The term conifer comes from Greece which means ‘the one which bears conus’. Conifer plants are one of the type of Pinophyta plants. Conifer plants are mainly green throughout the year and are long and of conical shape. Many people plant conifer in their garden to give it color and shape as most of the varieties are evergreen and easy to grow in all conditions. Conifer plants are dominant in nature and usually cover a large area of land while growing. Most of the conifer plants are slow growing if they are placed outside they are really beautiful bonsai.
Grow and Maintenance of Conifer Plants:
For growing a healthy conifer plants it is very important to choose the good quality plant, planting them correct and looking after for initial couple of years. Conifer plants are generally low maintenance plants, they do not need lots of water and fertilizers. Following is the step by step guide to plant and grow and healthy conifer tree.
Location
Conifer plants are the outdoor plants as they cannot be successfully grown inside. Conifers are the all rounders, they can be planted anywhere in the garden, the location of planting depends on the variety of the conifer which you gonna plant. Generally the spreading conifer are ideal for low borders and also for edges of the ponds. Dwarf conifers are ideal for tubs and large pots. For gardeners who have a small garden other large conifers may be used as hedging or very special conifers can be used as stand alone specimen plants.
Preparation of soil
Conifer plants do not require any particular type of soil, they can be planted in any type of soil with just little bit of preparation before planting. The soil can be prepared by just adding some organic compost make sure you dig out all the roots of previous plants to prevent re-infestation.
Water
As said above conifers do not need lots of water, but if your plant is younger than 2 years than you need to water it more often than you would when it will be older than 2 years. The amount and frequency of watering the plant depends on the variety of the conifer you have.
Air
The conifer plants need lots of air ventilation to grow, as good amount of air stimulates the cell growth which is vital for the growth.
Fertilizing the plant
For fertilizing the conifer plants any general fertilizer is good if possible try to use the one which has a good amount of NKP-777, fertilizing the soil twice a year is usually recommended but it depends on what type of soil your plant is in like for sandy soil it need to be fertilized more than twice a year.
Pruning and Shaping the Plant
Pruning and shaping conifer plants is an easy experience overall, it does not require lots of hard work and you do not need to prune it very often, only the branches which have coloured foliage. Conifers usually get very large at the site so in that case replacement is usually the best. So if you do not want to change their place then the size can be controlled to some extent by trimming and pruning.
So by following the above steps you can have a healthy and big conifer plant in your garden.