Spruce: planting and care. Planting and growing spruce seedlings: the new year is always with you

Spruce is the most beautiful and capricious tree that you can try to grow at home. After all, she requires special care. Under natural conditions, the coniferous beauty is resistant to frost and does not tolerate the warm air of home conditions at all.

In order not to buy a barbarously felled tree on New Year's Eve, you can grow it yourself. It is known that under natural conditions a tree can live for 200 years. Spruce grown at home after three years should still be transplanted into open ground. But until this time comes, you can enjoy your personal coniferous masterpiece.

In order for a tree to grow, it is necessary:

1. Landing
2. Watering and feeding
3. Temperature regime
4. Proper Care
5. Lighting

As a rule, many dream of growing a spruce on their own, but before starting this difficult task, you must be confident in your abilities. Hard work and proper care will provide you with two or three years of observing the growth of the forest beauty.

Grow coniferous beauty at home in three ways:

• seeds
• cuttings
• seedlings

Breeding spruce from seed

Under natural conditions, seeds fall out of the fruits of the tree, cones that fall to the ground in autumn. Then all winter they are under a layer of snow and only by the end of February, at the beginning of May, they begin to germinate.

At home, you can speed up this process, due to the fact that there is no snow at home, the seeds are sown in a container, at a distance of 5 - 6 cm. The sand should be wet, but the water should not stagnate, otherwise the seeds may rot. This container is placed in the refrigerator on the door or in the vegetable drawer. You can withstand it for a month, but it is best before the onset of spring.

When the day of light becomes longer and will last up to about 17 hours, the seed container must be taken out and placed on the windowsill near the battery. This will bring crops closer to natural conditions. During this period, the seeds need abundant watering, as in nature the snow begins to melt and the soil is quite wet. Those who germinate seeds for the first time need to be patient, because after 12 to 16 days there will be shoots on the window.

Young shoots should be watered so that the ground is moist. During this period, you can introduce irrigation with fertilizers. Under natural conditions, fertilizer is the humus of needles and cones.

As soon as the young seedlings get stronger, they should be transplanted into separate pots. It is best to dig up the earth in a coniferous forest, if there is none nearby, a soil substrate is purchased for growing coniferous plants.

As soon as the young shoots began to grow together, put them on the window and make sure that there is enough light. It is necessary to darken only when the direct rays of the sun fall on the plants. They can cause burns in young shoots.

Direct Sun rays deform the branches and can lead to the death of the plant

As soon as the cold passes and stable heat sets in, usually in May, small spruces can be taken out into the open air: a balcony, terrace or loggia. At the first frost, bring the trees into the house, and in winter, make sure that the plant is in a bright room with a maximum temperature of 15 degrees.

Breeding spruce cuttings

Before planting cuttings, it is necessary to prepare nutrient soil. The stalk is best cut from a tree that is 6 to 9 years old. It is necessary to take a one-year-old branch from above. Clean the tip of needles, put in a weak growth stimulator for 5-10 minutes and then transplant into the soil at an angle of 30 degrees. Cover the landing immediately with a film. Planting cuttings is done only in spring or autumn. Watering seedlings should be carried out as the soil dries. We must not forget about fertilizers.

Trees grown from cuttings take root much faster, but at home they will not stay long, and after that you will have to say goodbye to home spruce, since for its normal existence it is necessary to land on the site.

Planting coniferous seedlings

Seedlings are purchased in stores or greenhouses. It is best to buy them in spring or autumn. You will not have any worries about growing, the finished tree will delight for two to three years.

“After buying seedlings, they must be transplanted into another pot, while making sure that the roots of the plant are not exposed, and the clod of earth is whole. It is necessary to transplant to the same depth that was before.

Watering and feeding

Spruce is a capricious tree, so its care must be correct, and especially watering. The earth ball should be constantly wet. Waterlogging or dryness can lead to the death of the plant. It is necessary to water the plant with the addition of mineral fertilizer from May to September. Fertilize twice a month. When the dormant period comes from November to March, fertilizers are completely canceled.

In winter, dormancy should be special care behind the spruce, if it is at home, it is imperative to spray on the needles from a fine sprayer if there are heating devices in the room.

Watering is reduced to 2 times a month, if the regime is observed from 5 to 15 degrees. If the spruce stands in a cool room where the temperature is about 0 degrees, watering once a month will suffice.

Temperature for normal spruce growth

“Spruce loves coolness and does not tolerate warm air in winter"

AT summer periods the temperature can be different, a young tree will endure everything, but if there is stagnation of air, it will start to hurt. In summer, the room where the spruce grows must be ventilated.

In winter, it is necessary to give a dormant period to a coniferous plant, otherwise it will become exhausted and quickly die. Optimum temperature content in winter 5-15 degrees. Although the tree can easily endure the fall of the thermometer to zero and below, the main thing is to ensure that the earthen lump does not freeze.

Proper Care

Keeping everything necessary requirements according to the content of spruce at home, you can enjoy the smell of pine needles. But for those who like the forest beauty, you can grow it every year, and when the tree reaches maturity, plant it in open ground. This is necessary because the spruce root has a wedge-shaped shape during the first 15 years, and only then it dries out, leaving behind lateral branches. The deeper the root goes into the ground, the longer the spruce will grow. Unfortunately, at home we are not able to provide sufficient depth for the root.

Do not be sad, because new shoots sprout on the window, and I will decorate three-year-old beauties household plot, and will become a wonderful memory for your heirs.

Lighting

Spruce - photophilous plant, but young seedlings do not tolerate direct sunlight on the needles. But mature trees love the sun and are drawn to it. In winter, young trees must also be provided with lighting, because if it is not enough, the tree will die. During the dormant period, spruce undergoes photosynthesis processes, but at a slower pace.

If you take care of the spruce with love, then the spruce will answer you with its love and beauty.

Don't you feel sorry for throwing away the Christmas tree after the holidays? I really. For a long time I began to think about whether and how to grow a Christmas tree on my site, so that it would please us on New Year's Eve. And in summer, the forest beauty looks great on any site, in addition, it brings great benefits, cleans the air.

There are several ways to grow a Christmas tree, you can choose the most suitable for yourself. But this is not an easy task and will have to wait several years.

• growing from seed
• from a twig
• transplant from the forest

It is important that the seeds are ripe otherwise you won't succeed. Many mistakenly believe that once the cone has opened, then the seeds are ready for planting. The buds open when warm, whether the seeds are ripe or not. Nuts need to be prepared in late autumn, so as not to be mistaken. long, you need to take into account the rest mode and create conditions as close to natural as possible. Immediately you need to soak the seeds in a weak solution of potassium permanganate for half an hour, dry and send for stratification in the refrigerator for 2-3 months. At the end of April, you can start sowing. Soak nuts for quick swelling in warm water for a day and sow in a special greenhouse (you can use a box). The best soil for planting from a spruce forest. We do not bury the nuts in the ground, but lay them out and crush them from above by about 1 cm. It is best to cover the parnichek with covering material, it scatters direct sunlight. Now it remains to monitor the soil moisture and wait for seedlings. The soil should not be overdried or waterlogged. When shoots appear, they need to be thinned out. During the season, small Christmas trees need top dressing. You can feed with a solution of mullein (1 to 5).

Planting a seedling.

It is the lightest and fast way get a good varietal tree. But there is one drawback, seedlings are now expensive, so not everyone can afford it. If you nevertheless became the proud owner of a Christmas tree in a pot (you need to buy seedlings only in pots, with a closed root system), decide in advance on the planting site. Imagine that the tree will someday grow. Choose a sunny location or partial shade. The soil for the Christmas tree is slightly acidic or neutral is best. Dig a hole 70 cm deep and 50 cm wide. Drainage is definitely needed at the bottom, broken bricks or just stones will do. seedling need place in the hole at the level at which it was planted in a pot. Serious mistake when planting - deepening the root neck. Before filling the hole, add about 30% of river sand to the soil and mix. After planting, the seedling needs daily watering, sprinkling also accelerates the growth of the plant.

Growing a Christmas tree from a branch.

Saplings from spruce branches take root only in the second year. However, many gardeners use this method to grow good varietal trees. It is better to take a twig from the top of a young spruce. We only need a one-year-old cutting. We remove all the needles (5-6 cm) from its lower part and immerse them in a pink solution of potassium permanganate for half an hour. For rooting, we also need a greenhouse, it is better with heating, if this is not the case, you can arrange heating from manure, it will overheat and give off heat. Only the layer of earth on top should be at least 20 cm so that the seedlings do not burn out. The soil must be well permeable to water and air. Well suited from a spruce forest, with the addition of 30% river sand, preferably washed. We deepen the seedlings by 5-6 cm and cover well. Remember that direct sunlight is dangerous for them, so the greenhouse needs to be shaded with something until it is fully rooted. Watering and spraying should be done several times a day. After the roots appear, watering is usually reduced and shading is left only during the daytime. Thus, young plantings need to be grown for 3-4 years, only then transferred to a permanent place.

Transplanting a Christmas tree from the forest.

The advantage of this method is that you can choose a tree 3-4 years old. Minus - they do not tolerate transplantation well. Nevertheless, I took advantage of this method and did not regret it at all. Here the point is that when digging, you need to try not to damage the root, he is at the rod tree and goes quite deep into the ground. And you also need to keep as large a clod of earth as possible on the roots, then the tree will hurt less in a new place. Well, planting and care are the same as when planting a finished seedling.

Preparing for winter.

Young seedlings are not afraid only direct sunlight but also frost, so with special attention you need to consider the shelter of plants. Greenhouses can be additionally heated in winter, and if this is not possible, carefully cover them and sprinkle them well with snow on top. Young trees for the winter need to be hilled with peat and wrapped with covering material.

The benefits of spruce needles.

When you grow a spruce and understand how difficult it is, your hand is unlikely to rise to throw away the Christmas tree after the holidays, like waste material. And besides, twigs can be used to maintain your health. With the help of spruce needles, many pulmonary diseases, runny nose, tonsillitis, and kidney diseases can be cured. To relieve fatigue, pour 300 g of needles into a glass of boiling water, leave for 30 minutes, then pour the infusion into the bath. Fatigue, as if by hand, will remove and mood will improve. To strengthen the immune system, you can brew spruce needles and drink it like tea, this is especially good during the period of mass flu and SARS. You can brew together with twigs, pour about 300 g with three liters of water, boil for half an hour, leave warm for an hour. Then the broth must be filtered. You can add honey, lemon juice, jam. Choose convenient way how to grow a tree. Grow, let it give joy to you and your loved ones. Happy New Year.

many owners land plots dream of growing fluffy and beautiful. You can even decorate the site beautifully by growing a whole alley of fir trees. This is not the easiest task, it requires compliance certain rules as well as patience and time.

. Therefore, if you are wondering how to grow a spruce from a branch, first find a young and healthy spruce, no older than 8 years, from which you can take a branch. Cut them off from the top of the tree. You need to take only one-year-olds. Twigs from the middle of the tree also have a chance to take root, but it is likely that the tree will grow with a crooked crown.

Tricks of growing spruce from a branch:

• Usually the branch takes root only in the second year. But if you want the roots to go already in the year of planting, prepare cuttings in the middle of spring.
• Cut in autumn or winter, the so-called lignified cuttings are stored all winter in a cool, dark place.
• The length of the branch can vary from 10 to 25 cm.
• After the branch is cut, remove all the needles from the bottom by about 3-6 cm and put it in a weak solution of potassium permanganate.
• In order for the stalk to give roots and take root well, it is necessary to do. Well, if it is heated.
• You can easily make homemade without outside help. Drainage must be placed at the bottom to avoid stagnant moisture. Stones, broken bricks or large gravel can be used as drainage. After drainage comes soil and a layer of sand on top, better cleaned. Soil can be taken in a spruce forest or purchased at a store.
• We cover with a film so that there is a distance of no more than 30 cm between the sand and the film.
• At first, spruce needed a shadow, so we put another dark coating on top of the film, you can use burlap.
• You need to plant a branch to the depth to which you cleared it of needles.
• They are planted at a slight angle with an interval of 2 m (if you are planning an alley).
• Remember that spruce can grow very large, so do not mess with seedlings.

At first, it is necessary abundantly and every day, in the heat up to four times a day. Don't forget to loosen the soil as well. When the first roots appear, you do not need to water more than once a day. You can spray the seedlings with a mineral mixture. For the winter it is necessary to cover them or foliage.

Grow beautiful Christmas tree from seeds is more difficult than from a branch, but subject to certain recommendations, you can very well boast that you succeeded. It is not recommended to buy seeds in a store or order online, because you do not know the quality of these seeds, how much and under what conditions they were stored.

Tips for growing spruce from seeds:

• In November, choose any spruce you like: ask your neighbors for a bump, find a tree in a park or forest. The cone must be plucked from the tree, and not lifted from the ground. At home, these cones must be placed in a warm place, closer to a heater or radiator, and allowed to dry.
• When the cone releases seeds, treat them (seeds, not cones) with a weak solution of potassium permanganate, and then put them in a box with calcined sand.
• It is not necessary to dig deep, 1.5-2 cm will be enough. Put the box in the cold. It is these conditions that will be closest to natural.
• Thus, the seeds, being at rest, will accumulate useful substances and will be ready to sprout by spring. In this form, the seeds should be left for 2-4 months.
• Then the seeds will need to be put in a warm place and constantly so that they sprout. A large number of water will cause the seeds to rot, so watering should be moderate. At proper care after 2 weeks, the first shoots will appear.
• Until the moment you plant a seedling, the soil must be fertilized twice. You need to water in such a way that the soil is moist, but the water does not stand on the surface.
• When the night frosts are left behind, and it gets warmer outside, you can plant your spruce on the site. First, dig a hole and put mineral fertilizers there. There is no need to feed the spruce anymore.

At first, the seedling needs a greenhouse. To do this, cover it with a cropped plastic bottle. Do not clean such a homemade greenhouse for at least a week. But at the same time, it would be wrong to completely deprive the spruce of air flow. Therefore, periodically remove the bottle to ventilate the seedling and remove the accumulated condensate. Do this during warm weather.

Over the summer, your spruce will not grow and get strong enough to survive winter frosts. For the winter, it needs to be covered or made a greenhouse. The layer of snow should be sufficient so that the seedling does not freeze.

And now some spruce care rules that will allow you to grow a beautiful, healthy and tall tree on your site.

Spruces may well grow in the shade, as is often the case in natural conditions.

But if you want to get a fluffy tree, and not a long and stunted one, it is still better to choose a sunny place where it is warm enough, humid and not strong wind. Then the tree will grow straight and strong. An abundance of bright light is also not desirable.

Proper tree care:

1. Spruce loves moisture. It does not tolerate drought well, but it can rot from stagnant water. Therefore, the earth sometimes needs to be loosened, providing water and air access to the roots. It is not often necessary to water an adult spruce, once a week is enough, but at the same time it is necessary to pour at least 10 liters of water. It is this amount that is considered optimal in order to nourish the roots and prevent moisture stagnation.
2. Requirements for air humidity are low. Humidity tolerates calmly, as well as more arid conditions. To wash the dust and dirt, you can periodically wash the spruce with a hose. Then the needles will acquire a rich green color.
3. If for the first time you made a mistake with the place, spruce can be transplanted. It will tolerate the transplant well in the absence of bright sun and all conditions are met. But often transplanting spruce is not recommended. To do this, dig a hole in advance in the desired part of the garden, repeat the whole procedure from the beginning: lay drainage, pour soil specially selected for conifers, sand on top. Please note that the basal neck should be above the ground. This is an important condition for healthy tree growth.
4. Do not often need tree fertilizers. Spruce does not need this at all. If you wish, you can fertilize the soil near the trunk in the spring before the shoots appear.
5. Reproduction of firs is also carried out through or. If you have a special type of ornamental spruce, prefer the type of propagation by cuttings, then you can save everything decorative properties ate.
6. Spruce does not like dense soil, so you need to loosen near the trunk. Loosen with a chopper or hoe very carefully. No need to dig deep, you risk damaging the roots.
7. Follow appearance ate. Remove dried branches in time. If the tree begins to split in two, remove one top.

Spruce has many varieties: they differ not only in appearance, but also by the color of the needles. Consider the most common among them:

• Ordinary. In other words, this is our usual Russian Christmas tree, green, tall, similar to a cone. The height can be very impressive, up to 50 m. It tolerates frost, shade well and is generally unpretentious in care. Lives for more than one hundred years, reaching the highest point of growth by 150 years.
• Canadian. Beautiful spruce with a bluish tint. The height of an adult tree is 10 m. The needles are short, have a slight smell of blackcurrant. He loves the light, but is quite capable of enduring the shadow, as well as severe frosts. The trunk reaches a thickness of 4 m. It does not like high humidity, but it will survive the drought.
• Acrocon. A species of common spruce. An excellent choice for those who are looking for an interesting decoration for their site. These are small trees, usually no more than 4 m high, grow wrong bush. The needles seem to be pointing down. A special highlight is the multi-colored needles. At first it is bright green, and then it becomes very dark. The combination of both colors creates a very beautiful composition. The buds appear all over the tree, turning bright burgundy by spring.
• Inverse. The crown of this spruce resembles a weeping willow. All branches are directed downwards and seem to flow around the trunk. Height is about 6 meters. Its crown can be directed, then the tree will grow in a given direction. If you do not create any support for the trunk, the spruce will not grow at all above the level of the knee, it will spread along the ground.
• Serbian. This ornamental spruce is one of the most slender. It grows rapidly, reaches a height of 15 m. It tolerates frost well, but not an abundance of moisture in the soil. The needles are bright green, brightens towards the bottom of the trunk. Decorations are cones purple hue. It is almost impossible to meet Serbian spruce in the wild. It is easy to cut, strong winds the tree may fall because the roots go deep into the ground. In Europe, this spruce is very much loved and often used as a traditional Christmas decoration.
• Nana. This is one of the varieties of Serbian spruce. Low tree up to 3 m in height with bluish needles. It is undemanding in leaving, well transfers frosts and looks very beautifully. But it grows slowly, no more than 3 cm per year.

It has long been known that needles contain great amount vitamins, minerals, essential oils. Therefore, winter needles are often used to make homemade cosmetics. It is in winter that it absorbs all the useful substances. They make masks, lotions, take coniferous baths which is very beneficial for the skin and circulation in general.

Spruce needles are crushed, poured with boiling water and then used to make face and hair masks, creams, lotions, tonics.

It is also useful to drink such an infusion. It has a diuretic effect, removes small stones from the kidneys and urinary tract. Almost any part of spruce (cones, buds, branches, needles) can be used in the treatment of rhinitis and colds. Inhalations with a decoction of pine needles destroy microbes, facilitate breathing, relieve inflammation. Healing spruce resin ointment will help get rid of boils. Resin and wax can also be inhaled. It is very useful in bronchial diseases. They are cleaned, sputum is removed, inflammation is removed.

An infusion of cones is very useful for external and internal use. For this you need:

• Select good cones, grind, pour water and boil for at least half an hour.
• Then let it brew under the lid. The infusion is dark brown, the taste is not very pleasant, astringent. It can be used for inhalation.
• If you add lemon during boiling, this decoction can be taken orally to strengthen the immune system.
• The broth is stored in a cool no more than 3 days.

You can also take spruce branches along with young buds, pour boiling water and let it brew. If you regularly take such an infusion, you can get rid of bronchitis, sciatica, speed up recovery from pneumonia.

It is not necessary to make infusions or decoctions, you can take a few needles, rinse with water and just chew.

In addition to the pleasant coniferous smell from the mouth, vivacity will appear, immunity will be strengthened, and working capacity will increase. Remember that with peptic ulcers of the digestive system, such home remedies are prohibited. Before use, it is recommended to consult a doctor.

More information can be found in the video.

On the eve of the New Year, the question of the Christmas tree as the main symbol of the holiday is becoming more and more acute. Opponents plastic tree in the apartment they understand that a spruce cut down in the forest is not an option, because it costs a lot, but it will begin to crumble pretty soon. The most logical decision seems to be to grow and decorate a plant in a pot for the holiday - a minimum of costs, no cleaning, and not a single Christmas tree will suffer because of traditions.

Can you grow your own spruce?

As a New Year's, in principle, anyone can become, at least from a distance resembling coniferous, for example, cypress or boxwood. For those who are not looking for easy ways and strive to achieve perfection in everything, it's time to study the question of how to grow a Christmas tree at home, because it's more than real!

The biggest challenge when growing a Christmas tree at home is limited opportunities a city apartment in terms of providing the so-called dormant period for spruce. If you pay attention to the life cycle of an ordinary forest tree, it is not difficult to notice that during the year the temperature regime that it has to endure varies from hot +30 in summer to frost - 30 in winter months. Christmas trees easily tolerate such temperature fluctuations throughout the year, moreover, these conifers are perfectly adapted to them, and violation temperature regime leads only to diseases of the firs.

That is why it is better to start growing a Christmas tree in an apartment with a loggia or other cold and cool place. It is also worth being prepared that in two or three years you will have to transplant into natural conditions forests, because in nature spruces reach a height of several tens of meters, and for a tree of such dimensions, of course, neither a pot of earth nor the size of even the largest room is enough.

On average, a spruce lives about 300 years, but sometimes its age can reach up to 600 years. The oldest Christmas tree on earth this moment almost a thousand years old, and it grows in Sweden. "Old Tikko" - that's the name of the tree - lives and lives in national park Fulufjellet is revered as the oldest tree organism on the planet.

How to grow a spruce

You can grow a Christmas tree at home in several simple and affordable ways for everyone.

• From seed.

Christmas trees belong to gymnosperms and they arose much earlier than angiosperms () plants. Due to their characteristics, gymnosperms often displace other plants from the territory of growth. The most striking example of such a neighborhood is Christmas trees and birches. At first, small spruces, loving moisture and shade, grow under the crowns of birch trees, then they become taller than them, later they shade deciduous trees and acidify the soil, thereby finally destroying trees of other species.

• Plant the seeds in a pot and put it in a cold place (preferably a refrigerator) for a couple of months.

Generally Christmas trees grow and adapt to absolutely any land from swamp to rocky soil, from sand to clay, but best of all, spruce, of course, will grow on fertile black soil. It will also be important to add some soil to the pot from under the spruce under which you found the cone with seeds.

• After two months, when the seeds are ready to germinate, you should put the pot on the windowsill, which is not very hot and not too dark.

By spring, your Christmas tree will be about 5 cm in size, and in two or three years it will reach a height of half a meter and will ask to be transplanted into the garden.

• From a seedling.

If you do not have the opportunity, desire or time to grow a Christmas tree from a seed, then you can immediately purchase a spruce seedling. It will certainly be a plant in a pot with a closed root system at the age of just two or three years, that is, ready for transplanting into open ground.

spruce sapling last years It has become popular to purchase just before the New Year in order to celebrate merrily, smelling the needles of a real live Christmas tree, and in the spring to transplant it into a park or forest.

Among the ancient peoples, spruce was considered a sacred tree, they worshiped it, looked after it in every possible way and dressed it up. Having become Christians, the Europeans, however, retained a number of pagan traditions, including the decoration of the Christmas tree, only now at Christmas. And Peter I, wishing that his state was fully consistent with European canons, introduced this tradition on the territory of Russia.

Choosing this way to celebrate the New Year, indeed, you can kill at least two birds with one stone: do no harm environment, indulging in the cutting down of trees for the sake of tradition, and contribute to the normalization of the ecological situation by planting a new tree in the spring.

In order for the seedling to take root and feel good in the open field, you need to study the features of its existence before the moment it was in your hands. That is, it is better to select a tree for which you already have suitable conditions. In other words, if you, for example, want to have a Christmas tree in your yard, then you need to choose a seedling according to the conditions of your yard, and not hope that a two or three year old tree can adapt to changed conditions. This is extremely unlikely, and most likely, if the light and thermal conditions and the nature of the soil are too different, the Christmas tree will start to hurt and may even die.

If the conditions for the "birth" of the tree and those into which you transplant it almost completely coincide, then all that remains is to immerse the Christmas tree in the hole exactly to the depth at which it was in the pot, and water it in the event of a dry summer (about 10 liters of water per a week during a heat wave).

• From a branch.

Another popular way, due to its effectiveness, to grow a Christmas tree yourself is from a twig or a cutting, as professional gardeners call it.

A sprig about 20 cm long should be cut in spring or autumn from the top of a beautiful and healthy spruce, which is at least 5 years old, slightly cleaned of needles at the base and planted in the ground - in a pot at home or in a greenhouse on the street. In order for the cutting to take root, you can soak its end for half an hour in a weak solution of potassium permanganate, and only then plant it in the ground. After planting, it is better to cover the stalk with a film and maintain the soil temperature at 21-26 degrees Celsius, and keep the air temperature at least 4-7 degrees. The first days before the roots appear, you need to water the newly-made seedlings several times a day, and then reduce the amount of water as they take root and become stronger in the soil. It is important to remember that Christmas trees do not like heat and direct sunlight, but they also do not tolerate complete darkness.

How to transplant spruce from the forest

If you have a house on your own land, and you want to start admiring an adult Christmas tree as soon as possible and dance around it for the New Year, you can transplant a tree directly from the forest. The most important thing here is not to hurt root system a mature tree is already enough and, when planting, mix the soil from your site with the one where the tree was taken from.

It is best to transplant the tree in autumn or spring, giving it plenty of water and protecting it initially and, if necessary, from the scorching rays of the sun and other extreme weather events that can adversely affect an already stressed tree.

In general, conifers do not like frequent changes of their place of residence, so do not rely on the idea that for some time a Christmas tree can be kept in an apartment, then planted in open ground, and do this several times with the same tree. Sooner or later, you will have to part with your pet in favor of more natural conditions for her.

But there is also an option when not an ordinary forest tree grows at home, but a specially bred breed. On the cultivation of such specimens, you can watch the video below.

How to grow spruce at home (video)

Grow a spruce suburban area not easy, and therefore we will try to help you make this process faster and more correct. As a result, you can count on an original and very nice decoration of the site with Christmas trees in a few years.

Growing fir trees in the country can be called an elite occupation, because not many take on such painstaking work, and not many do it well. The thing is that the cultivation of these trees is different from the cultivation of others, a special approach is needed here.

Planting a Christmas tree can occur in several ways - from seeds, from cuttings and seedlings. But, since seedlings are quite expensive, not every summer resident decides to buy them. This is where the idea of ​​​​growing a Christmas tree from seeds arises, or at least try to do it.

Growing spruce from seed

Today we will tell you the process of growing these coniferous trees seeds from start to finish. The process is complex, we will not argue, but if you want to achieve a result, you will have to work a little.

Collection of spruce seeds

It is advisable not to use purchased seeds, because you never know what will be sold to you and in what condition these seeds were stored all the time before purchase. It is quite realistic that their germination will be very low. Therefore, we recommend using fresh seeds that you have collected yourself. Thus, you can not only properly prepare the material for planting, but also at the very beginning choose the seeds from the tree that you like best.

Seed material is required to be collected in the fall, around October-November. To do this, you will have to make a trip to a forest or park where these plants are available and collect cones from trees. The trophies brought home are laid out on dry newspapers near the heaters so that they have the opportunity to dry a little and release the seeds.

Preparing and planting Christmas tree seeds

Ready seeds are treated with a solution of potassium permanganate, and then placed in a pot with well-calcined sand. It is necessary to plant the seeds in the sand to a depth of 1.5 cm. Now the pot is placed on the refrigerator door in order to create more or less natural conditions for the seeds, because at about this moment the seeds in the forest lie in the cold.

Stratification seed material stimulates germination, and this has been proven many times. If you just plant the seeds in the sand, then it is far from certain that they will sprout.

After 3 months, that is, around March, the pot of seeds will need to be removed from the refrigerator and placed in a warm place, closer to the light, for example, on a window. During this period, daylight hours are gradually increasing, and therefore we can safely consider such conditions favorable.

Care of planted seeds: how to water

Now that the seeds in the pot are placed on the window and ready to sprout, they should be watered abundantly, creating them again natural conditions. It is during this period that snow melts in the forests, and therefore seeds should be given more moisture, but not overfilled. Do not forget about the heat, that is, the pots must be kept on a warm window.

After 10-15 days, the seeds should sprout, and right now it will be necessary to properly ration watering, giving exactly as much moisture as necessary to easily moisten the soil, otherwise young plantings may rot from overflow.

spruce seedling care

So, we remind you again that watering should already be moderate, only to maintain moisture, but it is also necessary to fertilize the soil, about once or twice before planting in the ground, do not forget to loosen upper layer soil. In addition, it will be necessary to treat with weak insecticides so as not to burn the plants, but also to prevent them from dying from adversity.

Landing in the ground

Growing spruce seedlings in a pot (or pots) takes place until stable warming on the street, and it will be possible to plant them in open ground at the end of May, when the period of night frosts has passed.

Before planting Christmas trees in the ground, it is necessary to prepare a hole for the seedling - pour compost there and add stimulating mineral fertilizers. This will be the first and last fertilizer for the plant, if adhered to right conditions cultivation.

After preparing the hole, we install a seedling there, cover it with earth and lightly tamp the soil after, water it and cover the seedling with a cut plastic bottle from any drink. So the images you create for the spruce the greenhouse effect, due to which the seedlings will acclimatize faster.

Do not forget that greenhouses of this type must be opened every day for ventilation and removal of condensate, and after 6-8 days the sections of the bottles can be removed altogether, and the soil around the seedlings covered with mulch.

Growing spruce at home is not an easy task, especially at first, but if you choose spruce seedlings for planting, more or less adults, then the task can become a little easier.

Growing spruce seedlings

If you want to grow spruce seedlings, it will cost you a little more in initial costs, but you will bypass the process of germinating seeds and save a little time, that is, you will get faster mature plant in the country. But remember that everything depends on agricultural technology, correct planting and conditions for further maintenance, otherwise even adult and healthy seedlings can be quickly lost.

cultivation spruce starts with planting in the ground at the right place, then only stable care follows, pruning is important, preparation for winter period.

Planting spruce in the ground

Christmas tree, like any coniferous plant, landed in the ground in early May (approximate time for planting), so that the earth was already warmed up, but the weather was not very hot. If it is generally cool outside, it is advisable to move the planting to the end of summer or the beginning of autumn.

It is necessary to plant spruces in a properly selected place (depending on the variety), in prepared pits located at a distance of at least 2-2.5 meters from each other and a depth of 50-60 cm. The bottom of the pit should be covered with broken brick drainage (15 cm will suffice). Further, the pit is 2/3 filled nutrient substrate, which consists of sand, peat, sheet and sod land in proportions 1:1:2:2. In the same mixture, add 120-150 g of nitroammophoska, and mix well with the composition.

It happens so that the root bud remains at the level of the soil, then you will have to constantly monitor its correct level (so that the bud does not expose or go under the soil). When the seedling is planted in a hole, it is watered and backfilled with a layer of peat, 5-7 cm.

Seedlings purchased in special containers are planted in the soil at the same depth as they were in the container.

Spruce cultivation and care

Young plantings must be properly watered and fed. If the weather is hot and dry outside, then each plant will need 10-12 liters of water weekly, and sprinkling of crowns will not interfere. After each watering, it is very desirable to loosen the soil in the trunk circles or mulch it.

As we said earlier, after planting, spruces do not need top dressing, however, they will react quite positively to the early spring application of Kemira-universal to the soil (about 100 g per plant).

spruce pruning

It is also necessary to take care of the crowns of trees, when in spring and autumn diseased branches, dry and broken branches are removed from them. You can also form a crown if the Christmas trees are grown for landscape design area and play an important role in it.

How to prepare plants for winter?

Spruce must be protected not only from the scorching summer rays of the sun, but also from frost in the cold period. To do this, the trunk circles are well mulched with peat, while the needles are covered with craft paper or nonwovens.

Growing from cuttings

There is another, quite popular method of growing fir trees in a summer cottage - from cuttings. But here, as in other methods, it will be necessary to observe some special conditions in order to get a beautiful, strong and healthy plant.

Cuttings are most often planted almost immediately after cutting, and the cut is made in spring and autumn. Sometimes even summer ones give positive results. Cuttings from Christmas trees 5-8 years old take root perfectly, from which annual shoots are cut.

Shoots should be used from the top of the crown, cut off only 15-25 cm of the plant, clean the needles at the end of the cutting (3-5 cm) and plant in a greenhouse. It is advisable to use a greenhouse with fogging installations, but you can work in a standard greenhouse.

The cutting is planted in a prepared hole: drainage 4-5 cm, 10 cm nutrient soil, 5 cm of sand (all layers). Next, the seedling is prepared by treatment with growth stimulants or a weak solution of potassium permanganate, planted in ready composition to a depth of 3-5 cm, always at an angle of 30 °. Planting interval - 10 cm. Immediately after planting, plants are watered and covered with a film, the height of which should be no more than 30 cm from the top layer of soil (in our case, sand). The temperature of the soil in the greenhouse should be at the level of +21+27°С, and the air temperature should be 4-7° lower. Pretty good if the greenhouse has soil heating.

In spring and summer, daily watering occurs, in hot weather up to several times a day. It is necessary to water from a watering can, until the soil is slightly moist. All this time, the plants must be shaded; at the end of August, the shade can be removed.

Growing spruce at home (whatever method you choose) is a process that is somewhat complicated, and therefore we recommend that you start this activity only if you are fully prepared for such difficulties.

Growing spruces in a nursery: an interesting way to plant (video)

Growing Canadian Spruce, Blue Spruce, or Hardy Prickly Spruce is always exciting, but not easy. As you can see, you need to take care of the plant almost every day in order to get the expected result. If you are ready for this, you can safely proceed by choosing the most suitable method of growing for yourself. Give the plant your love and care, and it will surely repay you with the beauty and aroma of magnificent needles.