Growing a blue spruce in the country is really difficult, especially since not all of the trees planted will be blue. Statistics say that only about 30% of spruce trees become this way, which we have confirmed in practice. But that's no reason to stop!

Growing blue spruce from seeds

Growing from seeds is the longest, but also the most exciting process, which will be much more interesting than growing blue beauty from cuttings.

Collection and preparation of seed material

So let's get started. From the very beginning we will need to prepare blue spruce cones, which can be collected in the forest in mid-February. You need to put the cones in gauze bags and place them near a radiator or other heating device so that the cones open faster and produce seeds. Then, after a few weeks, the seeds are processed, the lionfish are removed from them, the seeds are washed from essential oils under running water and dry.

Now the material should be treated with potassium permanganate, a weak solution, dried a little again, placed in a clean and sterilized container. glass jar under a tight lid, and put the jar in the refrigerator for about 2 months.

The best way to prepare seeds is in natural cold - in snow. To do this, the snow in a shaded place is well compacted, a small hole is made in it, where the bag of seeds is placed. Sawdust and a denser covering are placed on top of it, which will prevent the snow from melting quickly. In a similar way, the seeds are stored until sowing.

Sowing spruce seeds

Determine the sowing date exactly, otherwise after drying the seeds from the refrigerator or from under the snow, they can be stored in this form for 40-50 hours. Having precisely determined the time and place, soak blue spruce seeds in a special solution of microelements for 11-12 hours, then treat with a solution of Fundazol 50% (20 g of the drug per bucket of water) to prevent various diseases.

If you are going to sow spruce seeds in containers - pots or containers, be sure to prepare a special soil mixture - high-moor peat with fertilizers (for 5-6 kg of peat, 35 g of limestone flour and 20 g of ammophosphate), place the soil mixture in containers and install them in holes in the greenhouse so that the top of the containers is at soil level, that is, just bury the pots. Next, sow the seeds in them to a depth of 1.5 cm and cover with film.

If the seeds are sown directly into the soil of the greenhouse, then it must be properly prepared. The soil surface is well compacted - with hands, feet, a special roller, it is not so important. Next, the seeds are laid out on the surface at a distance of 3-5 cm from each other and sprinkled with a 1 cm layer of a mixture of peat and pine sawdust.

Seedling care

After 12-20 days, when the blue spruce seedlings appear on the soil surface, they will need to be thinned out, leaving only the most strong plants, no more than 6-7 cm from each other.

The seedlings are not watered, but carefully sprayed twice a day, the soil moisture is maintained stably, without drying out or overwatering, the temperature is maintained at +13+15°C, the plants must be protected from direct rays of the sun and night frosts.

Spring plant replanting

When growing spruce seedlings, you must not only drive them to a certain level, but also not lose them during the transplantation period, and therefore, try to do everything correctly.

Christmas trees are being replanted in early spring, even before the seedlings begin to grow. This happens as follows.

Grown seedlings are carefully dug out of the soil, most often several at a time. Then they are separated, carefully and quickly, so as not to damage root system, and do not dry it out in the air.

When the plants are disconnected, their roots need to be treated with a clay mash and planted in a schoolyard according to a 15x25 cm pattern. When preparing holes for planting seedlings, be sure to add a little soil from under coniferous trees into them.

Now, just standard care, time and patience. In the third year, the seedlings will need to be planted again, but at a distance of 1 m from each other. After the next 2-3 years, you may lose up to half of the seedlings, even if they initially seemed strong. Don't worry too much, as these are standard statistics that don't even react to ideal conditions growing.

Not every summer resident will be able to withstand growing blue spruce trees from seeds; many simply do not have the patience, and we are completely sure of this. But if you finish what you started, you will be simply amazed at the result.

Conditions for growing spruce trees

When you get mature and strong trees, many of them will not be as blue as you wanted, but they will also be very nice Christmas trees that you grew yourself.

Each spruce into which you have invested so much effort will show not only excellent external results, but will also be ready to make your care easier with its resistance to many external factors. For example, mature trees are resistant to cold, are not afraid of wind and drought, and thrive even in a polluted city. The only thing is that blue Christmas trees grow slowly and require fertile soil for planting, no matter whether you plan to grow them by seeds or cuttings.

Growing blue spruce trees on video

Remember, it is very important not to plant young blue spruce cuttings or seedlings in areas that previously had corn or a potato patch.

Growing blue spruce, like common spruce, is a very interesting, but not easy task, and therefore you should only take on the task if you are completely confident in own strength and a great desire to grow beautiful tree with your own hands.

Reviews and comments

(10 ratings, average: 3,70 out of 5)

Sasha 10/22/2014

I am currently growing a pigeon spruce. In real life, it looks absolutely gorgeous, so guys, if you’re thinking about planting one of these, feel free to plant it, you won’t be disappointed, because the tree is very cool)

Alena 06.11.2014

Hello, tell me why it is necessary to dip the roots of seedlings in a clay mash. I tried to grow cedars, and it almost worked. But summer came and all my work was lost. It was very sad. Now I’m worried that my blue spruce trees will also disappear when summer comes.

Elizaveta.03/13/2015 03/13/2015

We collected blue spruce seeds, sowed them a month ago, they hatched, we don’t know how long we will need to keep them in pots at home, but it’s very interesting - I want to grow them. Of course we’ll plant them at the dacha.

Many owners of summer cottages and country houses dream of growing on their land along with fruit trees, . There are several explanations for this. Firstly, coniferous trees produce volatile substances - phytoncides, which have a detrimental effect on microbes. Secondly, christmas tree you can decorate it right on the site in front of the house, and not destroy the cut down forest beauty. Thirdly, a well-groomed healthy tree pleases with its decorative appearance, and will serve as an excellent decoration for the yard for many decades. In addition, well-formable Christmas trees can create protection from uninvited guests. In this article we will tell you how to grow spruce from seeds.

How to plant spruce from seeds?

Planting spruce with seeds is a method used by many conifer lovers. Of course, you can take a ready-made seedling, but very often, due to damage to the roots and difficulties in adapting to a new place, the young tree dies. Therefore, in order to get a beautiful and viable spruce, it is better to grow a coniferous tree from seeds. When growing spruce from seeds, it is important to remember that due to the content in them large quantity oils, coniferous seeds quickly lose their viability.

Collecting spruce seeds

The seeds produce ripe, opened fir cones. Cones collected in winter are slightly dried in a warm place so that they open up in the best possible way. Immature buds may not produce viable seedlings.

How to germinate spruce seeds?

There are 3 methods used to propagate coniferous trees.

1. Scarification of spruce seeds. For better seed germination, scarification can be carried out - breaking the dense seed coverings. To do this, the seeds are placed in a jar, previously lined with coarse sandpaper from the inside, and intense shaking is performed, as a result of which the hard covers are broken. Seeds treated in this way must be sown immediately after treatment.
2. Stratification of spruce seeds. Germination of spruce seeds requires a period of time from several months to a year. To speed up the germination process, stratification is used. Coniferous seeds collected in late autumn or winter are soaked and kept at zero temperature for several weeks. You can place the seeds in coarse wet sand or pine sawdust. At the end of April, sowing is carried out in prepared substrate in pots or in open ground.
3. Snowmaking. The seeds are sown in wooden boxes and placed under the snow throughout the winter. In spring, crops are placed in moderate warm room under the film. This method can be used in areas where winters are relatively mild and at the same time snowy.

Planting spruce seeds

For planting, a soil mixture is prepared from garden soil with the addition of peat or humus, it is highly moisturized. The seeds are treated with phytosporin (to prevent fungal diseases) and planted to a depth of 0.5 cm. When planting deeper planting material may not rise. It is important to constantly maintain high humidity soil before emergence. When planting seedlings in May or summer, they must be shaded. Shading is removed only then when the shoots become elastic, they will not sag. It is advisable to carefully pull out weeds, although weeds do not have such a detrimental effect on growing tiny fir trees as they do on seedlings of deciduous trees. For successful development of seedlings, the soil should be moist, but not excessively wet. Twice a month, young Christmas tree plantings are treated with the Enzhio insecticide (3-4 ml per bucket of water).

In this way, it is possible to grow many varieties of spruce from seeds, including blue spruce, attractive for its noble appearance and unusual color pine needles During the first year, with normal growing season, the coniferous tree should grow to 30–35 cm.

Amazing and beautiful blue spruce! She enchants and attracts the attention of connoisseurs of her beauty and ordinary passers-by. Many people plant this amazing thing near houses, in gardens to give beautiful view. Growing such a spruce is quite labor-intensive, but it is worth it. In this article we will look at the basic rules that must be used when growing blue spruce.

Small containers or flower pots. When planting, seeds should be placed not in ordinary soil, but in a specially prepared soil mixture consisting of high-moor peat and fertilizers.

It is prepared like this:

• Take about five kilograms of peat and mix it with twenty grams of ammophosphate, having first added thirty grams of limestone flour to the peat.
• The earth mixture obtained in this way is placed in containers prepared for planting.
• Containers with soil mixture are placed in a greenhouse, making minor depressions in its soil.
• Then spruce seeds are placed in these containers, no more than one and a half centimeters deep.
• To add additional heat, the containers are covered with film.

When sowing seeds, they ate directly into the soil itself, which is located in the soil, then it is first prepared. To prepare the soil for seeds in a greenhouse, it is tamped manually. The seeds prepared for sowing are spread over the surface layer of soil, maintaining a distance of five centimeters from each other. The seed material is sprinkled with a small amount of peat and pine sawdust on top.

After you have sowed the spruce seeds into the soil, it will take about three weeks for the seedlings to appear. It is necessary to immediately thin out the blue spruce seedlings. They thin out in such a way that weak and irregularly shaped seedlings are removed, leaving strong and beautiful ones. The distance between thinned spruce shoots should be at least seven centimeters.

The seedlings should not be watered, as this does not have a very beneficial effect on their growth.

It is best to spray lightly about twice throughout the day. You should not spray the seedlings too much, as you may damage them. Keep the soil moist and don't let it dry out.

The optimal temperature for seedlings is about fifteen degrees Celsius, so it should be maintained at this level. Make sure that the seedlings are not exposed to direct sunlight, which can cause burns on them. Frosts also have a negative impact on the growth of spruce trees.

Replanting seedlings is very important for spruce. If it is not done correctly, plants can die or acquire an abnormal growth form. It is worth replanting spruce trees in the spring, without waiting for the appearance of active growth seedlings

For this:

• The seedlings obtained earlier and grown to the size of seedlings are dug out of the ground and separated from each other.
• This should be done very carefully to prevent damage to the root system of the plants.
• The disconnected plants are treated with root systems using a clay mash.
• Then these seedlings are planted in a shkolka, having first made small holes in them and placed in them the soil collected under the growing coniferous trees.

All the main steps for transplantation have been completed, all that remains is to wait for the results. Usually, in the third year of life, seedlings are replanted, but at a greater distance. Blue spruce is very capricious to growing conditions, so many of its seedlings die in the first years of life after replanting. In addition, all blue spruces grow very slowly, so to get a beautiful and tall tree you should be patient.

When replanting a blue spruce into a place of permanent growth, pay attention to the composition of the soil characteristic of this area.

Blue spruce will grow very slowly in areas with poor topsoil or dry soils. If a spruce grows on soils with a high content of lime, it means it is quite old, since spruce grows very poorly on these lands. Fertile soil with sufficient moisture is best suited for them. Under no circumstances should blue spruce be planted on soil where it previously grew either. These soils no longer contain the microelements necessary for normal growth of spruce.

Make sure that the planted spruce plant is not exposed to strong winds, otherwise it will acquire an irregular growth form and will suffer from frequent breaking of branches. To protect the blue spruce from strong winds, small shelters or plantings are made next to it. All the efforts made to grow a blue spruce are well worth the resulting beauty.

More information can be found in the video.

(18 ratings, average: 4,36 out of 5)

Due to its beauty and unpretentiousness, blue spruce is widespread far beyond its original range - North America. Among the variety of coniferous trees, it stands out favorably with its bluish-gray needle color. Mature plant It has the shape of a cone and is decorated with oblong shaped cones. Artificially grown trees live for about a century, in contrast to their wild counterparts, whose maximum age can be 600-800 years.

Blue spruce reaches up to 25-30 meters in height, grows quite steadily, at the age of 10 years it does not exceed 4 meters. Breeders received many varieties of this plant, at this time there are at least 70 of them. With blue needles you can see not only classic massive spruce trees, but also small, low-growing fluffy plants creeping along the ground. The height of some of the resulting species may not exceed half a meter. A wide variety of varieties allows you to choose the ideal tree for your site.

How to plant blue spruce at home

Blue spruce looks advantageous on the territory of a private house and will decorate any area. You can buy a seedling or grow it yourself, which is quite difficult, but with diligence and following the care instructions it is possible. There are few ways to propagate blue spruce; let’s consider all the options.

Growing spruce from seeds a complex but exciting process. It is necessary to select an adult healthy tree with a dense crown. In February, collect several tightly closed cones. They should be stored in fabric bags. In order for the spruce cones to open and release their seeds, you need to place them in a warm place, for example, on a heating radiator. Rinse the resulting seeds under running water and remove the lionfish. Place the treated grains in a weak solution of potassium permanganate for several hours. After drying, place the seeds back into the bag and store for about two months under the snow or in the refrigerator. This procedure will harden the future tree and increase its immunity.

Blue spruce seeds need to be planted in April; one or two days before planting, the grains need to be dried and sorted. We place seeds in the prepared soil (based on peat with fertilizers) to a depth of 1-2 cm. After 2-4 weeks, small sprouts should appear, which need to be thinned out, leaving the largest ones, keep the distance between them from 7 cm. It is up to you to decide how many sprouts to leave you, but keep in mind that their survival rate is extremely low, so it’s better to stock up on more of them. After a year of life, they will form into seedlings that need to be grown in a greenhouse. Seedlings are planted in open ground in April, after the end of frost.

Knowing how to grow blue spruce from seeds at home, you need to know that the tree can grow and Green colour . Only 30% of plants from seeds acquire blue needles. The final color of the spruce will be clear only by the second year of life.

Propagation of blue spruce by cuttings

This method is widespread due to the fact that all the characteristics of the original tree, including color, are transferred directly to the seedling. Having chosen the desired tree, you should cut or break off a cutting from 10 to 20 cm long, it is important that at the base it “grabs” a piece of bark from the trunk. This event is held in April, when the trees begin to flow sap. The cuttings are planted in a container or hole filled with a mixture of peat, sand and fertilizer. At first, it is recommended to make a small greenhouse on top; for this you can use a cut plastic eggplant. Until the end of summer, avoid exposure to sunlight at midday, create shade for the cuttings. Keep the soil moist, do not flood it or overdry it.

Gallery: blue spruce (25 photos)

Purchasing a ready-made seedling

It’s better to buy a seedling in a special nursery. Before purchasing, inspect the tree; it must have strong roots, evenly distributed needles along the trunk and no damage. Choose low seedlings, no more than 50-70 cm, these will take root better in a new place. It should be planted in moist soil for coniferous trees; you can buy it or bring it yourself from a pine forest.

How to choose the right place to plant a blue spruce

Before planting a seedling plan the location carefully. Spruce perennial, which will grow for several generations, replant mature tree will be impossible. A few recommendations for choosing a landing site:

• Growing a Christmas tree next to other trees is a bad idea; its roots grow horizontally and can kill other plants.
• Spruce is extremely fragile and can fall in strong winds. To prevent it from damaging your house or buildings, plant it at a distance of 20-30 meters.
• The planting site should be well lit, then the tree will have a beautiful crown.

Blue spruce care

After spruce propagation, the seedling and the tree itself require careful, regular care in the future. Let's look at the main recommendations.

Spruce is a coniferous plant that plays the role of classic decoration territories. Blue spruce is one of the endangered species, therefore it is listed in the Red Book. This factor affects the cost of pine seedlings. But why spend money on buying young trees if you can grow them with your own hands? Let’s try to understand together how to grow spruce from seeds, because in addition to saving money, the gardener receives a healthy, adapted to environment plant.

Owners of country estates are massively purchasing blue spruce cuttings 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 this type of conifer is the color of the needles. When growing spruce at home from seeds, it is possible to obtain a tree with 30% of the spines painted noble blue, the rest acquire a classic green tint. Therefore, many are interested in the question: “How to grow spruce from seeds at home and get a high-quality seedling?”

How to get a high-quality seedling when growing at home?

There are three ways to propagate spruce trees:

• vaccination;
• cutting method;
• 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 coniferous plants that are not yet fully established. So, planting spruce begins with the selection of cuttings. Winter cuttings are best suited, as they produce results up to 4 times faster. The most favorable period for rooting is considered to be the moment of swelling of the buds. The main thing when propagating spruce is not to forget about maintaining the temperature and the required level of moisture.

Blue spruce grown this way reaches 1 meter in height within 5 years. At this point the tree can be transplanted to permanent place 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 material and how high quality it was.

Seed collection

To grow any plant with your own hands, you need selected planting material, which is better not to buy, but to get it yourself. To grow spruce seedlings, seeds obtained from the fruits of a coniferous plant - cones - are used. The cones are collected in mid-February. This is the ideal time to collect full-fledged spruce seeds. The cones are placed in a fabric bag and placed next to a heating device or fireplace, which facilitates quick opening and free access to the grains. After a few weeks, you will be able to remove the seeds without damaging them. After the cones open, the spruce seeds in the bag are ground together to remove the lionfish. Rinsing under running water will get rid of the greasy film formed due to the release of essential oils. At the final stage of preparation, the planting material is well dried.

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

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

Setting the stage

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

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

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

• 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 ammophosphate 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 earth embankment in a greenhouse.

Important! When choosing the first planting method, an additional top layer is poured on top of the soil layer - made of sawdust and peat.

Planting seeds

To begin, determine the most auspicious date spruce for planting. The seedling will feel comfortable in nature if the ambient temperature is around +19o C (+-1-2 o C).

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

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

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

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

Seed germination

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

When fragile seedlings enter the active growth phase, it is necessary to maintain optimal conditions growing needles, which are as follows:

• stop watering and introduce light spraying of seedlings with water - 2 times a day;
• support temperature regime: minimum temperature - +13o C, maximum - +15o C.

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

A month later, a young blue spruce seedling reaches a height of 3-4 cm. Experts note that indirect diffuse sunlight has a good effect on the growth rates of specimens. Since small needles are not resistant to diseases that affect plants, namely root rot, there is a need for special protection: first, a fungicide will be required, followed by treatment with an insecticide solution.

Plant transplantation

You already know how to grow spruce seedlings from seeds, but it is impossible to do this efficiently without replanting. 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, prepare holes, which are compacted and sprinkled with a layer of earth mixture from under a coniferous plant.

How to carry out a transplant correctly?

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

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

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

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

Are you wondering how long does spruce grow from seeds? And we have an answer to this question. After 5 years, you will have a full-fledged spruce exceeding 1 meter in height.

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

Preface

Conifer lovers have at least once in their lives thought about how to grow spruce from seeds. Many people believe that it is difficult to do this themselves and that it is easier to purchase adult seedlings from a nursery. Perhaps today your opinion will change. You will learn how to collect planting material and prepare it for spring planting in the ground.

Why does spruce change color?

The spruce seedling you grow and plant will not always have exactly the same color as its ancestor. For example, if you collected blue spruce cones and planted the seeds in the ground, there is a good chance that your tree will not have the same bluish color. This can happen when growing common spruce. You can understand what final color your spruce will have only 3-4 years after it is transplanted to a permanent place of growth. This is why many people prefer to grow spruce from cuttings.

Ate on the site

If a spruce grows surrounded by one species, then the possibility of cross-pollination is minimal, which means that the chance of getting a seedling from its seeds that is as close as possible to the original increases several dozen times. If you want to grow a spruce on your site, you should decide in advance what kind of tree you want to get - a varietal tree or an artificially bred hybrid. If you choose the second option, then keep in mind that hybrids do not retain their parental forms during reproduction.

Seed procurement - how to select and prepare for stratification?

You can purchase seeds of Norway spruce, as well as other conifers, in a specialized store, but many prefer a simpler and more economical option - collecting fallen cones. You can collect them in the park, forest, or even from your neighbor in the country. The most favorable periods for collecting cones are November and December. There is one important point. The cones must ripen and fall to the ground, but not have time to open, otherwise all the seeds will be scattered by the wind, and you will have nothing to grow spruce from. Try to collect planting material from trees that are 7-8 years old; it is from such spruce trees that the percentage of seed germination is quite high.

Young spruce seedlings

We leave the collected cones for a couple of days (in some cases it may take a week) near heating device so that they open up. When this happens, give the bud a good shake. Seeds with scales should spill out of the opened sinuses, which need to be removed. To do this, rub the seeds between your palms, first placing them in a gauze or canvas bag. After this, we wash the cleaned seeds under running water, disinfect them in a weak solution of potassium permanganate and let them dry.

The next stage is the stratification of spruce seeds. This is the immersion of seeds in a cold space, simulating natural conditions growth. This method will improve the germination of the crop and prepare the seeds for germination in the ground. Similar conditions can be created under snow, but given the variability of the weather in winter, it is better to use a refrigerator to carry out stratification. Prepare a container by adding wet peat or placing peat tablets, after soaking them in water and squeezing out excess moisture. Place the seeds on top and sprinkle them with a thin layer of peat, cover the container with a transparent lid or film and put it in the refrigerator. The seeds will remain in this state until spring, after which you can begin planting them in the ground.

Planting in a container and greenhouse - what kind of soil is needed?

Stratification is initial stage growing spruce from seeds. With the onset of warm spring days, think about the next important question - how to plant seeds in the ground. There are several options. You can plant the seeds in a pot or greenhouse. Whatever method you choose, we first prepare the soil for planting. For 6 kg of peat add 35 g of limestone flour and 20 g of ammophosphate. To make the soil even looser, you can add sand or vermiculite, depending on the density of the mixture. If you don't want to cook planting soil yourself, buy it already ready mixture For coniferous plants in the shop.

Spruce planting

After preparation, pour the soil mixture into a pot or container. A day before planting the seeds, they must be “awakened” by immersing them in warm water, then dry. The seeds do not need to be buried deep; place them at a comfortable distance from each other on the surface of the soil and sprinkle the top with soil no more than 1 cm thick. Otherwise, the sprouts will not be able to break through the thickness of the soil. If the spruce is grown in a pot, cover it with a transparent lid, and if in a greenhouse, cover it with film. This will prevent direct sunlight and create the necessary microclimate for active growth. Until young shoots appear, maintain a moderate level of humidity, preventing the soil from drying out, and also remove excess condensation with a dry cloth. protective film or lids.

How quickly does a seedling develop, and what does it need to grow?

If the level of humidity and light is normal, then after the first month of growth the spruce seedling will grow to 3–4 cm. During this period, it is especially important to provide the young seedling with long daylight hours, using special LED bulbs. When the spruce grows up and becomes cramped in the container, you can transplant it, doing it extremely carefully. At the same time, it is impossible to expose the root system of the plant; transplant it into a new pot along with a lump of earth. Depending on the care and variety in the first year of growth, the height of the seedling may vary. As a rule, it is 15–25 cm.

Growing spruce

To speed up the growth of spruce, add biostimulants and also feed it with a solution of mullein in a ratio of 1:5 with water.

IN winter period Watering of spruce should be adjusted depending on the temperature in the greenhouse or other room where it is grown. At 0 °C we water no more than once a month, at higher rates - once every 2-3 weeks. IN room conditions We recommend additionally spraying the spruce with a spray bottle. If the needles turn yellow and fall off, it means that the temperature regime has been disturbed or there has been a sharp temperature change. In this case, create for the plant comfortable conditions. The soil temperature should be about 23–24 °C, and the air temperature – 18–20 °C. And in order to increase the immunity of spruce, spray it with the biostimulant Zircon or Bona Forte.

Loss of shine on needles may indicate weak soil acidity. To raise the pH level, add some granular hydrangea potting soil to the top layer of soil. These flowers also like acidic soil, so this fertilizer will do and for spruce trees, this way you will create the desired acid balance. If your future Christmas tree is growing in a greenhouse, do not forget to cover it with protective material for the winter, mulch the soil with peat, and protect it from frost.

Decorate the yard small coniferous tree It is possible if you grow spruce from seeds. It's cheaper than buying a seedling. Planting and care will not cause difficulties if you follow the rules and take into account the characteristics of the plant.

Growing spruce at home from seeds

At first glance, planting a seedling is faster and more convenient. If you want to save money, dig a small tree in the forest and bury it on your property. But this operation is not entirely legal, forest spruce trees are protected by the state, and replanting can be disastrous for the plant.

Source: Depositphotos

It is easier to grow spruce from seeds collected from trees growing nearby.

But no one will stop you from taking cones from the trees you like, even those listed in the Red Book.

Planting should be done in the following sequence:

1. Collect planting material. In winter, take unopened cones from different, preferably not very young trees, put them in a dry, warm place and wait until they open and the seeds fall out.
2. Prepare the seeds. Remove the lionfish from them, rinse under running water and treat with a weak solution of potassium permanganate, then dry. Place in a sterile jar and refrigerate for 2 months. This procedure, stratification, will strengthen the plant’s immunity and stimulate germination. If the seeds were collected at the end of February, you can skip it.
3. Prepare the soil. You can collect it from where you collected the cones, calcinate it, sprinkle it a little with a solution of potassium permanganate and mix it with peat, or buy ready-made soil for coniferous plants.
4. Soak the seeds. In March, fill the fir nuts warm water, if desired, add a root stimulator.
5. Plant the seeds. Place a layer of drainage in a large pot and fill it with soil. Place the grains on the surface, sprinkle with a thin layer of soil, spray with a spray bottle and cover with film. Place it on the windowsill next to the battery.

The time for emergence of seedlings can range from 2 weeks to several months.

Caring for spruce grown from seeds

Spray the emerged seedlings with water so that the soil does not dry out, but is not wet either. Optimal temperature for them about +15 °C. Delicate plants do not like direct sunlight or frost. When they stretch out a little, thin them out, leaving the stronger ones.

As the weather warms up, move the seedlings into fresh air. Water regularly, mulch, fertilize 1-2 times a month. They grow slowly and gradually become stronger. Next spring plant them in the ground at a distance of 20 cm, adding some pine needles to the holes.

For blue spruce, it is considered normal for half of the seedlings to disappear in the third year.

Replant three-year-old trees, increasing the distance between them to 1 m. Now it is enough to water them occasionally and feed them twice a year. In a few years, another transplant will be required - to a place where the spruce will grow constantly.

The seeds produce strong, hardened, frost-resistant trees. It will take time to grow them, but the resulting beauty will enliven the area, create comfort, and become a decoration for the New Year's holiday.