Spruce belongs to the pine family. It grows in Asia, America and Europe. Growing a Christmas tree at home is not so easy, as it requires careful care. The most common species grown in pots at home are common spruce and silver spruce. In addition to these varieties, you can also grow araucaria (indoor spruce). Araucaria can be grown at home in a pot all year round, if the tree is given proper care.
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 have a negative impact on further cultivation trees.
Temperature
During the cold season, spruce needs coolness. This season temperature regime should range from +6 to +10 °C. The forest beauty can quite easily tolerate negative temperature, only in this case you need to monitor the soil lump 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 growing a forest beauty. The tree should be watered abundantly from March to September.
The soil should not be too wet or too dry. In winter, the frequency of watering is reduced to once every 20 days if the temperature in the room is +6 - +10°C. At a temperature of 0 degrees, the tree is moistened once a month. Professionals advise spraying the tree from time to time, especially during cold weather.
Top dressing
Spruce does not need regular feeding. In summer, spruce is fertilized only about three times with universal fertilizers.
Earthen substrate
If you want to grow spruce from seeds, then you need acidic soil. You can purchase soil mixture for coniferous plants or prepare it yourself at home. Required to take universal primer and soil from a coniferous forest in equal proportions, and mix it all.
Transfer
Spruce undergoes transplantation quite painfully. It is recommended not to disturb the earthen lump and not allow the roots to be exposed. The tree needs to be replanted 2 times a year around May.
To grow a Christmas tree at home in a pot from seeds, you need to take seeds from cones, which are collected from mid-autumn until the end of winter. At home, seeds are sown no deeper than half a centimeter. During the rooting period of seedlings, the container should be placed in a well-ventilated room.
Seedlings that are one year old grow from 15 to 25 centimeters, it all depends on the type and conditions.
In order to grow a Christmas tree at home in a pot, you should adhere to proper care, otherwise there may be problems during cultivation.
If you follow all the tips listed 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.
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Many land owners dream of growing a fluffy and beautiful one. You can even decorate the area beautifully by growing an entire alley of fir trees. This is not the easiest task; it requires compliance with certain rules, as well as patience and time.
Tricks for growing spruce from a branch:
At first you need it generously and every day, in hot weather up to four times a day. Don't forget to loosen the soil too. When the first roots appear, there is no need to water more than once a day. You can spray seedlings mineral mixture. For the winter it is necessary to cover them with leaves.
Grow beautiful Christmas tree from seeds is more difficult than from a branch, but if you follow certain recommendations, you can well boast that you succeeded. It is not recommended to buy seeds in a store or order online, since you do not know the quality of these seeds, as well as how much and under what conditions they were stored.
Tricks for growing spruce from seeds:
At first, the seedling needs a greenhouse. To do this, cover it with cut plastic bottle. Do not remove 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 accumulated condensation. Do it in warm time days.
Over the summer, your spruce will not grow or become strong enough to survive winter frosts. For the winter it needs to be covered or a greenhouse made. The layer of snow should be sufficient so that the seedling does not freeze.
And now some rules for caring for a spruce tree that will allow you to grow a beautiful, healthy and tall tree on your site.
Spruce trees can easily 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 there is no strong wind. Then the tree will grow straight and strong. An abundance of bright light is also not desirable.
Proper care of spruce:
Spruce has many varieties: they differ not only in appearance, but also in the color of the needles. Let's look at the most common ones:
It has long been known that pine 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 beneficial substances. They make masks, lotions from it, and take pine baths, which is very beneficial for the skin and blood circulation in general.
Spruce needles are crushed, poured with boiling water and then used to prepare face and hair masks, creams, lotions, and tonics.
It is also useful to drink this 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 runny nose and colds. Inhalations with a decoction of pine needles destroy microbes, ease breathing, and relieve inflammation. Ointment made from healing spruce resin will help get rid of boils. Inhalations can also be done with resin and wax. This is very useful for bronchial diseases. They are cleansed, mucus is removed, inflammation is relieved.
An infusion of cones is very useful for external and internal use. To do this you need:
You can also take spruce branches along with young buds, pour boiling water over them and let it brew. If you regularly take this infusion, you can get rid of bronchitis, radiculitis, and 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 pine smell, your breath will become more energetic, your immune system will be strengthened, and your performance will increase. Remember that for peptic ulcers of the digestive system, such home remedies are prohibited. It is recommended to consult a doctor before use.
More information can be found in the video.
Don't you feel sorry for throwing away your Christmas tree after the holidays? I really like it. For a long time I began to wonder whether it is possible and how to grow a Christmas tree on our own plot so that it will delight us under New Year. And in summer, the forest beauty looks great in any area, in addition, it brings great benefits and purifies the air.
There are several ways to grow a Christmas tree, you can choose the most suitable one for yourself. But this is not an easy matter and you will have to wait several years.
1. How to grow a Christmas tree from seeds.
It is important that the seeds are ripe, otherwise you will not succeed.
Many people mistakenly believe that once the cone has opened, the seeds are ready for planting. The cones open in the warmth, regardless of whether the seeds are ripe or not. The nuts need to be prepared already late autumn so as not to make a mistake.
Preparation for planting seeds takes a long time; you need to take into account the dormancy regime and create conditions as close as possible to natural ones. You immediately 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. For quick swelling, soak the nuts in warm water for a day and sow in a special greenhouse (you can use a box). The best soil for planting is from a spruce forest. We don’t bury the nuts in the ground, but lay them out and crush them about 1 cm on top. It’s best to cover the greenhouse with a covering material, it disperses direct Sun rays. Now all that remains is to monitor the soil moisture and wait for germination. The soil should not be overdried or waterlogged. When seedlings appear, they need to be thinned out. During the season, small Christmas trees need feeding. You can feed with mullein solution (1 to 5).
2. Planting a seedling.
This is the easiest and quick way get a good quality tree. But there is one drawback: seedlings are expensive these days, so not everyone can afford them.
If you do become the happy owner of a Christmas tree in a pot (you only need to buy seedlings in pots with a closed root system), decide in advance on the planting location.
Imagine that the tree will someday grow. Choose a sunny or partial shade location. The soil for the Christmas tree is slightly acidic or neutral. Dig a hole 70 cm deep and 50 cm wide. The bottom definitely needs drainage, suitable broken bricks or just stones. The seedling must be placed in the hole at the same level as it was planted in the pot.
A serious mistake when planting is deepening the root collar. Before filling the hole, add about 30% to the soil. river sand and stir. After planting, the seedling needs daily watering; sprinkling also accelerates the growth of the plant.
3. Growing a Christmas tree from a twig.
Seedlings from spruce branches take root only in the second year. Nevertheless, 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 one-year-old cuttings. 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, we can arrange heating from manure, it will overheat and give off heat. Only the layer of soil on top must be at least 20 cm so that the seedlings do not burn.
The soil must have good water and air permeability. Well suited from spruce forest, with the addition of 30% river sand, preferably washed. We deepen the seedlings by 5-6 cm and cover them 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 roots appear, watering is usually reduced and shading is left only during the daytime. Thus, young plantings need to be grown for 3-4 years, only then transferred to a permanent place.
4. Transplanting a Christmas tree from the forest.
The advantage of this method is that you can choose a tree that is 3-4 years old. Minus - spruce trees do not tolerate transplantation well. Nevertheless, I used this particular method and did not regret it at all. The trick here is that when digging, you need to try not to damage the root; it is the core of the tree and goes quite deep into the ground. And you also need to preserve as large a lump of earth as possible on the roots, then the tree will hurt less in the new place. Well, planting and care are the same as when planting a ready-made seedling.
5. Preparing for winter.
Young seedlings are afraid not only of direct sunlight, but also of frost. Therefore, with special attention You need to think about how to cover the plants. Greenhouses can be additionally heated in winter, and if this is not possible, cover them thoroughly and sprinkle them well with snow on top. For the winter, young trees need to be hilled with peat and wrapped with covering material.
6. Benefits of spruce needles.
When you grow a spruce and understand how difficult it is, you are unlikely to raise your hand to throw away the Christmas tree after the holidays as waste material.
In addition, twigs can be used to maintain your health. With the help of spruce needles, you can cure many pulmonary diseases, runny nose, sore throat, and 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 will go away and your mood will improve.
To strengthen the immune system, you can brew spruce needles and drink them as tea, this is especially good during periods of widespread influenza and acute respiratory viral infections.
You can brew it together with the branches, pour about 300 g with three liters of water, boil for half an hour, leave in a warm place for an hour. Then you need to strain the broth.
You can add honey lemon juice, jam. Choose convenient way how to grow a Christmas tree.
Grow it, let it give joy to you and your loved ones.
At the end of April you can start sowing.” I planted several spruce seeds into tablets. You immediately 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. The tree didn’t care about it. Be sure to spray the Christmas tree at least once a day.
Also, do not forget that in nature spruce is a large, powerful tree that cannot be locked in a pot forever. One-year-old seedlings usually reach a height of 15-25 cm, depending on the variety and growing conditions. It just so happened that we set out to grow a Christmas tree at home. Then, without worrying, we planted it in regular flower soil and waited for the result! Thank you. I will report on the past summer) Green buds eventually covered the entire tree and developed into 4-6 cm branches.
As for watering, I came to the conclusion that the pan should always be filled with water. Water the tree 3-4 times a week. I violated ALL the recommendations for caring for the spruce at home... It’s amazing how it still survives... But I replanted it because there were insects in the ground. And in an apartment there is no point in growing street trees; it’s better to plant them in the yard.
In the heat, the Christmas tree cannot “sleep”; its natural cycle is disrupted, which leads to the appearance of uncharacteristic painful shoots or drying out. A two to three year old tree needs to be transplanted into its natural environment habitat, no matter how sorry it is to part with your pet. During the dormant period, watering is reduced to once every 2-3 weeks (if the room temperature is +5 - +10°C).
Seeds should be sown to a depth of no more than 0.5 cm. Before germination, the pot should be in a cool, ventilated room (in nature, spruce sprouts in early spring under the snow). This is usually a consequence of errors in care (temperature conditions, improper watering, sunburn). Affected branches are not restored.
It is necessary to add soil from under coniferous trees to the top layer of soil. The tree grew up by 5 cm. A very long process. The pot was black, so it was hot. Branches without needles should not be cut, they are alive and will give new needles at the tip, but nothing will grow in place of the old ones. In September, the Christmas tree froze and began to cover its trunk with buds for the future. There is one small disappointment) We dreamed of a Christmas tree because of its smell.
Hello. I have 2 Christmas trees, 10 cm each. For the winter, I want to bury them together with a pot in the ground in an unheated greenhouse. I put them in pots just under the bushes for the winter. Normally, both Christmas trees and thujas survive.
It will grow many times faster! It is more interesting to grow lemons and tangerines in an apartment. It is important that the seeds are ripe, otherwise you will not succeed. The cones open in the warmth, regardless of whether the seeds are ripe or not. The nuts need to be prepared in late autumn to avoid mistakes.
This is the easiest and fastest way to get a good quality tree. If you do become the happy owner of a Christmas tree in a pot (you only need to buy seedlings in pots with a closed root system), decide in advance on the planting location.
A serious mistake when planting is deepening 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. Seedlings from spruce branches take root only in the second year. Nevertheless, 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 one-year-old cuttings.
We deepen the seedlings by 5-6 cm and cover them well. Nevertheless, I used this particular method and did not regret it at all. Choose a convenient way to grow a Christmas tree. Grow it, let it give joy to you and your loved ones.
Growing a Christmas tree at home is not at all easy, but today many are following this path, trying to protect millions of young trees from a ruthless custom. A step away from this schedule and the tree immediately began to act up, i.e. threw needles. For those who decide to grow a Christmas tree at home, it is better to pay attention to such unpretentious and inexpensive species as common spruce or prickly spruce.
Unlike deciduous trees, appearance conifers remain attractive at any time of the year, so many owners strive to decorate their site with this Christmas attribute. But before planting a spruce on the site, you should decide on the type of tree, choose optimal place placement and properly prepare the soil at the dacha for planting.
The main criterion when choosing a type coniferous tree is the shape of the crown and the height of the adult plant.
Upon registration summer cottage Three types of spruce are predominantly used.
Choosing a spruce for small dacha, you should choose a plant of medium or dwarf height, and tall ones are suitable for country house with a large plot of land. When decorating garden plots, medium-sized or dwarf species are especially popular.
You can have a Christmas tree different ways. You can choose it from a nursery, bring it from the forest, or grow it yourself in a container.
During the warm season, the tree should be regularly moistened, and in cool times, reduce watering to twice every 30 days. To ensure periods of rest, the plant should be periodically placed on the balcony or in the yard. In one year, a spruce can grow up to 25 cm in height.
Since spruce can reach a height of 10 m and a width of 5 m, you must carefully choose a planting site. Under natural conditions, the plant feels good near the river, where its root system can receive enough moisture. But the tree does not like wetlands, so caring for it involves arranging drainage.
Spruce greatly depletes the soil, so it cannot be planted next to fruit-bearing crops. In addition, it should be borne in mind that in adulthood, spruce is quite large tree. Therefore, plant it under electrical wires undesirable.
Fir trees feel great surrounded by birch trees. They are not afraid of the shade that birch trees provide; on the contrary, it is even useful to them. Spruce is one of the rare trees that retains its beauty in the shade.
In the forest you can find and dig up small one-year-old fir trees. To carefully replant a tree, you should first dig around it. The circumference of the pit should be equal to the diameter of the lower branches, and the depth should be at least 0.5 m.
The roots of the plant must be carefully removed from the ground without shaking them off. Then lay the spruce on thick fabric and carefully pack, marking the cardinal directions with colored tape. Load the tree and a bag of forest soil into a vehicle and transport it to the planting site, being careful not to damage the branches and root system during transportation.
The soil in the forest is different from that in the garden. Therefore, you need to take soil from the forest from the place where you dug up the Christmas tree.
All varieties of spruce love light soil. They grow poorly on heavy types of soil. Before planting the plant in poor soil, it is necessary to add mineral fertilizer(about 100 grams).
The best time to plant spruce is spring or early autumn. At this time, the plant has already passed or has not yet entered the active growth phase. Coniferous trees grown in a container can be planted later, since their roots are not affected.
The size of the hole for planting the plant must match the volume of the earthen ball. For small plants For 2-3 years of age, a hole of 60 by 80 cm is sufficient, and if it is necessary to plant a large tree, the hole should be slightly larger than a lump of earth. The distance between the recesses for large plants should be three meters, for medium-sized ones - 3-5 m, and for dwarf plants from 0.5 to 1 m is sufficient.
Sequence of actions when landing
Mineral fertilizing should be introduced next spring. If the spruce planting is done correctly and proper care is provided, it will adapt fairly quickly.
They love spruces sunlight, but young seedlings need additional care and shading. They may suffer from the spring sun, which can cause them to lose their needles and lose their decorative properties. It is better to plant them near walls and fences, which will initially give them the necessary shade.
It should be taken into account that the root system takes up a lot of space around the spruce and can eventually run into communications and the foundation of the house. It is located shallow and does not like compaction of the soil, so it is undesirable to trample the surface of the earth near the tree. Young seedlings should be covered with spruce branches for the winter, which should be removed after termination. spring frosts. Adult spruce trees are quite frost-resistant and do not need insulation.
During prolonged drought, the plant needs additional care in the form of watering. It is necessary to carefully monitor the level of soil moisture. When watering, water should not be poured under the trunk, but in a circle within a radius of 30 cm from the tree trunk. The amount of water to moisten the soil in hot weather should be from 10 to 12 liters per plant when watered once every 7 days.
Blue spruce is a rather demanding plant, the care of which consists of pruning dry and diseased branches. This event should be held in spring and autumn. For decorative purposes, it is necessary to provide them with appropriate care, which consists of forming the crown of the trees. The first time pruning should be done in the year of planting, and then every 2-3 years, cutting off branches by 10-15 cm.
By following these simple rules, you can create a picturesque corner at your dacha, and a healthy and well-groomed plant will fit favorably into the landscape of the site. Spruces have a lot decorative varieties and shades of pine needles, so a suitable specimen can be selected for almost any style direction.
Spruce care consists of: correct landing, shading, fertilizing, pruning and infrequent watering. Coniferous trees planted on the border of a summer cottage or on the sides of the road look very decorative. It is quite difficult for the plant to adapt and take root, but if the result is achieved, the spruce will delight the eye with its lush needles all year round.