2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38
Ptelea (lat. Ptelea) - a genus of deciduous shrubs and low-growing trees of the Rutovye family. Other names are elm or leather jacket. The genus includes 10 species. Natural range - North America and Mexico. Pteleia is a wonderful honey plant; it is also highly valued for its decorative properties.
Characteristics of culture
Pteley is a shrub or tree up to 6-8 m high with a thin crown and powerful grayish branches. Young shoots are pubescent, reddish-brown in color. Leaves are dense, glossy, alternate, glandular, petiolar, have a pronounced odor, consist of 3-5 sessile ovoid or elliptical-oval leaves.
The flowers are unisexual, greenish-white or gray-green, with a specific odor, collected in paniculate inflorescences located in the axils of the upper leaves and at the ends of the branches. The calyx consists of 4-6 sepals, quickly falls off. The fruit is an oblong lionfish, usually yellow in color, has a hop smell, contains 2-3 seeds.
Pteley is relatively frost-resistant. The most cold-resistant species is considered to be three-leafed pteley (lat. Рtelea trifoliata), therefore it is widespread in the Urals and Siberia. Despite the fact that shrubs often freeze slightly during severe winters, they actively bloom and bear fruit throughout the growing season.
Among the decorative forms, ptelei are also noted:
* Pentaphylla - shrubs with leaves consisting of five leaves;
* Fastigiata - shrubs with a pyramidal crown;
* Glauca - shrubs with gray-green leaves, pubescent over the entire surface.
They are no less interesting in gardening: serrata bird (lat. Ptelea serrata) - is a shrub up to 3.5 m high with complex trifoliate leaves; Ptelea brilliant (lat. Ptelea nitens) is a shrub up to 3 m tall with yellowish-brown shoots and complex leaves, consisting of 3-5 rhombic-lanceolate leaves.
The subtleties of cultivation and reproduction
Pteley is a light-loving plant that needs good lighting for normal growth and development. Will accept slight shading. Fertile, moist, neutral soils are preferred. Saline, swampy, highly acidic soils will not be suitable for the culture. With ease, the bird will withstand short-term drought and lack of moisture.
Pteley is most often propagated by seeds. Germination rate is low, only 10-20%. Seeds need preliminary stratification within 3-4 months. Cutting is also acceptable, but this procedure presents a lot of problems. Rooting rate of the bird is 5-8%. Planting of ptelei seedlings is carried out in spring, the optimum distance between plants is 2-3 m.
Care
Special care is not required for the bird. Systematic watering, weeding and loosening are important. Top dressing with mineral and organic fertilizers is welcome. Pteley tolerates rejuvenating and sanitary pruning without problems, quickly recovers.
Usage
Pteleia is actively used in landscaping personal backyard plots, both in single plantings and in the formation of decorative groups. The Thunberg barberry, bush tea, Ottawa barberry, some conifers and perennial flower crops can be excellent allies for ptelee.
