Dören Swedish is a stranger to the inhabitants of Central Russia. This is a northern shrub, which is quite rarely found in natural conditions on the coast of the Gulf of Finland.
Spread
Swedish dogwood in Russia is found in the northern taiga subzone, occasionally in the tundra and forest-tundra, on the islands and coasts of the Barents and White Seas, in Chukotka. Beyond the borders of the country, the range occupies the northern territories of Japan, the Atlantic and Pacific regions of North America.
Prefers Swedish dogwood small-leaved and coniferous forests, dense thickets of shrubs. Often this species occupies a dominant position in the ground cover of birch and spruce forests, forming extensive thickets and clumps. In the forests, dogwood, as a rule, is adjacent to blueberries, shiksha, and lingonberries. Sometimes its stems break through the thickness of the moss. Under natural conditions, Swedish dogwood most often grows in places with thick snow cover. This favorably affects its winter hardiness in severe climatic conditions of the northern regions. In mid-latitudes, it also wintered, but it grows in these territories not very willingly.
Growing conditions
Dohren needs slightly acidic, permeable and fertile moist soil. On clay soils, the plant will lack air, on sandy soils - moisture. Peat soil is considered ideal for this plant. You can plant Swedish dogwood in the garden to heather crops. The plant needs regular and plentiful watering, it is impossible to allow drying of an earthen coma.
This plant is very attached to daylight. In the North, in summer, the day is quite long. White nights are much longer here than in St. Petersburg. And the light here is softer than in the middle lane: the sun is not so scorching. Therefore, if you want to grow dogwood in the garden, pick up a place that is bright, but closed from direct sunlight.
Someone will say that this small plant makes too many demands. But be sure that his beauty deserves to try to grow such a bush in his garden in the middle latitudes, especially since numerous reviews of gardeners confirm the successful growing experience.
Description
Dören Swedish is a small shrub with a thin ligneous branching rhizome. At the ends of its branches simple grassy stems develop, which die almost completely in the fall. The stems can be six to twenty-five centimeters high. They are tetrahedral, seated with small pressed hairs not too thick.
In the lower part, they are sometimes reddish; below, they have several pairs of brown scaly-like leaves, above which 4-6 pairs of green leaves are located. They gradually increase in size to the top of the stem. In the two lower pairs, in the sinuses, kidneys of renewal are laid. Of these, shoots develop every season.
The leaves are light green, sessile, from below they are lighter, smooth, bluish. The upper ones range in length from one and a half to four and a half centimeters, ovate with a round or wedge-shaped base. At the apex they are pointed, with two, and sometimes three pairs of lateral veins.
Flowers
This mass and typical for the forest-tundra and tundra plants from the Kizilov family have very unusual flowers. At first glance, it may seem that they have four snow-white petals and numerous black stamens. In fact, white petals are bracts. They surround the inflorescence, consisting of a large number of small flowers that are painted in purple-black. In this way, Swedish dogwood attracts pollinating insects, which are very few in the tundra at the beginning of summer.
In the inflorescence, there are from eight to twenty-five flowers. They are located on short pedicels. Their length is not more than 2 mm. Calyx is triangular in shape, sharp, much longer than a flat annular disk, smooth. Petals, about 2 mm long, narrow-triangular, purple-black, bent down after flowering, turning into a long pointed. Flowering begins in late May.
Swedish Derain
Fruits shrubs from late July to early September. During this period, the Swedish dogwood transforms beyond recognition. Its berry is very attractive: spherical, up to 10 mm in diameter, bright red. The fruits are a bit like clusters of lingonberries. But if there is a hollow at the tip of lingonberry, then the black spot is located at the derena in this place.
If you are interested in whether it is possible to eat them, then we can say that they are not poisonous, but mealy and tasteless. The plant does not have a therapeutic effect.
Breeding
Swedish dogwood breeds by dividing the bush, seeds and root offspring. Seeds are usually sown very early, preferably after ripening. They are sown in a greenhouse, in a bowl that is dug in the ground. And if there are a lot of seeds, then you can try to sow in open ground.
The seed must be separated from the pulp of the fetus, as it delays germination. If sowing is transferred to spring, then the seeds should be stratified for 3-4 months and sown in early spring. Before cold stratification, warm is carried out. Germination of old seeds usually takes place slowly, and seedlings appear unevenly, so the bushes have to be planted next spring.
