Proverbs and sayings about May HORIZONTALLY: 2. May will deceive - in ... will leave.4 ....
Ancient Greek legend says that olive Tree- this is the creation of the hands of Athena herself, the patroness of peaceful labor and just wars. She stuck her spear into the ground, and an olive tree immediately grew out of it, and new town was named Athens.
European olive
The olive is an evergreen plant (tree). Its leaves are dark green on the outside and silvery on the inside.
The flowers of the tree are very small and fragrant, they are collected in brushes, and the crown is wide and sprawling, the branches and trunk are curved. The bark usually has grey colour, it is covered with scales and forms peculiar influxes.
The fruit of this plant, perhaps, is familiar to everyone, it is a pulp with a bone. The tree blooms from May to June, but the fruits ripen from October to December. The plant grows quite slowly, but it is very drought-resistant and durable.
I must say that the European olive - noble tree With interesting history. Each leaf of the plant lives one year, sometimes two. At the base of each leaf is a kidney, which is at rest for a long time, it begins to grow only when it is urgently needed. For example, when trimming or some kind of damage. Such an amazing property makes the olive very stable, it is capable of full recovery.
Useful properties of wood
European olive all year round is under the influence of the hot rays of the sun and the healing sea air. Perhaps this is what gives its fruits and leaves unique properties. Archaeologists claim that beneficial features leaves were known to people several millennia ago. They have a pronounced antimicrobial effect, and therefore are used as an anti-febrile agent and for the treatment festering wounds. In addition, a decoction of the leaves helps to normalize blood pressure.
The leaves of the plant emit a lot of phytoncides, which is priceless in medical practice. Decoctions of them are used as a diuretic for edema, as well as for preventive purposes against atherosclerosis and obesity.
Harvesting
Harvesting from trees begins at a time when most of gains fruit purple hue. On the one hand, they are not quite ripe yet, but it is at this moment that they have the highest percentage of oil, with a strong aroma and very little bitterness. Before the start of the harvest, canvases are spread under the trees, on which the olives will actually fall. The fruits are knocked down with a special rotating device, while they are not damaged, but remain intact. There is another way to harvest. The trees are carried out with special "rakes", as if combing them. Ripe fruits fall to the ground.
After the fruits are harvested, the crown is pruned. This is a very important and responsible work, because olives are formed on two-year-old branches. Therefore, the procedure itself is carried out by a special specialist - a trimmer. This profession is passed down from generation to generation. As a rule, the crown is formed in the form of a bowl, this is done with the aim of good penetration of sunlight.
European olive: home care
In principle, the olive can be grown at home in our latitudes. To do this, the tree must be properly cared for.
European olive tolerates our climate well. But still, the trees need to be watered quite regularly, while moderately. This is best done with water. During active growth, the plant must be fed by all means. The European olive loves sunny places. V summer time it is better to move it to a balcony or terrace. V winter time it is better to place the plant in a cool place, and from February to start increasing the temperature. In spring, trees should be moved to the most lit places where they feel best. They begin to bloom in May, June, when the temperature reaches eighteen degrees.
In spring, trees respond well to fertilizing with complex fertilizers with nitrogen. Due to this, an earlier laying of flower buds occurs.
Flowering and pollination of plants
Little white or little yellow flowers with a delicate delicate aroma appear somewhere in the middle of June. European olive at home blooms a little longer than usual, about a few months. The flowers are pollinated by the wind and insects, but if there is no wind at all, then the branches should be shaken daily. In the process of self-pollination, fruits can be tied different sizes. But cross-pollination significantly improves the yield and quality of olives. European olive in room conditions gives about two kilograms of fruit, and in a garden - up to twenty kilograms.
To get a harvest, you need to know how to care for the European olive. In principle, this tree is very drought-resistant, however, in the absence of a clear increase in branches, it must be understood that it lacks moisture. In addition, the plant is very light-loving (in poorly lit places, branches are exposed), it does not tolerate acidic and marshy soils. Liming the earth can significantly increase the yield.
Olive propagation
European olive is propagated by cuttings, seeds and grafts. Before planting, the seeds are dipped in a 10% alkali solution for 18 hours, then they are washed and the nose of the bone is cut off with secateurs. Then they are planted to a depth of about two to three centimeters. The first sprouts appear in two to three months.
With the help of grafting, the original wild tree is used. The first fruits from such a tree can be seen only after 8-10 years.
For cuttings, cut 2-4-year-old branches are used, the diameter of which is 3-4 centimeters. The sections are processed and then added dropwise in a horizontal position in March into the sand to a depth of ten centimeters. Since there are a lot of cuttings on the cuttings, the first shoots will appear in a month. Before planting, the cuttings must be treated with a growth stimulator.
- The optimum temperature is 20-25 degrees.
- Good lighting, but no direct sunlight.
To save high humidity, the box with the cuttings must be closed with a film. Seedlings are sprayed (it is sprayed, not watered) with water at room temperature at least once a day. Plants are transplanted after two to four months. They will begin to bear fruit only in the second or third year.
The best time for planting is autumn (for regions with mild winters). Trees are fed with manure, while adding superphosphate so that there is no soil oxidation. And in the spring the earth is limed.
At home, it is necessary to carry out a shaping and health-improving haircut of the crown. To do this, remove weak, dry and extra branches and give the crown the desired shape.
Since ancient times, the olive has been grown for the sake of the fruits, which were soaked and then salted, after which they acquired a very pleasant taste.
Very often, culture in our latitudes is grown exclusively for decorative purposes. Therefore, you can safely form a bonsai. European olive has irregular shape trunk, few branches, on which dense leaves with contrasting colors are located. In general, the plant is quite beautiful, interesting and perfect for the formation of bonsai from it.
Such a tree will decorate not only the room, but also the garden. According to the reviews of knowledgeable gardeners, we can say that given plant not very whimsical to care for, and therefore you can safely take on its cultivation at home, at least for decorative purposes.
How to form a bonsai?
To form a bonsai, you need to pinch new shoots during the entire period of tree growth. This will give an impetus to the appearance of many buds throughout the tree. However, the process cannot be carried out at a temperature of 10 to 35 degrees. This can lead to a reduction in the size of the leaflets. Young plants pinch up to 1-3 sheets.
When pruning large branches during the vegetative growth period, numerous, vigorous growth occurs in the pruned areas. Therefore, unwanted buds must be removed, otherwise there will be too many shoots. Large branches are best removed in autumn or winter, when growth is significantly slowed down. Oliva reacts quite unpredictably to pruning large shoots.
When forming a bonsai, you need to be careful, because the plant is quite brittle and the bark with wood is very easily damaged. Therefore, it is necessary to wrap the tree with wire very carefully, while young branches less than three years old should not be touched.
On the basis of the European olive, you can get absolutely any style of bonsai. Preferred are vertical and broom-shaped. Very dangerous for plants spider mites, they are completely invisible on the tree. They strongly deform the leaves, they begin to curl and fall off green.
Instead of an afterword
What is European Olive? First of all, it's amazing beautiful plant which gives wonderful results. In addition, it is used for decorative purposes to decorate the home and garden. If desired, the European olive can be grown at home and even get fruits. The tree is valued not only because of delicious fruits, but also because of their medicinal properties which have been known to people since ancient times.
The first half of spring is stingy with flowering plants. Yes, primroses are already pleasing, but there is a very special plant that is impossible not to be touched. This is a perennial evergreen groundcover of obriet. I think those who saw low pillows, or, as they say, curtains of this plant during flowering, probably wanted to have it in their garden. And I hasten to please you, obrieta is a very unpretentious and easy-to-care plant. Although, there are some features.
Delicious cabbage soup with lamb, sweet peppers, tomatoes, potatoes and, of course, with cabbage! It takes quite a lot of time to prepare this dish, but this does not mean that you have to stomp in the kitchen all day. Prepare vegetables and meat - wash, chop, arrange in bowls. Then sauté vegetables, add lamb. When the soup boils, you can go about your business for about 1.5 hours, then add potatoes and cabbage and bring to readiness for another half hour.
If you have an apple tree growing in your garden, naturally you want to get as many tasty fruits from it as possible. Often, novice gardeners believe that the more magnificent the tree, the greater the harvest will please. But it's not. In order for an apple tree to give a rich, high-quality harvest, so that the fruits are large and juicy, each of its branches must receive enough light and air. With a decrease in the amount of light on the branches up to 30 percent, fruit buds do not form on the trees.
Ferns are one of the categories that are actively gaining popularity. indoor plants. Their luxurious leaves with unique ornaments and soothing mysterious shades of green look so elegant that it is difficult to resist the beauty of ferns, even if there is no suitable place for them. Along with unpretentious ferns are becoming more common and rare, original views. And among them is a bizarre epiphyte polypodium with unusual leaves and colours.
Bigos in Belarusian - a hot dish from sauerkraut and meat, which is prepared in many countries: Germany, Poland, Lithuania, Ukraine and Belarus. Each country has its own cooking characteristics, but the basics are about the same everywhere - a mixture of sauerkraut and fresh white cabbage, pork belly and smoked meats. Bigos is cooked for a long time, but the result is worth it. You can easily get rid of the not very pleasant aroma of stewed sauerkraut by following my recommendations.
Gardeners, waking up from "winter hibernation", missed garden work, and hands are reaching for the tools. But it is important to approach the issue of pruning ornamental plants with skill. After all, it’s not for nothing that they say “measure seven times, but cut once.” Our article will help you figure out how to make the right spring “hairstyles” for plants, which of the green pets will gladly respond to a new haircut, and for which garden residents it is better to wait a little with pruning.
Cucumbers are the favorite crop of most gardeners, so they grow on our vegetable beds everywhere. But quite often, inexperienced summer residents have many questions about their cultivation and, first of all, in open field. The fact is that cucumbers are very heat-loving plants, and the agricultural technology of this crop in the zones temperate climate has its own characteristics. Everything you need to know about growing cucumbers in the open field, we will tell in this article.
May days delight with warmth and the opportunity to spend more time on the plots. But the long-awaited month of the arrival of stable heat cannot boast of balance. lunar calendar. In May, periods favorable for work only in ornamental garden or only in the garden, are quite long, and there are quite a few days suitable for any plants. The lunar calendar for May 2019 requires planning and skillful timing of planting and sowing.
snack cake- simple and delicious! This kind of cake chicken liver with vegetables and delicious sauce decorate modest family holiday or Sunday lunch. Liver pancakes, they are the cakes of our cake, are prepared very easily, the easiest way to make liver dough is in a blender. Pancakes are fried for several minutes on each side. Cream (sauce) for a snack cake is made from sour cream with mayonnaise and herbs. If you rub the dill with salt, the cream will turn into a light green color.
Despite the popularity of the popular nickname "bottle palm", it is very difficult to confuse the authentic bottle palm giophorba with its relatives. A real indoor giant and enough rare plant, gioforba - it is one of the most elite palms. She became famous not only for her special, bottle-like barrel, but also for her very difficult character. Caring for giophorba is no more difficult than for ordinary ones. indoor palm trees. But the conditions will have to be chosen.
Warm salad with funchose, beef and mushrooms - delicious dish for the lazy. Funchoza - rice or glass noodles - is one of the easiest to prepare among its pasta relatives. It is enough to pour glass noodles with boiling water and leave for a few minutes, then drain the water. Funchoza does not stick together, it does not need to be watered with oil. I advise you to cut long noodles into smaller fragments with scissors, so as not to inadvertently catch the entire portion of noodles in one sitting.
Surely, many of you have met this plant, at least as a component of some cosmetic or food products. It is disguised as different names: “jujube”, “unabi”, “jujuba”, “Chinese date”, but all this is one and the same plant. This is the name of a culture that has long been grown in China, moreover, it was grown as a medicinal one. From China, it was brought to the countries of the Mediterranean, and from there, jujube began to slowly spread throughout the world.
May chores in the ornamental garden are always associated with the need to use every free minute as productively as possible. This month, seedlings of flowers are planted and begin seasonal decoration. But neither shrubs, nor lianas, nor trees should be forgotten. Due to the imbalance of the lunar calendar this month, it is better to work with ornamental plants in early and mid-May. But the weather does not always allow you to follow the recommendations.
Why do people move out of town and buy cottages? For a variety of reasons, of course, including practical and material ones. But the main idea is still - to be closer to nature. The long-awaited summer season has already begun, we are waiting for a lot of work in the garden and garden. With this material we want to remind you and ourselves - in order for work to be a joy, you must not forget to rest. And what can be better rest on the fresh air? Only rest in the equipped corner of your own garden.
The olive family includes many species. But under the olive tree most often mean the European olive (olive). It grows in South European and South Asian countries, as well as in Africa and Australia.
OLIVE - A SYMBOL OF LONGEVITY
The culture is evergreen, with medium-sized oblong leaves. Its trunk and branches are picturesquely curved. Pleasant greyish bark. The flowers are small, white, with yellow stamens, bisexual. The fruits are oily and bitter in taste. To get rid of bitterness, they are soaked in salt water. Used to produce excellent vegetable oil or canned.
Olive trees live for 300 years or more. Therefore, they are considered a symbol of prosperity and longevity.
FOR THE WINTER GARDEN
I have always loved olives. But I thought they were too fastidious and did not dare to add to my home collection. exotic plants olive tree.
However, later I learned from flower growers that culture, on the contrary, is completely unpretentious. It grows on any, even the most infertile soils, except for acidic ones. Withstands both drought and cold snaps down to -10°. Resistant to diseases and pests. Then I fired up to get this plant. Certainly not for country garden(nevertheless, our climate is too harsh for olives), but for our small winter garden on an insulated balcony.
FRUIT ate-SOWED A BONE
You could look for seedlings in nurseries. But just at that time, a friend brought me a dozen fresh olives from Israel, and I decided to grow a tree from a stone. True, the fruits of seedlings are worse in quality than those of varietal plants. So after all, for me the main thing is not the harvest, but the decorativeness of the culture.
I cleaned the seeds from the pulp, cut them from the blunt ends with a knife and soaked for a day in a solution of caustic soda (10%). Then he poured a layer of brick chips into the container for drainage, and on top - a mixture of garden soil, humus and sand (2:2:1), to which he added another handful of ash. I washed the seeds, dried them and buried them in the substrate by 3 cm. I poured the sowing with water, covered it with glass and placed it on the windowsill.
SUN AND WATER
Every day I lifted the glass for ventilation for half an hour. If the soil dries out, moisten it. The first 2 sprouts appeared only after 2 months. By the end of the 3rd month 2 more seeds sprouted. Others never got up. Later, for some reason, 1 sprout died.
Olives are easy to care for. It is enough to put the plants near a sunny window and water moderately. In the summer it is useful to put them outside. Fertilizers should not be abused. Olives don't like it. Once a year (after 5 years - 1 time in 3 years) it is necessary to do a transplant. So that the trees are not "shaggy", they should be cut in the spring. Only if you are waiting for the harvest, consider when cutting that the fruits are formed on the shoots of last year.
HOW TO ACCELERATE THE OLIVE TREE FLOWERING?
When my seedlings grew to 50 cm, I sold 2 of them - there were more than enough people who wanted to get a home olive. Buyers were interested in how to speed up the fruiting of trees (seedlings bloom only in the 5-10th year or even later). I advised to make budding (in the butt under the bark or in the split) with eyes from varietal plants, which can be purchased in nurseries, in botanical gardens.
Grafted plants begin to bear fruit already in the 2-4th year. Experienced flower growers boast that adult olives give up to 2 kg of fruit annually at home.
GROWING AN OLIVE TREE FROM A SHAFT
Olive trees are also grown from cuttings. To do this, 2-3-year-old branches with a diameter of 2-3 cm are cut from an adult plant. They are divided into segments of 20-25 cm. The lower cut is treated with a drug that stimulates root formation, and the upper one is lubricated with garden pitch.
Then the cuttings are stuck into the wet sand at an inclination to a depth of 10-12 cm. The container with sand is covered with a film and placed in a warm (20-25 °) shaded place. Next, you need to lift the film every day for 1 hour for ventilation and, if necessary, spray the sand from the spray gun. Rooted cuttings can be planted after 2-4 months.
The olive tree belongs to the olive family. In the south of Crimea, in the Mediterranean, in the southern regions of Russia and in other regions with a mild climate, such a plant is usually grown in open ground. But in more severe conditions, it can be grown in a spacious bright room, for example, in an apartment. With proper care, table varieties trees will bear fruit regularly. Let's take a closer look at how to grow an olive tree at home.
Description
The olive tree, the photo of which will be presented in the article, is rightfully considered the most ancient evergreen tree. What does it look like? Its curved trunk is strongly thickened in the lower part, and the crown is spread quite widely. The bark of the tree is greenish gray or ash gray. The leaves are small, leathery, whole-cut, silver-gray on the underside, and matte on the top. Blossoming olive tree small yellowish white flowers, which have a very fragrant smell, and the flowering period lasts from April to June.
The fruits of the plant are olives containing a large number of useful substances . The composition of olives includes oil, which is rich in unsaturated fatty acids, which bring great benefits to the body. The mass of one fruit can reach 10 g. The olive is a long-lived tree, as some varieties live for more than 500 years.
In the wild, olive grows on rocky mountain slopes, in semi-deserts, on saline soils. Can it be grown at home? In this case, it is recommended to use dwarf varieties designed specifically for this.
olive trees
reproduction
There are three ways to grow a fruit-bearing olive tree:
- from the bone;
- vaccination;
- cuttings.
Growing an olive from a stone at home begins with the fact that seeds are extracted from fresh fruits and soaked overnight in a 10% alkali solution. After that, they are washed with warm water and dried with a paper towel. To facilitate germination, you need to file hard shell bones. It should be planted in the ground to a depth of 2-3 cm. Germination should be expected for about 3 months with optimal temperature regime+18 degrees.
How to propagate an olive tree by grafting? The olive tree sold in the store looks compact, but it has a thick trunk. Get instances like this by vaccination cuttings to sprouts that are grown from seeds. The removal of cuttings is carried out from fruit-bearing trees, so the plants obtained in this way can quickly bear fruit.
Propagation by cuttings begins with the fact that from the mother tree with the help of an oblique cut split off a few summer branches. The ends are sprayed with a growth stimulator and the stalk is lowered into the hole to a depth of 10-12 cm, so the pot is required with a depth of more than 20 cm. It is best to create the effect of a greenhouse and for this purpose the seedling is covered with a transparent jar. The rooting of the olive occurs at 4-5 weeks, when young leaves begin to appear. final formation the root system occurs after 3-4 months, after which the plant is transplanted inside a large container to a permanent place.
In order for an olive tree to grow and develop well, it must be properly looked after. Here it is necessary to adhere to certain nuances.
Lighting and temperature
Oliva loves sunlight, so young plants are recommended to be grown on the south windows. Mature trees feel good in any place that is well lit. In the warm season, the olive should be taken out into the air - to the balcony or garden. Especially the plant needs good lighting during growth and bud formation. With its lack, the tree slows down its growth.
In winter, it is necessary to arrange additional lighting for it so that its leaves do not fall off.
At home, the olive tree grows well at a temperature of 18 to 22 degrees. During wintering, it is acceptable to lower the temperature to 10-12 degrees.
Watering
When caring for an olive, it is necessary to control the soil moisture, because mature tree tolerates dryness well, but from excessive moisture, his roots begin to rot. You also need to carefully monitor young seedlings so as not to overdry the hatched shoots. A sign that an olive needs moisture is dull, withering leaves that begin to curl and fall off. In the heat, the crown should be irrigated with water from a spray bottle.
Lure
In order for the olive tree to grow and develop well, fertilizers must be applied from March until mid-summer. Best used for top dressing:
- liquid concentrated fertilizer;
- granular fertilizer for flowers.
They should be applied 2-3 times a month. It is possible to carry out foliar feeding - by spraying the leaves. Thanks to special tonics, the elasticity of the leaves is maintained and their growth is stimulated.
Diseases
The olive tree almost never gets sick and resistant to pests. If his leaves begin to fall off, then you need to pay attention to watering and, if necessary, moisten the crown. Also, to restore strength, you can make a complex mineral fertilizer.
So the olive tree is ornamental plant, which can decorate an apartment or garden plot. It's not too hard to take care of him. In order for it to grow well and bloom profusely, it is important to observe certain rules when growing it. Olive fruits are very much appreciated, as they contain a large number of various vitamins and minerals.
Olive tree care
Olive- is pertaining to olive family. Its homeland is Africa, Australia, southern parts of Europe and Asia. In the world, the olive tree is known for the fact that it is made from healthy oil, and the fruits - olives - pickle. There are many legends about its origin. Despite the fact that the olive grows only in warm countries, it can also be grown at home. It is possible to do this from a seed - a bone. However, this will not work to enjoy delicious fruits - they will be tasteless and will appear only 10 years after planting. in this way can be grown only for decorative purposes. For information on how to grow an olive tree at home, read our article.
planting material requirements
If you were already going to put in a bone from a canned olive just eaten, then we hasten to disappoint you - such planting material won't grow. You will only need seeds of fresh fruit, which can be purchased at a specialized store.
When choosing a seed planting method, you should be aware that the germination process will be quite lengthy - about two and a half months. And the germination rate in this case is quite low - for example, out of five planted seeds, only two, or even one, can sprout. Usually germination is not more than 50%.
Did you know? The ancient Greeks revered the olive as the tree of life and longevity. It was considered as such because it was almost impossible to destroy it. Even shattered by lightning, it could live for a long time. If you need to uproot a tree, then for this it is necessary to remove its roots within a radius of five meters, otherwise even from a small remnant it will grow again. In the wild, an olive grows on average for half a century.
Preparation: sprouting
To begin with, the bones should be placed in an alkaline solution (10%) for 18 hours. This is necessary in order to somewhat soften the shell, which in this state can already be pierced by hatched sprouts. After treatment, the seeds are washed and dried. They must be placed in the soil only in a completely dry form. The sharp end is cut with a knife, secateurs or filed before planting. 
You can also place the seeds for several weeks in a bowl with wet for germination. The container must be kept at warm temperature, constant humidity and with sufficient supply sunlight. This procedure can help increase the percentage of germination.
The soil
The following composition will be the best for planting olives
- river sand - two parts;
- sod land - one part;
- garden soil - one part.
If you will be using a purchased substrate, then you need to mix the growing soil (three parts) and ordinary land(one part), slightly diluting the mixture with sand.
Capacity
Olive planting container must initially be large- at least 60 cm in depth and width. A prerequisite are drainage holes that will well let in excess moisture or take it from the pan required amount liquids. The main enemy of the evergreen tree is high humidity soil, death is like its stagnation.
At the bottom of the pot, as a layer, you need to lay a layer of small or brick chips. 
Landing
Planting seeds in the prepared soil should not be too deep - at a distance of 2-3 cm.
For successful rooting and germination in the room, it is necessary to maintain the temperature at +20°C. You also need to maintain high humidity, proper lighting.
The appearance of sprouts should be expected after two to three months.
Conditions and care of the seedling
The best place to grow olives is a window sill located in the south or southwest. That is where she will do enough sunlight. If there is not enough of it, the plant will signal this to you by dropping foliage. In this case, it will be necessary to look for a brighter place for the pot or additionally install a source of artificial lighting. 
Caring for an olive tree at home is simple and no different from caring for the majority. It will consist of watering, spraying when the air is dry, pruning and transplanting.
Watering is needed regularly, as the topsoil dries up. The plant does not tolerate drought well - its foliage begins to dry out and fall off. However, the tree will react even worse to constant waterlogging - up to complete death.
Important! Watering the olive should be carried out only after a few days. tap water room temperature.
In the growing season (April to September) the tree needs to be fertilized. should be alternated with It is recommended to do this once every two weeks during the period of active growth and weekly in the spring-summer period. Starting from October, all top dressing should be stopped, otherwise it will be difficult for the plant to survive. winter period, and it will not bloom in the end. 
In summer, it is necessary to periodically wipe the olive leaves from dust. In winter, during the period when the heating is turned on, they will need to be sprayed.
In winter, the olive should be left alone - water as little as possible, do not feed and move to a cool place (+ 10-12 ° C). Only under such conditions will it be able to bloom.
When flowering has occurred, the tree must be placed in a room with a temperature of + 18-20 degrees.
A year or two after planting, the plant should be transplanted. For this, the transshipment method is used (together with an earthen clod, without opening root system). Carry out a transplant in the spring. The olive is transplanted annually until it reaches the age of five. Then the intervals between transplants should be increased to two to three years. 
Important! Soil acidity is important for olives. She prefers an alkaline substrate and cannot tolerate too acidic soils. Thus, when transplanting, peat should not be introduced into the soil.
After transplanting, as a rule, the tree grows quickly. Two or three years later, in the spring or early summer, the olive tree in the pot sheds its leaves and acquires a new one.
Sanitary pruning of dry branches should be carried out annually. You can also carry out a formative haircut - it is not difficult for the plant to recover from it. The olive tree is great for bonsai enthusiasts because it can form a variety of miniature trees from its crown. 
The lower branches and leaves should be removed regularly - so the plant will grow better.
Since this evergreen tree has rather tough foliage, it is not damaged.
