Features of Myricaria foxtail: planting, care

Myricaria alopecuroides

I decided to write about Myricaria foxtail. And for this reason... I love it very much, the bush itself is very beautiful, fits perfectly into compositions, looks great near ponds, winters impeccably, withstanding even the coldest winters.

A more unpretentious and beautiful shrub cannot be imagined. But for some reason, gardeners rarely grow it in their gardens. And whoever I’ve seen, myricaria usually grows somewhere in a corner, tied up with some ridiculous rags or wires, completely unnoticed. Although this is a wonderful accent for a mixborderer! The entire composition can be built around this plant.

I see one of the reasons for the unpresentable appearance of myricaria is that gardeners do not know that it can be cut as much as you like and whenever you want, giving it the desired shape. For example, I trim the ends a little after winter and after the first abundant flowering at the end of June. Once every 3-4 years I do radical pruning, shortening it by about a third. I give it the shape of a hemisphere. I consider myricaria to be a highlight in my garden. The second reason is that very often myricaria is confused with tamarix, which does not winter very well in our area and blooms only in early spring. After the death of a plant, no one wants to contact it again.

Indeed, to the untrained eye they look almost like twins. However, these are actually quite close relatives - they belong to the same comb family.

We won’t discuss Tamarix here, but let’s take a closer look at Myricaria. Miricaria is a truly versatile plant. Excellent tolerance to high groundwater levels and short-term flooding. On the other hand, it is extremely drought-resistant. Even temperatures below +40°C with normal watering are not scary for her.

Miricaria is extremely winter-hardy, and in frosts below -40°C, without additional shelter or even bending the branches to the ground, the plant does not freeze.

It can reach a height of up to 2 meters, has spreading graceful shoots, completely covered with bluish-green leaves. Numerous small, soft pink flowers are collected in dense apical, almost spike-shaped, drooping inflorescences. Blooms from May to August.

The fruits do not ripen at the same time. In October, when most of the fruit capsules ripen and open, the shoots resemble fox tails. This species is propagated by seeds, cuttings, and shoots from a stump. The shrub is light-loving and demanding of moisture. I noticed that myricaria grows much better near bodies of water. Looks great surrounded by hostas, ferns, daylilies, mantles, and shrubs. Very beautiful even in winter.

Main characteristics of myricaria

The perennial plant belongs to the comb family and looks like heather. Its name is a word form of the Latin name for heather (mirica). Myricaria is native to Asia (from Tibet to Altai); it is widespread on the Chinese and Mongolian plains. It also lives on plateaus and hills, climbing to a height of up to 1.9 km above sea level.

The shrub has reddish or yellow-brown branched shoots with miniature leaf scales. Low spreading shrubs in temperate climates reach 1-1.5 m, although plants up to 4 m in height are found in nature. The width of garden representatives is 1.5 m.

The bush has 10-20 main ascending shoots, smooth with a woody structure. The short lateral branches are covered with small fleshy leaves, the color of the leaf blades is bluish-green. The growing season of the plant lasts from the beginning of May until frost. At this time, even without inflorescences, it serves as a decoration for the front garden or garden.

Myricaria blooms in mid-May and pleases with delicate buds for two months. Such a long flowering is due to the gradual opening of flowers. First they bloom on the lower shoots adjacent to the ground, and at the end of summer - on the tops of the plant. An individual flower lives from 3 to 5 days. A spike-shaped inflorescence is formed on long peduncles up to 40 cm in height. Depending on the variety, flowers are formed on the tops of the stems or in the leaf axils. The brushes are densely strewn with small pink and purple flowers.

After flowering completes, the seeds ripen. They are collected in an elongated pyramidal box. The smallest seeds have whitish pubescence.

Varieties

Two types of myricaria are known in culture:

• Daurian;
• foxtail.

Miricaria daurica , also long-leaved, is often found in the south of Siberia and Altai. In the first year of life, young shoots are covered with yellowish-green bark, which turns brown in subsequent years. The foliage is gray, narrow, reaches 5-10 mm in length and only 1-3 mm in width. The shape of the leaves is oblong or ovoid, the upper part is dotted with small glands.

Miricaria dahuriana

Inflorescences are formed on the lateral (older) and apical (one-year-old) shoots. The shape of the inflorescences is simple or more complex, branched. At first the peduncles are shortened, but as the buds open they become longer. On a bract up to 6 mm in diameter there is a miniature calyx, 3-4 mm in size. Pink oblong petals protrude forward by 5-6 mm and have a width of 2 mm. Half-fused stamens adorn the capitate stigma of the ovary. The tricuspid elongated capsule contains elongated seeds up to 1.2 mm in length with a partially pubescent awn.

Miricaria foxtail , or, according to other gardeners, foxtail, is more common in Western Europe, as well as in the Far East and Central Asia. Low shrubs with straight and ascending side shoots are strewn with alternate fleshy leaf scales. The leaf color is silver with a blue tint.

Miricaria foxtail

From mid-May to the end of August, the upper stems are decorated with clusters of pink inflorescences. The flowers densely cover the peduncle and begin to open from below; under the weight of the buds, the stem often lowers in an arc. Until the buds open, the peduncle is about 10 cm long and resembles a dense cone, but as it blooms, it lengthens to 30-40 cm and becomes looser.

At the beginning of autumn the fruits begin to ripen. Thanks to the whitish pubescence of the seeds at the ends of the branches, large shoots resemble a fox's tail with a fluffy light end. The plant got its name for this feature.

Miricaria foxtail

It grows under natural conditions in Western Europe, Siberia, Central Asia, and the Middle East.

Miricaria foxtail is a shrub with graceful, spreading shoots covered entirely with alternate, fleshy, bluish-green leaves. From May to September with small, numerous, pink flowers, collected in dense, almost spike-shaped, drooping inflorescences.

Flowers begin to bloom from the lower part of the inflorescence, gradually moving to the upper part. During flowering, the inflorescences of Myricaria foxtail lengthen 5 times, reaching half a meter. The fruits ripen at different times.

Myricaria foxtail propagates by cuttings, seeds, and shoots from a stump. Photophilous, resistant to pests. Grows well in well-drained, fertile areas.

Tolerates haircuts well. Beautiful during the growing season. In spring, it is recommended to feed it with complex mineral fertilizer. Miricaria foxtail can freeze to the level of snow cover and grows back over the season.

For the winter, you need to tie the shoots and tilt them to the ground. The shrub is suitable for planting in flower beds with tall perennial plants and near a pond.

Curious notes about myricaria

It is interesting that, despite numerous studies conducted, the chemical composition of Myricaria is not fully understood today. But it became known that the plant contains not only tannins and flavonoids, but also vitamin C. Therefore, traditional healers have long known about the medicinal properties of this representative of the flora.

If you prepare a decoction based on the leaves of myricaria, it was prescribed to patients suffering from edema and polyarthritis; this remedy helped with epilepsy and intoxication of the body, acting as an antidote. The same remedy has the ability to relieve inflammation and can be used as an anthelmintic drug. If you add this decoction to your bath, you can cure colds and relieve symptoms of rheumatism.

Important!

Miricaria is a poisonous plant, which must be taken into account when taking medications based on it, as well as when working with it in the garden.

Since the bark, which has a yellowish-brown color, is filled with tannins, the volume of which reaches 15%, this material is used for tanning in the leather industry or is used to make black paint.

It happens that inexperienced gardeners confuse Myricaria with such a representative of the flora as Tamarix, since they belong to the same family. However, the latter cannot cope with the cold and caring for it is a rather labor-intensive process.

Description of the plant

Miricaria foxtail belongs to deciduous shrubs from the Tamariskaceae family. The distribution area affects the countries of Asia, Europe and Africa. The crop is grown in the temperate and subtropical climates of China, Siberia and the Far East. In nature, this plant can be found in mountain, subalpine and forest landscapes.

Miricaria is a fast-growing shrub that can reach up to 2 m in height and 1.5 m in diameter.

Shoots are formed directly from the root system.

Description of the bush:

• the leaves are small, covering the entire length of the shoots;
• the flowers have a pink or purple hue with an elongated bract;
• the inflorescences are dense, have the shape of a spike or panicle;
• the seeds ripen in a fluffy box.

Myricaria foxtail is a light- and moisture-loving plant. This species is resistant to pests and diseases.

This plant is often used in the design of artificial and natural reservoirs. Miricaria foxtail is planted alone or in group plantings in a flower bed.

The shrub combines with deciduous and coniferous dark green crops, as well as roses. It also looks good against purple-colored plants. It is recommended to plant blue flowers as the lower tier in the flowerbed. They complement the composition and allow you to fill empty space.

Rules for planting and caring for mirikari in the garden, application in landscape design

1. Choosing a landing site.
   The plant will be grateful for the choice of an open and brightly lit location. And although myricaria can also grow in partial shade, this will negatively affect its flowering and the duration of this process. It is advisable that the place be protected from cold gusts of wind and drafts. However, it has been noticed that young plants can get burned under the scorching midday rays of the sun. The plant is quite hardy; as an adult it will be able to withstand both frosts of -40 degrees and extreme heat when the thermometer approaches 40 units.
2. The soil for miricaria
   should be fertile and loose. Suitable garden and loamy soil (light or medium), saturated with peat crumbs. Soil acidity indicators should be neutral (pH 6.5–7) or slightly acidic (below pH 5–6). To improve the composition of the substrate, organic fertilizers, such as wood ash or nitroammophosphate, are mixed into it.
3. Planting myricaria.
   You can plant bushes in the spring, when the growing season is just beginning, or when it is coming to an end (autumn), when the leaves on the branches have not yet unfurled. A hole for planting is dug in length, width and depth of about 50 cm. A layer of drainage material (expanded clay, broken brick or crushed stone) of about 20 cm is placed on its bottom, which is sprinkled with prepared substrate on top. The Miricaria seedling is placed in a hole so that its root collar is at the same level as the soil in the area. After this, the hole is filled to the top with the substrate, which is slightly compacted and watered. It is recommended to immediately mulch the tree trunk circle with humus, tree bark or peat, which will retain moisture and prevent the growth of weeds. The thickness of the mulch layer should be at least 10 cm. For planting, it is better to use seedlings up to two years of age, using the transshipment method, when the earthen ball is not destroyed. The distance between Mirikaria seedlings is maintained at approximately 1–1.5 m, since the bushes tend to grow.
4. Watering
   is carried out in the absence of precipitation once every 14 days. A bucket of water is used for each bush. If precipitation is normal, then the soil is moistened once a week. This is because the foxtail plant can cope well with drought. But too waterlogged soil will not be a problem for the root system for a short time.
5. fertilizers for miricaria
   1-2 times per season, using preparations for heather flora, for example, Vila Yara. You can add organic matter (for example, peat or humus) under the bushes every year, which will stimulate the growth and color of foliage. Its color will become more saturated and green. Gardeners use a solution based on mullein, to which the plant will respond with lush foliage. The solution is diluted in water in a ratio of 1:10 to prevent burns. At the beginning of spring, you can fertilize with a complete mineral complex, like Kemira-Universal or Feritka.
6. Trimming.
   Since over time the shoots of foxtail bushes begin to become lignified, their attractiveness is greatly reduced, especially when the plants reach 7–8 years of age. To prevent this from happening, it is recommended to regularly prune the branches. It is performed in two steps: in the autumn (to give a decorative look) and in the spring (to remove all the shoots that have dried out and been damaged during the winter). Pruning can be done throughout the growing season, but before the beginning of autumn. The plant tolerates pruning well from a very young age, and the best shaping would be to give the bush a spherical shape.
7. General care tips.
   Since myricaria has spreading branches that can be damaged by strong gusts of wind, it is necessary to provide the right place for planting or organize a shelter. Before winter, it is recommended to tie up the bushes so that the branches are not broken by a snow cap or stronger gusts of wind. If the shoots are still young and their shoots have not become woody, then they can be bent to the soil surface and covered with spruce branches or non-woven material (for example, spunbond). After each watering or rain, it is recommended to loosen the soil in the tree trunk area and weed away weeds.
8. The use of miricaria in landscape design.
   Since even without inflorescences the branches of “fox tails” look attractive, they will look impressive both in single plantings and in group plantings. Tall shoots will be used to form hedges with their help. Because of nature’s love for coastal zones, miricaria can be planted near bodies of water, both natural and artificial. These bushes will look beautiful next to roses or conifers. Sedums and tenacious plants, as well as periwinkles and euonymuses, would be good neighbors.

Features of planting and care

Miricaria is a picky plant. Soil fertility does not play a big role for her. Ideal growing conditions are a sunny location, sheltered from the wind, with loamy, moist soil. It also grows in partial shade, but produces much fewer flowers. It is better to replant in the spring before the leaves appear or in October. A two-year-old bush with a large lump of soil takes root more painlessly.

Miricaria is not at all demanding on the planting site and type of soil.

The transplant is performed according to the following plan:

1. Dig a hole 0.5 x 0.5 x 0.5 m. If you plan to plant several specimens, then remove the next place by at least 1 m.
2. Prepare the substrate by mixing light or medium loam with peat in equal quantities, and fill the seat with it. Additives in the form of 0.3 kg of ash or 50 g of fertilizer mixture (NPK) will not hurt either. If the soil is clayey, then pre-drainage with a thickness of 0.15 m is arranged.
3. Pour a bucket of water into the hole.
4. Plant the plant, leaving the root collar at ground level, and mulch the soil around it.

Advice. To ensure that the bush overwinters well, the branches are tied, otherwise they may break under the weight of the snow. Young bushes are tilted and slightly covered.

Caring for myricaria includes weekly watering, loosening, mulching, and crown formation. After wintering, shoots damaged by frost should be trimmed back to healthy tissue. In its natural state, the bush is not compact, so only pruning can give the plant a neat appearance.

To give the bush the required shape, pruning is carried out

The formation of the crown begins from an early age, by pinching the green tips of the shoots throughout the summer, not allowing them to grow more than 0.5 m. With the onset of autumn, pruning is stopped, otherwise the plant will not have time to gain strength for wintering. If the procedure is carried out annually, the bush takes the shape of a bluish-blue hemisphere.

Attention! Be careful when purchasing seedlings. There is a plant that is very similar in appearance to myricaria - tamarix, some species of which require special preparation for the cold winter.

How to fertilize and what to feed

Myricaria responds to fertilizers and fertilizing with prolonged flowering. In the spring, no later than May 15, humus or compost at least a bucket is added under the bush and shallowly embedded in the soil. After 14 days, the root zone is mulched using mulch containing humus: crushed tree bark, peat. In the summer, miricaria is fed 1 to 2 times with infused mullein, adding 1 liter of it to 10 liters of water. A good mullein substitute is the following infusion:

• in a barrel holding 200 liters;
• tree ash - 1 shovel;
• manure or litter - 0.5 buckets;
• dry leaves or rotten straw - 1 bucket:
• compost or garden soil - 1 shovel;
• whey - 1 l;
• mash made from 3 liters of water with the addition of 5 tablespoons of sugar and 100 g of yeast, fermented for 3 days.

This drug is infused for 7 days, then diluted with water in a ratio of 1:2 and 2 liters are added to each plant.

Possible problems when caring for myricaria

Gardeners can be pleased with the fact that this plant, due to its poisonous properties, is practically not susceptible to damage by harmful insects, but diseases when growing this shrub are very rare.

The only thing is that you should not get carried away with abundant watering of the soil, since waterlogged soil can ruin the root system.

Landing Features

An undemanding plant, myricaria can grow on almost any soil. But to help the bush take root faster and take root better, it is recommended to adhere to certain rules:

• The area should be sufficiently lit and protected from draft winds. It is better to give preference to open clearings. The culture will develop in partial shade, but then the duration of flowering will be shortened and the number of inflorescences will decrease, which will spoil the aesthetic appearance of myricaria.
• For budding to be effective, the soil under the bush must be fertile, drained, with a neutral or slightly acidic reaction. The moisture-loving plant prefers moist loamy soils. To prepare the soil mixture yourself, you need to mix light loam with peat in equal proportions.
• The optimal time for planting is spring, before the beginning of the growing season, or autumn, after its completion.

Planting technology:

• You need to dig a hole 50 cm wide and the same depth.
• At the bottom of the hole, lay a 20 cm thick drainage layer of broken bricks, fine gravel, and expanded clay.
• Sprinkle the top with fertile soil mixed with wood ash at the rate of 500 g per 10 kg of soil mixture.
• Place the seedling so that the root collar remains at ground level.
• Cover the young bush with soil, carefully compacting it.
• Water the plant generously and mulch the soil with peat and sawdust. The layer thickness should not be less than 6 cm.

If you need to replant a perennial, it is recommended to do it before the age of 2, and transfer the myricaria to a new place, preferably with a large lump of earth, so as not to damage the root system and reduce the time for adaptation. The best period to carry out this procedure is spring or autumn, when there are no leaves on the shoots.

Considering that the bush is spreading and tall, the plant should be planted at a distance of 1-1.5 m from any neighbors.

Tips for propagating Myricaria

To obtain such an unusual ornamental plant, it is recommended to use both seed and vegetative propagation methods. In this case, the latter involves dividing an overgrown bush, planting root shoots or rooting cuttings.

Reproduction of myricaria by seeds.

When growing new foxtail bushes, the seedling method should be used. Since the collected seed material very quickly loses its germination properties, it is necessary to carefully follow the rules for its storage. After collection, the seeds are placed in sealed packaging (for example, a plastic bag or plastic container) and stored at moderate temperatures - 18–20 degrees.

Sowing of seeds is carried out with the arrival of next spring, but stratification must be performed before sowing. So for seven days it is recommended to keep the seeds on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator, where the temperature is between 3–5 degrees. This is done in order to increase the germination rate of the seed; after stratification, its rate reaches 95%. If stratification is not carried out, then only 1/3 of the seedlings will be able to sprout.

For sowing, seedling boxes are used, which are filled with nutritious and loose soil. You can take a special substrate intended for seedlings or mix it yourself from peat and river sand, the proportions of which should be equal. The seeds are distributed on the surface of the soil; due to their small size, it is not recommended to sprinkle them with soil or bury them. It is preferable to water the soil from the bottom so that the moisture rises or drips. Otherwise, seeds may be washed out of the soil mixture. It will not take 2-3 days before you can see the first sprouts of myricaria. In this case, a small root shoot is formed, but it will take almost a week to form a shoot above the soil surface.

Caring for seedlings should consist of timely moistening of the soil and maintaining moderate temperature conditions. When the seedlings are strong enough, they can be transplanted, but not before stable warm weather has established (average temperature 10–15 degrees). This is due to the fact that even short-term minor frosts will immediately destroy foxtail seedlings.

Reproduction of myricaria by dividing the bush.

When the bush grows very strongly, it can be dug out of the soil at the end of spring and carefully divided into parts. Only the division should be carried out in such a way that each division has a sufficient number of shoots and roots. After dividing, it is necessary to immediately plant the divisions in a prepared place in the garden, preventing the roots from drying out. Before planting, it is recommended to sprinkle all cuts with crushed charcoal.

Reproduction of myricaria by root shoots.

Since the stump of the foxtail plant produces a large amount of root shoots, with the arrival of spring you can dig up such seedlings and, following the rules for planting cuttings, move them to a new place in the garden.

Propagation of myricaria by cuttings.

For harvesting, it is recommended to take both lignified (last year and old) and green (annual) branches. Cutting blanks for cuttings can be done throughout the entire growing season. The length of the cuttings should be at least 25 cm, with a thickness of lignified shoots of approximately 1 cm. After the cuttings are cut, they are placed for several hours in a growth stimulator, which can be, for example, Kornevin, Epin or heteroauxic acid. After this, planting is immediately carried out in previously prepared containers with peat-sand soil. A plastic bottle with the bottom cut off or a glass jar should be placed on top.

Important!

Despite the fact that the roots of the cuttings appear quite quickly, the seedlings will be ready for planting only next year, since they will not be able to survive the winter period.

When the soil warms up sufficiently in the spring months, you can safely move the foxtail seedlings into open ground.

How does such a bush reproduce?

Let's take a closer look at propagation by seed or cuttings. The second option is more efficient and faster.

Propagation by cuttings

Cuttings are a more effective and faster method of propagating myricaria. Both old and one-year-old young shoots are suitable for this. Cutting and rooting should be done during the growing season.

The length of the cutting should be 25 cm, and the thickness of the stem should be 1 cm. Freshly cut shoots are immersed in an aqueous-alcohol solution for several hours. This procedure activates their growth.

It is best to plant cuttings in pots or plastic bottles. Planting in the garden is carried out in the spring of the second year. If you plant young plants directly into the ground, they may not survive the winter.

Seed propagation method

This method is considered labor-intensive and ineffective. They must be collected and stored correctly, observing moderate temperatures and sealed packaging. Otherwise, they lose their viability and the seedlings do not germinate.

The seeds are first subjected to stratification.

The seed is hardened for 4-5 days at a temperature of +3 degrees.

Prepared seeds are planted in a shallow container, almost on the surface of the earth. The first shoots are noticeable within a few days after planting. For watering, it is recommended to use drip irrigation.

Planting seedlings in open ground is possible only after warm weather sets in.

Miricaria foxtail is a winter-hardy plant that is great for landscape design. It is not whimsical and, with proper care, produces abundant flowering. Proper pruning allows you to create a crown of an interesting shape, which will become a decoration for a flowerbed or garden.

Myricaria foxtail: when is the best time to plant and how to properly care for it

Myricaria foxtail attracts the attention of gardeners with its tall growth, about two meters, relative ease of care and, most importantly, its original scaly foliage of silver color with a blue tint. The bizarre shape of the crown and elongated pink inflorescences have brought this perennial deciduous shrub into the category of the most popular crops for landscape design.

The ornamental plant is not afraid of low temperatures and quickly adapts to the environment. By creating favorable conditions for growth, following planting technology and providing it with proper care, you can grow a luxurious, spreading decoration for your garden.

Landscape design ideas: video

Mirikaria in the garden: photo

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• https://tutknow.ru/garden_and_orchard/14088-mirikariya-opisanie-vidov-rekomendacii-po-posadke-i-uhodu-v-otkrytom-grunte.html
• https://sad24.ru/derevya/osobennosti-mirikarii-lisoxvostnikovoj.html
• https://GreenMarine.ru/v-sadu/mirikariya-v-landshaftnom-dizajne-foto.html
• https://udachnayadacha.ru/sad/kustarniki/mirikariya-lisohvostnaya.html

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