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

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

Planting fir trees

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

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

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

Feeding spruce trees

Many gardeners mistakenly believe that manure is an excellent fertilizer for all plants, shrubs and trees. But that's not true. The main mistake when caring for coniferous trees, including spruce trees, is fertilizing them with manure. This approach has ruined many green beauties in summer cottages, even experienced gardeners. If a gardener feeds the spruce with such fertilizer, he may forget that there will be beautiful evergreen shrubs on his plot.

Despite the fact that some literary sources give recommendations for feeding spruce trees with a weak infusion of mullein, it is better not to put the tree at risk.

It is best to use for feeding spruce trees. mineral fertilizers. Since spruce, unlike other trees, does not shed its leaves in the fall, it does not need additional nutrition to restore its crown in the spring. It also does not require nutrition to form a crop. Thus, you need to fertilize this tree very little. Coniferous beauties need micronutrients and vitamins only for growth.

It is very important to avoid fertilizers that contain large amounts of nitrogen, since all coniferous plants do not tolerate an excess of this substance. Although nitrogen-containing fertilizers stimulate growth, it can be dangerous. Thus, the intensive growth of immature shoots leads to the fact that they are not ready for the winter cold and die. After wintering, your spruce trees will greet you in the area with yellowed needles. The growth points die off in cold weather, and the tree becomes infected with chlorosis.

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

How to improve productivity?

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

Read...

Photosynthesis of spruce trees is less than that of deciduous trees and shrubs. In order for photosynthesis to proceed successfully, the tree needs magnesium. For liming conifers it is recommended to use dolomite flour, which contains magnesium. But this fertilizer is not enough. It is necessary to fertilize with other compounds that contain easily digestible magnesium.

For normal development Microelements are very important for spruce. If a tree lacks at least one element, it develops poorly, the shoots are immature, and chlorosis may also occur.

Rules for choosing fertilizers

When choosing fertilizer for spruce, consider the following rules:

• the composition must contain a minimum amount of nitrogen;
• the composition should contain easily digestible magnesium;
• The preparation for feeding should contain at least 10-12 microelements (if there are more, then even better).

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

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

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

Spring feeding

For spring feeding, you can use a fertilizer such as “Uniflor-bud”. It is ideal for spruce trees and meets all the basic principles of proper. It contains 18 microelements, has easily soluble magnesium and little nitrogen. Also good fertilizer for spring feeding - “Uniflor-cactus”. It contains very little nitrogen, but contains magnesium, calcium and 18 trace elements.

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

Autumn feeding

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

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

Caring for spruce trees: cutting, watering, mulching

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

It is important to observe moderation when cutting, since an unnatural crown protects plants less well, and they can be damaged by winds and frosts.

Watering spruce

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

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

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

Spruce mulching

Mulching may be required not only for young seedlings, but also for adult plants. Thanks to this procedure, it is possible to reduce sudden changes in temperature, the growth of weeds and retain moisture in the soil. Thanks to mulching, the composition of the soil improves, as earthworms actively begin to develop in it.

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

Preparing spruce trees for wintering
If by the end of summer - beginning of autumn the soil was sufficiently moistened, then no additional preparation for wintering will be required. There is no need to build any additional shelters for spruce trees during the winter. During winter thaws, such shelters can only provoke the appearance of fungus on the trees.

If the winter is snowy, then you need to come to the site from time to time to shake off the snow from the branches. Excessive snow covers cause trees to break. A young spruce will not tolerate too much snow in the first years. If there is no way to visit the site in winter, you can tie the branches upward with twine in late autumn.

Common diseases

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

To minimize the possibility of fungus appearing on a tree, when purchasing seedlings, it is better to give preference to varieties that are highly resistant to disease. If the tree disease cannot be avoided, then fungicide treatment can be used for treatment.

Yellowing of needles

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

Also, the cause of yellow needles can be a pest - spruce-fir hermes. Colonies of this pest look like white cotton wool. Most often they hide on the underside of the needles. To rid the spruce of this pest at the very beginning of spring (optimally in April), the branches are sprayed with a special composition. To prepare it, the preparations Rogor and Antio are used: 10 grams of preparations per 10 liters of water.

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

If the shoots look burnt, then perhaps a pest such as the common spruce sawfly has settled on the spruce. If caterpillars of this pest are detected, the branches must be treated with fufanon solution (20 milliliters of the drug per 10 liters of water).

When appearing on needles brown spots and further yellowing or blackening requires treatment of the tree for a disease called Schutte vulgaris. To do this, you need to spray with one of the solutions. This can be Bordeaux liquid (for 10 liters of water, 100 grams of the composition), zineb (for 10 liters of water, from 50 to 100 grams of the drug, depending on the age of the tree), colloidal sulfur (for 10 liters of water, 200 grams of the drug). The same compounds can be used to treat tree branches when orange spots appear on the needles and swelling of the shoots.

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

Reproduction of spruce

A variety of methods can be used to propagate spruce. Thus, for species-specific spruce trees, seeds are used; selection species are grown from cuttings with grafting. But the most popular method of propagation is branches. They can be cut in spring (late April), summer (mid-June or late August) and autumn (november).
Picture 8. Tree propagation.

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

How to properly care for a spruce

And a little about the author’s secrets

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

• inability to move easily and comfortably;
• discomfort when going up and down stairs;
• unpleasant crunching, clicking not of your own accord;
• pain during or after exercise;
• inflammation in the joints and swelling;
• causeless and sometimes unbearable aching pain in the joints...

Now answer the question: are you satisfied with this? Can such pain be tolerated? How much money have you already wasted on ineffective treatment? That's right - it's time to end this! Do you agree? That is why we decided to publish an exclusive interview with Oleg Gazmanov, in which he revealed the secrets of getting rid of joint pain, arthritis and arthrosis.

Attention, TODAY only!

How to properly grow blue spruce trees at home? How to plant blue spruce in the fall

How to plant a spruce in the fall?

Spruce, like other trees, is planted in spring or autumn. If you decide to decorate your garden with a new “resident” during the saddest time of the year, we recommend that you familiarize yourself with the rules on how to plant a spruce on your site.

How to plant a spruce at home: choosing the time, seedling and place

Before planting a spruce in the fall, decide on the optimal time for this action. Spruce plants best tolerate planting late in the fall, when frosts already appear in the morning. We recommend buying a seedling from a gardening farm: fir trees from there adapt well to new conditions. To plant spruce, give preference to a two-year-old seedling with evenly distributed branches, a well-developed root system (the ends of the roots should be white) and a large ball of earth.

In how to plant a spruce correctly, it is important to choose suitable soil. The tree prefers acidic soil. If there is none on your site, just try to bring soil from the spruce forest. In addition, you should not plant spruce in the garden; a place in the garden is suitable for it, perhaps close to a birch or other spruce.

How to plant a spruce correctly in the fall?

A deep hole is prepared for the seedling - with a diameter of 1 m and a depth of 0.7-1 m. A drainage layer of sand and stones 15 cm high is placed at the bottom of the hole. Then a layer of a mixture of turf and leaf soil and sand is placed along with humus or inorganic fertilizers ( 120 g nitroammophoska). Place the seedling in the hole, carefully straighten the roots and cover it with soil, compacting it periodically. Make sure that the root collar of the trunk is level with the ground surface. At the end, water the Christmas tree with a bucket of warm water and mulch the tree trunk with peat.

If we talk about how to plant a spruce from the forest, then choose a small tree with a good crown in the spruce forest. After digging up the tree, carefully place its roots on a natural fabric blanket. Tie the ends of the blanket around the bottom of the trunk, completely covering the roots. The spruce is planted together with the fabric without removing it.

As for how to plant spruce from seeds, this procedure is not performed in the fall. Seedlings are grown throughout the spring and summer.

womanadvice.ru

HOW TO PROPERLY PLANT A BLUE FIR IN AUTUMN FROM A POT INTO THE GROUND

A site about the garden, cottage and indoor plants.

Planting and growing vegetables and fruits, caring for the garden, building and repairing a summer house - all with your own hands.

Selecting and buying a Christmas tree in a pot - care and subsequent replanting in the ground

How to choose a live spruce for the New Year and then transplant it into open ground

A SPRUCE IN A POT IS COZY AND ORIGINAL, ECO-FRIENDLY AND FASHIONABLE, RATIONAL AND AESTHETIC. IT'S NICE TO KNOW THAT ON HOLIDAYS, YOUR HOUSE IS DECORATED WITH A LIVING TREE AND NOT A CUT-DOWN TREE. ANOTHER UNDOUBTED ADVANTAGE THAT PRODUCT SELLERS TALK ABOUT IS THE POSSIBILITY TO PLANT IT IN THE GARDEN OR KEEP IT ON THE BALCONY. BUT HERE IS THE DIFFICULTY STARTING

It turns out that not every plant sold under the guise of a “New Year’s tree” is capable of growing in a garden, much less on a balcony in a limited amount of soil and without snow cover. We still have to work out how to preserve it before planting it in the garden.

Before you go shopping, you should decide how you want to use the plant after the holiday. The answer to this question will help determine not only the type of conifer, but also its size, crown habitus and the size of the pot in which the plant is planted.

If you are going to plant a plant in the garden after the holiday, you should study the issue of winter hardiness of the selected species and variety (shape), find out the size of an adult plant (whether it is a large tree about 20 m tall or a dwarf not exceeding 1 m) and its preferences regarding location, so that roughly know where and with which neighbors you can place a purchase.

Thus, among coniferous species there are no shade-loving species, but spruce, fir and thuja can tolerate slight shading, and forms with colored needles are more light-loving. Pine is more drought-resistant compared to thuja, spruce and fir. All of them require well-drained soil of medium texture (loam), since they cannot tolerate stagnant water.

It should be noted that Canadian spruce and western thuja can turn brown (burn) in late winter - early spring. Stable in central Russia are common spruce, E. prickly, E. Canadian, Scots pine, p. cedar, village Weymouth, balsam fir, whitebark fir, monochrome fir, subalpine fir, Korean fir and western thuja.

But from the acquisition of the so-called “Danish fir” (Nordmann fir, or Caucasian fir), black pine, p. small-flowered "Negishi", p. Geldreich's "Compact Gem" and "Malinki" are best avoided. They are not suitable for our climate.

If your balcony is insulated and the temperature on it does not drop below -5... -7 °C, you can buy ordinary conifers that are resistant to the middle zone. If the temperature on the balcony and outside does not differ much, pay attention to more winter-hardy species and forms (Scots pine "Watereri", "Nana", "Compressa", "Beuvronensis"), since on the balcony even when covered with kraft paper and non-woven material, the conditions are harsher than in open ground.

The entire range of conifers offered for the role of New Year's tree can be conditionally divided according to two decorative characteristics: the shape of the crown and the color of the needles.

The pyramidal shape of the crown is characteristic of most fir trees (including fir Korean varieties"Silberlocke" and "Samling"), common spruce "Columnaris", e. prickly "Iseli Fastigiate", e. Serbian, e. Canadian "Conica", western thuja "Smaragd" and "Brabant", Scots pine Fastigiata, as well as species plant, p. European cedar and s. Korean.

Blue needles are characteristic of prickly spruce varieties "Hoopsii", "Glauca", "Fat Albert", Scots pine "Glauca", p. dwarf cedar "Glauca", p. Weymouth "Ammerland".

If you grow a tree on the balcony, pay attention to the slow-growing forms of Canadian spruce "Nana", "Conica", "Echiniformis", e. common "Nidiformis" and "Little Gem", e. Serbian "Nana", thuja "Tiny" Tim".

Thuja western "Yellow Ribbon", "Smaragd Witbonf", "Wagneri", "Woodwardii" has a conical or ovoid crown shape.

In order to avoid making an unfortunate mistake when purchasing and not to purchase a plant that was initially doomed to death, you need to know a few simple rules.

Information about spruce is welcome

See if there are labels on the plants: this is not only a significant “plus” for the manufacturer and confirmation of the quality of the product, but also brief, succinct information for the buyer about the preferences of a particular crop (light/shade, dry/wet), its growth pattern and winter hardiness. All this is important to know when purchasing a plant for a more or less long term.

The root system of conifers is very fragile and vulnerable. If the plant was dug out of the ground in a hurry before the holiday and squeezed into a pot, then it is practically doomed to death. Therefore, you should not make purchases in dubious stores, on roadsides and places of spontaneous trade. If you really intend to keep your new pet, then choose a local nursery that professionally breeds conifers. As a last resort, you can purchase a Christmas tree from a reliable garden center. By the way, conifers in pots stored outside in winter must be covered with sawdust or snow.

No need to break!

You should definitely refrain from purchasing if the needles are falling off the plant. Signs that the tree is no longer viable are the following: the branches are brittle (in a living plant they are flexible and the roots look lifeless (healthy roots are succulent and have yellow or white tips).

Until you see it for yourself...

If possible, you should carefully remove the tree with roots from the pot, for which the container is first lightly squeezed with your hands and tapped. Ideally root system should completely entwine the entire lump. If the soil immediately crumbles and the roots stick out in different directions, then it is better to refrain from purchasing.

Be sure to pay attention to the moisture content of the substrate in the pot. Dry soil not only indicates poor quality of plant care, it is also extremely negative factor for the tree itself. It has been noticed that coniferous crops whose roots have been overdried die almost one hundred percent.

Pay attention to the color of the needles. The presence of brown, brown or yellow shoots should alert you. This is a clear sign of disease or death of the plant. However, green needles

(blue, silver in some forms) is not a 100% guarantee of health. A coniferous plant can remain green all winter, and with the onset of spring warmth it can quickly crumble.

A large pot for a large Christmas tree!

A knowledgeable buyer will immediately pay attention to the proportionality of the container and the tree. It is unlikely that a beautiful lush plant could be grown in too small a pot. This means that it is very likely that the root system was severely pruned before planting in a new, cramped container, which will have an extremely negative impact on the further viability of the plant.

Christmas tree in a bag

Manufacturers can offer conifers not only in containers, but also with an earthen ball wrapped in burlap. After purchase, such a plant should be removed from the wrapper and planted in a container of a suitable size (preferably 3 - 5 cm in diameter and deeper than the existing lump). It is not advisable to purchase plants with an open root system. Even in regions with cool, not cold winters, even such conifers dug up in a special area take root worse than plants with a closed root system grown in compliance with agricultural techniques.

How to care for a Christmas tree in a pot

Immediately after purchase, you should not bring the plant into a warm room (room), nor should you take it outside after the holidays. Large temperature fluctuations are too much stress, which can lead to death. If you live in a private house, you should think about whether to dress up the purchased plant in front of the windows of the living room or children's room outside? At the same time, it is not necessary to plant it immediately - you can simply dig the pot deep into the snow.

After all, the plant was purchased specifically for the room; the coniferous plant should be placed on a balcony or terrace for a few days to ensure the smoothest possible temperature transition. During severe frosts, the temperature on the balcony, and especially on the terrace, is negative, so you should cover the pot with an unnecessary blanket or non-woven material. By placing the plant in this way, a weak polyp should be produced.

After 5-7 days (or later if time permits), the plant can be brought into the room. The optimal temperature for keeping it in the room is + 16...+19 ° C, which, of course, is uncomfortable for humans. Therefore, conifers usually have to put up with the +22… + 24 °C we are used to.

In an apartment or house, conifers need abundant watering and it is advisable high humidity air, for which the container can be placed on a wide platform with expanded clay poured on it. Water needs to be added there systematically. You can also put pieces of ice or snow in the pot - this is not only an additional source of moisture, but also an excellent way to cool the soil and air around the plant. Conifers react to lack of watering by dropping their needles and drying out the branches. Overwatering is also harmful: it causes root rot. Feeding is not needed, as it stimulates the growth of shoots, and our task is not to awaken the plant, but to keep it as safe and sound as possible. Young, weak, immature growth will certainly die when the plant is returned to the terrace or balcony after the holidays.

When placing a spruce tree in a room, you should not choose a place near a heat source (radiator, stove). No matter how romantic the picture of a spruce tree by the fireplace may be, not a trace of the plant’s beauty will remain next to the heat of the fire.

After purchasing from a plant, you should wash the needles, since the dust accumulated on them clogs the stomata and disrupts respiration and metabolic processes. You can wash it with a shower, having first wrapped the pot with the substrate in polyethylene so as not to over-moisten the lump.

What to do with live spruce after the New Year?

So, the holiday has died down, you admired the New Year's tree, the children played enough and danced around it...

What does the plant expect now?

As mentioned above, temperature changes are extremely undesirable, especially now, after warm room the plant “woke up”. If the size of the pot and the area of ​​the window sill allows, it is advisable to place the container by the window, where it is a little cooler than in the room itself. This is how you need to maintain the plant before planting it in the garden, providing it with timely watering. If the “spruce” has begun to grow, you can add additional light to it so that the growth is decorative and healthy.

When the plant is too large and the window sill is narrow, you can put it on an insulated balcony. But at negative temperatures, the tree must be insulated, not only by wrapping the container well and placing a layer of cardboard or insulation under it, but also by throwing 1-2 layers of non-woven material over the crown. In the future, it is necessary to ensure that the spring sun’s rays do not touch the New Year’s tree, otherwise under cover it may end up as if in a greenhouse: the shoots will begin to grow, and then, with daily drops in temperature, they will freeze.

Besides the harsh winters, coniferous plant Another problem awaits you on the balcony - a small volume of substrate. No matter how slow the growth rate of the plant, its roots need to develop, so it is advisable to annually transfer the coniferous plant to a new container. It should be 3-5 cm wider than the previous one.

After a few years, when the root system reaches a significant size and the container is too large, the plant will have to be planted in the garden. Conifers grown in containers need systematic feeding complex mineral fertilizer. Feeding is carried out from April-May to the end of July. Starting from August, fertilizers containing nitrogen are eliminated.

If you plan to keep your coniferous plant on the balcony all year round, it should be noted that only a glazed space where the temperature does not drop below - 10 ... - 12 ° C is suitable for this purpose. And in order for the tree to survive harsher cold conditions, you will need to provide careful shelter, especially in the container. After all, conifer shoots can safely withstand severe frosts, which cannot be said about their root system.

If you do not have the opportunity to even keep a coniferous plant on the balcony, you can take it to the dacha. The pot with the green pet should be placed in a place protected from the wind as much as possible and the tree should be covered with snow to the very top.

Transplanting spruce from a pot into open ground

Before spring planting of plants in the garden, which is preferably carried out from the end of March to April, you should prepare landing hole. Its diameter should be approximately 20 - 30 cm larger than the diameter of the container. Drainage must be placed at the bottom. The soil mixture for filling the hole should contain turf soil, peat and sand (2:1:1).

When planting a plant, try not to disturb the earthen ball and damage the roots. You can spill or soak a lump of earth in a solution of a growth stimulator - this will help the plant adapt to new conditions and take root better. When planting, the root collar of conifers should neither be raised nor buried, it should be at the level of the soil - if the soil subsides after planting, the plant should be placed on a mound about 5-7 cm high.

If you want to decorate the same coniferous plant in your house for more than one year, then it will be most convenient to transplant it into a larger diameter container, which you then dig into the garden, and with the onset of winter, remove it from the ground and transport it to your apartment or balcony.

Finally, the second half of May has arrived. And if you notice that the buds on the New Year's tree are swollen, you can be congratulated: attention and care helped the plant stay alive and healthy.

Caring for a New Year's tree in a pot - questions and answers, advice from readers

Recently, trade before the New Year began to offer small live Christmas trees in containers. This makes it possible to save the tree’s life by planting it in the country or in the city near the house. But how to make such a Christmas tree take root? Please advise!

Alexander Danilovich STARIKOV, Moscow region, Zelenograd

Indeed, there is a certain danger that during the New Year and Christmas holidays, living trees located in an unusual environment (living quarters) may not withstand such conditions. However, if you follow certain rules, it is quite possible to keep the Christmas tree alive through all the vicissitudes of the festivities. However, a New Year's tree can be pine, thuja, or juniper.

Choosing a tree

It is worth noting that there are two options for selling New Year trees - grown in containers and dug out of the ground. The former, of course, will be more hardy and, most likely, will survive forced stay indoors well. If the plants were dug up and planted in pots shortly before sale, damage to the root system is quite possible, which casts doubt on their adaptation after transplantation into the pound.

In dug up trees, the root system will most likely separate from the earth clod, since it has not had time to “grow into it.” It is best to avoid purchasing such plants.

Health check

While the tree gets from the place of cultivation to the counter, a certain time usually passes. And it could have been in the store itself for a relatively long time. And it is quite possible that the plant did not receive proper care. To find out whether the seedling has received watering, you should knock on the container: the duller the sound, the more dry the soil ball is. You can also stick your index finger into the soil to control the moisture content. Overdried plants should also be discarded; it is quite possible that they are already dead. After all, the needles on conifers do not fall off immediately after the plants die.

But even if the humidity is okay, inspect the plant and touch the needles. Damaged bark, dried twigs, yellowed and dry needles can be alarming. It should be green and elastic.

Rules for green "guests"

Since the home environment is unfavorable for conifers, we must try to keep their stay indoors as short as possible. At least, you shouldn’t keep the plants warm for more than two weeks.

For the same reason, it is best to place green “guests” away from heating radiators and other heat sources, and ventilate the room from time to time. You should also try to increase air humidity using special humidifiers. You can periodically spray water from a spray bottle.

The soil in which the tree grows must be watered daily. At the slightest yellowing of the crown, the plant should first be taken to a cooler room, where it should remain for a day or two, and then outside. Exactly the same thing - with gradual adaptation to the cold - must be done when the time comes to plant the plant in open ground. This can be done with a lump of earth in winter - the planting hole must be filled with a mixture of earth and peat. An agronomist answered a reader's question

Is it possible to use the same expanded clay as drainage for a long time? If there is no coarse river sand, will fine sand be suitable?

Expanded clay is a building material. It is beneficial to offer it as drainage, but is it really necessary for plants and does it have all the necessary qualities to use it? Experienced flower growers this issue was resolved a long time ago: they do not use expanded clay if they are planting plants to grow on a windowsill. When planting large trees in the winter garden, in tubs in the courtyard, it is convenient.

It is preferable to use polystyrene foam, from which packaging elements for various household appliances are made. You need to break the foam into pieces, creating a drainage layer of the required height, and put a “screen” of paper towel on top, which will not allow the earth to spill down.

– bacteria and fungi do not settle in it;

– does not accumulate salts;

– easily breaks if the root goes through;

– unlike expanded clay, polystyrene foam can be used repeatedly.

If you use sand when making a soil mixture to reduce its moisture capacity, then fine sand will do. If plants need to ensure good root breathing (prepare a loose and rough-textured substrate), fine sand is not suitable. It is better to replace coarse sand with fine gravel.

Will spruce grow in the shade?

I can answer with sovereignty - it will be. I have a plot of land on the edge of the forest, near the northern wall of the house there are self-sowing fir trees and rowan trees. The sun there is only in the morning and after 16:00, but that’s enough for them. I don’t feed or water the trees with anything - they take care of themselves. The only thing is that I trim the top of the mountain ash and regulate the growth of the fir trees: in May or early June, I unscrew the green growth on their tops.

Do not cut these pinwheels under any circumstances, otherwise they will begin to double or even triple.

And if you also unscrew the growths on the side branches, you will be able to form a lush, beautiful Christmas tree in the shape of a ball. All her friends will ask what kind of outlandish variety this is, and no one will recognize her as the forest shy...

Also on your “dark side” you can create a so-called mixborder of shade-tolerant plants: ferns, bergenia and hosta. The leathery leaves of the first plant will highlight the graceful fronds of ferns, and light strokes on the leaves of the hosta will add light to a dark corner of the garden. You can “knock out” the mixborder with forest plants: strawberries, lilies of the valley, hoofed grass and periwinkle. In spring, the mixborder will be decorated with crocuses. All these plants are unpretentious and do not need special care. And if you feed them, green pets will gratefully respond to your care.

By the way, sorrel grows well in the shade. Plant once and provide yourself with an excellent basis for green cabbage soup for years to come!

People I know say to me: “What’s wrong? The Christmas tree is the Christmas tree.” But in reality they are so different! Take, for example, Korean fir. From a distance, it really looks like a medium-sized, very slender Christmas tree.

But if you look closely, there are so many interesting things in it!

Korean fir needles are two-colored: on the front side the needles are dark green, on the back side they are bluish-silver. Each needle is curved like a claw. Only these “claws” are not scary at all, but soft and gentle to the touch. The spruce cones hang down from the paws.

And in Korean fir they provocatively stick up, like candles in candelabra. Young cones are purple, turning brown as they mature. Korean fir grows very slowly, so even full-size forms can be planted in front gardens. At the same time, it is not capricious; it takes root well on poor, acidic, clayey, rocky soils. Fir only dislikes close groundwater, since its roots are long.

toNature.info

Houseplant Directory!

How to plant blue spruce in summer?

• Drained and fertile.

(No ratings yet. Be the first!)

xn----7sbbquhb7aivo4j.xn--p1ai

When is the best time to plant a spruce and how to properly care for the tree?

When landscaping a site, it is difficult to do without coniferous plants. Spruce is considered one of the most popular. But this is not always the usual 30-meter beauty. Some grow only up to 20 cm in their entire life.

Structural features of spruce

About fifty species of this plant are now known. They combine 150 forms, each of which has several varieties. The homeland of the spruce is China and North America. About a hundred forms are grown on our territory. Most spruce species have straight trunks covered with brown bark. With age it becomes rough. The branches are arranged in tiers.

The main difference between spruce trees and other evergreens is the appearance and location of the needles.

It can be flat or tetrahedral. The needles are arranged spirally on the shoots. The color varies from yellow-green to gray-green, which is called blue.

Flowers are divided into male and female. Male ones are smaller in size, grow from the axils of the upper needles. Female ones form at the ends of old branches. Cones are formed from them. At first they are green, reddish or purple tint. After ripening, the scales of the cones acquire a brown or grayish color. Ripen by winter. They don’t stay on the branches and fall off.

Reproduction methods

Spruce trees are grown:

1. From seeds.
2. By cuttings.

How to properly grow esli from seeds:

• When grown from seeds, only cones from this year are used. You can extend the germination period by hiding the seeds in an airtight package. If you store them at a temperature of 0 to 5 degrees, you can use them for propagation for up to 15 years. Seeds are germinated in several ways.
• They are sown before winter to a depth of 2 cm, mulched on top with a layer of peat 1.5 cm high. In spring, dense shoots dive to a new place. Some seedlings can be left without replanting. On permanent place replanted in the fall or next spring. You can sow in special boxes, then take them out into the snow. There the seeds will undergo stratification.
• This process can be done in the refrigerator or basement. The seeds are mixed with washed sand and kept at a temperature of about 4°C for 1-3 months. Then they are sown and installed in a warm place. If it is possible to place dishes with seeds in a cold place, sow them immediately in small containers.
• Seedlings are kept in a bright place, but not in hot sunlight. Thickened plantings are thinned out by dropping seedlings into separate containers.

The disadvantage of this method of reproduction is that maternal properties are weakly transmitted. Only a small amount retains its characteristic features. When growing blue spruce trees, a large number of seedlings are planted. In a few years it will become clear which of them has the blue color of the needles.

It is easier to propagate young varietal spruce trees using cuttings.

Good results Growing Canadian or black spruce in this way gives benefits. For growing, choose the type of branches that matches the type of tree. For columnar ones, vertical cuttings are cut, for drooping ones - oblique ones. To propagate spherical ones, take any branches.

Install in a light substrate mixed with vermiculite, sphagnum moss, and sand. Maintain at a temperature of 18°C. After germination, raise to 25°C. They maintain high humidity. Spruce can be grown from horizontal cuttings, but the crown of a new tree usually comes out crooked. You can use this method to grow varieties with drooping crowns. But buried branches grow from 2 to 5 years.

The best varieties of spruce for growing

The common one, 50 meters high, prefers slightly acidic sandy loams. Does not like stagnant water. Its decorative forms:

• Compact with a round shape, 2 meters high.
• Echiniformis, 20 cm tall, can have needles of varying colors, from yellowish to grey.
• Nidiformis with a nest-shaped crown.
• Acrocona with red cones. Frost-resistant variety. Tolerates shade. Dies from stagnation of water.
• Inverse - very beautiful tree with a drooping crown.
• Maxwellii is cushion-shaped. Height is about a meter. Needles with a yellow tint.

Prickly spruce grows up to 45 m in 100 years, in urban conditions up to 20 m. The needles are prickly, the color can be from green to silver. When growing in the city, it needs to be washed three times during the summer with water, washing away dust and dirt. Shapes:

• Argenta with yellow needles. Tolerates drought and frost.
• Glauca with blue needles with a gray tint. Winter-hardy, tolerates drought. Loves light areas.
• Hoopsii is the bluest of the spruces. Grows up to 10 m. The branches are strong. Loves sunny areas.

Canadian spruce has light needles. The bark is gray. The crown has the shape of a cone, height 25 m. Lives up to 500 years. Young branches grow upward, old branches grow downward. Shapes:

• Konica up to 1.5 m high.
• Albert Blue.
• Echiniformis 50 cm high.

Serbian spruce with a narrow pyramidal crown. The branches grow upward. The needles are dark on top, with white stripes visible on each needle below. The spruce is decorated with dark purple cones. Does not tolerate stagnation of moisture in the soil. Frost-resistant. Varieties:

• Minima height 30cm, width half a meter. The needles are hard, the top is green, the bottom is blue. Loves light soils.
• Nana is a popular variety with a rounded crown. It grows 2 cm per year. It tolerates frost well.
• Pendula with a columnar crown, branches hanging down. Two-color needles.

Eastern spruce can reach a height of 60 meters. The trunk is powerful, up to 2 m. The needles are short, up to 8 mm, flattened, tetrahedral. The needles are yellow at first. Over the years they darken. Tolerates shade. Doesn't like frost. Varieties:

• Aureospicata with asymmetrical branches drooping downwards. Needles 8 mm long. At first they are golden, later they darken. The cones are cylindrical, up to 8 cm long. The color is purple. It needs to be planted in a place sheltered from northern winds. The crown can be shaped by pruning.
• Bergman Gem up to half a meter high. At first the crown is elongated, then it becomes round. Tolerates darkening.
• Skylands grows up to 11 m. The needles are golden in color.

Ayan spruce is a low tree, up to 9 m. The needles are flat, 1.2 to 2 cm long and 1.2 mm thick, keeled in shape. The branches have a tousled appearance. The top of the needle is dark, the bottom has light stripes, due to which the tree acquires a silvery tint. The cones are loose, red or green before maturity. It is characterized by high frost resistance. Popular varieties:

• Nana Kalous (Marianske Lazne) small plant with a rounded crown. The needles are silvery. It is characterized by high frost resistance.
• Mariana (black). The cones are dark purple, brown when ripe.

Planting and caring for a tree

With all the diversity of spruce species and varieties, there are General requirements to growing conditions. Choose a place that matches this species. Most often it should be sunny and protected from northern winds. The spruce root is located in the surface layers of the soil. Therefore, it is not able to hold tall trees under the influence of strong gusts of wind.

The amount of sunlight usually affects the color of the needles. If it is not enough, blue needles acquire green color, and the crown takes on a shape that is not characteristic of the variety. The soil on the site should be light and fertile. This does not apply to dwarf forms, which, under the influence of large amounts nutrients can change the shape of the crown. Acidity pH 4.5-5.

Young spruce trees are planted in early spring, before buds open, or in autumn.

During the growing season, trees are poorly received. Do not allow the root system to be exposed to air for more than 10 minutes. It is advisable to avoid deepening the root collar. This can lead to rotting. If it is too high, the tree will dry out. Most varieties of spruce tolerate drought well, but varietal plants need to be watered without allowing the soil to dry out. The trees shade during the first months. Loosen the soil around the trunk to a depth of 5 cm. Young growths of spruce trees can freeze in winter. But over the summer they grow back. To prevent the plant from losing its crown shape under the snow, plants that have several trunks are tied together with twine and fixed to a support.

It is more difficult to protect creeping varieties of spruce from getting wet. During a thaw, the snow melts and moisture collects under the bush. To prevent the branches from disappearing, at the beginning of winter they are laid on special trellises. An adult spruce does not need feeding. Complex mineral fertilizers for conifers are applied to young trees in the spring, immediately after the snow cover has melted. Fresh manure must not be introduced.

Spruce trees can be transplanted to a new location. This is done in early spring or autumn. Young trees tolerate the procedure more easily. You just need to regularly water the plants and spray them until it takes root. One-year-old seedlings need watering up to 7 times a day. The older ones water it 2 times a day. Mature trees are moistened once a week by adding a bucket of warm water. Before replanting large trees, they begin to prepare its root system a year or six months in advance. To do this, dig around the tree several times, cutting off the roots. Gradually narrow the diameter of the circle. As a result, the lump of earth in the root area becomes dense and will not disintegrate during transplantation.

Possible problems during cultivation

Spruce trees can be affected by fungal diseases:

• Schutte is manifested by redness of the needles. After a while it gets dark.
• Tracheomycosis wilt - viral disease, affecting the root system. The needles turn red and fall off.
• Rust of pine needles and cones. Yellow bubbles appear on them.
• Necrosis of the cortex leads to the formation of growths. Leads to the death of spruce.
• Ulcerative cancer leads to the formation of resinous wounds.

You need to fight by cleaning and removing damaged areas. Treat wounds with garden varnish. In the spring, to prevent diseases, they are treated with preparations containing copper.

The main pests of spruce:

• Weevils, bud sawflies, and spider mites damage the needles.
• The borer, bark beetle, and borer infect the bark.
• The leaf roller, gall midge, seed eater spoils the cones.

Treat 3 times with insecticides.

The use of spruce in landscape design

Spruce is often used to create a variety of compositions. It is decorative all year round, and the use of varieties with different needle colors and crown shapes allows you to create beautiful and original compositions. Preference is given to common and prickly spruce because they are resistant to frost and weather conditions. Various decorative types Norway spruce is planted in northern gardens and parks. The thorny plant is planted near public buildings.

Alleys are created from trees with a pyramidal crown, and several are planted to separate park areas.

Compositions of fir trees with variegated bushes and perennial ornamental plants look good. Spruce trees are suitable for creating hedges. They can be pruned, giving the trees a variety of shapes. For this purpose, the gray spruce varieties Fat Albert or Hoopsii are used. They are easy to create a beautiful hedge with just a little pruning. But these ate were expensive. Therefore, you can use common spruce, which also tolerates pruning well.

To form a hedge, young vertical shoots are cut at the beginning of June by a third of their length, and the side branches are shortened by half or two-thirds of their length. As a result, the branches grow thicker and the bush becomes denser. Such operations are carried out for 4 years. Then the bushes close in. Further pruning is carried out in early March, and young growths are sheared in late May–early June.

Low, spherical, dwarf pyramidal forms are planted in rock gardens, rockeries, and mixborders. They give areas an elegant look all year round. They are used to create bonsai. Creeping varieties are grafted onto trunks. You can change the shape of the crown by pinching out the central buds of the side shoots in the fall and shortening them in the summer.

More information can be found in the video:

megaogorod.com

How to plant a blue spruce? | Plants

Another method is much more effective - cuttings, but it is too labor-intensive and time-consuming, so summer residents prefer to buy ready-made seedlings grown in nurseries.
Photo: Depositphotos

Planting blue spruce, it is very important to choose for her right place. It must be taken into account that this tree requires light, and besides, it will grow greatly. In the first years after planting, the spruce grows slowly, but then it picks up speed and grows at least a meter high every year. You can stop the growth of a spruce by regularly breaking off the top; however, when allocating space for a blue spruce, take into account its size.

Before planting a blue spruce, you need to prepare the site. Since the root system of this plant has the ability to “spread” throughout the area, it is advisable to immediately limit its area. Ideally, something like a strip foundation is poured, then the roots of the blue spruce will not be able to go beyond the designated area. In the center of this “box” a hole with a volume of 1 cubic meter is dug. Spruce does not need very fertile soil, so you can fill the seedling with the soil you selected from the planting hole. Blue spruce seedlings are planted in the spring, as autumn planting very often they die.
Photo: Depositphotos

Many people have probably come across so-called bush spruce trees. Do you want to grow this unfortunately short-lived beauty yourself? In the spring, bury the whole cone to a depth of about 10 centimeters, the seeds will sprout thickly, and you will have a “bush spruce”. And if someone tries to convince you that this is such a variety, don’t believe it, bush spruce trees do not exist!

shkolazhizni.ru

Almost gone are the days when a summer cottage was associated only with endless digging of beds, fussing with seedlings, fertilizing and seasonal harvesting.

Life in a metropolis leaves its mark in the form of persistent fatigue and the desire to finally get away from the dirty air, endless traffic jams, noisy neighbors and the bustle of the streets.

And at the dacha you want not only privacy, which, by the way, is not always possible because not everyone has plots of several hectares, but also beauty.

The blue spruce may just be such a pleasing plant to the eye.

There are several ways to plant blue spruce. Blue spruce can be grown from seeds, but this is not the most reliable option, since it takes a long time and there is no guarantee that the planted seed will grow into a blue spruce and not a green one.

Another method could be cuttings, but we will not consider this method because of its difficulty for an untrained gardener or the owner of a country property.

The simplest and in a fast way would be buying a ready-made plant from a nursery. Try to choose a healthy tree, with evenly spaced branches, without damaged bark or broken branches.

Blue spruce is a light-loving plant and quite fast-growing. In the first few years it grows slowly, but as it grows, the annual increase in height can be up to one meter.

Plant seedlings at a distance of at least one and a half meters from each other. You should not try to plant blue spruce trees along the border of a small plot (for example, six acres), because as the blue spruce trees grow, they will begin to shade not only your plot (maybe this is what you want), but also the plot of your neighbors, which can very likely lead to conflicts with them and even legal proceedings.

To limit the spread of blue spruce roots, it is better to provide a strip concrete foundation around the perimeter of the planting. At the place where you plant the spruce, select the soil depending on the size of the root system of the tree you purchased. We fill the hole with the extracted soil, since blue spruce is quite unpretentious to the soil.

It is better to plant blue spruce in the spring, since trees planted in autumn often die.

www.fazendeiro.ru

How to plant blue spruce in summer

How to plant blue spruce in summer?

Blue spruce is an evergreen coniferous plant. Picea pungens (blue spruce) grows near rivers, in mountain valleys and at elevations, where there is an increased level of air and soil humidity due to heavy rainfall, the proximity of reservoirs or groundwater.

You can plant blue spruce seeds in a germination container or in open ground. Blue spruce seeds germinate if collected from a tree older than 20 years. Young trees and their seeds are completely unsuitable for planting.

It is possible to plant an adult tree if it was germinated in greenhouse conditions. In order to properly plant a blue spruce in the summer, planting techniques must be followed.

Soil mixture for blue spruce in summer:

• Drained and fertile.
• The acidity of the soil mixture is from 5.5 to 7.8 pH.
• Compost (fertilizer) is added to the bottom of the pit.

Parameters for planting blue spruce in the ground in summer:

• The planting hole is 3 times the volume of the root system.
• The plant is planted in the center of the hole.
• The bottom roots of the blue spruce should touch the bottom.

How to properly care for blue spruce?

Caring for blue spruce should be focused on the conditions of the coniferous tree. Blue spruce is a moisture-loving plant, so it needs to be watered often. In order for moisture to leave the soil mixture more slowly, it is necessary to make a bypass ring around the hole. You will need the following materials:

• garden hose
• hammer
• iron outline

What should be done? Connect the hose in a circle, secure with an iron loop. With the help of available means, the root system of the blue spruce will be protected.

In the process of constant watering, the blue spruce may begin to lean to one side. This is caused by the subsidence of the earth clod. If the roots break through to the surface, the plant will most likely die quickly. The support is built either on an iron frame, or a second tree is planted nearby to strengthen it. After several watering procedures, it will be possible to remove the artificial support.

Nuances of caring for blue spruce in the ground

Blue spruce, being a moisture-loving plant, does not like stagnant water in the soil. Regular watering, alternating with a period of rest, will give time for recovery. The resistance of this coniferous tree to drought or drying out of the soil is defined as average.

Decorative blue spruce does not need to be trimmed. The procedure is only necessary if blue spruce is being grown for sale or if a coniferous tree is to grow.

In spring and autumn, blue spruce is fed. Feeding begins only 3-4 years after planting. Blue spruce is considered a hardy and unpretentious tree. As it develops, it provides shade and protection to the area from the wind. By planting several blue spruce trees nearby, you can create the illusion of a coniferous fence, and thoroughly enjoy the decorativeness of the tree with a distant reminiscent of a coniferous forest.

Blue spruce rarely gets sick, but it can be affected by fungal diseases, which appear first in the lower parts of the crown. The onset of the disease can be provoked by unsuitable weather conditions or irregularities in care (drying out of the root system, stagnation of moisture in the lower part of the roots, temperature fluctuations).

(No ratings yet. Be the first!) Loading...

www.tonature.info

Blue spruce in your home. Growing beautiful blue spruce.

Hello, dear readers!

And now the event you have been waiting for has happened. A blue spruce has appeared on your property! I share your joy, because at one time I also squealed with pleasure when this miracle settled in our yard on the lawn. Let’s dig a little deeper and find out what kind of animal this “blue spruce” is and what it is eaten with.

Blue spruce: description of the tree

Blue spruce, or rather prickly spruce variety “blue” is an evergreen tree. It grows in the wild in the northern part of America, usually closer to streams and mountain rivers. At the same time, the soil is rocky and not fertile. Already from these facts one can judge her unpretentiousness. By the way, blue spruce is a symbol of the American states of Colorado and Utah.

It is frost-resistant, wind-resistant, and shade-tolerant. Thanks to the silvery coating on the needles, it gives it a beautiful color, is resistant to polluted air, and this same coating helps to retain valuable moisture. In nature, blue spruce reaches a height of 35 meters and sometimes lives for more than 600 years. The trunk reaches 1.5 meters in width.

Blue spruce is a slow growing tree. But despite this, landscape designers adore this tree and definitely try to include it in their compositions. She is a real queen. And it will rightfully take its place in any area.

I think it was precisely because of her appearance, her slender pyramidal shape and her rich, prickly coat that you fell in love with her. It’s impossible not to love her, because, after all, she sunk into everyone’s soul as a symbol of the holiday in childhood. Remember: “the little Christmas tree is cold in winter...”, “a Christmas tree was born in the forest...”, a cheerful round dance, snowflakes, gifts, the smell of tangerines and pine needles. This special tart smell of spruce needles fills the entire room, the smell of serenity, the smell of childhood...

By the way, blue spruce is a symbol of well-being, success and prosperity. This is probably also why you decided to get a Christmas tree. Well, in the meantime, the forest beauty has already taken its rightful place on your site. And despite the fact that this conifer is an unpretentious tree, at a young age it will still require some attention and care.

In my article I will not touch upon the issue of breeding the blue beauty. Be it the seed method or the cutting method. Because this process, although interesting, is very troublesome. And the result does not always justify the effort invested. Well, unless of course you decide to do this professionally, for example for sale.

Therefore, let’s assume that you bought it. Just like my husband and I did at one time, we bought it from a nursery, already rooted with a huge clod of soil, about 30 centimeters tall. They took it home without breathing and planted it with bated breath, sincerely wanting it to take root and grow next year. Ugh, ugh, ugh, that’s exactly what happened. For two years in a row she delighted us with her young shoots, 10 centimeters in length. We rejoiced like children, stroking the delicate light green needles.

And in the third year, like a bolt from the blue, a terrible thing happened: the growth point on the central shoot did not produce new growth. How is it that our blue spruce will turn into a small dwarf? We were in shock for several days, and then we went online. But apparently due to great excitement or for the banal reason of incorrectly asked queries, no answer was found. In fact, everything turned out to be simple, and there was no need to worry about it at all. I’ll talk about how to deal with such a situation below. In the meantime, let's look at the issue of caring for the Christmas tree.

Features of growing and caring for blue spruce

Soil for blue beauty

Firstly, you cannot plant a blue spruce where potatoes or corn previously grew. There is a high risk of fungal infection. And also on calcareous soils. The tree prefers light loamy soil with a slightly acidic environment. To acidify the soil, use ammonium nitrate, ammonium sulfate or ammonium chloride. It will be good if, when planting, you add soil from under the coniferous tree. For example, from the forest. And some sand. If your soil is heavy, add humus or peat. All these recommendations are acceptable if you want rapid growth. But if you are planting a blue spruce on your site and want it to please you with its beauty for as long as possible, any soil will do, even the poorest. Believe me, it will grow, just slower, as we need. After all, you haven’t forgotten, in nature it grows almost on rocks.

Landing

If you plan to plant more than one Christmas tree, then maintain a distance between trees of at least 2 meters. The optimal planting depth is 50-60 cm. If you plant a conifer already with a lump of its native soil, then after digging a hole for the lump, loosen its walls 10 cm deep. It is advisable to arrange a drainage cushion. Throw some crushed stone, small stones or, alternatively, broken bricks at the bottom of the hole. Although blue spruce is a shade-tolerant tree, it still prefers sunny places. Who doesn't love the sun? It is thanks to him that the spruce retains its silver color. If it is necessary to replant the spruce, do it in early spring, while the tree has not yet begun to grow, and the ground has already thawed enough to dig out a lump. Usually this is March, April. Dormant plants tolerate transplantation more painlessly. If it didn’t work out in the spring, then at least try to do it not in hot weather. It is generally not recommended to replant in the fall. coniferous trees. Many of them die. Subsequently, while the tree takes root and takes root, it is advisable not to actively trample, and especially not to dig the ground within a radius of 50 cm. Since the roots are close to the surface of the earth.

Watering

Let me remind you, dear readers, of the agreement that our blue spruce is already at least three or four years old. Height is 25-30 centimeters. And we will water it. Because with one-year-olds or even more younger age seedlings, a completely different story. Such trees need to be watered very often, up to 6-7 times a day, especially in the hot summer, periodically spray the needles and carefully monitor the soil so that it does not dry out. The roots of young seedlings are very tender and located close to the surface of the earth.

Older trees, like ours, do not need such frequent watering. It is enough to water 1-2 times a day. Nevertheless, blue spruce is a moisture-loving crop. If the summer is hot, it is advisable to control the soil and not allow it to dry out too much. My husband and I planted our beauty on the lawn and while watering it daily, of course we also water the Christmas tree. In addition, the grass is very good at saving the soil from drying out quickly. And be sure to pamper your pet with some rain. She will really like it. Water the pine needles from a watering can, spray from a hose, just remember, the water should not be very cold.

Preparing for winter

Mature, large blue trees do not need any additional protection. But the small ones, half a meter tall, are perhaps worth protecting. The point is to protect it from breaking branches during heavy snow, especially when it gets wet, and bright sunlight. The banal tying of branches saves you from heavy snow. Lifting the branches from the bottom up to the trunk, tie them with a rope. Or tie it with a net. A simple bow net will do.

In winter, the sun's rays reflect off the snow and burns can occur. And in the spring, with the increasing sun and the snow that has not yet melted, the situation becomes dangerous. On the south side, the spruce can get severely burned. The needles will turn yellow and fall off. To avoid such a nuisance, cover your tree. Both plain cotton fabric and non-woven fabric are acceptable.

“Yolkino misfortune”: the problem of lack of growth

Yes, that’s exactly what we thought, “Christmas tree misfortune,” when we were faced with the problem of lack of growth on the upper shoot. That is, the upper bud, the so-called “growth point,” did not give the same growth. This could happen due to mechanical damage or the kidney simply froze in the winter. In principle, the spruce could be left in this state and see how it would behave the next year. It happens that the kidney is restored and gives stronger growth. But if this does not happen, the spruce itself will replace the missing central shoot with one of the side shoots. Moreover, such an escape can be not one, but two or three. And then you won’t have to count on a slender beauty. The shape of such a tree will be very bizarre. Therefore, if the same thing happened to you as we did and you want to preserve its natural slimness in the first years of spruce growth, you can improve the situation as follows:

While the new shoots are still young, light green in color, with soft needles, carry out the following procedure:

Step. 1 From the resulting umbrella of young shoots, below the growth point, select the most visually strong shoot.

Step. 2 Gently lower the wooden stick from top to bottom along the trunk of the spruce and stick it into the ground, shallowly. This will be our support. We used a piece of simple reinforcement. The end of the stick should rise 15-20 cm above the top of the spruce.

Step. 3 Carefully pull the selected shoot to the stick and secure it with a rope, possibly in several places.

Step. 4 Remove the remaining shoots of the umbrella by unscrewing them completely at the very base. We did this to avoid creating competition for our newly minted crown. But you can leave it. Just make sure that the remaining remaining shoots develop to the sides as lateral ones.

Step. 5 It will be possible to remove the strings and remove the stick when our new central shoot becomes woody. This will be noticeable by the color. It will acquire a characteristic stem, brown color.

If everything is done correctly, at the end of our operation, the spruce will look like this.

In this simple way we managed to revive the spruce. Create a new central shoot. Yes, in the first couple of years the removed layer will be noticeable. But over time, the spruce will grow and hide the flaws.

Subsequently, when the spruce reaches a height of 1.5 meters, we will begin the planned annual pruning and pinching. This helps to restrain the growth of the spruce and will allow you to admire it for a long time. The pinching procedure does not cause any harm to the tree. But the spruce will become more fluffy.

Be sure to plant the blue beauty on your site or next to it. This is both beauty and a healing pine smell!!!

If you liked my article or found inaccuracies in it, or fundamentally disagree with something, be sure to write it in your comment!!! Let's discuss and fix it!

Did you like our blog? Do you want to always be among the first to know when new articles are published? Subscribe to blog updates!

Sincerely,

Ponomareva Evgenia.

Plant on garden plot Coniferous trees are now very fashionable, so many summer residents are interested in how to plant blue spruce, whether pine will be accepted and how suitable the climate, for example, in the Moscow region, will be for growing cedar. The most decorative of all the listed coniferous trees is blue spruce, which is why it is most often planted on plots.

Theoretically, blue spruce can be grown from seed, but there is a very high probability of obtaining plants with ordinary green needles rather than blue ones. Nevertheless, some of the seedlings will inherit the characteristics of the mother plant. If you are unable to purchase a seedling, try growing a tree from a seed. To do this, sow seeds taken from ripened cones in a box with sand. Once they have sprouted, you can select seedlings that show blue spruce traits. They will be visible immediately as soon as the first needles appear.

Another method is much more effective - cuttings, but it is too labor-intensive and time-consuming, so summer residents prefer to buy ready-made seedlings grown in nurseries. When planting blue spruce, it is very important to choose the right place for it. It must be taken into account that this tree requires light, and besides, it will grow greatly. In the first years after planting, the spruce grows slowly, but then it picks up speed and grows at least a meter high every year. You can stop the growth of a spruce by regularly breaking off the top; however, when allocating space for a blue spruce, take into account its size.

Blue spruce hedges look very impressive. Both in summer and winter, they will reliably protect your site from the views of passers-by. They will retain dust from the road and become a real decoration of the site. When planting spruce trees in a row, leave a distance of at least one and a half meters between plants. You should not fence yourself off from your neighbors with a hedge of spruce trees, as mature trees will provide dense shade, which may prevent the owners of a nearby plot from realizing their plans for using the land.

Before planting a blue spruce, you need to prepare the site. Since the root system of this plant has the ability to “spread” throughout the area, it is advisable to immediately limit its area. Ideally, something like a strip foundation is poured, then the roots of the blue spruce will not be able to go beyond the designated area. In the center of this “box” a hole with a volume of 1 cubic meter is dug. Spruce does not need very fertile soil, so you can fill the seedling with the soil you selected from the planting hole. Blue spruce seedlings are planted in the spring, since autumn plantings often die.

Many people have probably come across so-called bush spruce trees. Do you want to grow this unfortunately short-lived beauty yourself? In the spring, bury the whole cone to a depth of about 10 centimeters, the seeds will sprout thickly, and you will have a “bush spruce”. And if someone tries to convince you that this is such a variety, don’t believe it, bush spruce trees do not exist! Tags: personal plot, cultivation, trees, Christmas tree, dacha

Planting blue spruce and caring for the tree

Planting a blue spruce near a country house will immediately transform a nondescript building into a beautiful fairy-tale tower. In summer, the site is surrounded by greenery and flowers, but in the cold season there is little that pleases the eye. In winter, lush snowdrifts and intricate patterns of branches covered with frost can add charm to the area. But in early spring and late autumn, empty flower beds present a pitiful sight. Enliven the landscape with evergreen plantings; the center of the composition can be a fluffy Christmas tree with silver needles, grown from seeds or cuttings. Proper care will help to grow the tree in the shape of an even cone.

How to get planting material

Centers for the sale of planting material of any plants can be found in every region. Residents of remote remote villages can order packages of seeds remotely and properly grow any of the rarest crops on their land. Blue spruce seedlings are easy to purchase; many nurseries are ready to sell you young coniferous trees. If you want to buy Christmas trees, find the supplier closest to your place of residence, then the plants will not need to adapt to climate change. Be sure to inquire about the type of spruce; its height, color and shape, and how to care for the tree depend on this.

• Waldbrun is a dwarf tree, less than a meter high. With age, the crown acquires a spherical shape.
• Bialobok is a variety that reaches a height of 2 m. It is valued for its unusual golden hue in young shoots. The branches are located unevenly, this feature prevents the formation of an even crown.
• Blue Diamonds is a tall tree, reaching 7 m. It grows very slowly, 15 cm per year.
• The fire is a spruce with branches pointing upward. The height reaches 10 m, and the branch span is 3 m. On young shoots, bright orange bark shines through the bluish needles.
• Montgomery is a slow-growing variety, not exceeding 1.8 m. The needles on young Christmas trees are pale blue, and on mature trees they are blue.

If you want to grow your own tree, you can prepare seedlings from seeds. They ripen by November, at this time collect material from the plant you like. Disinfect the grains in potassium permanganate and sow them in soil for coniferous crops to a depth of 1.5 cm. Under natural conditions, the seeds overwinter under the snow and germinate in the spring. Place the container with the crops in the refrigerator and keep it there for 3 months, so you can “trick” the embryos and force them to awaken. When 3 months have passed, place the seed crops in a warm place. Care and cultivation is to keep the soil slightly moist at all times. Do not let the water stagnate, make sure that the drainage holes work well. With the onset of warm weather, move the seedlings to the site. To prevent them from suffering from the cold, cover them with film at night. Protect young plants from bright sunlight and shade them slightly. Christmas trees are planted in a permanent location at the age of 3 years.

You can grow Christmas trees not only from seeds, but also from cuttings. The spruce from which the branches are taken must be at least 5 years old. In the spring, take a sharp knife and cut shoots about 20 cm long from the upper branches. Prepare a planting hole, choose its dimensions with the expectation that the distance between the seedlings will be at least 10 cm. The depth should be 20 cm, fill the entire volume in layers:

1. Small stones, crushed stone for drainage - 5 cm.
2. Soil – 10cm.
3. Sand – 5 cm.

Dip the cuttings of the branches into a disinfectant mixture, then into a root formation stimulator and stick the cuttings into the soil to a depth of 5 cm at an angle of 30⁰. Until August, it will be correct to shade the seedlings from direct sunlight.

Planting spruce in open ground

How to plant blue spruce from seeds or seedlings so that the evergreen beauty shows you all its charm? Place it in a sunny place, provide proper care, then the trunk will be vertical, evenly covered with branches, the crown will grow even, shaped like a cone. Such outlines only appear in short trees; if you plant a Christmas tree in rich, fertile black soil, it will stretch out and lose its decorative appearance. The soil should have a neutral or slightly acidic reaction; if the site is located on limestone, spill the soil with an acidified composition.

To plant seedlings, dig holes with both a depth and a diameter of 0.6 m at a distance of at least 2 m from each other. Be sure to fill the bottom with stones for drainage: spruce grown from seeds or seedlings cannot live on soils where water stagnates. If cultivation takes place on poor soils, add peat or compost to the soil dug out of the hole; mix heavy clay with sand. The roots of the Christmas tree will be shallow; the composition of the surface soil layer is very important for them.

The best time for planting is early spring. Try making a hole: if the soil has already thawed, it’s time to plant. The Christmas tree will spread its roots in the top layer of soil, so as not to disturb them by loosening; after planting, mulch the tree trunk circle. If you add hydrogel to the soil, the plant will not suffer from a lack or excess of moisture.

Caring for a coniferous tree

On good garden soil, feeding blue spruce is not required. If the cultivation takes place on too poor soil, for the first 5 years in early spring, apply a little mineral fertilizer under the young Christmas trees. Avoid formulations with a high nitrogen content, and fresh manure is completely contraindicated for plants. If there is an excess of nutrients, the trunk will quickly stretch out, the branches will become woody, they will begin to actively produce new shoots, and the diameter of the crown will become too large.

Advice. If you want to create a corner of wild coniferous forest on your site, plant blue spruce trees in fertile soil and fertilize them well. With this care, the trees will grow tall, with a wide spread of branches. If you use fast growing high grades, in a few years there will be a real thicket on the site, covered with a silvery haze.

Caring for blue spruce includes loosening the soil. These trees have roots located just below the surface of the earth and cannot draw moisture from deep layers. Overdrying the soil threatens plants with death. Seedlings need to be watered several times a day, little by little. For mature trees, one watering per day is enough, but the portion should be no less than a bucket for each plant. Mulching or hydrogel will help slow down soil drying.

In order for the crown to have the shape of an even cone, it is necessary to carry out formative pruning of the branches. In the spring, inspect the tree, remove all deformed, diseased and dried shoots. After this, trim healthy branches to give the crown the correct shape. This procedure is carried out only on young Christmas trees; after 8 years, it is not recommended to trim healthy shoots.

Blue spruce, grown from seeds or seedlings, is adapted to frosty winters and does not need protection from the cold. In young plants, a heavy layer of snow can break branches. Until the trees get stronger, in the fall bend the shoots to the trunk and secure them in this position with a net or strong rope. In summer, Christmas trees feel good in the sun, but in the snowy season, bright rays can cause burns. In the cold season, it is better to curtain the coniferous tree with fabric on the south side.

Diseases and pests

Coniferous trees rarely get sick, and they have few pests. Often problems with blue spruce arise due to improper care or unsuitable conditions. If one half of the branches looks great, but the other half dries out and crumbles, the plant is not getting enough light, and you may have planted it too close to buildings or solid fences. In a damp and dark place, the needles may become covered with yellowish stripes or turn completely yellow. Treat the tree with an antifungal drug, but if it remains in the same conditions, the disease will recur.

Hermes larvae can settle on the branches. If you notice strange thickenings, remove the damaged shoots and spray the Christmas trees with insecticide. If depressions appear on the trunk from which resin is released, the plant has been attacked by a spruce sawfly. It is necessary to treat the spruce with pest control preparations.

When the trees begin to wither, the needles acquire a brownish tint, young shoots wither - the plant is affected by a fungal infection. It would be correct to completely remove the Christmas tree from the area and burn it to protect other specimens from infection. If you don’t want to part with the blue spruce, treat both it and the soil antifungal drugs.

So, purchasing a blue spruce seedling is an expensive pleasure, and caring for the tree requires effort and time. The soil surface should be loose and the roots should be shallow. If you do not mulch the soil, you will have to loosen it as carefully as a sapper or archaeologist works. Daily watering in dry weather is also very tiring; drip irrigation systems can come to the rescue.

If you don’t want a dense forest to grow near your house instead of decorative Christmas trees, don’t overfeed the plantings. Grow from seeds or choose a seedling of the variety that best suits the design of the site in terms of height, crown shape and color. Growing and caring for a silver spruce will require time and effort from you, but isn’t a fabulous Christmas tree, as if shrouded in a bluish fog, worth it?

• reducing the body's immune defense
• drowsiness
• frequent fatigue
• depression
• headaches, as well as various pains and spasms in the internal organs

If you feel frequently unwell, you simply need to cleanse your body. How to do it

www.dobsovet.ru

How to grow blue spruce at home: from seeds, seedlings

Other conifers

Blue spruce trees are popular with many gardeners. Their homeland is the northern regions of America. These trees are considered symbols of the states of Utah and Colorado.

In the wild, blue spruces are found near mountain rivers and on rocks. The tree symbolizes wealth and prosperity and can decorate any yard. Adult thorny plant It is unpretentious, but young Christmas trees require more care. They can suffer in winter from the burden of snow cover and bright sunlight.

Description and varieties

Blue spruce is an evergreen coniferous crop that grows rather slowly. There are many types of spruce trees with blue colored needles. They have different dimensions and shapes. In most cases, the description of blue spruce refers to a prickly variety that can grow up to 30 m in the wild, but when cultivated reaches only 15 m. Its crown is 6-7 m in diameter. The color of the needles ranges from gray-green to bright blue - it depends on the variety. Typically, young buds are purple or reddish, then turn pale brown.

The trees are resistant to frost, drought, and winds. They can be grown even in areas where the temperature in winter reaches -30 0 C. Since exhaust gases and dust do not have a negative effect on these trees, they can be used for landscaping in urban environments.

There are approximately 70 varieties of blue spruce. All the original ones, which were formed without the participation of breeders, are united under the name Glauka. They, like hybrid varieties, come in low, medium and tall heights.

The most common are:

1. 1. Iseli Fastigiata. The crown is narrow and cone-shaped. The branches are arranged vertically. Compared to other species, these trees grow faster. In 10 years the height will be approximately 10 m. The variety is drought-resistant.
2. 2. Hoopsii. This is a medium-sized spruce, reaching a height of 11 m, a crown diameter of 3 m. The needles are quite fluffy and have a rich blue color, which lasts throughout the year. The needles curl up slightly, resembling a saber shape.
3. 3. Bialobok. A small spruce up to 2 m high. The crown is uneven. A special feature is that the young shoots are not blue, but golden. Such trees must be planted in a well-lit place, otherwise in the shade the color will not be so prominent and intense.
4. 4. Koster. The variety is quite original due to the presence of weeping branches. The top of the trunk is sometimes exposed. The maximum height is 10-15 m. The crown can be up to 5 m wide.

Glauka Pendula and Misty Blue are also popular. They reach a height of 6-7 m 15 years after planting. The Filip's Blue Compact variety has shiny needles.

Among the dwarf varieties there are:

1. 1. Glauca Globosa. The plant is usually up to 1 m in height, and the crown in diameter is up to 1.5 m, and is quite dense. The needles are short - up to 10 mm, and have the shape of a sickle. Over the course of a year, the tree grows to a maximum of 1 cm - this applies to both the width and height of the crown.
2. 2. Glauca Procumbens. This bush has an uneven crown, branches stick out in different directions.
3. 3. Glauca Prostrata. The plant reaches a height of only 40 cm, but the maximum diameter is 2 m, so this spruce looks like a thick blue pillow on the ground.
4. 4. Frieda. This tree's crown diameter is also much larger than its height.
5. 5. Hermann Naue. This variety is a slow-growing variety. The crown has the shape of a flattened dense ball, but then transforms into a cone with a wide base. 10 years after planting, the height of the tree will be only 0.6 m, and the width of the crown will be from 0.8 to 1.5 m.
6. 6. Blue Perl. Also a miniature spruce: 10 years after planting, its height will be from 40 to 60 cm. The crown is quite dense and has a rounded shape.

How to grow a crocus flower at home and properly care for it

Planting and propagation

To plant a blue spruce, you need to choose a suitable place with sufficient lighting and area. The plant is undemanding to moisture and can grow on any soil. For planting, you need to choose those seedlings that have been growing at home in a container for the last 6 months: they adapt faster. It is best to choose a plant that is 3-5 years old.

Landing is carried out as follows:

1. 1. You need to remove the weeds and dig up the soil.
2. 2. Design a planting hole. Its dimensions should be slightly larger than the volume of the root system of the seedling.
3. 3. Water the soil so that the ground becomes soft.
4. 4. Tap the sides of the blue spruce pot and carefully remove it.
5. 5. Pour some soil from the container into the bottom of the hole.
6. 6. Place the seedling, straighten the roots and sprinkle with soil.
7. 7. Water thoroughly.

You can grow blue spruce at home from seeds. Planting seedlings is the best option for this, but it is quite complicated. You need to collect seeds in February. They, along with the cones, are left in fabric bags and dried in a warm room. When the cone opens, you can get seeds with wings from it. To remove the latter, the planting material is ground. Then the seeds are spilled, dried and placed in the refrigerator for 2 months.

They should be planted in April. To do this, mix turf soil and peat in equal proportions. The seeds are buried only 1 cm. Weak sprouts will appear only after 3 weeks. They are supposed to be thinned out, leaving the healthiest and strongest ones. For the first year, the plants should be kept in a house or greenhouse. Planting in open ground is carried out only in the second year.

You can also get a tree from a cutting. This method is the most common, since species characteristics are preserved. Cuttings in April are cut from one-year-old shoots. The length of the planting material should be 10 cm. The lower needles should be trimmed. The cuttings are stuck into a moist substrate and covered with plastic bottles. They are removed only when the plant takes root.

Rules of care

Blue spruce seedlings are unpretentious, so caring for them is quite simple. In order for the tree to develop properly, you need to do the following:

1. 1. Watering. If the summer is hot, then it is necessary to irrigate the soil around the young tree once a week. Each plant requires 1 bucket of water. If the spruce is still very young, then its root system is located close to the surface of the earth, so it needs to be watered more often. Trees also like to be sprayed with water from a spray bottle. It is best to use settled liquid at room temperature.
2. 2. Soil care. You need to loosen it regularly so that the root system has access to oxygen. It is best to do this the next day after watering. At the same time, weeds must be removed. When loosening, you should not go deeper than 5-6 cm, so as not to damage the roots. Some gardeners advise not to touch the plant in the first year after planting, giving it the opportunity to grow in the grass - you just need to water the soil and use humus for mulching. Adult trees do not require fertilizing, but young trees will need nutritional components. It is best to use complex mineral fertilizers.
3. 3. Trimming and pinching. A planted spruce will grow chaotically if you do not care for its crown. Trees are often used as hedges, so periodic pruning will be necessary to keep the plant looking neat. This must be done when the annual growth stops and all the needles on the new shoots have already straightened. If the branches are too long and protrude beyond the edges of the desired crown shape, then they must be carefully pinched and twisted. Next year, such shoots will no longer grow, but lateral shoots will appear on them. The shape of the spruce becomes regular and lush. Pruning must also be carried out in order to form a beautiful crown of the tree. Spruce produces 2-3 pieces. You don’t need to touch the main one, but it’s better to pinch the rest.
4. 4. Wintering. In winter, there are 2 threats to young trees. The first concerns direct sunlight, which causes burns. The second is the weight of the snow, as a result of which fragile branches break off. To save them, you need to cover the tree with special agrofibre or cotton cloth in the fall. Before this, all branches need to be pulled to the trunk and secured with a net or rope. In spring the protection is removed. Adult plants do not require such measures.

Caring for blue spruce also involves protecting the tree from diseases and pests. Insects that feed on bark, wood and pine needles can be controlled with drugs such as Rogor and Karbofos.

Diseases usually affect young or weakened trees. At risk are those plants that are located too close to each other, lacking water and light. To strengthen their immunity, you need to use preparations with copper and complex fertilizers. They are recommended to be applied in spring and autumn.

As for fungal diseases, spruce usually suffers from:

• tracheomycosis wilt;
• rust;
• necrosis;
• ulcerative cancer.

It is necessary to remove all damaged parts from an infected tree, treat the cut areas with garden varnish, and water the tree itself with a fungicidal agent at the root.

floradoma.net

Spruce is a real queen landscape design garden Beautiful decorative tree looks great in any part of the garden. In order for a spruce to delight with its spectacular appearance for many years, it needs to be provided with proper care.

Spruce - an evergreen decoration for a personal plot

Spruce is the most important and famous representative of the pine family. This genus includes about 50 species, native to Northern Europe, Central and Northeast Asia, North America, as well as Western and Central China.

A typical representative of spruce trees is an evergreen tree 50 meters high, slender, monoecious with a cone-shaped crown. The crown diameter can reach 8 meters, the branches are covered with hard needles. Spruces are frost-resistant and durable plants - their lifespan is 250-300 years.

Beautiful color shade and the correct conical shape make this tree an accent when arranging a garden or personal plot. Spruce brings the necessary depth of color, interesting volume and shape, as well as a unique fairy-tale and comfortable atmosphere to the overall composition of landscape design.

In addition to decorative advantages, spruce trees also have more practical advantages:

The most popular types and varieties of spruce

When arranging parks, alleys, gardens and personal plots, about 20 types of spruce are used. Among them, the most popular are four types of evergreen beauties: ordinary, prickly, Serbian and gray.

Norway spruce or Norway spruce (Picea abies) is used in landscaping and ornamental gardening. Spruce wood is widely used in industry, and unripe cones are used in medicine. The height of the plant reaches 30 m, rarely up to 50 m. The cone-shaped crown is formed by outstretched or drooping branches.

Norway spruce is represented by more than hundreds of varieties; among the decorative varieties, the following are in demand:

Prickly spruce, better known as blue spruce (Piceaepungens) is the most common species in landscaping. Varieties of this species have a pyramidal shape, the height of the trees is up to 46 meters, the trunk in diameter is 1.5 meters. In young trees the crown is in the form of a narrow cone; in adult plants it takes on a cylindrical shape. Blue spruce is winter-hardy, tolerates any weather conditions, prefers moderate moisture and loose soil.

The following breeding varieties are popular:

Serbian spruce(Picea omorika) - tall trees (up to 40 m) with a small trunk diameter - about 1 meter. Columnar narrow pyramidal crown with short, raised branches. Decorative varieties of Serbian spruce:

Gray spruce(Picea glauca) is known as Canada or White Spruce. The tree is cultivated as ornamental plant. The color of the needles at the top is dark green and blue-white below. In parks and gardens you can find the following varieties of spruce:

Features of spruce planting

Planting seedlings growing in the forest and decorative forms of spruce trees practically do not differ from each other. The recommended period for planting spruce seedlings is spring (before the start of the growing season) or autumn (before the onset of cold weather).

Blue spruce seedlings should be planted only in the spring, so that the plant has time to take root before winter and does not die with the onset of the first frost. Optimal size blue spruce seedling - 70 cm

You need to buy seedlings in early spring. When choosing, you need to pay attention to the roots and height young plant. For spring planting, seedlings no more than 2 meters high (common spruce) are suitable, and adult plants or large ones (height 3 meters or more) tolerate autumn-winter planting well. Various nurseries offer spruce seedlings grown in plastic containers or with a lump of earth. This option is less traumatic for the plant’s root system.

The spruce should be planted in a semi-shaded or sunny area. Spruce trees do not tolerate stagnant water, so you must take care of drainage.

The lower the groundwater level in the area and the more humus in the soil, the more luxurious the spruce needles will look

Sequence of planting spruce seedlings:

When planting fir trees, it is important to prevent the roots from drying out.

The planted plant can additionally be mulched - sprinkle the root collar with a layer of peat (5-6 cm). This event enriches the soil nutrients, retains moisture and increases soil temperature.

Spruce propagation methods

At home, spruce can be grown in three ways: seeds, cuttings and seedlings. Since we discussed planting spruce seedlings in the previous section, we will focus on plant propagation by seeds and cuttings.

Growing spruce from seeds

Planting spruce seeds is a rather painstaking and complex process. You can use both purchased seeds and material collected yourself.

It is preferable to plant fresh seeds collected with your own hands in October-November. this way it will be possible to properly prepare the seeds and choose exactly the type of tree that is needed

Seed preparation includes the following activities:

The top layer of soil must be carefully loosened, and the plants should preferably be treated with weakly concentrated insecticides.

At the end of May, plants can be planted in the ground. After planting, a young seedling must be covered; you can use cut plastic bottle. Thanks to the greenhouse effect, seedlings will be able to acclimatize and take root faster. The “greenhouse” must be ventilated daily, and after a week it can be removed.

Spruce cuttings

Among summer residents, the method of propagating spruce trees using cuttings is quite popular. Spruce cuttings are cut in spring or autumn from the top of the crown. The length of the cutting is 15-20 cm. Annual shoots cut from trees 5-8 years old take root well.

Algorithm for growing spruce from cuttings:

1. Prepare the pit. Lay out in layers: 4-5 cm of drainage, 10 cm of nutrient soil and 5 cm of sand.
2. Treat the cut seedling with a weak solution of potassium permanganate.
3. Plant the seedling in a hole at an angle of 30°, planting depth - 4-5 cm, interval between plants - 10 cm.
4. Water the seedlings and cover with plastic wrap. Cover height is about 30 cm.

In a greenhouse, the soil temperature should be in the range of 21-27°C, the air temperature 5-7° lower.

During spring and summer, the cuttings must be watered and shaded daily. At the end of August, sun protection can be removed.

Caring for spruce in the garden

Spruce watering regime

The spruce watering regime depends on the age and growing season wood:

When caring for and planting blue spruce, it must be taken into account that it is more drought-resistant than common spruce varieties

Feeding and fertilizing spruce

There is debate among summer residents and gardeners regarding fertilizing spruce trees. Some people completely refuse to use fertilizers, but note that the plant grows very slowly for the first 5-7 years. Others do not feed the plants, believing that mutations may occur - the lateral branches are transformed into stem ones and the tree grows to the side, not up.

Growth stimulants should be used with caution, since a neat spruce can be used to produce a real forest tree in your garden.

When it comes to feeding spruce, you must adhere to the “golden mean” rule and apply fertilizers in doses. It is important not to overfeed the tree, then at the age of about 10 years the spruce stops growing and acquires a decorative appearance.

Crown formation and pruning

The needs of landscape design and some safety measures (laying power lines) force pruning of spruce trees.

1. Spruce pruning should be done once a year.
2. In order for the spruce to grow faster in width and not significantly increase in height, it is necessary to periodically cut down the top.
3. Sanitary pruning is best done in April, after new shoots appear. It is necessary to trim dry and intertwined branches. Thinning helps sunlight penetrate deep into the crown and has a beneficial effect on spruce growth.
4. Decorative pruning is carried out after completion active period growth of young shoots - in early to mid-June.
5. The place where the branches were cut must be treated with a special lubricant, this is especially true for the lower branches.
6. During work, you should use only well-sharpened tools.

Spruce wintering

The needles of young seedlings may suffer from low temperatures, so at the end of autumn the plant should be covered with spruce branches or craft paper.

It is better to “strengthen” varieties of spruce trees with thin branches for the winter. Make a cone-shaped frame from thin wooden planks, install it around the spruce tree and cover it with spruce branches. Such a structure will protect the branches of the plant from breaking under the weight of snow and protect it from strong winds.

Adult spruce trees can easily tolerate cold winters and do not need protection.

Diseases and pests

To prevent fungal diseases, the soil around the spruce must be periodically treated with fungicides. Most often, spruce trees are exposed to the following diseases and pests:

Spruce: planting and care

Photos of fir trees in landscape design

"Waterfall" in natural style

Blue spruce Hoopsii on the site

Spruce in composition with other conifers

Conica spruce on a personal plot

Arrangement of a recreation area

The evergreen beautiful Christmas tree is an excellent option for many summer cottages: it is unpretentious, takes root well and easily adapts even to severe conditions.

At the same time, planting and caring for it is not difficult, the main thing is to follow some rules.

Total information

Spruce or Picea belongs to the pine family. This genus consists of 41 species of conifers - 37 primary and 4 hybrids.

Separately, it is worth highlighting the Siberian spruce: due to its genetic proximity to the common spruce, it is often not distinguished as a separate species, but is considered a subspecies.

Thanks to the ability to grow clone shoots from roots dead tree, spruce can be called eternal. Its height can exceed 95 meters, it lives up to 300 years, under favorable conditions - up to 600 years. One of oldest trees is more than 9.5 thousand years old, and the species itself is one of the oldest types of tree.

The root is formed within 10-15 years, with the taproot sprouting first, then the superficial one developing, and the main one dying off. Because of this, the tree often falls during sharp gusts of wind, as it cannot cling to the ground. The Christmas tree is spread throughout northern countries, across the Urals, Siberia, the Far East, the Caucasus, some species are found in China and North America.

The crown has the shape of a pyramid, the bark is gray, instead of leaves there are short needles of different colors. Over the course of a year, a tree loses up to 1/7 of its needles. Reproduction begins at 10-60 years and occurs with the help of cones. Fertilization occurs in May, the seeds ripen in mid-autumn, after which they are dispersed by the wind. After falling on the ground, they retain the ability to germinate for up to 10 years.

Good to know: the fertilization age of spruce depends on external conditions: the better they are, the sooner the tree will begin to reproduce.

The uses of spruce are varied:

1. It is processed into wood pulp and is often used to create musical instruments.
2. Cellulose, rosin, cardboard, paper, tar, and turpentine are obtained.
3. Spruce branches are used to protect vegetable gardens, bushes and trees from winter frosts.
4. Pine flour is a good additive for livestock feed; the seeds are eaten by birds and rodents.
5. Essential oils are extracted from wood.

Spruce trees are also an excellent decorative element: they look great, tolerate shade easily and live a long time; they are often planted as hedges or windbreaks. For example, in warm countries, blue spruce is used for these purposes - both in the photo and in life it looks extremely attractive.

Basic rules of care

Despite the fact that spruce is an extremely tenacious plant, it will not refuse care. This will help grow a healthy and beautiful specimen.

The first step is to decide on the type of plant being grown, its height, appearance and other features.

To care for your spruce, you need to pay attention to the following points:

1. Location: Spruce forests are often dense and rather gloomy due to the dense canopy, but spruce trees themselves are light-loving plants and thrive even in direct sunlight. When choosing a place, you need to focus on well-lit places: with a lack of light, the plant will lose most of its beauty.

Note: It is necessary to ensure that light-loving plants do not grow nearby: the spruce will quickly grow and block the sun for them.

It is also worth remembering that spruce grows quickly: in a few years it will become several times wider, and therefore it is not worth planting it near paths or at home - it is better to move further away.

1. Wind: spruce trees cannot withstand gusts of wind and often fall, and therefore it is advisable to choose a place that is as quiet and calm as possible. This especially applies to trees older than 10-12 years.
2. Soil: spruce trees prefer acidic and slightly acidic soils; they will not refuse loam or sandy loam options. If the chosen place is too loose or heavy, it is necessary to add clay or sand to it before planting.
3. Watering: in the first few years it is necessary to water the spruce regularly, pouring out 10-12 liters weekly, you can also spray the crown. In hot weather, regular watering is also necessary. After each watering, the soil will need to be loosened and mulched with peat.
4. Feeding: In early spring, spruce needs feeding. To do this, about 100 grams of universal fertilizer are added to the soil.
5. Pruning: Creating a thick “wall” requires regular pruning of branches. In other cases, you can limit yourself to removing dry and diseased branches after regular preventive checks in spring and autumn. If a spruce tree has two tops, one needs to be cut off near the base.
6. Wintering: young spruce trees need to be mulched, you can also cover them with spruce branches and tie them tightly.

What is soil mulching and how to do it correctly:

Correct landing

It is best to plant spruce at the end of April.

Young trees 2-3 years old are used for planting:

1. In the chosen location, it is necessary to dig holes up to 60-70 cm deep, the distance between them should be at least 2-3 meters, otherwise the roots will not be able to develop normally.
2. At the bottom of the hole you need to pour a layer of broken bricks.
3. Next, 2/3 of the hole needs to be filled with a mixture of 2 parts turf, 2 parts leaf mixture and parts sand and peat.
4. When burying a tree, you need to make sure that the root collar does not go deep.
5. Then the soil is watered and lightly compacted, after which a layer of peat is added.

If you plant a spruce from a pot, you do not need to shake off the soil from it; it is better to dip it in a mixture of 2 parts garden soil and part humus for a few seconds.

Growing from seeds

Only species-specific spruce trees are grown this way, since selection ones lose most of their properties; in addition, seedlings can be prepared at home.

Harvesting seeds begins with removing them from the cones, after which they are stored until late autumn in a dry but cool place.

2-3 months before planting, the seeds begin to be prepared: dipped in a weak solution of potassium permanganate for half an hour, then washed and soaked again in clean water for a day. Afterwards, the seeds are poured into a nylon bag filled with wet sand and put in the refrigerator until sowing. This will help soften the nut shell, which will lead to good germination.

At the end of April, seeds can be planted in a greenhouse. Any sufficiently large pot or box will do: sandy loam soil is poured into it, a layer of sawdust 1-2 cm thick is placed on top, then the seeds are planted and sprinkled with the same layer of fresh sawdust. The ground is watered and covered with transparent glass or film.

At the end of summer, when the seeds begin to germinate and young shoots appear, the glass can be removed: first for a few hours a day, then for good.

As the soil grows, it is necessary to water it moderately, and in the summer, feed it monthly: a mixture of part of the barn with 5 parts of water is suitable for this. In winter, the spruce must be covered with dry leaves to prevent the plants from freezing.

After 2-3 years in the spring, the seedlings are transplanted into the ground into shallow holes at a distance of 30-50 cm from each other. When replanting, it is necessary to trim diseased or damaged roots, as well as shorten long ones. In the second year, fertilizing is applied: 0.5 kg of manure, 25 grams of superphosphate, 10 grams of potassium nitrate.

Fully formed trees at the age of 5-7 years can already be transplanted to a permanent place.

This can be done in the spring or early autumn so that they have time to take root. Usually there are no problems with replanting, since the trees have a shallow root system.

It is believed that planting a spruce Bad sign. You can hear about this from residents of villages and private sectors who believe that there is no place for a Christmas tree in the yard or near the house. Whether this is so and what this sign is connected with, we will tell below.

In the article:

Why planting a spruce is a bad omen - answers from ancient legends

Our ancestors collected signs, noting events happening around them that led to one or another result. Most of these beliefs have reached us in their original form and still work today. Signs exist regarding almost everything that surrounds us: about animals, about plants, about the weather, about the house, about love, money, and so on.

And if the logic of some of them is obvious - if you spilled salt, it means you will cry soon, then some of the signs are frankly surprising.

The bad omen about the Christmas tree on the property was no exception. It is worth noting that it is common in those regions where spruce is a rare guest. In areas with spruce forests there is no such belief.

Almost everyone knows that planting a spruce is a bad omen for death, loneliness, childlessness or the birth of only daughters. If this tree, planted near the house, dies, gets sick, or is struck by lightning, you can soon expect the death of one of the owners of the house. During a thunderstorm, in the old days they never sought shelter under a spruce tree; they chose a birch tree, however, there were also many bad omens about it.

Similar superstitions were found not only among the Slavs, but also in Europe. Thus, one of the most famous examples of folklore associated with spruce is the legend of a tree planted by the first colonists near Lake Keitele in Finland. This spruce was considered a symbol of good luck; the first fruits of the harvest were brought to it, and only after that they were served on the table.

According to legend, every time one branch withered on a tree, one of the first colonists died. And then the tree fell, and after that the last surviving old woman, who was one of the first to come to explore new territories, died. After the fall of the spruce tree, only the descendants of the colonists remained alive. The latter went into the world of the dead along with the tree, which symbolized their luck, harvest and vitality.

A bad omen - a Christmas tree on the site

So, why is spruce on the site a bad omen? In villages there is a belief that spruce cannot be planted in the yard, next to the house. It is believed that as soon as the spruce grows higher than the roof, a death will occur in the family. According to another variation, when the spruce grew taller than the person who planted it, he was dying.

There is another interpretation of the relatively bad omen of a Christmas tree on the site. There is a belief that a spruce planted near a house will prevent the owners of the plot from getting married successfully, and married couples will get divorced. According to this superstition, spruce is considered the tree of loneliness.

Another variation of this interpretation suggests that the spruce drives men out of the house.
And they were not advised to plant Christmas trees near the house of a young family, as this could deprive them of their heirs.

Another meaning suggests that spruce brings the dead, since previously the bodies of the dead were covered with spruce branches.

In addition, there is a belief that spruce is a kind of energy vampire.
However, esotericists say that this tree is in summer time actively absorbs energy, and in winter, on the contrary, shares it. Therefore, it is recommended to take walks in the spruce forest more often for people who do not tolerate the winter season well.

The following proverb can also be called a reflection of the sign:

In a pine forest - to pray, in a birch forest - to have fun, and in a spruce forest - to hang yourself.

A Christmas tree in the yard is a bad omen: scientists explain

When asked why it is not a good omen to plant Christmas trees on the property, historians give other reasons. The fact is that houses in Rus' were built of wood, and a spruce planted next to the house could quickly catch fire from the slightest spark. In this case, the fire quickly spread to the house. The Christmas tree could have caused a fire in the entire village.

In addition, do not forget that a single tree often attracts lightning, which can also cause a fire.

And the third reason for the dislike of spruce trees in Rus' was that this evergreen plant very dense crown. Consequently, when the spruce outgrew the low peasant house with a chimney, with a strong wind it was possible to catch fire in the hut.

From this point of view, the sign is quite logical. However, now houses, firstly, are not built from wood, and secondly, most private ones are built on two or three floors. Therefore, the sign cannot be called “working”.

Here's what cultural experts write:

For the peoples of the Finno-Ugric language group, a tree is an intermediary between the world of people and the world of the dead, the lower world of ancestors. The Karelians had a custom of confessing to a tree. Among the Verkhnevychegda Komi, they brought a spruce tree to a dying sorcerer, before which he confessed and died without torment.
Coniferous trees - spruce, pine, juniper, fir, cedar, etc. - were endowed with special sacredness. They symbolized eternal life, immortality, were a receptacle of divine life force, and had cult significance
Dronova T.I. Earthly existence - as preparation for the afterlife

So, we see how our ancestors collected signs, on the basis of which they believed in certain properties of spruce.

Meanwhile, in our time, spruce is New Year symbol, and many people plant Christmas trees in the yard so that they can dance round dances around it later in the winter. And how can you imagine a plot in a country house or a private house without trees?

It is interesting that not only ordinary spruce is now planted on plots, but also fir, which is also considered tree of the dead, helping souls find their way after death. Canadian spruce trees are also popular, about which our ancestors have no signs at all.

Whether to follow the sign or not is a personal matter for everyone. When trusting this or that sign, it is important to remember the psychological aspect.

With the help of signs, a person shifts responsibility for what is happening to a tree growing in the yard, a cawing crow, or spilled salt.

For some, this is an option for working with grief, in this way a person tries to survive the tragedy that has occurred, the death of a loved one. In “easier” cases, the psyche conveniently shifts responsibility for what is happening to signs, so as not to face an unpleasant reality that requires an even more unpleasant decision.

It's no secret that thoughts materialize. And if, for example, you see black tulips and remember that they are unlucky, and you constantly think about it, you will easily attract this misfortune.

This does not mean that our ancestors were superstitious and had absolutely cave mentality. No, them