Distinctive features and native places of growth of cunningamia, rules for growing on the site, reproduction, difficulties in leaving, facts to note, species. Cunningamia (Gunninghamia) belongs to the genus of beautiful conifers with an evergreen color and are monoecious. These representatives of the flora in the family of Cypress (Cupressaceae) are the most primitive and a little earlier they were attributed to Taxodiaceae (Taxodiaceae). At this time, scientists have ranked only two varieties to this genus, although many botanists believe that these are subspecies of the same species, called Kunnangamia lanceolate. The homeland of these plants is the territory of China, and they can also be found on the lands of northern Vietnam and Laos, it happens that in Thailand there is an opportunity to see the wild growing cunningamia. That is, it is a plant of a subtropical and tropical climate, which loves to settle in mountainous and humid forests.
The ephedra bears its unusual name in honor of two famous personalities of the past at once:
- One of them is a physician and naturalist from England, James Cunningham, who collected samples of the green world in China and introduced canningamia into a culture in English lands in 1702.
- The second is Allan Cunningham, a botanical scientist known in the scientific world for research during expeditions to the coast of Australia (New Wales), as well as to the islands of New Holland. The name of this naturalist gave names to a couple of other coniferous representatives of the flora - Araucaria cunninghamii and Podocarpus cunninghamii.
In the common people, the plant is sometimes called "Cunningham", and its name is also found - "China Fir" or "Taiwan Spruce", although this is not a spruce tree.
In conditions of natural growth, cunningamia can reach a height of 50 m. The general shape of the tree is conical or pyramidal (very similar to cypress), with branches growing both multilevel and in a horizontal plane. The trunk is covered with brown bark, which in adult specimens peels off in strips, and under it the inner bark of a reddish-brown hue appears. As the trunk grows, shoots appear around it, sprouting due to damage to the root system or the trunk itself, so the plant takes on the shape of a bush. Old shoots often look "torn off", since the needles are kept on them for up to 5 years.
Shoots have a peculiarity to hang down colorfully at the ends. The leaves of cunningamia are thorny, leathery, can be soft or hard, have the shape of needles (therefore, it is confused with spruce). The color of the needle-like leaves varies from green to blue-green. They are located spirally, around the shoot in an ascending arc. The length parameters of such a needle vary within 2–7 cm with a width of up to 3–5 mm at the base. On the reverse side, in the lower part, in the stomata or slightly above, two whitish or greenish-white stripes are visible. In winter, when it gets frosty, the needles take on a bronze tint.
Cunningamia cones are rather small and inconspicuous, located 10–30 units together. Women's 2-3 pieces grow separately or together. Ripening of seed cones lasts 7–8 months and their sizes reach 2, 5–4, 5 cm. The shape changes from ovoid to spherical. The scales are arranged in the cone in a spiral manner, each layer carries 3-5 seeds.
Recommendations for growing cunningamia in the garden, care and watering
- Choosing a landing site. Best of all, "Chinese spruce" feels in partial shade. If the plant is in direct sunlight, especially in the summer heat, then its needles begin to turn brown, and then it will fly around.
- Temperature cunningamia prefers moderate, so, given that this plant is subtropical, it is not winter-hardy and it is recommended to transfer it to indoor conditions or greenhouses for the autumn-winter period. There heat indicators can withstand within 10-14 degrees.
- Air humidity. If the plant is grown in the open field, then it needs to create conditions close to natural in the territory of its native growth - that is, moisture indicators should be high. Spraying or sprinkling can be carried out.
- Watering cunningamia. It is important that in the spring-summer period the plant does not suffer from drought, therefore, when the ambient temperature rises or there has been no rain for a long time, it is recommended to water the "Chinese spruce" abundantly at the root. Only soft and slightly warmed water is used. In winter, watering should be moderate.
- Fertilizers. In the first five years after transplantation, it is recommended to regularly feed cunnignamia with preparations for conifers. And then, during the entire growing season, mineral and organic fertilizers should be applied. The regularity of top dressing is once every 30 days. The dosage should be the same as indicated on the packaging by the manufacturer. If fertilizers need to be applied in a severe drought, then first, abundant watering is carried out, and then top dressing is applied in order to avoid burns of the root system.
- Cunning transplant. The plant changes its location with the arrival of spring. If young plants are planted, then it is recommended to place them in open ground (mixborders or shrub curbs) immediately after the threat of morning frost has passed in the spring. And when late autumn comes, it is recommended that the tree be removed to a greenhouse or winter garden, since it cannot survive during cold winters in central Russia. When cultivating on the South Coast or on the Black Sea coast in the Krasnodar Territory, the plant should not be transferred indoors. When planting, the distance should be such that mature trees do not interfere with each other. The trees are transferred to the hole without destroying the earthen coma, since the cunnignamia has a very sensitive root system and transplanting is stressful for it. At first, it is recommended to install a support next to the plant and attach the seedlings to it. The root collar is not buried - the seedling is placed in the hole at ground level. The soil for cunningamia must have an acidic or slightly acidic reaction. Therefore, for planting, humus and peat should be introduced into the hole. The mechanical composition of the soil is loam. The plant does not tolerate lime at all. It is recommended to add coniferous humus and earth to the hole. They also make up a soil of leafy soil, sod soil, river sand and peat, in a ratio of 2: 1: 1: 1.
- General care. To maintain the appearance of the "Chinese spruce", it is recommended to carry out sanitary pruning of brown needles and shriveled branches. The time for such operations should fall in early spring, before the plant begins to actively develop.
Steps for self-breeding cunningamia
It is possible to teach a new tree of "Chinese spruce" by sowing seed or cuttings.
When grafting, the time is selected at the end of summer. However, it must be remembered that the plants that were grown from cuttings are inferior in quality to cunningamia obtained from seeds. This is because there are often all sorts of deformations, but it is possible to get an adult tree as soon as possible. Cuttings are carried out in July-August. For grafting, blanks are cut from semi-lignified branches of the growth of the last year, with a "heel", no more than 5-6 cm in length. The needles are removed from the bottom of the cutting, and the blank is placed for a day in a solution with a root formation stimulator (for example, heteroauxin). Then the sections are powdered with crushed charcoal powder and the planting is carried out in pots with soil for conifers. The cutting depth should be only one third of its length. Moisten the substrate in the pot and cover the stalk with a glass jar or plastic wrap. At the same time, it is important not to forget about daily airing (for half an hour) and moistening the soil when it dries. After 1–2 months, the cuttings will take root. And only next spring can the grown "Chinese spruces" be planted in open ground.
Also, vegetative reproduction is carried out using young shoots at the trunk of the maternal cunningamia. You will need to carefully dig out the "young" and transplant to a previously prepared place.
It is important to remember that gloves are necessary for such operations, since the cunningamia needles are quite sharp. Seeds are recommended to be planted in greenhouses in February, immediately after collection, since they quickly lose their germination during storage. Before planting, you should soak the seeds for 3-4 hours in running water and then carry out cold stratification (simulating winter). This stratification lasts for a month - the seeds can be placed on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator. After this period, the seed is spread on a wet sandy-peat substrate. Seeds germinate for 1, 5-2 months, while the temperature must be maintained at about 18 degrees. When seedlings appear, they are still kept in greenhouse conditions until the first pair of leaves is formed, and then they can be transplanted into separate pots with soil for conifers for growing.
Difficulty caring for cunningamia
The plant is quite resistant to diseases, but harmful insects, due to the strong resinous cypress smell, do not try to attack the "Chinese spruce".
When grown, the plant often develops chlorosis, when the color of the needles becomes very pale. Therefore, when caring for cunningamia, it is recommended in the spring, after the shoots begin to grow, to start feeding with special preparations for conifers.
If humus or peat was not introduced into the soil when planting the plant, then problems with the growth and fall of the needles will begin. In a sunny place near the tree, the needles will also turn brown and fly around.
Things to note about cunningamia
Cunningamia wood is considered a rather valuable material on the territory of China; a soft, high-strength and fragrant product is obtained from it. It is often used for temple needs or for making coffins and is therefore called the "tree of the coffins." On the lands of North Vietnam, the plant bears a more pleasant name - "tree of life" - from it they build sheds over False Ginseng plantations (Panax pseudo-ginseng).
In Asia, such wood is in second place after bamboo. In carpentry, it is used to produce joinery and containers, use it for decoration, and also wood fibers can be obtained from it. Due to the fact that the wood of "Chinese fir" is not subject to decay, it is readily used in shipbuilding and bridge construction.
Due to the high content of fragrant essential oils, it is used in aromatherapy, since the composition contains terpineol and zedrol (this substance in the biomass of wood is up to 30%). In parks, "Thai spruce" is usually grown as an ornamental tree, where it can reach a height of 15-30 meters.
It is known that modern Taxodiaceae (to which cunningamia was previously attributed) are real "living fossils" that lived more than 140 million years ago (the time of the Cretaceous period on Earth).
It is considered by many botanists to be endemic to China, which does not grow anywhere else in natural nature on the planet, except for the indicated territory.
Occasionally, cunningamia is confused with Torreya taxifolia. But the difference is especially visible with the arrival of winter, since the needles are the first to take on a bronze color, and sometimes several trunks are formed in it, which makes the plant look like a shrub. Torrey (as it is called in its natural habitat) is sometimes referred to as the "stinking cedar" or "Florida gopher tree" because when the foliage is chopped up, it produces a pungent peanut smell, while the cunningamia needles do not smell that well.
Types of cunningamia
Cunningamia lanceolate (Gunninghamia lanceolata) or as it is sometimes called cunningamia lanceolate. It is her name that is called "Chinese spruce". The native territories of growth are in the lands of the South and the Center of the State of China, and it is also not uncommon in Taiwan, North Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. He prefers to settle on rocky slopes in forests, "climbing" at the same time to an altitude of about 200–3600 meters above sea level. Feels good on sandy and sandy loam soils with excellent drainage. Indicators of winter hardiness - 17, 7 degrees of frost.
In nature, the plant reaches a height of 15–20 meters, occasionally reaching parameters of 30–50 m. The trunk is straight, the crown of young specimens is low pubescent and takes a narrow pyramidal shape. Over time, there is a high purification from the branches. The bark covering the trunk is gray-brown, smooth and can flake off in long stripes. The branches have drooping outlines, their location is correct, whorled, the color of young shoots is green.
The needles are placed in two rows and alternately, their shape is flat-lanceolate, the length of the parameters can vary within 3-7 cm with a width of about 3-4 mm. Their surface is dense leathery, the needles themselves look sticking out, they have some bend. Their color from the top is shiny green, and on the back there is a pair of bluish-white stomatal stripes. The edge of the needles is finely serrated, there is a drawn sharpness to the top, so that the tip is very prickly, there is a scent. In winter, its color may change to bronze.
The so-called inflorescences are usually laid at the ends of the shoots, but as the branches grow, their location changes and they grow on different sides of the shoot. Male inflorescences are collected in 30-40 units, while female inflorescences are made up of only 3-4 pieces. In cones, the length reaches 3-4 cm with the same width. When the cones are fully ripe, their color becomes light brown, narrow-winged seeds of a yellowish-brown hue are hidden in them. The ripening process will take 7-8 months.
In culture, a form with needles of a gray-green hue is known - Gunninghamia lanceolata f. glauca, which is more winter hardy than the main species. In our territory, it is bred on the southern coast of Crimea and on the Black Sea coast of the Krasnodar Territory, but there its height parameters do not exceed 5–8 m. The crown shape of such plants is conical, the branches are arranged in a peculiar way (whorled) and this species does not need molding … The needles acquire linear-lanceolate outlines, have a crescent-shaped bend, its length is 7 cm, the surface is hard and leathery on the reverse side, you can see a pair of longitudinal stripes of a whitish shade. Cones with spherical contours, painted in brown tone, can reach 3-4 cm in diameter. Ripening occurs in September. The decorative form "Glauca" has a bluish-green shade of needles.
Kunningamia Konishi (Gunninghamia konishii). This variety is not very popular in horticulture. It is endemic to the Taiwanese lands. Occurs in forests of mixed broadleaf plants or pure stands. The height at which this species grows is 1300-2000 m above sea level. It practically does not differ from lanceolate cunningamia, however, it has a dark green shade of needles. It does not differ in winter hardiness - the minimum temperature at which the plant survives is 6, 6 frost.
