Spruce at home. They gave a live Christmas tree in a pot, what to do

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Spruce belongs to the pine family. It grows in Asia, America and Europe. At home, growing a Christmas tree is not so easy, as it needs careful care. The most common species that are grown at home in a pot are spruce and silver spruce. In addition to these varieties, you can still grow araucaria (indoor spruce). Araucaria can be grown at home in a pot all year round if the tree is properly cared for.

Content Rules

Lighting

In order to grow a Christmas tree at home in a pot, you need to properly care for it. The tree loves bright lighting. It is necessary to grow young specimens in a bright and warm place, while the pot of spruce should be protected from the sun's rays. Otherwise, it may negatively affect the further cultivation of the tree.

Temperature

In the cold season, spruces need coolness. This season temperature regime should fluctuate from +6 to +10 °С. Forest beauty can quite easily endure negative temperature, only in this case it is required to monitor the soil clod so that it does not freeze.

Watering mode

To grow a Christmas tree in a pot, you need to provide it with competent care. Watering is the main component in the cultivation of forest beauty. The tree should be watered abundantly from March to September.

The soil must not be excessively wet or too dry. In winter, the frequency of watering is reduced to 1 time in 20 days, if the temperature in the room is +6 - +10 ° С. At a temperature of 0 degrees, the Christmas tree is moistened once a month. Professionals advise spraying the tree from time to time, especially during the cold season.

top dressing

Spruce does not need regular feeding. In summer, spruce is fertilized only about three times with universal dressings.

earth substrate

If you want to grow spruce from seeds, then you need acidic soil for this. You can buy earth mix for coniferous plants or cook it yourself at home. It is required to take universal soil and soil from coniferous forest in the same proportions, and mix it all.

Transfer

The spruce tree tolerates a transplant quite painfully. It is recommended not to disturb the earthen ball and prevent the roots from being exposed. You need to replant the Christmas tree 2 times a year around May.

reproduction

To grow a Christmas tree at home in a seed pot, you need to take seeds from cones that are harvested from mid-autumn until the end of winter. At home, seeds are sown no deeper than half a centimeter. During the rooting period of seedlings, the container should be placed in a well-ventilated room.

Saplings that are one year old grow from 15 to 25 centimeters, it all depends on the type and conditions.

Most Common Problems

In order to grow a Christmas tree at home in a pot, you should adhere to competent care, otherwise there may be problems during cultivation.

1. The needles turn yellow and fall off. This usually happens with improper care ( sunburn, low or high temperature, incorrect watering.) Affected branches cannot be restored. You can only make changes to the conditions of detention and use drugs that increase the immunity of plants. Funds are purchased in special stores.
2. The needles wrinkled. This indicates that the earth is not completely oxidized. IN upper layer soil should add soil from under coniferous plants. You should not expose the roots of the tree, and the level of the soil should not be changed.

If you follow all the above tips on how to properly grow a Christmas tree at home in a pot, then you can get a beautiful and lush spruce without much difficulty.

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 of a plastic tree in an apartment understand that 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, in principle, any plant can become, at least from a distance resembling a conifer, 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 difficulty that arises when growing a Christmas tree at home is the limited possibilities of a city apartment in terms of providing a 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 coniferous trees are perfectly adapted to them, and violation of the temperature regime only leads to diseases of the fir trees.

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 the tree will have to be transplanted into the natural conditions of the forest, because in nature, spruce trees 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 rooms.

On average, a spruce lives about 300 years, but sometimes its age can reach up to 600 years. most old Christmas tree on the ground 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.

By growing your own tree from a seed, you are guaranteed not to break the law (after all, in some regions of the country it is forbidden to dig up trees in the forest) and you will receive a Christmas tree, almost from birth adapted to a new place of residence in your house.

What you need to do to grow a tree "from scratch":

• Gather a few mature opened in vivo cones of the spruce breed you need.

In autumn, somewhere in October, you need to go to the nearest park or woodland and look under the trees for opened cones with seeds in them. If you bring home a closed bud, it will also open, but the seeds in it may not be fully ripe.

Christmas trees belong to gymnosperms and they arose much earlier than angiosperms (flowering) 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 humidity and shade, grow under the crowns of birches, 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.

At all 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 by indulging in the felling of trees for the sake of tradition, and to contribute to the normalization environmental 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 damage the root system of an already mature enough tree 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)

• Type: coniferous
• Flowering period: May, June
• Height: 30-35m
• Green color
• perennial
• hibernates
• Shade-loving
• drought tolerant

Green spaces in a suburban area - this is fresh air, and natural decor, and a great functional tool for building landscape design. Perfectly in any climatic zone of Russia, coniferous forest dwellers take root, among which are slender Christmas trees with lush, dense needles. It is no secret that the aroma of resin is useful for both people and plants, so everyone who cares about their health should definitely plant spruces. Let's take a closer look at how to grow a spruce and use it to decorate a garden plot.

• Spruce in landscape design
• Buying a seedling from a nursery
• Growing trees from seeds
• Transplanting a forest tree
• How to plant a spruce?

Spruce in landscape design

To get started, we invite you to watch the video - perhaps you will find the answers to your questions in it:

Let's start with the fact that all kinds of spruce varieties are an excellent material for shaping a style. suburban area, which is why when choosing planting material, you should pay attention to coniferous varieties.

Thanks to thick beautiful crown, the shape of which can be adjusted depending on the goals, high and low spruces are successfully used to compose compositions such as:

• rockeries;
• hedges;
• topiary;
• single and group landings.

The combination of low coniferous plants with neatly formed crowns, stone and decor made of natural materials suitable for decorating the territory in both regular and natural style, therefore rockeries with spruce as a key element are very popular.

Rockeries are also good because they require small investments with the maximum aesthetic effect: almost all plants can be grown with your own hands, and stones can be found right on the territory of the dacha, brought from the river bank or from a quarry

A live spruce hedge is a great fencing element that can be planted along the perimeter or between two different functional areas. Tall, densely planted trees will completely replace the fence, and miniature ornamental plants decorate the territory and create a natural natural atmosphere.

In this case, low, but planted trees close to each other carry a more decorative than functional load - they separate the rockery zone from the rest of the territory

Having a small Christmas tree in the country, you can practice the art of topiary - create from a lush spruce crown geometric figure, spiral or other simple 3D object. This is where one of the properties of coniferous plants comes in handy - slow growth (3-5 cm per year).

It is better to start comprehending the basics of topiary with the least complex shapes - a cube, pyramid or ball, and then move on to more complex configurations, for example, spirals

Against the background of brick and wooden buildings and fences, groups of rarely planted fir trees of various heights look beautiful, and a single tall Christmas tree can become the center of a recreation area or an excellent background partner for a gazebo (bench, garden decor).

Many specially plant spruce to celebrate the New Year and Christmas in nature. Holiday held on fresh air, more interesting and more fun than a banal family feast, and the process of decorating a tree with garlands and toys is a real magical ritual that children will remember for a lifetime

Ways to acquire or propagate spruce

If you have chosen spruce as one of the plants to decorate your site and have even decided on a variety, you need to think about where you will take it. Most easy way- buy a ready-made seedling in a nursery, but many do not look for easy ways and try to grow trees on their own, from seeds or twigs. There are those who consider the most hardy and strong specimens taken in the natural environment, that is, dug out in the forest.

Consider the nuances of each of the methods and consider in more detail the features of spruce reproduction.

Buying a seedling from a nursery

If you already have a ready-made design project, and only a few coniferous trees are not enough for its implementation, you can quickly buy seedlings in a nursery. This is also true if you need some rare, exotic variety, which is difficult or time consuming to grow on your own.

Coniferous seedlings, like other plants, are sold in pots of various sizes, depending on the size of the plant. When planting a Christmas tree in the ground, you should completely preserve the lump of "native soil", so the tree will take root better and faster.

When choosing a spruce tree in a nursery, consult a specialist on the main growing factors that relate to the size of an adult tree, its winter hardiness and endurance, lighting conditions, watering regimen, etc.

When buying a seedling, pay attention to its viability, which is easy to determine by the following features:

• fresh, shiny, partially crumbled needles;
• tender growth shoots at the tips of the branches;
• natural, not deformed form of branches and trunk;
• the needles are not affected by a rusty or whitish coating;
• when lightly pressed, the twigs bend, but do not break.

Too small a pot indicates that the spruce was dug up specifically for sale and its root system was disturbed.

Growing trees from seeds

If you have enough time for gardening, you can take up growing different varieties ate from seed. The best species are those that grow in your area. The ripening time of the cones depends on the climate, but for reproduction it is recommended to collect late autumn.

Cones are stored in a cool, dry place, protected from wind and direct sunlight. About 2.5-3 months before sowing, seeds are taken out (they are also called nuts) and subjected to stratification to increase germination.

To prepare the seedlings, the seeds are kept for a day in clean water, previously soaked for half an hour in a weak (0.5%) solution of manganese. Then they are immersed in containers filled with wet sand and stored until sowing in the cold - snow or refrigerator.

Sowing is carried out in mid-April, and it is better to use a greenhouse with sawdust for this. Sandy loam soil is covered with a thin layer (1.5-2 cm) of sawdust, seeds are laid on it, sprinkled with the same layer of coniferous sawdust on top - they create conditions close to natural, but more comfortable for growth

If you decide to plant seeds in open ground, you will have to arrange additional protection. It can be a frame made of rods, protecting from harsh winds, and a layer of cotton fabric.

In August, a kind of protection is removed, and instead a shelter is made from a thick layer of dry leaves. Boxes are sometimes used instead of open ground, but the growing conditions remain the same.

After 2, less often after 3 years, the seedlings are planted in the ground with an interval of 40-50 cm. Before planting, too long or damaged roots must be removed, and the remaining ones should be placed in a humus solution for a short time.

A special care regimen will be required: moderately moist soil (in the heat - additional watering) and 3-time summer top dressing. As a fertilizer, mullein or a 0.1% hydroponic solution diluted with water is suitable.

The growth of seedlings lasts another 3-4 years. All this time they need to be loosened, fertilized, watered about 1 time per week. Mandatory top dressing is carried out in the spring, before the swelling of the kidneys begins. Suitable mineral nutrient mixture:

• manure - 450-500 g;
• potassium nitrate - 10-15 g;
• superphosphate - 25-30 g.

Everything is thoroughly mixed, distributed in the soil around the seedlings, carefully dug to a shallow depth (8-10 cm) and watered so that the fertilizer is absorbed into the soil.

After 6-7 years, you will receive Christmas trees ready for planting on permanent place. They, as usual, are planted in early spring, keeping the root ball of the earth.

How to grow a Christmas tree from a branch (cutting)

For propagation of decorative species, cuttings are used. Twigs cut at the beginning of spring (in April) can take root in the same year, later ones - only on next year. Many people prefer cuttings in August, when the shoots finish growing and begin to woody, but there is also a winter method that is successfully used for all conifers, including spruces.

We bring to your attention a master class on winter cuttings spruce, which consists in the home rooting of seedlings with the possibility of further spring planting in the ground. Via garden shears or cut the secateurs required amount side branches. From the end of the cut, a "heel" should be preserved - a piece of last year's wood. The large "heel" will have to be cut off so that there is no decay of the wood.

The needles from the bottom, close to the “heel”, are carefully cut with a knife, as they are not needed and will interfere with the development of future roots

Many species of coniferous trees do well without additional stimulants, however, spruce is capricious in this regard and requires, especially in winter period, special relationship.

The treated branches are placed in a vessel half-filled with Epin's solution (4-6 drops per 200 ml of water), and kept for 12-14 hours

Sphagnum moss, which perfectly absorbs moisture, will serve as a material for storing cuttings.

While the cuttings are gaining strength in Epin's solution, we are preparing a protective "shirt" for them - we soak dry sphagnum in clean water

We take the film and lay it out with a ribbon on the table. We distribute moisture-saturated sphagnum along the tape - it will play the role of a substrate for growing spruce cuttings.

We lay out the cuttings on the prepared base in the following order: first, we dip each branch in a stimulating powder (for example, Kornevin), then place the lower part on a ribbon with moss

We fold the film in half so that the roots are pressed against the sphagnum and wrapped in a film, and the tops of the cuttings are free.

We roll the film with the distributed cuttings neatly into a roll so that it is dense enough, but not cramped for the development of roots.

It turned out a kind of bouquet - in this form they will be stored coniferous cuttings before spring landing in the ground. To prevent the film from untwisting, it must be tied with twine or pulled off with an elastic band.

The place for storing cuttings should be bright and cool - a pantry or a veranda. If in the country wooden windows with double frames, cuttings can be placed between panes or hung from the side, sheltered from direct sunlight

Winter cuttings are good because by the period spring plantings small roots are already appearing.

Rooted branches in April can be planted in the garden - not in a permanent place, but in a pot or box for growing. The ideal option is a well-lit, ventilated greenhouse

In two years, the seedlings will finally take root and get stronger, then it will be possible to plant them in open ground, at a permanent place of growth.

Transplanting a forest tree

A trip to the forest for spruce will end safely if you remember a few simple rules:

• dig up a tree in autumn or spring, when the soil is soft and moist enough;
• if you transplant spruce in the summer, try to keep the root ball of the earth;
• for transplantation, a specimen no higher than 1 m is suitable, a maximum of 1.5 m; the larger the tree, the longer its roots and the higher the likelihood that you will damage them;
• more lush and strong Christmas trees grow along the edges of the forest, in the outskirts, away from dense thickets.

It is important to properly dig the spruce. Dig a circle around the trunk the same diameter as the circle formed by the lowest branches. The depth of the groove is about half a meter. Carefully remove the tree from the soil, trying to keep the soil on the roots. Put it on a piece of thick cloth, wrap it around and fix the resulting bundle on a wheelbarrow. Grab a couple of buckets of "native" soil so that the Christmas tree takes root faster in new conditions.

Don't forget one important nuance- before digging, be sure to mark the cardinal points, north and south, on the branches in order to plant a tree, focusing on them

How to plant a spruce?

Trees dug in the forest and purchased seedlings have general rules landing. There are two periods when spruce takes root better - early spring and late autumn (before the onset of cold weather). Some varieties, such as blue spruce, are preferable to plant in the spring, so before you decide to plant a spruce, check the planting features of the variety you have purchased.

Choose a site that is most suitable for the growth of coniferous trees - lit by the sun or slightly shaded. Take care of drainage in advance, because spruces growing in wetlands do not develop well and lose their needles. The ideal place for planting is a sunny spot with low-lying groundwater and fertile, humus-rich soil.

Low decorative fir trees feel great inside flower arrangements and rocky gardens, on well-lit Alpine rollercoaster and in rockeries

The order of planting spruce is as follows:

• We dig a hole 50-60 cm deep, 60 cm in diameter on the surface and 30-35 cm in the lower part.
• We arrange drainage from a 20-centimeter layer of a mixture of sand and crushed stone (or gravel).
• From the excavated soil, sand, peat and humus (in equal parts), we prepare the soil mixture. Add 100-150 g of nitroammophoska to it.
• Partially filling the hole soil mixture, moisturize.
• Place the root ball of the seedling in the hole.
• We fill the free places with the remaining soil, level.

We carry out peat mulching around the root neck, which is located at the level of the soil surface. Additional application of peat will warm the roots and retain moisture.

Wood or peat mulching is also aesthetically pleasing, and adding elements such as oak bark to the topsoil prevents weeds

In addition to planting, spruce care is also important, so consider the rules for pruning, watering and protecting against diseases.

Features of caring for conifers

Spruce needs to be watered depending on the growing season, age and size, but in any case, the soil around the tree should always be slightly moist. This can be checked by squeezing a clod of earth in your hand. If it crumbles, it's time to water. Watering should be done carefully, distributing water around the entire root ball. The average water consumption for a 2-meter tree is 10 liters once a week.

Small seedlings require a special regimen - several times a day in small portions, since the roots are at the very surface and dry out quickly. In addition to watering, do not forget about spraying, after which the spruce will sparkle in the sun with clean, shiny needles.

If you do not permanently live in the country, choose drought-resistant species for planting, such as blue spruce. In the hot season, it is enough to water it once every one and a half to two weeks.

Although spruce is considered a slow growing tree, it needs pruning from time to time. Preventive pruning is carried out once a year, in early spring, until new shoots begin to grow. It is also called sanitary, as it is mainly diseased or dry branches that are removed. Light thinning benefits the whole tree - the sun's rays penetrate deep into the dense crown.

Decorative pruning, on the contrary, is carried out in the middle of summer, after the end of the growth of new shoots. Sometimes the top is cut down if the tree needs to grow in width and not in height. The work is carried out with a sharp tool, and the cut places are treated with a special solution - potassium permanganate and garden pitch.

To remove thick dry branches, hand and rod saws are used, smaller branches - a garden pruner, and for decorative haircut– special garden shears

Often Christmas trees and others conifers diseases threaten. The most common are fungal infections, leading to shedding of the crown and even death. They need to be dealt with in a variety of ways.

First you need to remove the damaged needles and diseased branches, then saturate the soil with Kornevin and treat the tree with Immunocytophyte, Amulet, Zircon or any other drug that increases immunity. Some diseases, such as root sponge or variegated rot, cannot be treated, so the tree must be cut down, the stump uprooted, and the surrounding soil carefully treated with fungicides.

Signs of the Schutte disease are the appearance of red spots on the branches, yellowed and crumbling needles. Schutte is treated with Skor, Strobi, Falcon, Quadris, starting from May until the end of summer

And at the end - a few tips from a professional about choosing and growing various ornamental varieties.

Spruce is a coniferous plant that plays the role of a classic decoration of the territory. Blue spruce is one of the endangered species, therefore it is listed in the Red Book. This factor affects the cost of needle seedlings. But why spend money on buying young trees if you can grow them yourself? How to grow spruce from seeds, we will try to understand together, because in addition to saving money, the gardener gets a healthy plant adapted to the environment.

Owners of country estates massively buy blue spruce cuttings for further cultivation, even despite the high cost. This is because not everyone has an idea of ​​​​how to grow spruce from seeds, but you will know for sure.

Features of blue needles

The main difference between conifers of this species is the color of the needles. When growing spruce at home from seeds, it is possible to obtain a tree with 30% of thorns painted in noble blue, the rest acquire a classic green tint. Therefore, many are interested in the question: "How to grow spruce from seeds at home and get a quality seedling?"

How to get a quality seedling when growing at home?

There are three ways to propagate spruces:

• vaccination;
• cutting method;
• growing from seed.

Cutting method: features

This is the easiest way to grow a new conifer. Planting material is rooted in a greenhouse, since open ground has a negative effect on still immature coniferous plants. So, planting spruce begins with the selection of cuttings. Winter cuttings are best suited, which give results up to 4 times faster. The most favorable period for rooting is considered the moment of swelling of the kidneys. The main thing when propagating spruce is not to forget about maintaining the temperature regime and the required level of moisture.

Blue spruce, grown in this way, after 5 years reaches 1 meter in height. At this point, the tree can be transplanted to a permanent place of growth.

Growing needles from seeds

How to grow spruce from seeds? This process is painstaking and time consuming, and the result depends on the selection of material and how high quality it was.

Seed collection

To grow any plant with your own hands, you need a selected planting material, which is better not to buy, but to get it yourself. For growing spruce seedlings, seeds obtained from the fruits of a coniferous plant - cones are used. Collection of cones is carried out in mid-February. This is the perfect time to collect valuable spruce seeds. Cones are placed in a fabric bag and placed next to a heater or fireplace, which contributes to quick opening and free access to grains. After a few weeks, you will be able to get the seeds out without damaging them. After the cones open, the spruce seeds in the bag are rubbed together to remove the lionfish. Washing under running water will get rid of the greasy film formed due to the release of essential oils. At the final stage of preparation, the planting material is well dried.

To provide full protection seeds from bacteria, they are washed with a weak solution of potassium permanganate, and then wiped with a tissue patch. Prepared seeds are placed in a glass jar, which, tightly closed, is placed in the refrigerator. The conditions in the freezer are as close as possible to natural (during the cold season), where the seeds are kept until mid-March.

How to grow spruce from seeds yourself? It is very important to get good planting material, which, however, can be bought on the market if necessary. The main thing is to know a good manufacturer.

preparing the ground

To blue spruce grew healthy from seeds at home, it is recommended to prepare the site before sowing specimens.

Important! Do not sow blue spruce seeds in areas where you grow vegetable crops- they do not take root in the beds and quickly die.

The optimal growing medium is the ground from under lawn grass mixed with soil taken from under a coniferous tree. Growing in greenhouses involves two planting methods:

• straight into the ground
• into an additional container.

When planting seeds in pots, do not forget to prepare a peat mixture with the addition of limestone flour and ammophoska in a ratio of 6: 0.035: 0.020 kg. The mixture is scattered in containers in which spruce is planted. The pots themselves are buried deep into the earth embankment in the greenhouse.

Important! Choosing the first method of planting, an additional top layer is poured over the soil layer - from sawdust and peat.

Planting seeds

First, determine the most favorable date for planting spruce. The seedling will feel comfortable in nature if ambient temperature will be in the region of + 19o C (+ -1-2 o C).

Important! After changing the temperature regime (i.e. after the refrigerator), they can only be stored for 50 hours.

Before landing, the planting material is treated with a solution of foundationol: 20 g per 10 liters of water.

Planting spruce is carried out in well-moistened soil. If spruce will be grown in greenhouse conditions, then the containers are deepened into the ground by 1.5 cm, and a film is pulled on top. If on open ground, they first tamp the earth in the hole, after which they put the seeds, covering them on top with a peat mixture and a thin layer of sawdust (about 1 cm).

Important! The distance between individual seeds should be at least 3.5-6 cm.

seed germination

The first shoots can be observed after 10-14 days. If spruce seedlings are placed close to each other, there is a need to thin them out. Of the entire range of plants, only the strongest specimens are left, keeping the distance between them up to 7.5 cm.

When immature seedlings move to the active growth phase, it is necessary to maintain optimal conditions cultivation of needles, which are as follows:

• cancel watering and put into practice light spraying of seedlings with water - 2 times a day;
• maintain temperature: minimum temperature- +13o C, maximum - +15o C.

Important! Remember that night frosts and direct sunlight during the day adversely affect fragile young needles.

A month later, a seedling of a young blue spruce reaches a height of 3-4 cm. Experts note that indirect scattered sunlight has a good effect on the growth rates of specimens. Since small needles are resistant to diseases that affect plants, namely root rot, there is a need for special protection: first, a fungicide will be required, then treatment with an insecticide solution.

Plant transplant

You already know how to grow spruce seedlings from seeds, but it is impossible to do this qualitatively without replanting annual plants. The procedure is carried out in early spring. After the seedlings have reached the required level, it is important to plant the specimens you have bred so as not to lose the plants.

Before transplanting, pits are prepared, which are rammed and sprinkled with a layer of earthen mixture from under a coniferous plant.

How to carry out a transplant?

Small Christmas trees are dug out of the ground, separating the roots of individual specimens woven together. This work must be carried out quickly, but carefully so as not to damage the root system and prevent it from drying out.

Blue spruce, grown from seeds at home, requires special care. Often these are standard rules.

Interesting! By the third year of growth, less than half of the seedlings survive.

Three years after sowing the seeds, the plants are re-transplanted. This is done to provide enough space for the roots of spruce. During this period, Christmas trees are seated at a distance of 1 m from each other.

Are you wondering how much spruce grows from seed? And we have an answer to this question. After 5 years, you will have a full-fledged spruce, exceeding a height of 1 meter.

Such a bluish-green beauty will become a real decoration of the garden or successfully complement landscape composition. Growing plants with your own hands is quite difficult, but due to the amusing process and in the case positive result when it turns out that the efforts were not in vain, you will certainly be proud of your Christmas tree.

The winter holidays are coming.

And, of course, not a single New Year is complete without the forest beauty of spruce, which brings all children into indescribable delight, and helps adults return for a few days to a distant country of childhood, where a fairy tale lives and the most cherished desires come true.

Shortly before the New Year, cut down Christmas trees appear on sale, but after installing a coniferous tree at home, after a week it begins to crumble, even if it is standing in a bucket of wet sand.

And the holidays last much longer and I want the Christmas tree to please us all this time.

This is indeed possible if you buy live Christmas tree in a pot with soil. In Europe, such Christmas trees have long become popular, although they are more expensive than cut ones. Here are some tips on how to care for your potted Christmas tree so that it feels comfortable in your home.

Before you finally install the spruce in the room, you need to gradually accustom it to home warmth. To do this, hold it for several days in a cold garage or on a glazed loggia. But just put the pot on a wooden plank, and not on cement.

And in case of frost, it is advisable to wrap the pot with something warm, because. the ground can freeze along with the roots. It is warm in the ground in winter, and in a small pot it can freeze.

When you bring the tree into the room, place it away from the heaters. It is advisable to put an electric air humidifier in the room, or at least a vessel with water, because. coniferous beauty needs moist air.

You can decorate the Christmas tree only with the lightest New Year's toys.

Water the Christmas tree in a pot moderately, as the soil dries up (about 2 times a week), avoiding either drying out or waterlogging of the substrate.

It is also necessary to regularly spray the Christmas tree. Water for spraying and irrigation is better to use thawed or at least separated, room temperature.

But even in such conditions, it is not advisable to keep the Christmas tree in the room for more than 3 weeks, because. most of all, the coniferous beauty suffers from dry air. Unfortunately, as much as we would like, the Christmas tree cannot become a houseplant.

It requires cooler light conditions and moist, fresh air to grow.

You can, of course, try to settle it on a glazed loggia, only if you do not have a sunny side. But still, there is no guarantee that she will take root there. It is better to plant a Christmas tree in the ground on a frost-free day, for example, in the country or in the yard (if you have your own private house).

When you plant in the ground, do not deepen much - you need to leave root collar at the same level as in the pot. When planting, in no case do not disturb the earthen clod, they ate and so poorly tolerate the transplant.

But if you still want to decorate your own Christmas tree every New Year, you can purchase one of the conifers that are easiest to adapt at home.

Such plants are: cypress, thuja, araucaria and some others. As a Christmas tree, give preference to araucaria, as it comes from the subtropics and also looks more like a Christmas tree.

In any case, it is up to you to decide which tree will decorate your house on New Year's Eve.

More on the topic

Comments

Irina 01/26/2017 11:33

Quoting Olga:

How to care for a live Christmas tree in a pot, where to store, how to transplant, where to transplant and is it worth it.

Last year we were presented with a live Christmas tree in a pot for the New Year. The Christmas tree was somewhere around 40 cm. The pot was small, but the roots were not visible, and the Christmas tree was wrapped around a New Year's garland on batteries. They carried her, and she shimmered all over.

I did not think to transplant it, since there is a lot of warning negative information on the Internet. And I didn't have time to take care of her. But, having stood on my windowsill in the kitchen for 10 days, she released young light green shoots. To be honest, I didn’t know what to do with it, I watered it a little, but the pot was so small that the water immediately flowed out and maybe that’s why it began to turn yellow at the ends of the shoots, however, the sun was shining directly on it through the window. Deciding that it was still not a houseplant, but an outdoor plant, I took it out to the balcony and sprinkled the pot with snow.

Our winter was warm, when it snowed, I sprinkled the Christmas tree with new snow, then the snow melted and by itself slightly moistened the ground under the Christmas tree. Spring has come. As it turned out, the balcony is not the place where Christmas trees can grow. I have a balcony facing east in the afternoon spring sun singes young needles, watering is also a problem, well, it’s reluctant to go out onto the balcony in early spring and garden, besides, the pot is just a child’s one for such a Christmas tree. And in the spring, at the end of March, I gave the Christmas tree to a private house. She was taken out of the pot and dropped off next to the house. And, oh miracle! The Christmas tree has begun, and now it has been standing in this place for almost a year. That is, it was planted last spring in March 2015, and now it is January 2016. She grew 7 cm. Here is our tree.

Fortunately, unexpectedly for myself, I managed to fulfill all the conditions for caring for a Christmas tree in a pot.

Recommendations for choosing and caring for a Christmas tree in a container, tub or pot

• You need to buy in a reliable garden center or store. Because, Christmas trees grow right in pots or tubs, so they root system is formed in a limited space of the pot and, when transplanted, an earthen ball with all roots retains its integrity.
• A growing Christmas tree can be kept warm in the house for no more than 2 weeks.
• Moderate watering, without drying out or flooding.
• After 10-14 days, the forest beauty should be taken out to the balcony, terrace or courtyard, and the pot and part of the branches should be covered with snow, the most reliable covering material of all time.

• Trees are planted in acidic soil.
• Planted, not deeper than the root neck.
• When planting, consider the orientation of the Christmas tree.

Our Christmas tree was planted like this:

They dug a hole for the green guest much more than the actual earthen clod of a potted Christmas tree, expanded clay and broken bricks were poured into the bottom of the hole (do not forget that they grow on rocky soil), then they mixed fertilizer for conifers (bought in the garden center) with the ground and sprinkled on top broken brick. Then the Christmas tree was carefully removed from the pot and placed in the hole.

And when digging in, they bothered not to fill it with earth above its root neck. In other words, they buried it exactly to the same depth along the stem as how deep it was buried in the pot.

The only mistake that the new owner of the green treasure made was the orientation of the tree in space. He said that he “changed the orientation of the Christmas tree” :). Turns out fir trees have more fluffy needles with south side , and this fact must also be taken into account when landing. But our Christmas tree was not offended and began to grow with its fluffy side to the east. Such a smart one.

Keeping a green guest until spring on the balcony will incredibly decorate the balcony, you can continue to decorate the Christmas tree on the street.

The story of one New Year Living Tree

But I found this story of a Christmas tree in a pot on cybergooch.com

Recommendations from a professional florist on how to care for a Christmas tree and other conifers bought in pots from a store.

What do you need to know about trees?

Before you start planting seeds, you should learn a few interesting facts about this plant. I will say right away that growing spruce at home is given oh how difficult! The thing is that this plant does not like heat too much, fir trees prefer frosty air, especially in winter. It is very important that your home has a place where the temperature does not rise above 10 degrees in winter. And if there is none, then it is worth refusing to plant a spruce, and no special care won't help here.

When planning to grow spruce from seed, make sure the tree's seeds are fully mature. It is a mistake to believe that if the cone has opened, then the seeds are 100% ripe - even immature ones open in heat. It is better to collect spruce seeds from the cones of the current year's harvest, preferably in late autumn before the first frost.

For growing spruce from a twig, only the top is suitable. Of course, you can also try to root a side branch, but then, most likely, the tree, when it grows up, will be a little “stubby” on one side.

Planting spruce from seeds

It is recommended to plant spruce seeds by the end of April, but these seeds must first be prepared. To do this, we remove them from the cone, inspect externally in order to reject the damaged ones. good seeds soak in a slightly pinkish solution of potassium permanganate for half an hour, then dry them before germination. To "deceive" the seeds, put them in the refrigerator until spring.

We remove the future Christmas trees from the refrigerator, and soak them in cold water for a day. Planting seeds is best done in the "native" soil from a coniferous forest. We do not deepen the seeds, but simply put them on top of the black soil, slightly crushing them with soil from above. We protect the tray with seeds from direct sunlight. A month after the emergence of seedlings, they can be carefully dived into separate pots. The first year it is recommended to add a weak solution of mullein to the water as a mineral fertilizer when irrigating.

Planting spruce from the top

For this method, we need a one-year shoot from the top of the spruce. We carefully cut it off, from the bottom we remove all the needles by 5-6 centimeters. The cleaned part of the branch should be placed in a weak solution of potassium permanganate for half an hour. For rooting young plant it is recommended to plant it in the spring in a greenhouse or an improvised film greenhouse. The ideal soil mixture for these purposes is ordinary earth collected in coniferous forest, one third diluted with washed river sand. During the rooting period, it is recommended to irrigate the seedling two to three times a day with a sprayer. You should also carefully monitor that the earth in the greenhouse does not dry out, and direct sunlight does not fall on the young Christmas tree. After the appearance of the first roots, spraying is done half as often, we cover the Christmas tree from the sun only from lunch. Experts recommend not replanting a seedling for 3-4 years, only in this case we will get an adult, healthy tree, which will transfer its "moving" to a permanent place without any special consequences.

Obviously, growing spruce at home is a task for the strong in spirit. But I assure you, you will succeed if you follow the advice of professional gardeners.