but in the fall they fall off and appear again in the spring, like deciduous trees, which is why in Russia it is called larch. There are 20 species of this tree in total, 9 of them grow in Russia.

The tree is large, up to 50 meters high, and a trunk diameter of about 1 meter. The growth per year is 1 meter, larch is a long-liver, capable of living up to 400 years, but it is rarely used in culture.

Its crown is not dense, in young specimens it is cone-shaped, in areas with constant winds it can be one-sided or flag-shaped. The root system is strong, branched, without a pronounced main root, but with numerous and deeply extending lateral processes.

The needles are soft, bright, grow spirally on long shoots, and in bunches on short shoots, like cedar. In autumn it falls off completely. The tree is monoecious with male and female flowers. Seeds develop in female cones from 15-20 years of age.

From a distance, larch can be mistaken for a beautiful spreading spruce:

Larch

Microbiota

Microbiota is a coniferous shrub of the Cypress family. There is only one species of this plant - cross-paired microbiota, growing on Far East Russia. The number of the species is declining due to the fact that seeds cannot spread far from the parent bush, and perennial thickets are destroyed by forest fires, so the species is included in the Red Book of Russia.

This is a prostrate shrub with creeping thin shoots, so it can be mistaken for creeping shape thuja. The needles are scaly, green in summer and brown in winter; in young plants they are needle-like on shaded shoots. The cones are small, single-seeded, and consist of 2-3 scales. The root system is fibrous and dense.

The microbiota grows very slowly, producing only 2 cm of growth per year, but is distinguished by its longevity - it can grow in culture for more than 100 years. In general, microbiota looks very appropriate in single and group plantings, and therefore is always in demand among gardeners. On the picture:

Microbiota

Juniper

Juniper is a dioecious, coniferous plant of the Cypress family, very common in the Northern Hemisphere. More than 70 species of this plant inhabit different climatic zones of the planet, some of which thrive in Russian spaces and can live up to 600 years.

Tree-like junipers are capable of forming separate forests, while shrubby ones grow as an understory or third layer in coniferous and deciduous forests, as well as on rocky slopes.

Juniper shrubs are creeping, with shoots about 1.5 meters long, but tree-like forms can reach 30 meters in height.

Juniper leaves are opposite, needle-shaped, oblong. In young specimens they can be in the form of needles, in adult plants they can be scale-like, pressed to the stems. The berries are cone-shaped, with tightly closed scales, each containing from 1 to 10 seeds, which ripen in the 2nd year.

Juniper

Fir

Fir is a coniferous tree of the Pine family. Just like cedar, its cones grow upward and fall apart on the tree. Up to 50 species of fir grow in the Northern Hemisphere. The tree is powerful and tall - up to 60 meters, with a moderately spreading cone-shaped crown.

The trunk bark is gray, different types may be smooth and thin throughout its life, or thick and fissured.

In the photo there are Korean fir cones:

The root is taproot, strongly recessed. The needles are flat, with a pointed or rounded tip, located singly or spirally on the branches.

The cones are cylindrical, ripen in 1 summer, disintegrate in the fall, releasing seeds with wings, carried by the wind.

Coniferous plants for the garden are highly decorative. In addition, they are easy to care for and will delight the eye with bright greenery all year round. Most conifers also have a characteristic refreshing aroma, which has a healing effect on the human body.

You will find the most popular types of coniferous plants with names and photos in this article, and you will be able to choose a tree that will harmoniously fit into the landscape of your site.

Types of dwarf coniferous trees

Dwarf coniferous plants have recently been in great demand. They look great on the site not only as an independent crop, but also as an element decorative compositions(for example, alpine slides).

Note: By dwarf species we mean varieties whose height in adulthood does not exceed the height of a person, and the volume of the crown is no more than the circumference of the arms (Figure 1).

Dwarf varieties, in turn, are divided into several types, depending on the height of the adult plant. For example, full-sized ones can reach a height of 3 meters, medium-sized ones grow up to 30 cm. There are also dwarfs, mini-dwarfs and micro-dwarfs with a height of 15, 8 and 3 cm, respectively.

Peculiarities

The main feature of dwarf coniferous trees is their small height. But that's not all character traits that these cultures possess.

Among the features of dwarf crops are:

  • Exact copying of the original form. In other words, the dwarf pine looks exactly like its forest relative, but is much shorter in height.
  • They take up little space on the site, but at the same time have high decorative value.
  • They allow you to create original flower arrangements to decorate your site or as a New Year's decoration for your home.

Figure 1. Variety of coniferous crops for the garden

In addition, these species tolerate cold well, since snow covers them completely and prevents the roots and stems from freezing. But it should be taken into account that everything dwarf trees are susceptible to fungal diseases, so they need to be promptly cleared of dry branches and periodically sprayed with fungicides.

Coniferous plants for the garden: video

Among all dwarf varieties, spruce trees are considered the most popular. Their height is no more than half a meter, while the crown is spreading, and the branches are thin and fit tightly to each other.

Very often these types have rounded shape, which has high decorative value. If you plan to grow them on your site, you need to take into account that well-lit places are selected for them. If there is too little light, the lower branches will become bare and the crop will lose its original shape.

In addition, they need to be shaded or planted near other crops, since dwarf forms often get sunburned. You should also ensure adequate watering.

You will find an overview of the main types of trees for a summer residence in the video.

Coniferous plants (description and characteristics)

Coniferous crops are represented in a very wide variety of species. Each crop has its own external characteristics, as well as certain requirements for soil, watering and lighting regimes.

To create beautiful composition in your garden, you need to know the main characteristics of plants. Popular types of coniferous trees with photos and names will be given below.

Fir

Externally, fir is similar to spruce. This is a tall tree with a pyramidal crown that prefers sunny areas, but also tolerates light shading well.

There are several types of fir that are widely used in landscape design.(Figure 2):

  1. Korean- characterized by a wide crown with short needles. The branches are arranged in layers, and the buds have a rich purple hue.
  2. Balsamic It has not only decorative, but also medicinal value. The crown is dense, the needles are short, the cones are small and purple.

Figure 2. Popular types of decorative fir: 1 and 2 - Korean, 3 and 4 - balsam

In the wild, juniper is found in warm southern climates. This unpretentious plant which is well tolerated and bright light, and drought. In addition, it can grow even on soils with low fertility (Figure 3).


Figure 3. External features juniper

Juniper is valued for its rich, pleasant aroma. For growing at home, common and horizontal juniper are most often used.

Thuja

Among ornamental plants, thuja is considered one of the most common. This is an unpretentious plant that can be planted at any time of the year.

The value of this tree is that its crown can be given the most varied different shapes Therefore, thuja is often used to create alleys, hedges and flower arrangements (Figure 4).

Pine

In the wild, pine trees are most often found in open areas. This tree grows quickly, is resistant to low temperatures and lack of moisture, but prefers well-lit areas.

For decorative purposes, you can use both ordinary and decorative types of pine(Figure 5):

  1. Low-growing mountain- dwarf variety with thick lush crown. Grows well on rocky and sandy soils.
  2. European cedar also belongs to the dwarf species, since the height of an adult tree rarely exceeds 80 cm. The advantage of European cedar pine is that it grows slowly and retains its artificially created crown shape for a long time.
  3. low pine Outwardly it looks more like a bush. The height is 3-5 meters, but the crown is very spreading and lush.

Figure 5. Types decorative pine trees for the garden: 1 - low-growing mountain, 2 - European cedar, 3 - low

Spruce

Like other types of coniferous trees, spruce is unpretentious. It grows well on sandy and rocky soils, tolerates frost and drought well, and can even grow in the shade (Figure 6). Mature tree It grows quite tall, so dwarf varieties are often used for gardens.


Figure 6. Methods for decorating a garden plot using fir trees

Cypress is a tree with a pyramidal crown, similar in appearance to thuja. There are more than 100 species of this crop, including dwarf varieties that are suitable for growing in small areas.


Figure 7. Cypress and its external features

The cypress tree is highly decorative, and its crown is easy to shape the required form by formative pruning (Figure 7).

Yew

Yew belongs to the coniferous plants with high decorative value. In addition to evergreen needles, the tree bears bright red fruits that look impressive in the garden (Figure 8).


Figure 8. Use of yew in landscape design

It is advisable to plant yew at some distance from other plants, as its powerful root system will deprive other crops of nutrients and moisture.

Growing conifers in the garden: video

Coniferous crops are highly decorative, so they are often used in landscape design to decorate plots. Especially often planted for this purpose various varieties ate.

From the video you will learn what varieties of spruce can be used to decorate a summer cottage.

Conifers are various types of trees and shrubs that are distinguished by needle-shaped foliage. They are mostly woody and are classified as evergreens. There are about four hundred species in the world, most of which are concentrated in the Northern Hemisphere. Most of them are used as building materials, the basis for furniture industry, as well as in medicine, and even in cooking - cedar nuts are incredibly tasty and healthy.

The easiest way to have a beautiful front lawn

Of course you saw perfect lawn in the cinema, on the alley, and perhaps on the neighbor’s lawn. Those who have ever tried to grow a green area on their site will no doubt say that it is a huge amount of work. The lawn requires careful planting, care, fertilization, and watering. However, only inexperienced gardeners think this way; professionals have long known about the innovative product - liquid lawn AquaGrazz.

Characteristics of conifers

A summary of the most common coniferous crops:

      • Spruce is the most common type of coniferous tree. In addition to common spruce, blue spruce, prickly spruce, and Canadian spruce are the most valued. The culture is unpretentious in care, withstands frosts well, and is able to survive in conditions of urban gas pollution. Prefers sunny places, but can also grow in shaded areas. Due to their shearing ability, they are highly valued in landscape design, used as hedges and solitary plants.
      • Cedar is a large type of coniferous tree, which, due to its high decorative properties, is widely used in landscape design in alley plantings and group plantings. The most popular are Himalayan, Atlas and Lebanese varieties. The culture is famous for its tasty, healthy and nutritious nuts.
      • Cypress is an evergreen, exclusively decorative type of coniferous crops. Thanks to its unusual pyramidal shape, the tree looks very impressive and is widely used in parklands, both to create alleys and in single and group plantings.

      • Larch - belongs to the deciduous coniferous crops; in our climate, only this coniferous tree sheds needles on winter period. Because of this feature, larch is used differently in landscape design, often planted in alleys and mixed compositions. The strength and durability of these trees is also known. These conifers have long been used not only for construction, but also for the manufacture of ships. Thanks to its strength and high resin content, larch products are able to retain their original properties for centuries, even under the influence of moisture. Thus, St. Petersburg still stands on stilts made of larch, driven into the river bottom under Peter the Great; the use of this wood in the construction of Venice has also been proven, where the material has also shown its effectiveness the best side. And in Moscow, a durable and high-quality cycling track surface is made from this rock.
      • Microbiota - there is only one species in this genus, which grows naturally in the Russian Far East, but due to its beauty it is widely used in landscaping throughout middle lane. The low-growing shrub has soft, drooping shoots and is similar in appearance to juniper. Due to its shape, it is used as a ground cover crop and looks very impressive in rock gardens, fences, along lawns and on steep slopes. The winter crop is stable, easy to care for and is not of interest to pests.


      • Juniper is a very popular coniferous shrub, which is not only perfect for creating picturesque groups and border plantings, but also has high pharmacological properties. The resins and volatile substances released by the culture perfectly cleanse the surrounding air of pathogenic bacteria and kill all infections. Since ancient times, juniper groves have been used to treat pulmonary patients. To achieve this, people with bronchitis, pneumonia and even tuberculosis were evicted to the landing area and food was regularly brought to them, not allowing them to leave until they had fully recovered. Surprisingly, only the air filled with juniper aroma healed even the most hopeless patients, without the use of antibiotics and other medicines. Therefore, by planting juniper on your site, you can not only decorate your green spaces with an unusual ground cover bush, but also improve your health. Depending on the variety, the shrub can have different shapes, from a gentle mound to a candle-shaped bush. easy to care for, resistant to external influences and decorative. Often used as a single planting and mixed groups.
      • Fir is a beautiful and majestic tree that requires special care and suitable conditions. Due to their large size, species varieties are grown only in parks and gardens of large areas, but now it is possible to use small varieties of cultivars, ideal for group plantings. The most decorative varieties are blue and low-growing firs, characterized by large and abundant cones.
      • Pine is a familiar coniferous tree species, ubiquitous in our latitudes. The most common species is Scots pine, which covers mountains and endless forests. It is often used to create garden plantings, but more often more compact and decorative varieties are chosen - mountain, Crimean, cedar, Weymouth.
      • Yew - this genus includes many evergreen shrubs and trees. The most commonly used plant in landscaping is the yew berry, which has a dense, fluffy crown. Species varieties have the appearance of a spreading shrub, and those bred can be in the form of a candle, sphere, cone or ground cover bush. The crop tolerates shearing well, so it is used as a hedge and to create green compositions. But we must remember that most varieties of yew are very poisonous, especially the berry variety; its bright red fruits look attractive and can cause poisoning to children and animals.


      • Hemlock – evergreen species, common in North America and the Asian part of the continent. It is especially valued in landscaping for its weeping, flexible branches that form a dense canopy. Thanks to slow growth Hemlock is suitable for small gardens; moreover, it is unpretentious and resistant to frost, shade and disease.
      • Pseudosuga is a species of evergreen tree brought from the north of the American continent. The plant looks similar from a distance to blue spruce, but upon closer inspection it stands out with its unusual cones. There are varieties with flexible weeping branches and miniature types of pseudosugi, which are widely used for decorating rock gardens and single plantings.
      • Thuja – has a strong aroma and a characteristic needle shape. Of all the varieties, only thuja occidentalis is suitable for our climate, characterized by high frost resistance and unpretentiousness. Breeders have bred many decorative species, which differ in tree shape, height and even foliage color - the most common are thujas with lush green needles, but there are also varieties with bright sunny needles.

Softwood

These crops have long been used not only for landscaping gardens, courtyards and park areas, but also for building houses, ships, making furniture and others. household items. After all, the forests in our latitudes are huge and there has never been a shortage of material. Strong hardwoods were often used, but conifers were also held in high esteem, for example, pine and larch were used as piles and ship rigging.

Popularity coniferous wood exists to this day, and there are many explanations for this:

      • Spruce and pine have a high resin content, which protects the wood from the harmful effects of moisture, fungi and insects that cause irreparable damage to more delicate hardwood boards.
      • They lend themselves well to grinding, which makes working with them easier and speeds up the cutting process.
      • Due to the malleability of wood, such species are easy to process, which is why pine and spruce wood are often chosen for creating small and complex structures, for example, railings, stairs, balconies.


      • The low density allows the boards and bars to be well impregnated with protective substances, which increases the durability, strength and beauty of the wood.
      • Even sawdust from coniferous trees is useful, for example, technical hydrolytic alcohol is made from it, and in compressed form it is used to make cheap furniture; they are often used for heating.
      • A house built from pine and spruce is guaranteed to last up to 50 years, but more noble types of wood, for example, cedar, will last for centuries. In addition, cedar is used to make not only building materials, but also musical instruments.
      • Wood is also valued for its low thermal conductivity, because a wooden wall 10 centimeters thick retains heat in the same way as brickwork half a meter thick.

As in every industry, there are certain standards for wood harvesting and woodworking enterprises so that the resulting boards and beams meet state and international requirements. For this purpose, special GOSTs have been developed that consider various characteristics wood

For coniferous trees, GOST 8486-86 and GOST 24454-80 are used, according to which all sawn wood is divided according to technical requirements by grade - 5 for boards and timber (selected, 1, 2, 3 and 4 grades) and 4 for beams (grades 1, 2, 3, 4).

Let us note that GOST 8486-86 is used to evaluate wood that is subsequently intended for use in our country and for sale for export, but more stringent GOSTs are used for aviation wooden building materials.

All lumber can be divided into bars, beams, edged and not edged boards, these definitions and features of types are regulated by GOST 18288.


According to GOST 8486-86, the following indicators are clearly stated:

      • — types of wood (according to GOST, pine, spruce, fir, larch and cedar are used for the production of lumber)
      • - lengths and permissible deviations from them, depending on the further purpose (for containers, beams, domestic market, export);
      • — humidity – depending on the customer’s requirements, they produce dry (humidity up to 20%), raw (22% and above) and impregnated with antiseptics (antiseptic treatment is carried out according to GOST 10950);
      • - width and permissible deviations;
      • - number and type of knots;
      • — presence and type of cracks;
      • — presence and size of the core;
      • — the presence and size of fungal infections, mold, rot, wormholes, etc.

Thus, GOST ensures that lumber complies with all well-thought-out standards and requirements, which ensures long service life of products made from coniferous species trees. In addition, checking that products comply with prescribed standards protects the buyer from purchasing low-quality wood at inflated prices.

Ornamental and coniferous shrubs are widely used in landscape design. They are distinguished by their endurance and beautiful appearance.

We invite you to find out what are the most common coniferous trees and shrubs that can be grown in different climatic conditions.

Coniferous trees: names and photos

Next you see the names of what types of coniferous trees there are, which can grow in many regions of our country. There are many photos of coniferous trees from different angles. We hope that the names and photos of coniferous trees will help you make right choice seedlings for your garden.

FIR ABIES

The flat needles are usually white or gray on the underside. Most species grow too tall for ordinary garden. The exceptions are the blue-gray Arizona Fir (A. arizonica) 'Compacta' - 2 m and the dwarf variety Balsam Fir (A. balsamea) 'Hudsonia' - 30 cm.

CEDAR CEDRUS

  • Location: best sunny
  • Reproduction: acquiring new plants

Cedar of Lebanon (C. libani) is too large for the average garden, but there are dwarf and weeping varieties such as ‘Nana’ and ‘Sargentii’. Atlas cedar (C. atlantica) ‘Glauca’, 3 m high, has blue-green needles, and Himalayan cedar (C. deodara), also 3 m high, has hanging shoots - more low grade'Golden Horizon'.

CYPRESS CHAMAECYPARIS

  • Location: best sunny
  • Reproduction: acquiring new plants

A very popular genus. There are dwarf varieties for rockeries and tall trees for large garden. Lawson's cypress (C. lawsoniana) is the most popular species; has many varieties - ‘Elwoodii’ (turns blue in winter time), ‘Minima Aurea’ (golden, dwarf variety) and ‘Lane’ (golden, columnar).

KUPRESSOCIPARIS CUPRESSOCYPARIS

  • Reproduction: cuttings under glass in summer

Cupressociparis has replaced Lawson's cypress in a coniferous hedge. It can withstand heavy pruning. C. leylandii reaches a height of 10 m if pruned and a height of 20 m if left unpruned. Trim the hedge 3 times from late spring to early autumn.

CYPRESS CUPRESSUS

  • Location: best sunny
  • Reproduction: acquiring new plants

Stake young trees to stakes and do not prune. There are columnar K. evergreen (C. sempervirens) 3 m high, and K. large-fruited (C. macrocarpa), also 3 m high, with a conical crown shape. Its popular yellow variety is 'Goldcrest'.

LARCH LARIX

  • Location: best sunny
  • Reproduction: acquiring new plants

This tree can grow in a country estate, but not in the average garden. This is one of the few deciduous coniferous trees. In winter it stands with bare branches, and in spring bunches of needle-like leaves appear on them. European larch (L. decidua) in adulthood reaches a height of 25 m or more.

SPRUCE PICEA

  • Location: best sunny
  • Reproduction: acquiring new plants

Norway spruce (P. abies) is a traditional tree. Serbian spruce (P. omorika) has a narrow conical crown; the Norway spruce variety ‘Nidiformis’ is a dwarf 30 cm high with a flat top. There are also other colors - Prickly Spruce (P. pungens) is blue, and Eastern Spruce (P. orientalis) ‘Aurea’ is 3.5 m high with yellow needles.

PINE PINUS

  • Location: must be sunny
  • Reproduction: acquiring new plants

Most pines are too tall, but there are slow-growing and dwarf varieties. Scots pine (P. sylvestris) has a number of cultivars, and black pine (P. nigra) is good tree for single landing. Dwarf varieties include Mountain Pine (P mugo) 60cm tall and Weymouth Pine (P. strobus) ‘Nana’.

Coniferous shrubs: names and photos

Now get acquainted with such a magnificent group of plants as coniferous shrubs. On this page you see names and photos coniferous shrubs for landscape design. The photo of coniferous shrubs shows various types of plot design. The names of coniferous shrubs are given in generally accepted usage.

CRYPTOMERIA CRYPTOMERIA

  • Location: best sunny
  • Reproduction: acquiring new plants

Cryptomeria japonica (C. japonica). Green leaves turn reddish-brown in winter. K. japonica has a height of 6 m, but at maturity can reach 25 m. ‘Elegans’, 3 m tall, has feathery foliage; ‘Vilmoriniana’ is a popular dwarf variety for rock gardens.

JUNIPER JUNIPERUS

  • Location: sunny or partial shade
  • Reproduction: acquiring new plants

There are many types - creeping ones, such as Juniperus horizontalis (J.horizontalis); medium-sized shrubs like M. media (J. media) ‘Pfitzerana’; and tall trees such as J. virginiana ‘Skyrocket’. You can find junipers with green, gray, blue or yellow leaves.

TISS TAXUS

  • Location: sunny or partial shade
  • Reproduction: acquiring new plants

Slow growing coniferous plants. Yew berry (T. baccata), 2 m tall, is a popular species for hedges. The ‘Fastigiata’ variety has a narrow columnar crown shape; ‘Repandens’ is a dwarf with a height of 60cm. Medium yew (T. media) ‘Hicksii’ forms rounded bushes.