How to grow a spruce in an apartment. Caring for a potted tree

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

Can you grow your own spruce?

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

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

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

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

How to grow a spruce

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

From seed.

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

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

Generally Christmas trees grow and adapt to absolutely any land from swamp to rocky soil, from sand to clay, but the best 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. This 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 sacred tree, they worshiped her, looked after her in every possible way and dressed her up. Having become Christians, the Europeans, however, retained a number of pagan traditions, including a Christmas tree decoration, only now for Christmas. And Peter I, wishing that his state was fully consistent with European canons, introduced this tradition on the territory of Russia.

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

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

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

From a branch.

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

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

How to transplant spruce from the forest

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

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

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

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

How to grow spruce at home (video)

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

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

Tricks of growing spruce from a branch:

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

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

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

Tips for growing spruce from seeds:

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

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

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

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

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

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

Proper tree care:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

More information can be found in the video.

Quite often, people who are in search of new green pets are looking for something unusual that not everyone grows at home. At least update the options for planting, but we suggest trying to grow a real spruce at home. Not only will the air in your home be saturated with a pleasant coniferous aroma, but also the eternal New Year's problem will be solved. Do not cut down Christmas trees in the forest every year and do not be sad in the company of an artificial tree. Everyone wins - both natural lovers and environmentalists.

More reliable from seeds

Oddly enough, it is most reliable to grow spruce from seeds. A tree from its very birth will be in your home and will be able to quickly adapt to environmental conditions. In addition, it will cost a considerable amount, and the conditions in the nursery are different.

Spruce seeds prepared for planting

However, spruce seeds are best purchased just in the nursery - knowledgeable people work there, and the products there, as a rule, are of high quality. If you want to complicate the task, go to the forest yourself in late autumn and collect fir cones. Seeds extracted from them will become material for future work.

Cones can also be collected in winter, brought home and dried until they open on their own - then remove the seeds.

There is one important point associated with growing spruce at home. This is a constantly warm temperature, which will not give spruce time to rest, which is usually easily achieved on outdoors. At home, coolness can be provided with the help of a balcony, where during a cold snap it will be necessary to take out a coniferous beauty, gradually accustoming her to the cold. If you do not have a balcony, it is better to abandon the idea of growing a spruce.

However, if you grow spruce at home for the future, the first two seasons in the heat will not spoil things.

Spruce varieties

The choice of spruce varieties does not create problems, since the attention of the buyer (unless you yourself are looking for planting material) is offered Christmas trees with different colors, needles and shapes. It remains to be added that if you are going to plant a future spruce on the site, then you can purchase seeds of any variety. If the Christmas tree does not leave the house, then, of course, the choice will be limited. For example, an ordinary Russian spruce, even in cramped conditions, can grow so that no ceiling height is enough. Therefore, you will have to choose among decorative dwarf species.

Spruce blue "Misty Blue" European spruce

In general, among the whole variety of varieties, in addition to Russian spruce, blue spruce, a very unpretentious beauty, as well as Canadian spruce, which is much more difficult to grow, and white-flanked spruce, an amazing creation with wonderful colors, enjoy attention.

It is best to grow blue and ordinary Russian spruce in our area, they have already been tested by nature itself for many years, and there should be no problems with their cultivation.

Growing from seeds (video)

So, since growing from seeds allows you to achieve best result, we run to a nursery, forest or store and purchase seeds. You need to soak them in warm water for 2-3 weeks so that they swell, and then plant them in the ground.

For safety, the seeds can be soaked in a solution of manganese for a day and planted in the ground - this method is quite logical if you found the seeds in nature yourself.

They say that the best land for a Christmas tree is the land from the native forest. If the brought volume is half diluted with peat, you will also enrich the soil with microelements. Other fertilizers, and even more so chemicals, are best avoided when growing spruce at home.

The main thing to remember when germinating seeds is that they are tight. The pecking time is from a month to a year, so even the well-known unhurried strawberries in terms of development speed in comparison with spruce are real bamboo. Therefore, if you planted a seed, and after a month or two you did not see a sprout, do not rush to abandon your business. Sooner or later, he will still appear. If, of course, the seed is alive and of good quality.

And here are the young shoots of spruce - very thin and so tender But these shoots have already grown stronger, so everything is going fine

The seed should be planted immediately in a large pot. Small cups will not work if the sprout has already been born - then things will go faster, and the tiny Christmas tree will quickly become cramped. A transplant at such a tender age is fatal for her.

After planting, watering the seeds is required once a week, and after the appearance of a sprout, watering is stopped. Spruce is not the most moisture-loving tree, and therefore periodically spraying from a spray bottle is enough for it.

What is interesting - the largest growth of spruce is observed in winter time under a layer of snow, so putting a young tree on the windowsill with the onset of cold weather will harden it and stimulate its development.

So that the Christmas tree pleases in the first years with beautiful needles and pleasant aroma, do not place it in direct sunlight. Only in the fourth or fifth year of life, when the Christmas tree reaches a height of 30 to 50 cm, it can be gradually accustomed to the bright sun.

From the window to the site

If you are growing a Christmas tree for your suburban area, and the time of transplantation (and this usually happens two years after hatching from seeds) is already approaching, it's time to accustom it to fresh air. Periodically, the plant should be exposed to the street, gradually increasing the intervals. This period of habituation should last a couple of months, after which the Christmas tree will be able to live in the open air.

This tree is ready to be transplanted.

When planting on the site, it is advisable to add a little forest land to the pit, and after the Christmas tree has found a new place, for some time before it takes root, you need to water the tree. Once the tree is established, watering is not required except during dry seasons.

Growing a Christmas tree from seeds is not as difficult as many other plants. However, the result of your efforts will grow not in one or even two years, but in decades and even centuries. This is what the Christmas tree is very different from other plants, and its planting in open ground is carried out once and for a long time.

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

Green spaces in the suburban area - this is clean air, and natural decor, and magnificent 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.

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 it is worth paying attention to coniferous varieties.

Thanks to a dense 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 both in regular and in natural style, because rockeries with spruce as a key element are very popular.

How to arrange group and solitary plantings of decorative conifers in the garden:

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 living 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 art - 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 backdrop of brick and wooden buildings and fences look beautiful groups of rarely planted fir trees various heights, and a single tall Christmas tree can become the center of a recreation area or an excellent background partner for an arbor (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

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 garden work, you can start growing different varieties of spruce from seeds. 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 harvest in 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 times a day 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 in a permanent place. They are planted as usual. in early spring, keeping the root ball of the earth

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

For breeding decorative types 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 of spruce, which consists in rooting seedlings at home with the possibility of further spring planting in the ground. Using garden shears or a pruner, cut 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 processed 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 bunch - in this form, coniferous cuttings will be stored until the 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 time of spring planting, 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. 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, 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 best planted in the spring, so before you decide to plant a spruce, check the planting features of the variety you have purchased.

Choose the site most suitable for growing coniferous tree Sunlit 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 landing 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 watering is necessary 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 special regime- several times a day in small portions, as 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 cutting - special garden scissors

Often, spruces and other conifers are threatened by diseases. 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.

More recently, buying a Christmas tree for the new year was not an easy task.

Huge queues in which they stood for hours, and it’s not a fact that they eventually acquired this beautiful tree. Today, everything has changed. Now there are whole bazaars where New Year's beauties appear a month before the New Year holidays. On almost every street, people organize a small shop where you can buy both artificial and live trees. Here, anyone can choose a tree so that it is not only fluffy and beautiful, but also fits into the interior of the house.

Today, not only artificial and live Christmas trees are very popular, but also Christmas trees in pots. Throughout the holidays, such Christmas trees will delight you with their smell, fresh look and fluffy branches. After the holidays, it can be transplanted, for example, into the yard in the garden or in the country, or you can even leave it at home as a houseplant. If you take care of the tree correctly, then it will not cause you any trouble.

Caring for this tree at home is simple, but it requires compliance with some rules. Since spruce is not indoor plant, she is still accustomed to frost, and when room temperature can behave very capriciously. By purchasing this luxurious beauty, it is best to hold it on the balcony for the first time, and only then you can bring it into an apartment or house. Indoors, such a Christmas tree should be away from heating batteries.

Purchase

If you want to make home care for a potted tree without a lot of problems, you need to carefully approach it during the purchase process.

Several simple tips when choosing a Christmas tree:

Check with the seller what frost resistance fluffy beauty. If the frost resistance of a Christmas tree in a pot is higher than 1-3 zones of the region in which you live, you can proceed to the next step;
Choose only healthy tree. When buying a plant that stands near the counter for days, you should not hope that it will stand in the apartment for a long time;
Look at the root system of the Christmas tree. It should look fresh and the soil should be moist.

After purchase, it can be transplanted into a larger pot. After all, a tree in a large pot feels more comfortable, because. the soil in it remains wet for a relatively longer time. On the new year holidays when spruce is at room temperature, this is extremely important.

In winter, spruce is at a dormant stage. If the tree is immediately brought into the house after being bought, then it may begin to grow.

To care for potted Christmas trees at home, it is best to choose unpretentious and inexpensive types - an ordinary Christmas tree or Serbian spruce.

You can also take care of indoor spruce - araucaria, which can be kept at home for at least a whole year.

Lighting. Herringbone will feel great in an unlit or at least dimly lit room, because it does not require a lot of light and heat. Care for young shoots should be carried out in a well-lit place, which is well protected from sunlight;
Top dressing. Such trees do not need strong fertilizer. Enough 1-2 times a day, because. If the humidity is too low, the tree will turn yellow and dry out. In winter, you need to water the tree no more than 1 time per month. In summer, you need to water every day, but avoid waterlogging;
Temperature regime. In winter, beauty care is best done in a cool place, the temperature of which does not fall below + 6 °. At low temperatures You need to make sure that the ground does not freeze. In summer, the Christmas tree should be kept best in conditions where there is no scorching sun. This is necessary so that the young sprouts do not turn yellow. It is best to place the tree on the balcony;
Transfer. Christmas trees in pots do not tolerate transplanting very well, especially if the roots begin to grow very strongly and fill the pot, then it's time to transplant it. It is best to transplant a Christmas tree in winter, when the spruce is at rest. The soil for transplantation should be acidic, based on peat. When transplanting Special attention should be addressed to the root system. Also, when transplanting, you should not fill up the neck of the roots, because. this will lead to the death of the plant;
Reproduction. Caring for Christmas trees is to protect from sunlight and spraying.

Caring for potted Christmas trees will not cause much trouble if you follow simple rules.