When creating a garden, it is important not only to create a composition of paths and plants, where all the details, color, texture and proportions will be harmoniously combined. Important to consider biological features plants, their sizes and preferences in the amount of sunlight, watering and of course in the soil. In an ideal garden, carefully calculated and underground part all plantings. That is, plants not only receive the necessary conditions for growth, the roots of neighboring plants also develop at different levels, completely filling the entire depth of the soil and without competing for space underground.
Based on their shape, there are two main types of root systems: fibrous and taproot. Plants with a tap root system have a well-developed main root, which stands out noticeably against the background of other roots. In a fibrous root system, the main root is almost invisible in the total mass, or is completely absent as such. All the roots of such a plant are branched and evenly developed, creating almost a lump, with a fairly large absorbing surface. At the same time, fibrous root systems can be superficial and located at the very edge of the soil, growing in width, or go deep, growing in all directions.
Regardless of the size of the plot, it is important to take into account the size of the future plant, whether it will be a small bush, a tree with a crown up to two meters wide, or a real giant in the future reaching a diameter of more than twenty meters. Of course it's especially spicy bad choice will affect small areas. There are general standards for the placement of shrubs and trees on local areas. It is not recommended to plant trees closer than 5 meters from the house, shrubs closer than 1.5 m.
Strong roots can damage not only buildings and their foundations, but also engineering structures, so it is advised to retreat 1.5 -1 m from laid sewer and other pipes when planting trees and shrubs. These are general wishes; depending on the characteristics of the root system of a particular plant, this distance can be reduced.
Trees and shrubs with a tap root system can be positioned much closer. When placing them, the most unfortunate would be the location directly above the communications. Since their main root grows strictly vertically, this will not only create problems with communications, but also seriously harm the plant itself.
It is very important to maintain distance from trees and shrubs with fibrous superficial root systems. They can damage communication structures and disrupt the planes of paths.
The tap root system has a smooth, round-leaved, single-pistillate and plum-leaved hawthorn, a smooth, small-leaved and rough elm, a common pear and a loose-leaved pear, a laxative ash, Rowan, most pines especially on light soils, a bird cherry, a common ash and a narrow-leaved ash.
Downy and black Birches, Ginkgo biloba, False-sycamore, Norway maples, field maples, Eleven angustifolia, Gray alder, as well as apple trees have relatively deep fibrous root systems. And Larch, Black Alder, Black Walnut, Scots Pine, Cedar Pine, Laurel Poplar and Fir have very deep roots.
Plants with a fibrous root system also include Japanese crimson, Amur velvet, Hornbeams, Derens, Red oak, most Spruces, many Willows, Saskatoon service, Red maples, river maples, silver and ash leaves, horse chestnut, Linden trees, Magnolia, Hemlock and Pseudo hemlock mensis, Rhododendron, Robinia false locust, Walich pine, yew berry, Chinese poplar, balsam, white 'Nivea', Berlin, Bird cherry, Hazel. And you should be especially careful with silver birch, beeches, pedunculate oak, large-leaved linden and walnut. They have powerful roots and often fast growth.
Despite fast growth and the superficial root system can be safely planted very close to paths and buildings, such as Thuja, since they have a very compact root system. Even when growing over two meters, the root ball may only be about a meter in diameter. Also having a compact root system are Honeysuckle Maak, Common Hazel, Linden, Plain Fir, Menzies Pseudosuga, Chinese Plum, Rowan, Yew, Nedzvedsky Apple. You should also take into account the growth rate and dimensions of the plant, for example, Mountain Pine “Winter Gold” at ten years of age does not exceed a meter in width and only 0.5 meters in height, and therefore will not threaten the paving and walls of the house, even if placed close to him.
Was handsome all year round, plants are selected that are different in height, timing of flowering or fruiting, and resistance to climatic conditions. In this article we will talk about the most popular of them.
The best blooming ones (with photos)
Tall shrub, grows to three meters, with a spreading crown. About one hundred varieties and forms of the plant are known. Flowering time, depending on the species, is from mid-summer to frost.
Paniculate inflorescences are more like clusters, reach 45 cm in length, there are different shades: white, pink, orange, purple, colors. The flowers are small with tubular petals, similar to or, with four lobes.
When grown, it prefers places that are closed from drafts, but open to the sun, and is unpretentious. Care consists of fertilizer.
Propagated by seeds, which are formed in the box after flowering, and by cuttings: green and woody.
Care consists of regular watering, weeding, etc. Even in winter, if there is no snow, it is better to cover the crop. Cassiopeia propagates by cuttings.
Frost-resistant species
A product of selection by Canadian scientists, grown for northern latitudes. These flowers can withstand 45-degree frosts.
If their foliage freezes due to sudden temperature changes, it quickly recovers without damage to the plant. Roses bloom profusely with bright colors of various shades and are not afraid of shadows.
The shrub has curly, juicy green foliage and strong, thin shoots. Roses are easy to care for.
Frequent visitor to gardens and parks. Branched, lush bush Arnica grows quickly and is easy to trim. 
Thanks to the dense, oval foliage, the shrub produces an almost continuous hedge. Common lilac tolerates shade well; in too bright sun its delicate inflorescences can get burned and turn brown.
It blooms early in April - May with beautiful bright clusters of white, cream, pink and lilac inflorescences. Lilac feels great on any type of soil, but prefers loose soils.
Decorative fruit bushes for the garden
A bush about a meter high, with thin shoots arched. The foliage is green, glossy, some species have thorns.
Lush flowering begins in May, the flowers are simple and double. Most often there are varieties with orange inflorescences, but there are also pink and white ones.
The plant bears yellowish fruit, similar to. Quince is drought-resistant and grows in almost any soil.
Important! Transplantation is carried out extremely carefully due to the long tap root, which is easily damaged.
- not only decorative, but also. It grows up to five meters high, has thorns on red-brown glossy stems.
Foliage is up to 6 cm long, oval shape with pile on both sides of the sheet. Small shield-shaped inflorescences bloom in May, and red fruits appear in late summer.
Hawthorn grows equally well in dry and marshy areas, in the shade and in the sun, and easily adapts to weather conditions.
Another medicinal and, of course, beautiful plant- viburnum. ordinary- a tall lush bush, with brown bark, dense green foliage, which turns red in the fall.
Taking into account the area of distribution of the root system is very important when creating compositions from woody plants and planning plantings of the lower tier. In an ideally composed composition, all layers of soil are mastered by the roots of different plants, and they minimally compete with each other for moisture and nutrition.
Knowledge of the distribution of roots will make it easier to care for the garden and avoid numerous complications. For example, you should not paving under Robinia, whose roots will lift the tiles. It is especially important to ensure that trees with shallow roots do not suppress perennials in nearby flower beds. It is better to install a root-protective membrane when they are close together.
Plants with tap roots, like pine trees, obtain moisture and nutrition from the lower layers of the soil. They are resistant to drought and wind, leaving living space for shrubs and herbaceous plants, and do not compete with them. However, they usually suffer when high level groundwater, painfully endure the transplant.
On the other hand, species with shallow roots, like birch or willow, densely fill the surface layer of soil, taking all the moisture and nutrition for themselves. They are better adapted to waterlogged soils. Under their canopy there is little room for other plants to grow. Often such species are suppressed when the soil is over-compacted.
From Delenka: This table will help you avoid many mistakes when drawing up tree and shrub compositions. Legend you will find below, under the table.
| Russian name | Latin name | Plant size | Simplicity of content |
| Plants with a deep (tap) root system | |||
| Bloodthorn hawthorn, single-pistillate | Crataegus sanguinea, c. monogyna | *** | ++ |
| Common pear, g. | Pirus communis, p. salicifolia | ** | +++ |
| English oak | Quercus robur | **** | ++++ |
| Norway maple | Acer pseudoplatanus | **** | +++ |
| Horse chestnut | Aesculus hippocastanum | **** | +++ |
| Siberian larch | Larix sibirica | **** | ++++ |
| Red cedar | Juneperus virginiana | ** | + |
| Black walnut | Juglans nigra | **** | ++++ |
| Scots pine, cedar pine | Pinus silvestris, p. sibirica | **** | ++++ |
| Laurel poplar | Populus laurifolia | **** | ++++ |
| Common ash | Fraxinus excelsior | **** | ++++ |
| Species with a dense compact root system | |||
| Honeysuckle Maak et al. | Lonicera maackii | ** | + |
| Common hazel | Corylus avellana | *** | ++ |
| Linden flat-leaved | Tilia platifillum, t. cordata | **** | ++++ |
| Fir one color | Abies concolor | **** | ++ |
| Menzies's Pseudo-tsuga | Pseudotsuga menziesi | **** | +++ |
| Chinese plum | Prunus salicina | ** | +++ |
| Mountain ash | Sorbus aucuparia | *** | +++ |
| Yew berry | Taxus baccata | ** | + |
| Niedzvetsky apple tree | Malus niedzwetzkyana | *** | ++ |
| Plants with shallow root systems | |||
| Amur velvet | Phellodendron amurense | *** | +++ |
| Silver birch | Betula pendula | **** | ++++ |
| Derain white | Cornus alba | ** | + |
| Red and swamp oak | Quercus rubra, Q.palustris | **** | ++++ |
| Norway spruce | Picea abies | **** | ++++ |
| Holly willow | Salix acutifolia | ** | +++ |
| Irga roundifolia | Amelancier rotundifolia | ** | ++ |
| Silver, red, ginnala maples | Acer saccharinum, A. rubrum, A.ginnala | ** (****) | +++ |
| Gmelin larch | Larix gmelinii | **** | +++ |
| Magnolia star | Magnolia stellata | ** | + |
| Robinia pseudoacacia | Robinia pseudoacacia | **** | ++++ |
| Yellow rhododendron and other species | Rhododendron luteum | ** | ++ |
| Mountain pine | Pinus mugo | * (**) | ++++ |
| Snowberry white | Symphoricarpus albus | * | ++++ |
| Thuja occidentalis | Thuja occidenthalis | *** | +++ |
Conventions used in the table
Large tree, height more than 8-10 m (****)
Small tree, height up to 10 m (***)
Large shrub, height from 2 to 3 m (**)
Small bush (*)
Does not require maintenance (++++)
Virtually no maintenance required (+++)
A little care (++)
Regular care (+)
Vacant soil under trees and shrubs looks unattractive, and weeds spreading over vacant areas take a lot of time and effort. Finding a solution to this problem is quite difficult, because, on the one hand, the crown of large trees and shrubs is too dense and does not provide sufficient lighting for planting a lawn, and, on the other hand, the planted plants can interfere with the development of the main characters garden And the thicker, denser the crown of trees and shrubs, the more superficial their root system, the more more difficult task designing the space around them. But this does not mean that there is no solution to this problem. Among garden plants there are many very beautiful and unpretentious perennials, which with their roots will not interfere with the development of shrubs or trees themselves, as well as a great variety of “light” ground covers that not only feel good in the shade, but also create favorable conditions for tree development. The main thing is to choose the right lush accompaniment for specific types and varieties of trees.
Not all trees “love” proximity to other plants. The “peace-loving” linden, apple, and oak trees seem to have been created so that their trunk area would be decorated with lush plants and bright flowers. These trees have a compact, not too wide and deep root system, which makes it possible to plant the most different plants, even perennials that actively use moisture and nutrients soil. Pears and cherries can also be fully included among them. Under such trees that will not refuse to be adjacent to other crops in the tree trunk circle, plants are planted quite densely, placing them on one square meter up to 12 ground cover seedlings, about 7 medium-sized or 3 large perennials.
It is much more difficult to design an area under such representatives of trees as Norway maple or birch, because their roots are located very widely and develop horizontally, close to the soil surface. Herbaceous perennials are inappropriate for such trees, and ground covers will need help: a layer of compost the width of your palm should be poured on top of the loosened soil between the roots with the addition of an equal share garden soil, plant the plants, mulch them with large sawdust or bark and wait until the plants take root and spread on their own. You should start with just a few plants. Greening the trunk circles of birch and maple is not a matter of one season, and the main thing in it is to be patient and allow the plants to gradually develop on their own. Twice a year, new compost should be spread between the plants and fertilizing should be doubled. organic fertilizers, as well as provide additional watering during drought.
But among the trees there are also plants that create a very strong shadow, in which only a few plants can take root, and they “scare away” these neighbors by releasing toxic substances. Thus, hazel and chestnut leaves contain poisons, which after falling fall into the soil and suppress the growth of plants in the tree trunk zone. Robinia is even more insidious: poisons are released not only by the leaves, but also by the roots. You cannot create a lush carpet next to these plants.
The easiest way to fill the space around trees and shrubs is to create a green carpet, which will cover bare areas not only under large trees, but also under low-growing bushes without harm to them. It is created, of course, with the help of ground covers and similar shade-tolerant creeping perennials with decorative leaves. Except decorative effect, green spaces will suppress the spread and development of weeds, will greatly simplify garden care, saving you a lot of time that is usually spent on weeding. Actually, a green carpet may not necessarily be only green: by combining plants with beautiful foliage with summer trees, planted meadows and patches, you can create colorful, illuminating shady places from the inside, carpets that are more reminiscent of patchwork bedspreads.
When choosing plants for your green mat, pay attention to the period of their decorativeness: the longer your plants are attractive, the more stable and colorful the design of your garden will be. So, if ground covers are good only during the active gardening season, then such evergreen beauties as hardy and unpretentious, and also rapidly growing ivy, periwinkle, pachysandra, and Waldsteinia will cover the soil not only in spring, summer or autumn, but also in winter period, without losing its appeal regardless of the season and weather, and decorative foliage stars such as hosta are so spectacular that the lack of winter attire is easy to forgive. The apical pachysandra pleases the eye with lush green foliage, a dense and lush carpet of carved leaves, under which no free soil is visible. But the hosta, with its large heart-leaved leaves with variegated patterns, fills shady places with charm and light. And even though it is more valued precisely for its decorative foliage, its flowering, which lasts all summer, is also very attractive. Periwinkle is a plant, albeit simple, but so cute thanks to its modest leaves and amazing bright flowers. It grows both in the shade and in the sun, is durable, blooms for a very long time and can easily settle even under bushes. Fortune's euonymus with its powerful shoots will need much more space, but bright foliage, which changes yellow-green patterns to pink-green ones in winter, is worth squeezing out other crops. And dilute the green sea of leaves and bring summer into it bright colors Shade-loving annuals will help - begonias, mimulus, impatiens, nasturtiums, and some types of small-flowered geraniums.
If shrubs can be “decorated” only with a blanket of ground cover and creeping plants with rare interspersed flowering annuals, then under the trees you can arrange a real mini-flower garden (unless, of course, we are talking about a pear, linden, oak, apple or cherry tree with a superficial root system) . The ideal combination for decorating areas under trees is considered to be a combination of perennials that are not afraid of competitors and develop well even in cramped conditions of swaying ornamental grasses and shade-loving ferns. They play on contrasts, create the effect of a motley sea and only emphasize the beauty of solo trees.
One of the best plants, capable of settling in the shade, is the magnificent foxglove with its unique long inflorescences of fancy bells, a bright mantle, an impressive epimedium, a touching function. You definitely can’t call them unnoticed “crumbs”! An original flowering mat can be made from ivy-leaved cyclamen, which produces pink flower heads at the end of summer. An impressive astilbe with its delicately filigree loose panicles or an aquilegia with graceful flowers, which is rightfully considered a wandering plant, would not be out of place in a collection of shade-tolerant perennials. But sometimes even too bold shade colors need to be balanced with the help of more restrained, but no less beautiful plants. Decorative sedge and shield grass will perfectly “calm down” flowering perennials and will create a landscape effect in the tree trunk circle. But it is better to plant geraniums in diffuse shade along the edge of the crown as a kind of edging. By the way, geranium is the only plant that is suitable for creating a monocarpet of tall perennials. Its root system is so compact that geraniums can even be planted next to capricious beauties. Plant a few bushes in a circle around the trunk and in just a few years you will get a surprisingly hardy and colorful mat of geraniums.
You can even plant small ones in the shade of huge trees. flowering shrubs, for example, low rhododendrons. They should be surrounded by only one plant, because a cluster of mismatched rugs will look too garish. For rhododendrons, for example, you can plant a clearing of Canadian deer, which will form a surprisingly elegant duet with the blooming beauties, or contrastingly dark climbing ivy.