Nissa Forest Is The Autumn Queen. Description, Cultivation, Care. Photo

2023 Author: Ava Durham | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-11-27 07:13

The fashion of decorating gardens with exotic, unusual and rare plants has not passed even tree crops. Among the plants that you can only boast about, you can safely rank one of the most spectacular picturesque woody plants - forest nissa. This beauty with an airy-tiered, elegant, powerful crown belongs to the best garden giants. Despite the fact that nissa is attractive in spring and summer, the real show only begins in the fall: the change from green to calm yellow is preceded by a parade of powerful red shades, in which the tree will be one of the last to dress up in the garden. Nissa is a plant with controversial winter hardiness, but suitable for growing not only in the southern regions, but also in the middle lane.

Content:

• Autumn Queen with Rare Exotic Status
• Use of nissa in ornamental gardening
• Conditions required by nissa forest
• Nissa forest care
• Wintering of nissa forest
• Pest and disease control in nissa forest
• Reproduction of nissa forest

Autumn Queen with Rare Exotic Status

Nissa grow both in warm enough regions and in more severe climates. In nature, the distribution area of this amazing woody plant covers mainly vast territories of eastern North America from southern Ontario and northern Florida to Texas and even Mexico, but it is also found in the East. It is a deciduous tree that can be found in a variety of dry mountainous and wet marsh conditions in deciduous and coniferous forests. Nissa are actively used in industry, their white, light wood is distinguished by a high density. But the practical properties do not in the least overshadow the decorative talents.

Nissa forest (Nyssa sylvatica) is one of the most spectacular garden giants with a strict crown shape. True, if we consider the tree in natural conditions, then it can be considered average, but the maximum height in the garden makes the nyssas to be ranked as real decorative giants. In nature, nissas are limited to 10-30 m with half the diameter of the crown, in the garden, the maximum size is 10-15 m in height with 5-7 meters in width.

Nissa has a very powerful, deeply buried root system. But despite all the power of the taproot, this breed is one of the most vulnerable, sensitive to root transplants and injuries. But it is also one of the fastest growing beautiful-leaved tree species. The crown of the forest nissa is curly-airy, elegant, pronouncedly conical. Due to the fact that all branches are horizontal and strongly branching, the silhouette of the nissa cannot fail to impress with the classic tiered structure. The bark of the tree is gray, young shoots are beige, and the old bark flakes off in large pieces.

Nissa foliage is glossy, with a smooth edge, classic elliptical shape. The leaves do not exceed 13 cm in length and are arranged alternately on the branches. But not the rich-dark, classic color of the summer crown of the nissa attracts the eyes to the greenery. The main decoration of nissa is the autumn color of the leaves. Literally in the blink of an eye, they change the boring and noble green background to the brightest red tones that easily overshadow any other woody, including magnificent maples.

The palette of nissa forest autumn colors includes dazzling orange-reds. Less common are the purest purple-lilac paints with a cold tint, but in different years, yellow leaves can be mixed with red in nissa. The color of the nissa changes in a non-standard way: at first, the entire tree is repainted in a yellow, muted tone, and only when the weather is favorable, unique colors appear. Sometimes the coloring does not happen evenly, but with watercolor transitions.

The most striking feature of this tree is that it begins its fall parade when most deciduous trees are already shedding their luxurious leaves. It is as if Nissa is waiting for her rivals to disappear from the garden scene to put on a surprisingly bright show before winter. The thing is that the change in the color of the leaves of the nissa is frost-dependent: bright pigments appear only at night frosts.

Blossoming of nissa cannot be called anything other than nondescript. Immediately after the leaves bloom on the plant, in April-early May, upon close examination, in the foliage, you can see multi-flowered heads consisting of small greenish and, by and large, inconspicuous flowers. But the fruits are more catchy: bluish-black, up to 1 cm or more in length, ovoid berries are clearly visible in the crown and contrast perfectly with dense foliage.

Despite the fact that nissa is considered woody, attractive only in autumn, in summer it will cause no less admiration. Thanks to the shiny surface of the leaves, the crown literally shines in the sun's rays, and the amazing fruits brightly adorn the silhouettes with unusual details.

Other types and varieties of nissa, promising for decorative use

1. Nissa aquatica (Nyssa aquatica) is a marsh tree that forms powerful, strong trunks in shallow water, conquering with a combination of a conical crown and a maximum height of 30 m with large diamond-shaped leaves up to 25 cm in length, nondescript, but giving unique fragrant nectar and honey flowers;
2. Chinese nissa (Nyssa sinensis) is one of the most graceful medium-tall woody trees with a maximum height of about 10 m, a luxurious spreading crown, narrow leaves, reddish when blooming, then rich green, and in the fall colored in explosions of red and yellow colors.

Use of nissa in ornamental gardening

Nissa is a beautiful large tree, which, due to its rather narrow crown, can be used both in large areas and in smaller gardens. Its range is especially wide when placed along the periphery of the site: when planting around the perimeter of the garden, the volume of the crown on the site is limited to 2-3 meters. Despite the considerable height, the pyramidal strict contour of the lush crown does not overwhelmingly affect the space, does not oppress the landscape, but, on the contrary, places spectacular verticals and picturesque accents in it.

The amazing combination of airy tiers and dimensions of the nissa seems touching and picturesque at the same time. Nissa forest can be used for background decoration of the site, creating a colorful panorama, as a magnificent giant at the recreation area, as a massive accent at water bodies, especially large ones.

This tree can be planted both as a solo plant and in group plantings. Nissa is very good at complementing conifers - pine, spruce, thuja - at the same time combining with them thanks to the beauty of the silhouette and surprisingly beautifully contrasting in texture, airiness, colors. She creates no less spectacular ensembles with ginkgo biloba and all maples, with other deciduous species. But the main advantage of nissa is its deep-lying pivotal root system. Under the nyssa, you can break flower beds and decorative compositions, it is not afraid of the neighborhood of summer plants and perennials, it allows you to freely plant trees in the root zone and create delightful compositions in the shade.

It is an autumn plant that only comes to the fore at the end of the season. In summer, it is more likely to be a "reliable" green basis for design, but on the eve of winter there is no equal nissa.

Conditions required by nissa forest

This deciduous tree belongs to the light-loving giants. Nissa tolerates only partial partial shade or shading of the lower part of the crown due to its proximity to other arboreal ones. But it is better to plant the plant in bright and sunny areas. But this tree is not afraid of winds and drafts, and it does not make other requirements for location.

But the soil in the garden culture of nissa is not suitable for any. If in nature it can grow equally successfully in swampy areas and in mountain dry soils, then in areas it is sensitive to the reaction and composition of soils. Nissa forest prefers moist or fresh, high-quality, deeply worked soils with a loose texture and high fertility. The optimal pH for this giant is from 5.5 to 6.5, cultivation on non-acidic soils, in alkaline soils is impossible.

Nissa forest care

Nissa is rightly ranked among the moisture-loving tree species. This beauty loves conditions of stable humidity, and unlike many garden giants, she will need watering (except when planting near water bodies). After all, it is not by chance that the plant received its generic name in honor of the water nymph of Nissa. It is advisable to irrigate the soil with deep recharge during particularly hot and dry periods. Typically, a strategy of monthly watering in the spring and autumn and two-week procedures in the summer is chosen for the nissa.

Nissa forest in the first 6-7 years of cultivation will respond with gratitude to the introduction of a standard portion of complete mineral fertilizers into the soil in early spring and mulching with organic matter. Mature trees can do without top dressing. Weeding, loosening the soil is also needed only for young plants and if you did not take advantage of the opportunity to plant trees in the near-trunk zone.

This is one of the woody ones that does not need pruning at all. Of course, sanitary cleaning is an exception: it is better to remove thickening, inwardly growing thin branches near nissa, as well as dry and damaged shoots.

Wintering of nissa forest

There are many controversies and legends about the frost resistance of nissa. This plant is so rarely used in our landscape projects, primarily because the declared zone comfortable for the nissa is the winter hardiness zone 6b: initially the tree comfortably tolerates frosts no higher than 21 degrees. But according to the information of domestic landscape designers, the nissa copes well with frosts down to -34 … -35 degrees, it is perfectly restored. And American sources in recent years have indicated the possibility of growing forest nissa in zone 3. Over the years, the tree only increases its winter hardiness.

The main secret of nissa is seeds and the plants obtained from them completely inherit the degree of winter hardiness of the mother tree. To get stable, thriving in the middle zone of the nissa, seeds must be bought only from the extreme northern habitats. When buying, check where exactly the trees from which the seeds were obtained grew - the north of the USA and Canada are better suited to our climate than more southern regions, for example, Mexico.

If you buy nissa seeds from the southern regions, then in the first year of cultivation at the sowing site or in the first winter after planting in a permanent place, it is better to protect young plants with mulching, earthing up with dry leaves or spruce branches. The shelter is repeated until a height of 1 m is reached; further protection is not needed. When growing from seeds with a declared high frost resistance in the matter of shelter in the first years, trust the manufacturer. But sheltering in the first 1-2 years will improve the adaptability of the plants and help to achieve faster growth.

Pest and disease control in nissa forest

Nissa forest in horticultural culture is one of the most resistant plants, which is not plagued by typical problems. The fruits of the tree massively attract birds, and in the case of a neighborhood with fruit trees, it is better to install special scarers so that the invasion of birds does not affect your crop either.

Reproduction of nissa forest

This spectacular woody plant is very rare for sale here. The only available way to propagate nissa is rightfully considered to be sowing seeds, but if it is possible to get cuttings, it is quite possible to get new plants and vegetatively.

For nissa, forest cuttings can only be cut in summer. They are rooted in a mixture of peat and sand or in a loose substrate after holding in growth stimulants, in warmth and under a hood. After rooting for the first winter, the cuttings should winter in a cool room; the plants can be planted in a permanent place only in spring, after the soil warms up.

Nissa seeds are sown directly into open ground. It is best to plant before winter, in October. When sowing in spring, additional stratification is needed. Sowing seeds is carried out on seed beds or in boxes, at a considerable distance from each other. Young seedlings need to be grown for 1 year at the sowing site and only after the first successful wintering they should be transferred to a permanent place.