2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38
Metasequoia (Latin Metasequoia) - a genus of conifers of the Cypress family. Previously, the genus was ranked among the Taxodiaceae family, which does not exist now. Representatives of the genus are found naturally in North America, Eastern Europe, Siberia and China. Typical habitats are slopes of mountain gorges, hollows and areas along streams. In Canada, USA, Ukraine, Crimea and Central Asia, metasequoia is grown as a garden and park culture.
Characteristics of culture
Metasequoia is a deciduous coniferous tree up to 40 m high with a conical, slender and symmetrical crown, sometimes slightly sparse due to shortened shoots and loose branches. Mature plants have a wide-conical or wide-cylindrical crown. The trunk is cylindrical, the main branches are horizontal, ascending. The bark of the metasequoia is reddish, yellow-brown or whitish-brown, peeling off in longitudinal stripes closer to the soil surface.
Young shoots are thin, often slightly flattened, light red or whitish purple. The needles at the beginning of the season are light green, by autumn they are reddish brown, light pink, ruby red or pale yellow. The shade of the foliage depends on the climatic conditions. Metasequoia blooms in May-April. Female cones are long-stemmed, male cones are located at the base of the shoot in several copies. Seeds are winged, compressed.
Growing conditions
Metasequoia does not lose its attractiveness both in open sunny and shaded areas. Soils are preferable moist, fertile, well-drained without compaction. On heavy clay soils, cultivation is possible only if there is high-quality drainage in the form of broken bricks, pebbles or sand with a layer of 20-25 cm. The culture is negatively related to strongly acidic, saline and swampy soils. Metasequoia has no other requirements.
Reproduction and planting
Propagated by metasequoia seeds and cuttings. The first method is difficult, since the bulk of the seeds are sterile. When storing seeds in an airtight container at a temperature of 0-5C, they remain viable for up to 10-15 years. Sowing of metasequoia is carried out in late autumn or spring. The seeding depth is 3-5 cm. After sowing, the soil is thoroughly mulched, and in winter it is covered with snow. Seedlings appear with the onset of stable heat, after which they are thinned out or dived in separate containers. When sowing a crop in spring, the seeds are stratified for 5-6 weeks at a temperature of 3-5C.
It is not forbidden to propagate the culture by cuttings. It is best to use dormant leafless cuttings, which are cut during the thaw in early spring, as planting material. Until the onset of heat, the cuttings are stored in plastic wrap in the refrigerator. Sections are treated with paraffin before being placed in the refrigerator. It is necessary to root cuttings in greenhouses with high air humidity.
The soil mixture should consist of high-moor peat or coarse sand in a ratio of 1: 3 or 1: 2. Cuttings are planted at an angle. The optimum temperature of the content is 10-15C, with budding, the temperature is raised to 25C. The already formed plants are transplanted to a permanent place next spring. Important: when planting, it is not recommended to deepen the root collar.
Care
For the successful cultivation of metasequoia, the following conditions must be met: regular watering, feeding and loosening of the near-stem zone. The culture is frost-resistant, withstands frosts down to -25C, so it does not need shelter. The soil in the near-stem zone of young plants is mulched with a thick layer of peat or dry fallen needles. The culture is fed with nitroammophos or a solution of the drug "Kemira-universal".
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Metasequoia Glyptostroboid
Metasequoia glyptostroboid (Latin Metasequoia glyptostroboides) - the only species of conifers of the genus Metasequoia (Latin Metasequoia), belonging to the Cypress family (Latin Cupressaceae). Deciduous tree that sheds needles for the winter.
Metasequoia - A Guest From The Past
Under the hard-to-pronounce word hides a fast-growing coniferous tree that dominated the Earth tens of millions of years ago and was accidentally lost in the mountains of China, having survived to this day. The openwork pyramidal crown withstands frosts, dropping bright green needles for the winter