How to grow a spruce at home. How to plant and grow a blue spruce at home. Spruce tree care at home

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

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 rays of the sun. Otherwise, it may negatively affect the further growing of the tree.

Temperature

In the cold season, ate needs coolness. This season temperature regime should range from +6 to +10 ° С. The 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 proper care. Watering is the main component in the cultivation of a forest beauty. The tree should be watered abundantly from March to September.

The soil is not allowed to 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 tree is moistened once a month. Professionals advise to spray the tree from time to time, especially during cold weather.

Top dressing

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

Earth substrate

If you want to grow a spruce from seeds, then an acidic soil is needed for this. You can purchase an earthen mixture for conifers or prepare it yourself at home. It is required to take universal soil and soil from coniferous forest in equal proportions, and mix it all.

Transfer

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

Reproduction

To grow a tree at home in a seed pot, you need to take the seeds from the cones, which are harvested from mid-fall to 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.

The 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 with growing.

The needles turn yellow and crumble. This usually happens with improper care ( sunburn, low or high temperature, improper watering regime.) 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.
The needles wrinkled. This indicates that the earth is not completely oxidized. Add soil from under conifers to the top layer of soil. The roots of the tree should not be exposed, and the ground level should not be changed.

If you adhere to all the listed 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 tree as the main symbol of the holiday is becoming more acute. Opponents of plastic wood in the apartment understand that a spruce felled 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 the decision to grow and decorate a plant in a pot for the holiday - minimum costs, no cleaning, and not a single Christmas tree will suffer due to traditions.

Can you grow your own spruce?

As a New Year's, in principle, any plant can become, at least from a distance resembling a 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 this is more than real!

The biggest difficulty that arises when growing a Christmas tree at home is the limited ability of a city apartment to provide a so-called dormant period for the spruce. If we 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 changes from +30 heat in summer to frost - 30 V winter months... Fir-trees easily endure such temperature changes throughout the year, moreover, these conifers are perfectly adapted to them, and violation of the temperature regime only leads to diseases of the firs.

That is why it is better to start growing a Christmas tree in an apartment if there is a loggia or other cold and cool place. You should also be 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 soil nor even the largest size is enough. rooms.

On average, spruce lives for about 300 years, but sometimes its age can be up to 600 years. The oldest tree on earth this moment almost a thousand years old, and it grows in Sweden. "Old Tikko" - that is the name of the tree - lives and lives in Fulufjellet National Park and is revered as the oldest arboreal 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 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:

Collect a few mature buds of the desired type of spruce that have opened in natural conditions.

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

Fir-trees belong to gymnosperms and they arose much earlier than angiosperms (flowering) plants. Due to their characteristics, gymnosperms often displace other plants from the growing territory. 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 birches, then they grow 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 cool place (preferably a refrigerator) for a couple of months.

Generally trees grow and adapt to absolutely any land from swamps to stony 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 a little soil to the pot from under the spruce, under which you found a cone with seeds.

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

By spring, your Christmas tree will be about 5 cm in size, and after 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.

In recent years, it has become popular to acquire a spruce seedling just before the New Year in order to celebrate cheerfully, 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, the spruce was considered a sacred tree, they worshiped it, looked after and decorated it in every possible way. Having become Christians, the Europeans, nevertheless, preserved a number of pagan traditions, including decorating the Christmas tree, only now at Christmas. And Peter I, wanting that his state fully comply with European canons, introduced this tradition on the territory of Russia.

By choosing this way to mark New Year indeed, you can kill at least two birds with one stone: do not harm the environment by condoning the felling 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 peculiarities of its existence until the moment it is in your hands. That is, it is better to select a tree for which you already have suitable conditions. In other words, if, for example, you 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 will be able to adapt to the changed conditions. This is extremely unlikely, and most likely, if the light and heat conditions and the nature of the soil are too different, the Christmas tree will begin to hurt and may even die.

If the conditions for the "birth" of the tree and those in which you transplant it almost completely coincide, then all that remains is to immerse the 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 in week during extreme heat).

From a twig.

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

A twig about 20 cm long must 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 stalk to be guaranteed to take root, you can soak its end for half an hour in weak solution 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 take root in the soil. It is important to remember that Christmas trees do not like heat and direct sunlight, but they also cannot stand complete darkness.

How to transplant a 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 lead round dances around it for the New Year, you can transplant the tree directly from the forest. The most important thing here is not to damage the root system of a sufficiently mature tree and, when planting, mix the soil from your site with the one from which the tree was taken.

It is best to replant the tree in the fall or spring, giving it abundant watering and protecting it at first 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 you should not rely on the idea that a Christmas tree can be kept in an apartment for a while, 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 Christmas tree grows at home, but a specially bred species. You can watch the video below about growing such specimens.

How to grow a spruce at home (video)

Type: conifers
Full-bloom Period: May, June
Height: 30-35m
Green color
Perennial
Hibernates
Shady
Drought resistant

Green spaces in a suburban area are both clean air and natural decor, and an excellent functional tool for building landscape design... Coniferous forest inhabitants take root perfectly in any climatic zone of Russia, among which are slender Christmas trees with lush, dense needles. It's no secret that the aroma of resin is good for both people and plants, so everyone who cares about their health must plant spruce. 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 in a nursery
Growing trees from seeds
Transplanting a forest tree
How to plant a fir tree correctly?

Spruce in landscape design

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

To begin with, all sorts of spruce varieties are an excellent material for forming a style. suburban area, which is why, when choosing planting material, you should pay attention to coniferous varieties.

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

rockeries;
hedges;
topiary;
single and group landings.

The combination of low conifers with neatly formed crowns, stone and decor from natural materials suitable for decorating the territory in both regular and natural style, because 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 by hand, and stones can be found right on the territory of the cottage, brought from the river bank or from a quarry

The spruce hedge is an excellent enclosure that can be planted around the perimeter or between two different functional areas. Tall, densely planted trees will completely replace the fence, and miniature ornamental plants will decorate the area and create a natural natural atmosphere.

In this case, low, but planted trees close to each other bear a decorative rather 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 shape, spiral or other simple three-dimensional object. This is where one of the properties of conifers 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 a ball, and then move on to more complex configurations, for example, spirals

Against the background of brick and wooden buildings and fences, groups of sparsely 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 (benches, garden decor).

Many people specially planted a fir tree to celebrate the New Year and Christmas in nature. A holiday spent 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

Methods for acquiring or breeding spruce

If you have chosen spruce as one of the plants to decorate your plot and even decided on a variety, you need to think about where you will get it. Most easy way- buy a ready-made seedling in a nursery, but many are not looking 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 in the forest.

Consider the nuances of each of the methods and take a closer look at the features of spruce breeding.

Buying a seedling in a nursery

If you already have a ready-made design project, and only a few conifers are missing for its implementation, you can quickly buy seedlings in the nursery. This is also true if you need some rare, exotic variety that is difficult or long 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 a lump of "native soil", so the tree will take root better and faster.

When choosing a spruce 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 regime, etc.

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

fresh, shiny, not partially crumbling needles;
delicate growth shoots at the tips of the branches;
natural, not deformed shape of the branches and trunk;
the needles are not affected by a rusty or whitish coating;
when pressed lightly, the branches bend rather than break.

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

Growing trees from seeds

If you have plenty of time to do your gardening work, you can consider growing different varieties of spruce from seed. The best species are those found in your area. The ripening time of cones depends on the climate, but for reproduction it is recommended to harvest in late autumn.

The buds are stored in a cool dry place, protected from wind and direct sun rays... Approximately 2.5-3 months before sowing, seeds are removed (they are also called nuts) and stratified to increase germination

To prepare the seedlings, the seeds are kept in clean water for a day, after soaking them 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 placed on it, sprinkled on top with the same layer of coniferous sawdust - they create conditions that are close to natural, but more comfortable for growth

If you decide to plant seeds outdoors, you will need to arrange additional protection. It can be a frame made of twigs, which protects from a harsh wind, and a layer of cotton fabric.

In August, a kind of protection is removed, and instead of it, a shelter is made from a thick layer of dry leaves. Crates 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 must 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 dressing. A mullein or 0.1% hydroponic solution diluted with water is suitable as fertilizer.

The growth of seedlings lasts another 3-4 years. All this time, they need to be loosened, fertilized, watered about 1 time a week. Mandatory feeding is carried out in the spring, before the beginning of the swelling of the kidneys. A Mineral Nutrient Blend works well:

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

Everything is thoroughly mixed, distributed into the soil around the seedlings, carefully dug in 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 a root ball of earth.

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

For reproduction decorative species use cuttings. Twigs cut in early spring (in April) can take root in the same year, later ones only the next year. Many people prefer August cuttings, when the shoots finish growing and begin to lignify, but there is also a winter method that is successfully used for all conifers, including spruce trees.

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

We carefully cut the needles from the lower part, close to the "heel" with a knife, since they are not needed and will interfere with the development of future roots

Many species of conifers do well without additional stimulants, however, the spruce is capricious in this regard and requires, especially in winter period, special attitude to yourself.

We place the processed branches in a vessel half-filled with Epin's solution (4-6 drops per 200 ml of water), and stand for 12-14 hours

The material for storing cuttings will be sphagnum moss, which perfectly absorbs moisture.

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

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

We lay out the cuttings on a prepared base in next order: first, dip each branch in a stimulating powder (for example, "Kornevin"), then bottom put on a tape 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 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 bunch - in this form, coniferous cuttings will be stored until spring planting in the ground. To prevent the film from unrolling, it must be tied with twine or pulled together with an elastic band.

The storage space for cuttings should be light and cool - a pantry or a veranda. If in the country wooden windows with double frames, cuttings can be placed between glasses or hung from the side, out of direct sunlight

Winter cuttings are good because small roots already appear by the spring planting period.

Rooted twigs in April can be planted in the garden - not in a permanent place, but in a pot or growing box. Perfect option- 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, in a permanent place of growth.

Transplanting a forest tree

The spruce trek into the forest will end happily if you remember a few simple rules:

dig up the tree in autumn or spring when the soil is soft and moist enough;
if replanting spruce in summer, try to keep a root ball of earth;
for a transplant, an instance of no higher than 1 m is suitable, maximum - 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, on the outskirts, away from dense thickets.

It is important to dig up the spruce correctly. Dig a circle around the trunk with a diameter about the circle formed by the lowest branches. The depth of the groove is about half a meter. Lift the tree out of the soil carefully, taking care to keep the soil at its roots. Place it on a piece of thick cloth, wrap it and secure the resulting bundle to the wheelbarrow. Grab a couple of buckets of "native" soil so that the tree takes root faster in new conditions.

Do not forget about 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 fir tree correctly?

Trees dug in the forest and purchased seedlings have general rules landing. There are two periods when the spruce takes root better - the beginning of spring and late autumn (before the onset of cold weather). Some varieties, for example, blue spruce, are preferable to plant in the spring, therefore, before deciding to plant a spruce, check the specifics of planting the variety you have purchased.

Choose an area most suitable for growing coniferous trees - sunlit or slightly shaded. Take care of drainage in advance, because spruces growing in wetlands do not develop well and lose needles. Perfect place for planting - a sunny patch with low-lying groundwater and with fertile, humus-rich soil.

Low decorative spruces feel great inside flower arrangements and rocky gardens, in well-lit alpine coaster and in rockeries

The order of planting ate 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 gravel (or gravel).
Prepare a soil mixture from the excavated soil, sand, peat and humus (in equal parts). Add 100-150 g of nitroammophoska to it.
Partially fill the hole with soil mixture, moisten.
Place the root ball of the seedling in the hole.
We fill up the free places with the remaining soil, level it.

We carry out peat mulching around the root collar, 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 attractive from an aesthetic point of view, and adding elements such as oak bark to the topsoil prevents weeds

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

Features of caring for conifers

Watering the spruce is necessary depending on the growing season, age and size, but in any case, the soil around the tree should always be slightly moistened. You can check this by squeezing a clod of earth in your hand. If it crumbles, watering time has come. Watering should be done carefully, distributing water around the entire root ball. 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 close to the 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, for example, blue spruce. In a hot period, it is enough to water it once every one and a half to two weeks.

Although spruce is classified as 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, since it is mainly diseased or dry twigs that are removed. Light thinning benefits the whole tree - the sun's rays penetrate deep into the dense crown.

Decorative pruning, on the other hand, is carried out in the middle of summer, after the end of the growth of new shoots. Sometimes the top is cut if the tree needs to grow in width rather than height. The work is carried out with a sharp tool, and the saw cut is treated with a special solution - potassium permanganate and garden pitch.

Hand and bar saws are used to remove thick dry branches, garden pruners are used for smaller branches, and special garden shears are used for decorative haircuts.

Often, Christmas trees and other conifers are at risk of disease. The most common are fungal infections, leading to crown shedding and even death. It is necessary to deal with them using various methods.

To begin with, you should 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 must be uprooted, and the surrounding soil must be carefully treated with fungicides.

Signs of schütte disease are the appearance of red spots on the branches, yellowed and crumbling needles. Schütte 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 on the selection and cultivation of various decorative varieties.

Spruce is a coniferous plant that acts as a classic decoration of the territory. The blue spruce is one of the endangered species, therefore it is listed in the Red Book. This factor affects the cost of pine needles seedlings. But why spend money on buying young trees if you can grow them yourself? We will try to understand together how to grow a spruce from seeds, because in addition to saving finances, the gardener gets a healthy plant adapted to the environment.

Owners of country estates massively purchase cuttings of blue spruce for further cultivation, even despite the high cost. This is because not everyone has an idea of how to grow a 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 a spruce from seeds at home and get a high-quality seedling?"

How to get a quality seedling when grown at home?

There are three ways to reproduce spruce trees:

vaccination;
by cuttings;
growing from seeds.

Cutting method: features

This is the easiest way to grow a new coniferous tree. Planting material is rooted in a greenhouse, since open ground has a negative effect on still immature conifers. So, the spruce planting begins with the selection of cuttings. Winter cuttings work best and produce 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 breeding spruce is not to forget about maintaining the temperature regime and required level moisture.

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

Growing needles from seeds

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

Seed collection

To grow any plant with your own hands, you need a selective 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. The collection of cones is carried out in mid-February. This is the perfect time to harvest complete spruce seeds. The cones are placed in a cloth bag and placed next to a heater or fireplace, which facilitates quick opening and free access to the grains. After a few weeks, you should be able to remove the seeds without damaging them. After the cones open, the spruce seeds in the bag are rubbed together to cleanse the lionfish. Rinsing under running water will get rid of the oily film formed due to discharge essential oils... At the final stage of preparation, the planting material is well dried.

To ensure complete protection of seeds from bacteria, they are washed with a weak solution of potassium permanganate, after which they are wiped with a cloth. The prepared seeds are placed in a glass jar, which, tightly closed, is placed in the refrigerator. Conditions in freezer resemble natural ones as much as possible (in the cold season), where the seeds are kept until mid-March.

How to grow a 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 soil

In order for the blue spruce from seeds to grow healthy at home, it is recommended to prepare the site before sowing the specimens.

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

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

directly 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 ammophos in a ratio of 6: 0.035: 0.020 kg. The mixture is scattered into containers in which the spruce is planted. The pots themselves are buried deep into the earthen 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.

We plant seeds

First, determine the most favorable date for planting the spruce. The seedling will feel comfortable in nature if the ambient temperature is around + 19 ° C (+ -1-2 ° 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 foundationol solution: 20 g per 10 liters of water.

Spruce is planted in well-moistened soil. If the spruce is grown in greenhouse conditions, then the containers are deepened into the ground by 1.5 cm, and a film is pulled from above. If on the open ground, first they 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 in 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 for growing needles, which are as follows:

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

Important! Remember that night frosts and direct sunlight during the day have a detrimental effect on immature young needles.

A month later, the seedling of a young blue spruce reaches a height of 3-4 cm. Experts note that indirect diffused sunlight has a good effect on the growth rates of specimens. Since small needles are not resistant to diseases affecting plants, namely to root rot, there is a need for special protection: first, 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 transplanting annual plants. The procedure is carried out in early spring. After the seedlings reach 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 tamped and sprinkled with a layer of earthen mixture from under a coniferous plant.

How to carry out a transplant correctly?

Small Christmas trees are dug out of the ground, separating the interwoven roots of individual specimens. It is necessary to carry out this work quickly, but carefully so as not to damage the root system and not let it dry out.

Blue spruce, grown from seeds at home, requires special care. These are often standard rules.

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

Three years after the sowing of the seeds, the plants are re-transplanted. This is done to provide sufficient space for the roots of the spruce. During this period, the Christmas trees are planted 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 1 meter in height.

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

Growing crops with a long growing season through seedlings is a painstaking process that takes more than one month. And, you must admit, it is incredibly insulting when the results of our labors die in a matter of days. It is very difficult for seedlings grown on a windowsill to rebuild and get used to a new habitat, although open field conditions are much more natural for plants. Our task is to do everything possible so that their survival rate approaches 100%.

When there is a desire to plant and grow a small-care garden, in which, even if you work, it will not "until you drop," then you have to look for suitable ornamental plants. Naturally, these plants should not be demanding on soil, irrigation, disease and pest resistance. But, not only that, we also need them to be decorative! And if they also bloomed beautifully ... And what do you think? There are such plants. Let's talk about one of them today - holly mahonia.

Beef roll with chicken fillet and sweet pepper - juicy, tasty and healthy. This dish is suitable for dietary and low-calorie menus. A few thin slices of juicy meatloaf with a salad of fresh vegetables - what is not breakfast before the working day. You have to tinker a little with the formation of the product itself, and then watch the preparation for a couple of hours - the rolls can be steamed in baking bags or cooked in a large saucepan at a temperature of about 80 ° C.

Common parsnip, or Field parsnip, or Sowing parsnip (Pastinaca sativa) in the wild is widespread in regions with a temperate climate ( middle stripe Russia, the North Caucasus, Crimea, Ural, Altai, etc.), but so far it is rarely found in garden plots... True, today the popularity of parsnips is growing quite actively. In animal husbandry and beekeeping, it is used as a fodder plant and honey plant, and in cooking - as a tasty and healthy vegetable.

Among the plants, one species of which seems to transport us to the tropical forests filled with aroma, quisqualis is one of the most "atmospheric". This is a rare and valuable indoor and greenhouse vine. And although the plant has long been reclassified into the genus of combretums, it is very difficult not to recognize it. This steeplejack is unusual in everything. Inflorescences remain a favorite feature of Quisqualis, in which the graceful flowers from snow-white ones quickly turn into crimson-red.

A quick and delicious salad of cabbage and pork. A similar salad is prepared by Koreans, apparently our hostesses have spied this delicious recipe... Indeed, it is a very quick dish to prepare, and even without any special culinary experience, it is easy to prepare it. Choose low-fat pork, a shoulder blade, a sirloin will do. It is better to cut lard. You can simply chop the early cabbage, but I advise you to chop the winter cabbage thinly, sprinkle with salt and rub it with your hands.

The host's common favorite among the decorative deciduous perennials captivates not only with the beauty of the leaves. It is durable and relatively undemanding, in the right place is growing long years, but it can hardly be called fast-growing. Hosta reproduces easily, although you will have to be patient to get spectacular highly decorative bushes. To increase the host collection on your own, first of all, you need to remember about the peculiarities of this culture.

Dill spreads well by self-sowing, so many summer residents do not consider it necessary to sow this crop every year on the site. But at the same time, everyone understands that dill and dill are different. And the greens of carefully grown dill in the garden in their taste and aroma, as a rule, surpass the greens of dill, which grows by itself. This article will show you how to have enough green dill in your garden beds from early spring to late autumn.

Stir-fry with beef, soy noodles, vegetables and Iceberg salad is a quick dinner or lunch recipe for a busy person. It takes no more than 15 minutes to cook it, and you can feed them a couple of hungry mouths that can't wait for a tricky lunch. Stir-fry is a way to quickly fry vegetables and meat that came to us from the east. Don't be discouraged if the wok is not among your kitchen utensils. A regular skillet with a thick bottom and non-stick coating will do too.

Among the plants that boast variegated foliage, alpinia claims to be not only the rarest, but also the most original culture. It simultaneously reminds of bamboos and arrowroot calatheas, and sometimes even vriezia. True, it looks like the latter only with its inflorescences. Luxurious leaves, most often covered with variegated contrasting stripes, look so modern that it is impossible not to admire the beauty of their impeccable patterns and brilliance.

Vegetarian cabbage rolls with mushrooms - steamed cabbage rolls for dietary, vegetarian and lean menu... Cabbage rolls are unusually tasty, very appetizing, and, if applicable to food, beautiful, unlike their counterparts from white cabbage braised or fried in a pan. Savoy cabbage tastes better than white cabbage, the head is loose, it is easier to disassemble it into individual leaves. The color of the leaves is from pale green to emerald.

In winter, every summer resident is looking forward to spring and is happy to open the season with the first sowing of flower and vegetable crops for seedlings. But, unfortunately, the space on the windowsill is limited, and it is not always possible to place the required number of seedlings in cups in the apartment. In addition, some of the crops may simply not grow, something will die ... And for us, summer residents, no matter how much we plant, it is not enough! Therefore, almost every gardener buys at least some seedlings.

Growing annuals in the garden has at least two advantages over growing perennial flowers. First, most popular annuals bloom profusely throughout the growing season. Secondly, many annuals sow freely and appear in the garden year after year with minimal involvement from the grower. Which summer people can be planted only once, and then, following simple techniques, meet them in the garden every season?

You can make jellied meat and meat salad with onions from pork shank. The shank, especially the back, is a very tasty and affordable piece of pork carcass that can be fed to a small company. A 2-pound shank will make a bowl of meat salad and a large plate of jellied meat. There will still be meat broth, on which I advise you to cook cabbage soup or borscht. For this dish, we take a rear knuckle weighing from 1.7 to 2 kilograms, I advise you to beg the fleshy one from the butcher.

Eggplants require a sunny but short day, medium-warm temperatures without sweltering heat, enough moisture, but without flooding the root system. It is rather difficult to provide such conditions in the open ground in most regions of Russia. Therefore, earlier eggplants were grown only in greenhouses. With the development of selection, it became possible to grow eggplants in the open field, not only in the southern regions, but also in the middle lane.

Spruce in Latin will be Pecea, which literally translates as resin. These evergreen trees live up to 300 years. They are no less loved by gardeners than other shrubs and trees.

In total, there are more than 50 types of spruce, which differ in shape, color of needles, height, etc. If you want your garden plot adorned by this beauty, then you need to follow a number of rules for planting and caring for her.

Planting of fir trees

Like other coniferous shrubs or trees, it is best to plant spruce in early spring (late April - early May). If the summer is not hot, then it can be planted at the end of August - September.

When planting, you need to maintain the distance between the seedlings. Optimally, this is 2-3 meters. The landing pit should be deep enough - from 50 to 70 centimeters. It must be prepared in advance. At the very bottom, 15-20 centimeters of broken brick is poured, after which they add nutrient substrate... To prepare it, mix 1 part of sand and peat with 2 parts of leaves and turf land... It will be useful to add nitroammophos (100-150 grams) to the substrate.

When planting in a hole, the root neck of the tree should be at ground level. This important rule must be observed not only when planting, but also when leaving, since the earth can settle, exposing the root collar. After the spruce is planted, it must be watered, and the hole should be covered with a 6-7 cm layer of peat.

Spruce feeding

Many summer residents mistakenly believe that manure is an excellent fertilizer for all plants, shrubs and trees. But this is not the case. The main mistake when caring for conifers, including spruces, is fertilizing them with manure. This approach has ruined many green beauties in summer cottages even experienced gardeners. If the gardener feeds the spruce with such fertilizer, then he can forget that beautiful evergreen shrubs will stand on his site.

Despite the fact that in some literary sources recommendations are given for feeding spruces with a weak infusion of mullein, it is better not to put the tree at risk.

For feeding spruces, it is best to use mineral fertilizers. Since the spruce, unlike other trees, does not throw off foliage in autumn, it does not need additional food to restore the crown in spring. She also does not need food for the formation of the crop. Thus, you need to fertilize this tree quite a bit. Coniferous beauties need micronutrients and vitamins only for growth.

It is very important to avoid fertilizers that contain a large amount of nitrogen, since all conifers do not tolerate an excess of this substance. While nitrogen fertilizers can stimulate growth, it can be dangerous. So the intensive growth of immature shoots leads to the fact that they are not ready for the winter cold and die. After wintering, your spruce trees will meet you on the site with yellowed needles. Growth points die off in cold weather, and the tree becomes infected with chlorosis.

It is for this reason that it is necessary to exclude nitrogen-containing fertilizing when planting seedlings, as well as when mulching. If you want your spruce to grow, it is best to use compost. 3-5 kilograms of this fertilizer are enough for 1 square meter. Vermicompost is no less effective. You can purchase such top dressing in specialized garden stores.

How to improve yields?
We are constantly receiving letters in which amateur gardeners are worried that due to the cold summer this year there is a poor harvest of potatoes, tomatoes, cucumbers, and other vegetables. Last year we published TIPS on this matter. But unfortunately, many did not listen, but some still applied. Here is a report from our reader, we want to advise plant growth biostimulants that will help increase the yield up to 50-70%.
Read ...

Fir trees have less photosynthesis than deciduous trees and shrubs. In order for photosynthesis to take place successfully, the tree needs magnesium. For liming conifers, it is recommended to use dolomite flour, which contains magnesium. But this fertilization is not enough. It is necessary to feed with other formulations in which there is easily digestible magnesium.

For the normal development of spruce, trace elements are very important. If the tree lacks at least one element, it develops poorly, the shoots are immature, and chlorosis is also possible.

Fertilizer selection rules

When choosing fertilizer for spruce, consider the following rules:

the composition should contain a minimum amount of nitrogen;
easily assimilated magnesium must be present in the composition;
the composition of the preparation for feeding should contain at least 10-12 microelements (if there is more, it is even better).

In specialized stores big choice dressings for spruce trees, both Russian and foreign. Before buying a fertilizer, evaluate its composition according to the above criteria.

It often happens that the fertilizer meets the first two criteria, but has a poor composition of trace elements. If the manufacturer does not indicate the chemical composition of his product on the packaging, it is better not to buy it.

It is enough to fertilize the spruce 2 times a year. The first feeding is spring. It is held in May, when growth points begin to wake up. The second feeding is carried out at the end of summer. Its purpose is to prepare the tree for winter and to help ripen the annual growth.

Spring feeding

For spring feeding, you can use such fertilizer as "Uniflor-Bud". It is ideal for firs and meets all the basic principles of correct. It contains 18 trace elements, there is easily soluble magnesium and little nitrogen. Also a good fertilizer for spring feeding - "Uniflor-cactus". There is very little nitrogen in it, but magnesium, calcium and 18 trace elements are present.

At the first feeding, not enough a large number fertilizers. For 1-5 liters of water, you need to take 2-3 ml of the drug. Fertilizer is applied evenly around the trunk circle. If you prefer to use the sprinkling method, then you need to dilute 2-3 ml of fertilizer in at least 10 liters of water (such a large amount of water will exclude plant burns). In this case, the feeding will be foliar. But at the same time, the nutrient solution when rolling into trunk circle will nourish the tree through its roots.

Autumn feeding

The second feeding is carried out at the end of summer - at the beginning of autumn. It is optimal to fertilize the spruce at the end of August. The preparation "Uniflor-micro", which contains 18 microelements and magnesium, is ideal for this.

The principle of the second feeding is similar to the first. The only difference is the dosage. 0.5 ml of the preparation is enough for one plant. It is quite difficult to measure such a volume even when using a syringe. In order not to be mistaken, it is better to prepare the mother liquor first. To do this, the drug must be diluted 10 times. Next, you can prepare a solution using a mother liquor per plant of 5 ml. For example, to prepare a stock solution, you can take 10 ml of the drug per 100 ml of water. The resulting solution is enough to feed 20 conifers.

Spruce tree care: cutting, watering, mulching

Grooming means a haircut. What does it mean? After wintering in the trees, it is necessary to cut off all defective branches affected by the cold weather. Also, a haircut may be needed for grown spruce trees that are planted close to each other. In this case, the crowns must be thinned out. A haircut is carried out once a year after the young branches grow.

It is important to observe moderation when cutting, as the unnatural crown protects the plants worse, and they can suffer from wind and frost.

Spruce watering

Watering is mainly required only for young trees. It is best to spend it in the morning and not every day. By autumn, watering should be more intense in order to exclude the death of the plant in winter.

Grown plants do not need additional watering, since they even tolerate dry summer periods and wintering well. The root system of such trees grows deep into the ground and independently extracts nutrients and moisture from there.

But if the summer is too dry, spruce may need to be sprinkled. It will not only provide the necessary moisture, but also cleanse the needles from dirt and dust. Sprinkling is better in the morning and evening hours, no more than once every two days.

Spruce mulching

Mulching may be required not only for young seedlings, but also for adult plants. Thanks to this procedure, you can reduce sudden changes in temperature, weed growth and retain moisture in the soil. Thanks to mulching, the composition of the soil improves, since earthworms are actively beginning to develop in it.

To prepare mulch, you can take tree bark, chips and sawdust. Mulch is laid in a thick layer (4-5 centimeters). If you are against mulching, you can use ground cover plant species.

Preparing spruce trees for wintering
If by the end of summer - beginning of autumn the soil was sufficiently moistened, then no additional preparation for wintering will be required. It is not necessary to build any additional shelters for spruce trees during the winter period. During winter thaws, such shelters can only provoke the appearance of fungus on the trees.

If the winter is snowy, then it is necessary to come to the site from time to time to shake off the snow from the branches. Excessive snow cover leads to breakage of trees. A young spruce will not tolerate too much snow in the early years. If there is no way to visit the site in winter, you can tie the branches up with twine in late autumn.

Common diseases

If frequent thaws occur in the winter season, they can lead to the development of fungal diseases on spruce trees. If you notice that the needles have become darker or have begun to die off, this means that the tree is infected with a fungus. This disease can cause twigs to die off.

In order to minimize the possibility of the appearance of fungus in a tree, it is better to give preference to varieties that are highly resistant to diseases when buying seedlings. If it was not possible to avoid the disease of the tree, then the method of treatment with fungicides can be used for treatment.

Yellowing of the needles

When the tree is overcooled or due to the loss of moisture in the soil at the beginning of spring, the needles may acquire a yellowish tint. Do not worry, with additional watering and warm sunny weather, the needles of the trees will restore their natural color. If this did not happen, then possible reason yellowing of the needles may be a lack of magnesium in the soil. In order to restore the color, you need to apply a special mineral fertilizer.

Also, the cause of yellow needles can be a pest - spruce-fir hermes. The colonies of this pest are similar to white cotton wool. Most often they hide on the underside of the needles. To rid the spruce of this pest at the very beginning of spring (optimally - in the month of April), the branches are sprayed special composition... For its preparation, rogor and antio preparations are used: 10 grams of preparations for 10 liters of water.

If, after wintering, you notice that the spruce looks tired and unhealthy, in order to exclude possible diseases and death of the plant, it is better to treat it with special preparations. To do this, you can use such compositions as Immunocytofit, Humisol, Epin-zircon, etc.

If the shoots look burnt, then it is possible that such a pest as an ordinary spruce sawfly has settled on the spruce. If caterpillars of this pest are found, the branches should be treated with a fufanon solution (for 10 liters of water, 20 milliliters of the drug).

If brown spots appear on the needles and further yellowing or blackening, it is necessary to treat the tree for a disease called shyute ordinary. To do this, spray with one of the solutions. It can be Bordeaux liquid (for 10 liters of water 100 grams of composition), zineb (for 10 liters of water from 50 to 100 grams of the drug, depending on the age of the tree), colloidal sulfur (for 10 liters of water, 200 grams of the drug). The same compounds can be used to treat tree branches when orange spots appear on the needles and swelling of the shoots.

If the disease has captured most of the plant, then it is better to cut off all branches affected by the disease. In some cases, you even have to resort to uprooting the tree in order to prevent contamination of other garden plants on the site.

Spruce propagation

Spruce can be propagated in a variety of ways. So for the specific spruce seeds are used, selective species are grown from grafted cuttings. But the most popular breeding method is twigs. They can be cut in spring (late April), summer (mid June or late August) and autumn (November).
Picture 8. Reproduction of a tree.

Branches from young trees, aged from 4 to 8 years old, take root best of all. It is necessary to cut them off at the top of the crown, since such cuttings root best of all. Optimal length cuttings - from 10 to 25 centimeters.

How to properly care for a spruce

And a little about the secrets of the Author

Have you ever experienced unbearable joint pain? And you know firsthand what it is:

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unreasonable and sometimes unbearable aching pain in the joints ...

Now answer the question: does this suit you? How can you endure such pain? And how much money have you already "poured" on ineffective treatment? That's right - it's time to end it! Do you agree? That is why we decided to publish an exclusive interview with Oleg Gazmanov, in which he revealed the secrets of getting rid of joint pain, arthritis and arthrosis.

Attention, only TODAY!

Do you feel sorry for throwing out the Christmas tree after the holidays? I am very much. For a long time I began to wonder whether and how to grow a Christmas tree on my site so that it would delight us on the New Year's Eve. And in summer, the forest beauty looks great on any site, in addition, it is of great benefit, cleans the air.

There are several ways to grow a Christmas tree, you can choose the most suitable one for yourself. Only this is not an easy matter and it will take several years to wait.

growing from seed
from a twig
transplant from the forest

It is important that the seeds are ripe otherwise you won't succeed. Many people mistakenly believe that once the cone has opened, then the seeds are ready for planting. The buds open in the warmth regardless of 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 as possible to natural. Immediately you need to soak the seeds in a weak solution of potassium permanganate for half an hour, dry them and send them 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 them 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 on top by about 1 cm. It is best to cover the greenhouse with a covering material, it scatters direct sunlight. Now it remains to monitor soil moisture and wait for seedlings. The soil must not be overdried or waterlogged. When shoots appear, they need to be thinned out. During the season, small Christmas trees need feeding. Can be fed with mullein solution (1 in 5).

Planting a seedling.

This is the lightest and quick way get a good varietal tree. But there is one drawback, the seedlings are expensive today, so not everyone can afford it. If you nevertheless become the happy 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 grow someday. Choose a sunny spot or partial shade. The soil for the tree is slightly acidic or neutral is best. Dig a hole, 70 cm deep and 50 cm wide. Drainage is necessary at the bottom, broken bricks or just stones will do. Sapling you need place in the pit at the same level as it was planted in the pot. Serious error when planting - deepening of the root collar. Before filling the hole, add about 30% 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 twig.

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 stalk. We remove all the needles (5-6 cm) from its lower part and immerse it in a pink solution of potassium permanganate for half an hour. For rooting, we also need a greenhouse, preferably with heating, if this is not the case, you can arrange heating from manure, it will reheat 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 should be good for water and air. Well suited from a spruce forest, with the addition of 30% river sand, better 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 completely rooted. Watering and spraying should be done several times a day. After the emergence of roots, 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 tree from the forest.

The advantage of this method is that you can choose a tree 3-4 years old. Minus - ate does not tolerate transplanting well. Nevertheless, I used this method and did not regret it at all. Here the trick is that when digging, you need to try not to damage the root, it is pivotal at the tree and goes quite deep into the ground. And you also need to preserve as large a clod of earth on the roots as possible, 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 Therefore, special attention should be paid to the shelter of plants. Greenhouses can be additionally heated in winter, and if this is not possible, carefully cover them and cover them well with snow. For the winter, young trees need to be huddled with peat and wrapped in a covering material.

The benefits of spruce needles.

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

A beautiful, slender spruce in the yard or garden. Who has not dreamed about this, and especially in childhood, to have their own Christmas tree grown by their own hands, which would become the center of attention by the New Year, and the main character holiday. In addition, it is always alive and only every year it would become higher and higher.

Currently, the so-called species Christmas trees are grown, that is, wild spruces simply taken from nature, as well as garden forms bred by breeders.

Simple wild ones are usually grown from seeds, and garden ones with the use of grafts, as many decorative qualities are lost during seed propagation.

How to grow a Christmas tree from a nut?

On each tree, cones ripen in different time but are usually harvested in late autumn for cultivation. Cones are stored in a dry and cool place and seeds are removed from them 2-3 months before sowing. To increase germination, they are placed on stratification, since the seeds have a hard shell, which should be softened.

First, the seeds are disinfected, that is, they are placed in a 0.5% solution of potassium permanganate for half an hour, then washed clean water and soaked for a day to swell. Then they are placed in bags of wet sand and sent to the refrigerator before sowing, and if the street is full of snow, then you can put the bags in a snowdrift.

You can grow spruce seedlings in a greenhouse, you can also in boxes or immediately in the open field.

Sawdust is poured into a greenhouse (end of April) with loose sandy loam soil with a layer of 2 cm, seeds are placed on them and sprinkled with the same wet sawdust with a layer of 1 - 1.5 cm. Water well and cover the greenhouse with foil or frames.

You can also sow seeds in open ground, but then the sowing areas need to be covered with something (brushwood, twigs) so that the wind and rain do not blow off and wash away the sawdust. To protect the seedlings from direct sunlight from above, you need to stretch a non-woven material or just a cotton cloth.

The soil should be kept in a moderately moist state. When the weather is hot, watering is increased. To avoid waterlogging in greenhouses, shelters are ventilated from time to time, as there may be rotting of seeds.

During the summer period, seedlings are fed three times with a 0.1% mullein solution diluted with water in a ratio of 1: 5. Top dressing should be combined with watering.

Covering material, frames from greenhouses are removed in mid-August, and closer to winter, seedlings are covered with dry leaves.

Regardless of where the seedlings were grown, after 2-3 years they are transplanted, in the spring, at a distance of 30-50cm.

When transplanting, too long damaged roots are cut off. Transplanting should be done carefully, you cannot shake the plant, because the existing mycorrhiza (useful fungi) must be preserved on the roots, which is necessary for the successful vegetation of the plant.

Before planting, the roots should be dipped in a chatterbox (garden soil + humus in a 2: 1 ratio).

The transplanted spruce seedlings are grown in a new place for 4 years. They are looked after: the soil is loosened, weeds are removed, and they are fed.

In the second year after planting in the spring, before the buds swell, the plants are fed: per 1 square meter - 500 g of manure, 25 g of superphosphate, 10 g of potassium salt. Fertilizers are scattered on the soil surface, and then embedded to a depth of 10 cm and then watered.

at the age of 6-7 years, seedlings are transplanted to a permanent place in the spring or early autumn... Christmas trees respond well to transplants.

How to grow a Christmas tree from a twig?

Spruce, in particular her decorative forms, can be propagated by stem cuttings.

When are cuttings harvested?

Cuttings can be cut in spring (late April), summer (June, August), autumn (September-November).

Spring cuttings take root immediately, summer (June) cuttings form a callus in the first year, and take root in the second year. Cuttings cut in August are preferable for spruce trees, since shoot growth stops and lignification begins. Cuttings harvested in the fall before spring planting are sent for storage in a cool place (temperature 1-5 and high humidity).

Cuttings cut in spring and summer are planted immediately and cuttings from young trees 4-8 years old take root best of all.

For cuttings, only annual shoots are cut; there may be some 2-year-old wood at the base. In the lower part of the branch, you need to remove the needles by 2-6 cm, that is, to the planting depth. The length of a branch intended for grafting should be from 10 to 25 cm, and you need to cut it off from the upper half of the crown, since those taken at the bottom or in the middle may root poorly, or give an incorrectly branching crown as the tree develops.

It is best to root cuttings in a greenhouse. Every gardener can make such a small and simple structure.

At the bottom, you need to put drainage (crushed stone, small stones), then a layer of turf soil (10-12 cm), and then a layer of washed river sand from 2 to 7 cm, in which rooting will take place directly.

Before planting, the cuttings are immersed (half) in a pink solution of potassium permanganate or treated with a root growth stimulant.

Cuttings are planted in sand at a slope of 30 degrees to a depth of 2-6 cm, a distance of 10-15 cm, and immediately watered well. Cover with a film, but so that the distance from the film to the surface of the sand is at least 30 cm. Shade with burlap from direct sunlight.

The temperature inside the greenhouse should be at least 20-25 degrees, somewhere on average by 5 degrees. higher than outdoors.

Caring for cuttings consists of watering: in the spring - less often once a day, in the summer - 3 times and spraying the cuttings themselves (the water should not be cold).

After the roots appear (August), shading is removed and watered once a day.

In order for the cuttings to grow well, they are sprayed with a nutrient mixture: 20 g of superphosphate, 8 g of ammonium nitrate, 16 g of potassium nitrate, 2 g of magnesium sulfate, 30 g of sucrose, and 60 mg of indoleacetic acid - diluted in 1 liter of water.

For the winter, rooted cuttings are covered with dry leaves, sawdust. They are transplanted into open ground in spring in April and grow them as 2-3 seedlings.

Transplanting technology and care are the same as for seedlings grown from seeds.

Propagation of a Christmas tree by grafting

Spruce can be propagated by grafting, but trees grown in this way require more careful care, this is a laborious and more complicated process, since first you need to grow seedlings (4-5 years old) from seeds and graft the spruce you like on them.

Decorative spruces are propagated in this way: blue, silver, weeping.

Cuttings harvested in November are grafted in spring (April-early June), cut in spring before bud break from April to mid-May.

The spruce is grafted in two ways: by purchasing and using wood for cadmium.

How to grow a beautiful tree?

If you have purchased a seedling or want to transplant a tree from the forest to your site, it is best to plant it in open soil in late April to early May, or from late August to late September. But, the most suitable place for planting is spring.

Where to plant a spruce on the site?

It is advisable not in the garden and away from fruit trees... Why? Because they ate root system located superficially, that is, the roots do not penetrate deeply, but spread over the surface and occupy a fairly large space. The most suitable place is in the yard in front of the house, so that on New Year's Day she was next to you.

It is imperative to transplant a tree with a lump of native land so as not to damage the mycorrhiza.

If several spruce trees are planted, the distance between them should be at least 2m.

The pit must be at least 50 cm deep, there must be drainage at the bottom, then nutrient soil, which can consist of turf, deciduous humus, sand, peat in a ratio of 2: 1: 1: 1. The seedling is carefully rolled from the pot into the pit. The root collar should be at ground level when planting. The plant is covered with earth, watered and mulched with peat.

It is advisable to replant young spruce seedlings to the same depth at which they grew before, so they are more likely to adapt to new conditions.

Planted plants should not be forgotten. In dry weather, they need to be watered, sprinkled, and darkened at first. When the shoots themselves will show you to remove the shading, they will stop sagging, they will become elastic.

Spruce lends itself well to pruning, so you can form any crown and regulate their growth. Fir trees can be used to make a beautiful hedge.

Often, as the Christmas tree grows, troubles happen to it:

the needles turned yellow - perhaps a spruce-fir hermes appeared: on the lower part of the needles there is a cluster of whole white colonies. Spraying in April with rogor and antio preparations will help - 10 liters of water 20 mg;

young shoots seem to be burnt - an ordinary spruce sawfly settled on the tree. Spraying with Fufanon (20mg / 10l) will help;

the appearance of brown spots on the needles, further browning, yellowing (common schütte disease). The tree should be treated in spring or closer to autumn (late July - September) with colloidal sulfur (200g / 10l), Bordeaux liquid (100g / 10l) or zinebom (50g / 10l).

The same drugs will help with the appearance of rust on the branches (orange spots on the needles, swelling on the shoots).