Red horse chestnut pavia. How to plant and care for it
Content:
Horse chestnut pavia is an interesting and unusual plant, it can be safely grown right in your yard. Unfortunately, all chestnuts are perceived rather one-sidedly, in the sense that they are not interesting.
Horse chestnut pavia: plant photo
Red horse chestnut pavia-like species
The pavia red horse chestnut is a horse chestnut tree from the horse chestnut family.
This species is the most decorative of the entire family. It grows quickly, but does not cause much trouble, its crown can be formed at any age, because it grows quite neatly and roundly. The tallest species can reach twenty to twenty-five meters in height, the best representatives cost three to ten meters. The pavia horse chestnut differs in that it is half as large, both in foliage and in the size of a bush. This is the most ornamental plant that blooms beautifully and retains its beauty throughout the twelve months.
Horse chestnut pavia: plant photo
Horse chestnut pavia - how to recognize it?
Horse chestnut pavia "Aesculus pavia" is a large ornamental shrub or tree. A tree of this type can grow up to twelve meters, and a shrub up to three to six meters. In cold regions, chestnuts can stop growing at four meters. The bark is a light grayish shade, the trunk itself is even, it grows slowly, that is, the peak of its height will increase only by ten years of life. The crown of the plant is quite dense, massive, lush and carved. Twigs of a red hue, slightly drooping.
The leaves of the pavia horse chestnut are two times smaller than those of the common chestnut. They consist of five parts, their edges are serrated, and the veins stand out brightly. Each fraction is no more than ten to fourteen centimeters. The light edge below and whitish cuttings will happily emphasize the bright green coloring of the plant even during the hottest season.
Also, the red horse chestnut pavia has inflorescences in the form of small panicles. They are less collected, lush and in appearance do not at all resemble the inflorescences of the chestnut plants we are used to. In their length, they can reach fifteen to eighteen centimeters. The color is bright, it can be shade transitions.
Horse chestnut pavia: plant photo
The ripe fruits of the pavia horse chestnut are round in shape, but without thorns, like in ordinary ones. But they are not always smooth, sometimes they have tubercles, and they may also have more than one nucleolus, but several at once. Their length is about three to six centimeters, the fruits begin to ripen at the beginning of the autumn period.
This plant begins to bloom in late spring, the inflorescences are very bright, the colors are: deep red, yellow, there are also species with various blotches.
Horse chestnut pavia: plant photo
How to use the pavia horse chestnut in landscape design more advantageously
Many people think that pavia horse chestnut is best looking solo. Part of it is planted near the lawn. Due to its shallow root system, it really does not like too close neighbors. But still there are options for its non-single placement:
- As a tall element in the garden with smaller brothers;
- As a large tree in a garden or in a recreation area to create shady conditions;
- With small decorative growing shrubs or dwarf trees;
- On alleys, imitations;
- With plants that bloom for a very long time;
- Along with a hedge.
Also, an important advantage of the horse red chestnut pavia can be considered the fact that it helps in cleaning the environment, that is, it will not be afraid of air pollution or the proximity to the road.
Horse chestnut pavia: plant photo
Prerequisites for the Pavia Horse Chestnut to actively grow and develop
Since the pavia horse chestnut is a rather unpretentious plant, it does not have many requirements either. He will feel great, both in partial shade and swimming in bright sunlight.
The soil should be fresh, moisturized and rich in nutrients. Also loamy terrain is perfect for him. On compacted, neglected, acidic and sandy soil, it will not grow at its full strength.
How to plant pavia horse chestnut
Due to the compactness of this plant, it can be planted near buildings or plants. Shrub species can be planted one hundred or two hundred centimeters from buildings or trees. In the case of tree species, a distance of two to six meters must be observed.
The soil at the place chosen for planting, you need to start preparing another month. The soil must be fertilized with rotted compost, organic humus, coarse sand. You also need to dig it deeply. If the soil is acidic, then liming is necessary.
The hole diameter and depth should be the same, about fifty centimeters. There should be a good drainage layer at the very bottom. You need to plant there, that the neck of the root system was at the same level with the ground. Next, you need to mix the earth with rotted compost, or manure and fill the prepared hole, then install the support for the seedling and water it abundantly. The support can be dismantled after the bush adapts and gets stronger. The first fourteen days, you need to very carefully monitor the moisture content of the soil and prevent it from drying out.
Horse chestnut pavia: plant photo
Pavia horse chestnut care
This is an unpretentious culture, so it is very easy to care for it.
How to water
In very hot weather, it must be watered, because the bush has a superficial root system, which is acutely aware of the lack of moisture in the ground.
What kind of soil should be
The soil needs to be loosened and mulched. Most suitable for mulching: sawdust, wood chips, peat, as well as crushed tree bark.
Pruning
Damaged, weak, dry and painful shoots should be removed every year. And if you need a crown of a certain shape, then with the beginning of the spring period, it will also need to be given attention.
Horse chestnut pavia: plant photo
Top dressing and fertilizers
You can start fertilizing this plant from the third year of its life, at the beginning of the spring period. You can use organic fertilizers and nitrogenous fertilizing. In the autumn period, universal complex mineral fertilizers are most suitable.
Comfortable conditions for the winter
Even with its superficial root system, the pavia horse chestnut is quite frost-resistant and can withstand extreme cold even with light covering material. But even if the culture freezes, it will be able to recover. Before wintering, the bush can be mulched with fallen leaves. A young bush would also be good to huddle. The older the specimen, the higher its resistance to frost.
Due to a sharp temperature drop, or a thaw, the bark of the bush can crack, so in the middle of winter, you just need to wrap the trunks of the plant with something.
Photo of horse chestnut pavia
Potential diseases and insect pests
The weakest point of the pavia horse chestnut is its vulnerability to apple and chestnut miner moths.Treatment and prevention in the fight against them does not always help, and therefore it remains only to collect and destroy the affected foliage.
Also, the pavia chestnut can become infected from neighbors with powdery mildew, or a tree mite.
Photo of horse chestnut pavia
How can the pavia horse chestnut propagate?
The most productive breeding method is considered to be the production of seedlings from seeds.
Using seeds
The selected chestnut kernels will first need to be prepared. Initially, they need to be soaked in warm water. The water will need to be changed in a timely manner so that it does not change its temperature. Then the seeds must be placed in a container with moistened coarse sand, and kept at a temperature of three to five degrees Celsius. This should be done within three to four months.
As soon as the threat of frost passes, the seeds can be sown directly into the open ground for further germination. You need to plant at the end of the spring. The soil for sowing should be rich in trace elements, macronutrients and nutrients. You need to deepen the nucleoli by about ten centimeters.
To transplant grown seedlings, they need to be carefully dug out, with a certain amount of earthen coma, then the root shaft should be shortened by about thirty percent. This is done so that the rhizome branches, and the crown is more spreading.
Photo of horse chestnut pavia
Using cuttings
This is not a very productive method, so it is rarely used. Cuttings are usually treated with a means for the development of the root system, kept in greenhouse conditions with high soil and air humidity.
Using layering
Not a very efficient method and not often used. For him, the most healthy and strong shoots are simply separated.
