Over the past two decades, landscape design has become a popular hobby for amateurs and a serious business for professionals. Due to this, a huge number of ornamental plants previously unknown in most of Russia appeared on the market. They are beautiful and look great in combination with more traditional views for us. One of these trees is the fine-scaled Japanese larch (Kempfer) Stiff Viper.

Description and characteristics of larch Stiff Viper on the stem

Stiff Vipper - Conifer on a stem with creeping shoots. Although traditional Kempfer in the natural environment can reach 35 m in height, the described form is stunted: its growth does not exceed 2 m and its width is not more than 1 meter.

The tree is quite fast-growing - up to 30–35 cm per year. The plant on the stem can add to growth after vaccination no more than 20–25 cm, shoots up to 50 cm, then they begin to grow down, reach the ground and spread along it.

Did you know? Kempfer's thin-scaled larch was originally endemic to Honshu Island — that is why the species began to be called Japanese. The tree was later naturalized on Sakhalin.

The shape of the crown is weeping. The color of the needles discharged for the winter is bright green with a bluish tint. In autumn, the color changes, acquiring a golden hue. The length of soft and flexible needles resembling foliage can reach 5 cm. The bark is brown in color with a pronounced orange tint.

Cones are spherical, in length reach 2–2.5 cm. Female — lilac, male — olive shades with thin leathery scales slightly curved outward, like rose petals. Hold on branches for three seasons.

Advantages and disadvantages of the variety

• Advantages of weeping larch Stiff Viper:
• excellent appearance;
• compact sizes;
• It has a sufficiently high frost resistance.

• Disadvantages characteristic of the variety:
• especially demanding on the state of the soil - does not tolerate both drought and excessive moisture in the root area;
• rather high cost of quality seedlings.

Growing larch stiff viper

If you decide to grow Japanese weeping larch in your own area, but don’t know where to start, just follow the recommendations below.

Choosing a place to land

Stiff Viper is a coniferous plant with a rather long lifespan, up to 25-30 years. A transplant in adulthood does not tolerate larch well, so you should choose a place thoroughly, with the expectation that the tree will grow there constantly.

Did you know? Larch is one of the most common trees on the planet: in Russia, the area occupied by the described plant is more than 2.5 million km². On this territory, the UK would fit 10 times and France or Ukraine 5 times.

The site should be well lit in direct sunlight. Unlike most conifers, the roots of the tree are sufficiently developed, so that the winds are not terrible for him, an open place is quite suitable for growing.

It is desirable that the soil is nutritious, with good moisture conductivity, neutral or slightly acidic (pH 5.0–7.0). Kempfer does not tolerate excessive moisture in the root system, so it is better to look for a place on a hill or a slope, especially in the south or southeast direction.

Important! Kempfer can be transplanted under the age of 20 years, later the plant may not tolerate this procedure.

Soil preparation

As already mentioned, Stiff Weeper prefers well-drained soil with a neutral or slightly acidic pH. If on your site the soil is alkaline, calcium rich and heavy, with poor moisture permeability, then in the fall, a few months before planting, 2 buckets of river sand and peat should be brought in during digging.

In addition, rotted coniferous litter and moss-sphagnum can be added to the soil. Of mineral fertilizers, the soil is acidified in the spring of ammonium nitrate (2 tbsp. / 1 ​​m²) and the same amount of ammonium sulfate or potassium sulfate during autumn gardening.

Planting and caring for larch

Despite the fact that larch belongs to coniferous crops, its planting and plant care activities have features and quite significant differences from the same activities carried out in relation to other members of the family.

Seedling preparation

Kempfer seedlings are best bought in a nursery. When acquiring a young plant, you should carefully examine it, paying attention to such points:

• the root system should be well developed, without breakage and signs of dryness;
• quite flexible and elastic trunk, without traces of decay, damage;
• bright green shiny needles, firmly sitting on branches.

In nurseries, seedlings are often sold in pots, so it is unlikely to be able to examine its root system. If you still purchased a plant with bare roots, inspect them for the above signs, place in a solution of “Kornevin” or “Heteroauxin” for 30 minutes, then lower them into a clay mash.

Important! For normal growth, larch needs more nitrogen than other conifers. This is due to the fact that its needles, outwardly similar to leaves, fall off in the winter, and the plant needs this element to build green mass.

Landing rules

It is better to plant Kempfer in the spring, when the soil warms up to + 12 ° C. It is more expedient to carry out the procedure in the evening, following the following recommendations:

1. The depth of the landing pit is 80 cm, the width is 1 m. The distance between adjacent larches is 2.5–4 m.
2. A drainage layer (15–20 cm) consisting of expanded clay, broken brick or their mixture with sand in equal parts is laid at the bottom of each hole. Sprinkle a thin layer of coniferous sawdust on top.
3. Prepare a substrate of the following components: humus - 3 parts; clay, sand and peat - 1 part each. The composition is well mixed and laid on top of the drainage and sawdust.
4. A sapling in an earthenware mash is placed on an embankment in the center of the pit, the roots are spread out along the slopes. The root neck should be 4-6 cm above the ground.
5. The hole is covered with prepared soil mixture, periodically tamping the soil.
6. At the end of the procedure, the plant is watered with warm water (1 bucket per 1 tree) and mulched with a mixture of peat, pine sawdust and pine needles.

Proper watering

Stiff Viper does not tolerate both drought and stagnation of moisture in the roots. Not in the best way the tree feels in conditions of low humidity. If the weather is hot in the summer, you need to organize a stable regular irrigation after sunset.

Important! Watering is especially important in the first 2 seasons after planting, then the roots get stronger and cope quite well with the nutrition of larch moisture.

The average water requirement of a plant is every 3-4 days, 1 bucket each. Such a plant is watered much less frequently, and if a normal amount of precipitation falls in the summer, then you can do without additional moisture at all.

If you still water Kempfer, you can do it by sprinkling - the plant perfectly accepts such procedures and reacts to them with excellent quality of needles. Such irrigation is especially useful in dry summers, as the air humidity increases as a result of the procedure.

Fertilizer and fertilizer

Weeping larch is well-fed, but should not be abused. During the vegetative period, fertilizers are applied 3-4 times according to the following scheme:

• beginning of March - mullein or droppings of poultry (500 ml / 10 l of water per tree);
• end of spring - beginning of summer - universal preparations for conifers of the Kemira Universal type (50 g / 1 m²), potassium or magnesium nitrate (25-30 g / 1 m²);
• from mid-summer to early fall - magnesium, potassium and phosphorus fertilizers, according to the manufacturer's instructions;
• winter feeding - superphosphate (35–40 g / 1 plant).

1 - beginning of March; 2- end of spring - beginning of summer; 3- from the middle of summer until the beginning of autumn; 4- winter feeding

Mulching and cultivation

The trunk circle (possibly a larger area) is mulched with a mixture of peat, sawdust, foliage can be used. For winter warming, a fresh composition should be laid with a thickness of at least 10 cm. From above it is possible to cover with a layer of bark of coniferous plants. Mulch not only helps maintain moisture in the root zone, but also inhibits weed growth.

Did you know? Japanese larch is named after the German naturalist E. Kempfer, who lived in the XVII–XVIII century In honor of him, the famous natural scientist Karl Linnaeus gave the name to the plant of the Ginger family, — Campferia.

After each watering, the earth around the trunk must be loosened. Although larch roots are stronger than many conifers, it is not worth digging deep into the soil - just do it 6-8 cm. Regular loosening contributes to better aeration of the soil and, accordingly, root breathing.

Pruning

The first 2-3 years perform formative pruning in early spring. At this time, the main task is to give the crown the desired shape. Before performing the procedure, you should imagine how you would like to see larch in the future, and build on this. Branches growing outward in a plane close to the parallel to the ground or at an angle of up to 45-60 ° are left. Those whose growth direction is close to the trunk are removed.

With age, sanitary pruning is performed in March, before the start of sap flow, or in late autumn, after the needles are dumped. All frozen, dry, weak and diseased branches are removed, the places of cuts are covered with garden varnish.

Preparing for the winter

Stiff Viper has a pretty good winter hardiness. It tolerates frosts, typical for the whole territory of Ukraine and most of Russia. But this applies to adult plants - 6 years and older.

Young larches need to be covered with a non-woven fabric of the spanbond type and mulched with a layer of 12-15 cm. The lapnik is laid on top.

Breeding

There are four main ways of propagating Kempfer larch:

• generative (seeded);
• cuttings;
• layering;
• vaccinated.

Next will be described in more detail about each of them.

Important! Japanese larch coexists quite normally with many trees and shrubs, except for elm and birch, as the aggressive root system of these species inhibits the growth of Stiff Viper. But the symbiosis with mushrooms to the plant is simply necessary for the formation of mycorrhiza.

Seeds

Propagation method, characterized by a rather long period of growing a tree. The emergence of an adult plant should wait 3-4 years.

Perform the procedure in this way:

1. At the beginning of September, when the cones ripen, they are collected and put for three days in a warm place, and after they open, they collect seeds.
2. The resulting material is soaked for a day in a solution of “Heteroauxin”, and then placed in the refrigerator for 10-12 hours.
3. Then the seeds are laid in a moistened substrate from equal parts of sawdust and sand. Periodically watered and covered with a film, and after the appearance of the first sprouts, they are planted in different containers.
4. After a year, seedlings can be transplanted into the ground.

Did you know? With the generative method of reproduction, the plant does not always transmit parental traits. But the tree grows with strong immunity and tolerates frosts better than those grown in other ways.

Cuttings

A method of vegetative propagation, for which a seedling is taken from the mother plant and grown. The process is not very labor intensive, the activities are carried out in the following sequence:

1. Separate a young shoot 2-3 years old from the top of the tree. The cuttings must be broken off, not cut off, because otherwise the tissues take root badly.
2. The place of breaking the shoot, clean the heel with a sharp garden knife to a white cloth, cutting off the bark and needles. The length of the cleaned area should be 4-5 cm. Cut off the excess should be carefully, otherwise the residues in the future can provoke the development of putrefactive processes.
3. Place the cutlery in a solution of a growth stimulant (Epin, Kornevin, Heteroauxin, succinic acid, etc.) for 20-24 hours.
4. Prepare a substrate from equal parts of sand, peat and sod land. Sand 20–25 days before preparation of the mixture is best calcined in the oven at a temperature of +220 ... + 240 ° C for 30 minutes.
5. In plastic containers of suitable volume and shape, make drainage holes with a nail heated over a fire, fill in a drainage layer (3-5 cm) consisting of expanded clay, crumbled foam and sand. Lay the prepared soil mixture on top and spill it with a solution of potassium permanganate in boiling water (1 tsp / 5 l of water). This must be done 2-3 days before planting the cuttings, so that the substrate has time to drain and dry.
6. In the soil, with a pencil, make vertical recesses (3-4 cm), place the cuttings in them so that only the cleaned part of the branch comes into contact with the soil. Needles and bark should not touch the ground.
7. Cover the container with seedlings with a film and install in a place with an air temperature of +19 ... + 22 ° С and a humidity of 85–90%. Plants should not be exposed to direct sunlight.
8. Periodically, the film is lifted, and the soil is moistened with a spray gun.
9. After about 2 months, the cuttings that have taken root are left, and all the others are removed - they will not be accepted. This young shoot in the spring can be planted in open ground. It is better to winter the plant at home, in a bright room at a temperature of +10 ... + 15 ° С.

Layering

The easiest and fastest way to reproduce. However, when it is used, plants are often obtained curved and inconspicuous, which is unacceptable for a decorative tree.

Important! To carry out propagation by the layering method, a branch should be selected for a year and trimmed by about a third. The procedure stimulates the growth of green mass and root system — thus, the escape will take root better and faster.

The essence of the method is as follows:

1. In spring, when the soil warms up to +12 ... + 14 ° С, one of the shoots is selected, from which cuttings will be grown.
2. A piece of the branch should be slightly buried so that it does not stretch the crown of the tree, and only part of it 20–25 cm long is in the ground (at a depth of 5–6 cm).
3. It is necessary to create conditions so that the substrate in this place is constantly moistened and warm. The soil should be constantly sprinkled and irrigated, if necessary, covered with a film to create the desired microclimate.
4. As soon as the roots begin to grow, the shoot is separated from the mother plant and transplanted to a place of constant cultivation.

Vaccinated

This method of reproduction not only allows you to save and reproduce varietal traits, but also makes it possible to obtain cheap stem plants independently and completely free of charge. The procedure is not simple and requires patience.

Important! The main principle of spring vaccination: a sleeping graft is vaccinated on the stock that has only been awakened from sleep. In addition, the trunk must be of the same species as the crown, but genetically stronger.

It is performed in this way:

1. As a rootstock, it is best to take a tree from the wild that grows in your area. But since larch in the natural environment can be found far from everywhere, you have to grow a stem. You will need to get an ordinary larch seedling and grow it until it reaches your desired height. Side shoots will need to be removed, the sections should be covered with garden varieties.
2. When the stock of the growth you need grows, it will be necessary to prepare a scion. To do this, you will need a 1-2 year old shoot, the thickness of the branch of which is slightly thinner than the future larch stem.
3. The shank should have 3-4 strong healthy kidneys. On the branch, only them and the upper needles are left, and the rest of the needles are removed to avoid evaporation of excess moisture after vaccination.
4. An oblique section is made over the upper kidney of the stem.The heel of the handle is removed with a sharp garden knife so that it fits well with the corresponding part of the stock.
5. The graft is connected to the trunk as quickly as possible, so that the bark of both parts is aligned at least on one side. The junction is coated with garden varieties and wrapped with foil.
6. If you do everything right, in about a month the crown will have to take root. Over time, the buds begin to swell on it, from which shoots will later grow.

What are the difficulties when growing

If you did everything right and at the right time, growing Stiff Viper larch should not cause you any significant problems. Some difficulties may arise when performing the vaccine, but this is not the main procedure necessary for the normal functioning of the plant - you can do without it.

Important! Do not plant trees too thickly - excessive moisture can cause the development of fungal diseases.

Care should be taken to create shelter for the winter for a young plant. Until Kempfer gets stronger, frosts can be dangerous for her. Another significant point that you need to pay attention to is the organization of proper watering.The thin-scaled larch Stiff Viper can decorate any garden or personal plot.

As already mentioned, the tree does not like swampy soil and its waterlogging, as well as excessively dry air. The tree looks great and goes well with many conifers and deciduous plants in a wide variety of compositions. And when creating the conditions described above, you should have no difficulties in growing Campfer.