Plants that are green all year round are indispensable decorative specimens on land. Undemanding care of coniferous plants makes them especially popular among beginner gardeners. These include the blunt cypress Nana Gracilis. A special feature of this variety was lush, twisted needles.

Botanical description of the plant

Dumb cypress is a small evergreen tree that is increasingly used for homestead decoration. It is often confused with a cypress similar in name, but these are very different species. The plant has a developed and stable root. Crohn's description may resemble a symmetrical shape of the cone, and may be asymmetric, ovoid.

It is common for Kore to be red-brown. The plant is dwarf, its height can reach only 5 m. The average size of a garden tree is 2-3 m. The crown can be up to 2 m wide. The cypress grows very slowly. The maximum height gain per year is 5 cm, and the crown diameter is 3 cm.

Did you know? The needles of cypress Chamaecyparis obtusa Nana Gracilis are rich in vitamin C.

The needles are soft, covered with scales, tightly attached to the branches. Its shade ranges from light green to deep green. The plant is demanding on soil and climate. The soil should be moist and fertile, and the climate moderate. The variety can easily tolerate cold up to –23 ° C. If the air temperature in the region tends to fall even lower, then Aurea cypress should be wrapped for the winter.

Landing

The method of planting cypress practically does not differ from the planting of other conifers. It can be divided into successive stages:

1. Buying seedlings or reproduction of existing plants. It is not recommended to purchase seedlings from roads or markets, it is better to do this in specialized stores. It is better if planting material is sold with a basal container.
2. The choice of place. The plant loves the sun, but does not take root well in shaded places. It is worth avoiding damp and foggy areas, it is better to plant a tree on an elevated area, but on one that is not exposed to strong gusts of wind and draft.
3. The soil. Soil for cypress plays an important role. It is better to select fertile loamy soil. It should be light and porous.

Step-by-step instructions for planting a cypress:

1. The best time to plant a plant is April. Then the soil is already thawing enough.
2. The tree is planted in holes at least 90 cm deep and 60 cm wide. The bottom is covered with a drainage layer of gravel or brick with a layer of up to 20 cm.
3. A special substrate is prepared for falling asleep. It consists of earth, humus and sand. To speed up the plant's survival in a new place, you can add 300 g of nitroammophos.
4. The seedling is placed in a prepared hole, sprinkled with a prepared mixture of earth.
5. The trunk circle is mulched with sawdust or peat in a layer of 7 cm.

Care

Caring for a cypress does not require much effort and cost. The tree needs regular watering and top dressing. Loosening and mulching is carried out in the same way as for the rest of conifers. Formative pruning is performed to maintain shape, and prophylactic to protect against pests and diseases. It is important to consider that the tree requires preparation for winter.

Did you know? Although the cypress grows very slowly, it can be considered a long-liver. There are instances that are more than 200 years old.

Watering and feeding

The variety is bad for dry weather, so watering should be plentiful and timely. A mature tree is watered once a week with 10 liters of water, and a young tree is watered 2-3 times.

To feed the cypress a special fertilizer is used for conifers. It can be purchased at a specialty store or nursery. Fertilizers are recommended to be applied in the middle of summer, and then begin to prepare the plant for cold weather.

Important! In drought, the plant still needs to be sprayed with water at least once a week.

Loosening and mulching

After each watering, you need to loosen the top layer of the earth. This is required so that air can flow to the root. With this procedure, the mulch layer often collapses, it must be maintained. Mulch is useful because with its presence you can pay less attention to watering.

Pruning

Sanitary and preventive pruning is best done in the spring. In the process, dry and diseased branches are removed. This should be done with extreme care so as not to damage the green shoots, because the tree grows very slowly. They can only be touched if the crown is too thick.

Wintering

Preparation of cypress for winter is carried out in advance. After mid-summer, fertilizers are no longer applied. If winter is not rich in snow, then the earth around the root must be additionally mulched with peat. If severe frosts are expected, then the plant needs to be wrapped in burlap.

Breeding

Growing the presented variety of cypress is not difficult even for a beginner. To plant it on your site, you can buy a seedling in a nursery. After you get a full-fledged plant from it, you can propagate it using seeds or cuttings. Each method is special and requires different efforts.

Important! Planting material in the form of seeds retains its characteristics for 15 years.

By cuttings

Cuttings are more popular among gardeners than seed propagation. With it, more likely to get healthy and strong plants. Cutting is carried out in the spring by harvesting planting material. For this, the highest quality shoots up to 20 cm long are selected on an existing plant.

To accelerate the appearance of the root, you can place the sprout in the root-forming fluid. Then the pots are prepared, they need to be filled with fertile soil and watered abundantly. Cuttings are immersed in the soil and covered with a film to create a greenhouse effect.

Within 2 months, the sprouts should be aired and watered. During this time, the root will have time to develop enough so that the plant can be transplanted to the garden. After transplanting, be sure to cover it with a jar or half a plastic bottle.

Video: Propagation of cypress cuttings

Seeds

Cypress seeds rarely propagated. They must be selected from ripe cones. Seeds must be dried, maintaining the optimum temperature up to +24 degrees.

You need to sow seeds in flowerpots or containers. It is necessary to maintain the container in the cold season in the soil on the street. To do this, they add it to the ground and cover it with peat or sawdust to insulate. In spring, a seed pot needs to be dug up so that it begins to thaw.

The tree begins to develop at a temperature of +3 degrees. When sprouts begin to be seen above the ground, the container must be moved to the shade. Fortified plants can be transplanted to another place, form a bed. Not earlier than in 5 years it can be planted in a permanent place.

Possible diseases and pests

The blunt cypress Nana Gracilis is resistant to pests and diseases. Major growth disorders can occur only in case of improper care, for example, insufficient watering. This is fraught with rotting of the root. Pests are represented by a spider mite and a scab, with which insecticides will help fight.

The use of wood in landscape design

Nana Gracilis is the most beautiful plant among cypresses. With its help it is possible to create the most exquisite compositions.

There are some of the most relevant forms of using a variety in landscape design:

• in group plantings. Looks great among other evergreens, both dwarf and higher;
• for single cultivation;
• for the background in a composition with perennial flowers;
• to create an "alpine" hill, rocky scenery;
• for growing in flowerpots throughout the terrace or on the balcony.

You can choose any design option for yourself. The cypress tree does not take up much space, so the choice depends only on the personal preferences of the gardener.

Nana Gracilis is a universal variety of cypress. It is undemanding to care and well resists diseases. Such a plant in the garden or in the yard will be the best way to decorate.