Wood pliers - a perennial lignified liana from the Bereskletovye family. In the natural environment, it can be found in subtropical and tropical forests around the globe. The plant got its name for aggressive, parasitic behavior against other large trees. Braiding them, a liana grows deep into the wood and gradually drinks all the juices of the donor plant. The trunk of a dry tree continues to serve as a reliable support for the wood pliers. In landscape design, the plant is great for decorating fences and gazebos. But it should be kept away from fruit trees. A wood plier is appreciated for its abundant green mass, which in the fall acquires a delicate golden color, as well as for orange-red fruits.
Botanical Description
The wood pliers are a genus of perennial deciduous vines with winding, gradually lignifying vines. The length of the shoot in natural conditions can reach 14 m. Young stems are covered with smooth green bark. With age, it becomes brown, and then gray-brown and crack.
Regular petiole leaves have an oval or rounded shape with solid edges. The leaf length is 6-8 cm. At the end of April, smooth leaf plates are painted in dark green tones, in the fall they become lemon yellow, sometimes orange. Leaves fall almost simultaneously at the beginning of November, with the first frosts.
The pliers bloom from the age of five. The flowering period begins in June-July and lasts only about a week. Small flowers exude a pleasant, delicate aroma, but practically do not attract attention. Small yellow-green corollas are collected in racemose or paniculate inflorescences in the axils of the leaves.
In late summer, the fruits ripen. They are a spherical seed box, covered with thin, dry shells. After ripening, stipules open, and fleshy seedlings are found inside. In appearance, they resemble bubbles of bright red color. It is for such fruits that the wood pliers are sometimes called the "red bubble".
Popular varieties
The genus of the wood pliers has 38 species, of which only 3 grow on the territory of Russia. Mostly in the Far East.
The pliers are round-leaved. The plant is found in China, Japan and the Far East. This large, winding vine grows in culture to 2.5 m. In nature, you can meet vines up to 12 m long. Lateral shoots, densely covered with leaves, form wide thickets. Strong brownish processes are covered with brown-brown bark. On younger shoots are glossy dark green leaves. Rounded or oval leaf plates are pointed at the end. Bottom leaves have a bluish spraying. During flowering, numerous paniculate inflorescences form in the leaf sinuses, and in September orange-yellow fruits in the form of rounded berries ripen. The diameter of the fetus does not exceed 6 mm. Bright clusters remain on branches even in winter and look beautiful among snowdrifts. The popular Punctata variety has more modest sizes of shoots and leaves. There are white dots on the bright green leaf plate.
Round-leaved pliers are dioecious plants. That is, there are specimens exclusively with female (variety Diana) and male (variety Hercules) flowers. The listed decorative varieties are distinguished by abundant flowering and fruiting, as well as a dense dark green crown.
The pliers are climbing. The length of this ligneous deciduous creeper is 8-12 m. The bark of young shoots is colored red-brown, but gradually acquires a brown-brown color. The stems are strewn with regular ovoid leaves 4-8 cm long. In July panicle inflorescences appear on the plant, which consist of small yellow-white flowers. In August-September, rounded seed bolls appear. Under the yellow stipules, bright red berries with a diameter of 4-6 mm are hidden.
The brush-nose pliers. Scourges up to 12 m long are covered with brown-brown bark with small scales. On the young parts of the shoot there are oval or ovoid leaves, which reach a length of 14 cm. Bright green wrinkled leaf plates are dotted with many small veins. At the end of June, bunches of green-yellow flowers form in the axils of the leaves, and by September, rounded seed bolls ripen about 7 mm in diameter.
Reproduction of a wood pliers
A wood plier is propagated by sowing seeds and cuttings. Crops are carried out immediately in open ground. Freshly harvested seeds can be sown in autumn, then stratification is not needed. Sometimes the pliers are sown in the spring, in April. In this case, cold stratification is required. For two months, the seeds are kept in the refrigerator (+ 2 ... + 5 ° C). Small seeds are sown in fertile, light soil to a depth of 1.5-2 cm. They are carefully sprinkled with earth and gradually watered. Shoots appear in late May. They are grown in one place without picking for two years. By autumn, the height of the seedlings is about 80 cm. In the first years of life, plants need more thorough care. Wood pliers from seeds will bloom by the fifth year of life.
The plant propagates well by cuttings. Young green shoots root somewhat better than last year's lignified cuttings. Cut them in the summer, the lower cut is soaked in a solution of "Kornevin" for 16 hours. Planting is carried out in open ground, the cuttings are buried vertically in a sand-peat soil mixture. From above the earth is mulched with humus and watered. At the same place, seedlings will spend the first 2 years of life, then they can be transplanted with a large lump of land to a permanent place.
Plant care
The wood plier is an unpretentious and very tenacious plant. Its rhizome does not have the ability to aggressively seize territory. The plant develops equally well in the open sun, in partial shade and in complete shading. It is best to plant a vine near a fence or other solid structure, as strong vines have an impressive weight and can fill up a fragile structure.
To the composition of the soil, the pliers are unpretentious, but fertile, loose loams or loamy soils are more preferable for it. The soil reaction should be slightly alkaline or neutral. A layer of drainage material is poured into the planting pit with a depth of 50 cm, and then rotted manure or compost is introduced. Young plants are transplanted in April or September. The distance between them should be 60-80 cm. When planting, the root neck should be slightly deepened.
It is necessary to water the pliers often. Many large leaves actively evaporate water. Young plants are watered three times a week, pouring up to 2 buckets of water under each. Adult individuals are more resistant to drought and do not need such frequent irrigation.
So that the soil surface after irrigation is not taken by the crust, you need to loosen the earth. Weeding helps remove weeds that can drown out young shoots. You can mulch the soil with peat.
In spring and summer, the pliers should be fed with universal mineral fertilizing. The powder is distributed on the surface of the earth, and then the plant is watered with clean water.
In late February or early March, the crown is trimmed. It is necessary to remove part of the shoots, as well as cut dried and frozen branches.
The wood plaster winters well. He suffers even severe frosts without shelter. In severe and snowless winters, it is recommended to insulate the ground above the roots with peat or fallen foliage.
The plant is distinguished by excellent immunity to diseases and is almost not affected by parasites, so you do not have to take care of protection from pests.
Wood plier in the garden
The wood plier serves as a wonderful decoration of the garden. Its thick emerald crown will hide the fence or part of the outbuildings, as well as green any vertical support. In autumn, the leaves will change color to golden orange and continue to delight the household. It is not necessary to direct the liana up. The wood pliers can serve as a good groundcover and decorate the hillsides, high banks of water bodies and rivers. Also, its roots strengthen the soil and prevent landslides. In the flower garden, a liana serves as an excellent green background for brightly colored plants.
Like all Bereskletovye, the pliers are beautiful not only with their foliage, but also with graceful fruits. Bare branches with red berries are good on the street and in flower arrangements. They are often used to make wreaths and Christmas bouquets.
