Blooming almonds are an incredibly beautiful plant. This heat-loving shrub can be found in the southern part of our country when there is still snow in the central part. What is this beautiful and useful plant? First of all, it is a deciduous shrub. But it is also possible to see a small tree. Secondly, pink or white flowers are the hallmark.
Ornamental shrub almond: features
As mentioned above, almonds can be represented as an ornamental shrub or as a small tree. What kind of climate is suitable for this plant? Almonds, surprisingly, are very unpretentious, so they can grow even in urban environments. It should also be said that drought-resistant tree, very fond of light, while growing quite quickly and will please with good tolerance to liming of the soil. Almond flowers can be seen at 4-5 years of planting: this flowering ornamental shrub will open its flowers and will delight the eye for more than one season.
As for the aging of the shrub, this tree has the ability to "discard" aging branches. This means that over time (usually after 3-4 years) old branches begin to fall off, and new ones appear in their place. That is why one of the tips is to carefully monitor not only almond flowers, but also its general condition and constantly remove these oldest branches.
Ornamental shrub almonds: photo and types of varieties, their blooming appearance and places of distribution.
- Georgian almonds.
Such a tree most often appears as a bush about 1 meter high. A distinctive feature can be called large leaves (about 9 cm). The flower is large, catchy, bright pink, slightly "bristly", like the fruit itself. The flowering of the Georgian variety of ornamental shrub begins in May, and ripe fruits can be seen in September. It takes 7 years from the moment of planting to the moment of fruit ripening. The tree tolerates frost quite easily. A flower of this kind can please the eye even in the capital of the Russian Federation. - Ledebour almond... Another type of ornamental shrub that can be found in the vastness of the country. This time - the foothills of Altai. The leaves of the tree have a rich and deep dark green color, are large enough. The flower is also large, pink in color. The ability to bear fruit occurs 10 years after planting. The flowering is beautiful and rich, 2 weeks long.
- Almond bean (in another way, low). The next type of ornamental shrub can be found in Central Asia, Siberia and Central Europe. Bobovnik "loves" very strange places: it usually grows in ravines and hollows. A distinctive feature is the crown in the form of a ball, or spherical. It follows from this that the branches of this species are straight, grow upward. The leaves are not large, like the flowers of the tree. However, the flowers have a rich, bright pink hue. The flowering is solitary, lasts only a week, however, flowers in their abundance delight the owners of the shrub and not only with their beautiful beauty. This shrub is quite low, but it tolerates frost perfectly. In addition, legume and drought-resistant almonds respond well to the "shearing" of its old branches and does not impose great demands on the soil. Loves light very much.
- Common almond... It can rightfully be called one of the "tall" ornamental shrubs. It is the growth that is the distinguishing feature of the common almond: it can reach a height of 3 to 8 meters! This "heroic" tree lives in Afghanistan, Iran or the Caucasus. Another feature is life expectancy: ordinary almonds exist for about 100 years. In this type of shrub, the branches have a reddish tint and the flowers may also have a reddish tint. When flowering passes, the leaves of common almonds change their shape and become oblong.
- Almond varieties Petunnikova... This variety can be seen sometimes where there are thickets. In short, a favorite place is the rocky slopes of the mountains. Yes, it is this variety that most often transforms its single bushes into real thickets. Compared to the previous one, this almond is only 1 meter high. His branches are "scattered" in different directions, and their color is light brown. The leaves have a peculiar shape: oblong with a sharp tip. The flowers have a pale pink hue, the flowering is single. It is very resistant to frost and drought.
- Three-lobed almond... Another representative of the "tall population" of almonds. The tree can be up to 3 meters high! The leaves of this species are located in small clusters - bunches. The branches are dark in color, and the “hair” spreads out spaciously. A distinctive feature: the flowering here is not single, but double. This means that the flower does not grow 1, but grow together, by 2. Flowering lasts a fairly long time: about 18 days.
Almonds: photos, planting rules and care
Everyone knows that proper planting is the basis for successful growth and flowering. And almonds are no exception. There are only two ways to plant this plant, namely planting with seedlings and planting with seeds. The first type is the simplest and therefore the most common.
So, in order to correctly carry out the planting process, it is necessary take into account some recommendations:
- first, you need to prepare a hole: the ground must be dug into a depth of at least 35 cm;
- planting should be done not separately, but together: as a rule, they plant 2 or 3 almonds side by side (this is necessary for the normal development of the fruiting function, because almonds need pollination);
between landings it is necessary to make a distance, the minimum of which is 2.5 meters;- and once again we note that all shrubs simply adore the light, which means that you need to plant them in sunny places and, if possible, where the protection from the wind is maximum;
- now we take care of the care: it is recommended to put a support near each landing;
- watering almond seedlings is only after the ground around dries up;
- another trick: sprinkle sand on the bottom of the dug hole; this way, blooming almonds will develop better.
Plant care
Of course, leaving should not be forgotten either. After planting, it is necessary to slightly shorten the crown so that the entire plant growth did not exceed 120 cm... Moreover, a little less than half a meter is allocated to the very "hair". It is also important to remember about the type of fertilizer: if in the fall it is worth feeding only with organic substances, then before the beginning of summer - fertilizers containing such a substance as nitrogen.
Blooming almonds are amazingly beautiful shrubs. The variety of its types allows you to choose exactly the one that will take root in a certain climate and will not cause any difficulties in its care.
