Quite often, people in search of new green pets are looking for something unusual that not everyone grows at home. At least update the options for planting, but we suggest trying to grow a real spruce at home. Not only will the air in your house be saturated with a pleasant coniferous aroma, but also the eternal New Year's problem will be solved. Do not cut Christmas trees in the forest every year and do not be sad in the company of an artificial tree. Everyone wins - both nature lovers and conservationists.
More reliable from seeds
Oddly enough, growing spruce is most reliable from seeds. The tree from its very birth will be in your home and will be able to quickly adapt to the surrounding conditions. In addition, buying a seedling in a nursery will cost a lot, and the conditions in the nursery are different.
Spruce seeds prepared for planting
However, it is best to buy spruce seeds in the nursery - the people who work there are knowledgeable, and the products there are, as a rule, of high quality. If you want to complicate the task, go to the forest yourself in late autumn and collect spruce cones. The seeds extracted from them will become material for future work.
Cones can be harvested in winter, bring them home and dry them until they open themselves - then remove the seeds.
There is one important point related to growing spruce at home. This is a constantly warm temperature that will give the food no time to rest, which is usually easily achieved in the open air. At home, coolness can be provided with the help of a balcony, where during a cold snap it will be necessary to take out a coniferous beauty, gradually accustoming her to the cold. If you do not have a balcony, it is better to give up the idea of growing a spruce.
However, if you grow a spruce at home for further planting in open ground, the first two seasons in the warmth will not spoil things.
Seed preparation
To grow a coniferous plant, you need to properly prepare the seeds.
Collecting cones
The tree from which the cones are taken is looked after in advance, taking into account the external features of the tree. The collection of unopened cones is carried out in late November or early December.
You should not be limited in the number of cones, not all seeds will germinate, and some of the seedlings do not live to be transplanted to a permanent place. And the surviving seedlings in the future do not always have needles of the desired color.
Seed collection
The collected spruce cones are kept in a warm room to open up. At home, this process takes about two days. Cones must be kept in a box, otherwise the lionfish will scatter throughout the apartment. Crackling indicates that the scales begin to open. When the lump "opens", the lionfish are shaken out of it. The collected seeds can be stored for no more than two years, then the germination rate decreases sharply.
Spruce varieties
The choice of varieties of spruce does not create problems, since the attention of the buyer (unless you yourself are looking for planting material) are offered Christmas trees with different colors, needles and shapes. It remains to add that if you are going to plant a future spruce on the site, then you can purchase seeds of any varieties. If the Christmas tree does not leave the house, then, of course, the choice will be limited.For example, an ordinary Russian spruce, even in cramped conditions, can grow so that no ceiling height is enough. Therefore, you will have to choose among decorative dwarf species.
In general, among all the variety of varieties, in addition to Russian spruce, attention is paid to blue spruce, a very unpretentious beauty, as well as Canadian, which is much more difficult to grow, and white-sided is an amazing creature with wonderful colors.
It is best to grow blue and ordinary Russian spruce in our area, they have already been tested by nature itself for many years, and there should be no problems with their cultivation.
Growing from seeds (video)
So, since growing from seeds allows you to achieve the best result, we run to a nursery, forest or store and buy seeds. You need to soak them in warm water for 2-3 weeks so that they swell, and then plant them in the ground.
For safety reasons, the seeds can be soaked in a manganese solution for a day and planted in the ground - this method is quite logical if you found the seeds in nature yourself.
They say that the best land for a Christmas tree is land from the native forest. If the brought volume is diluted by half with peat, you will also enrich the soil with microelements. It is better to avoid other fertilizers and even more so chemicals when growing spruce at home.
The main thing to remember when germinating seeds is that they are tightly similar. The period of hatching is from a month to a year, so even the well-known leisurely strawberry in terms of development rate in comparison with spruce is a real bamboo. Therefore, if you planted a seed, and after a month or two did not see a sprout, do not rush to abandon your business. Sooner or later, he will appear. Unless, of course, the seed is alive and of high quality.
Plant the seed immediately in a large pot. Small cups will not work if the sprout has already been born - here things will go faster, and the tiny Christmas tree will quickly become cramped. And a transplant at such a tender age is destructive for her.
After planting, watering the seeds is required once a week, and after the sprout appears, watering is stopped. Spruce is not the most moisture-loving tree, and therefore periodic spraying from a spray bottle is enough for it.
Interestingly, the greatest growth of spruce is observed in winter under the thickness of snow, therefore, by placing a young tree on the windowsill with the onset of cold weather, you will harden it and stimulate its development.
In order for the Christmas tree to delight in the early years with beautiful needles and a pleasant aroma, do not place it in direct sunlight. Only in the fourth or fifth year of life, when the Christmas tree reaches a height of 30 to 50 cm, it will be possible to gradually accustom it to the bright sun.
Planting options for blue Christmas tree seeds
After hibernation, the seeds need to be woken up. To do this, they are immersed overnight in a solution of water and microelements (root formation stimulator + antifungal drug foundationol). A moist environment will restore cell structure and accelerate germination.
Landing begins in the morning. To do this, use different methods. You can choose one that is most convenient, but it is better to divide the seeds into equal parts and try each option. So you can clearly see which method is most effective for your particular case and for the plants in your area.
Method # 1 - in open ground
If the spring frosts have passed by April, sow the trees directly into the ground. To do this, knock down the greenhouse and fill it with low-lying peat mixed with coarse sand and earth from a coniferous forest. You can immediately apply complex fertilizers for conifers or feed them later, when the sprouts come out of the ground.
The soil from the forest is an essential component for the good growth of spruce trees, as it contains the mycelium of fungi. The mycelium in real conditions helps the root system of conifers to receive moisture and nutrition, and takes harmful substances from the soil.The symbiosis of mushrooms and trees is so close that, without mycorrhizal fungi, blue spruces grow sluggishly and often die.
When planting blue spruces in open ground, the seeds are scattered often, since the germination rate usually does not exceed 50 percent, but then the weakest sprouts are pinched
- The soil is tamped tightly.
- The seeds are laid out on top, at a distance of 3-4 cm from each other.
- Peat is mixed with coniferous sawdust in equal proportions and the seeds are sprinkled with this mixture in a layer up to a centimeter.
- The land is sprayed.
- Cover the greenhouse with foil.
- Periodically check the humidity and, if necessary, ventilate the greenhouse.
- Seedlings will appear in 3 weeks. They are thinned out, leaving strong plants at a distance of 6 cm.
- Sprayed daily in the morning, but without fanaticism, since excess moisture will lead to the development of a "black leg" - a viral infection that can destroy all the material.
In this form, the Christmas trees grow for a year, until next spring. In summer, protect them from the sun and dry soil.
Method # 2 - in plastic containers
You can sprout Christmas trees at home. To do this, you need to prepare wide plastic containers with lids (from store salads, cookies, etc.) or planting pots.
Disposable plastic food containers are inexpensive, but they are convenient for spruce seeds to germinate, as the container is tightly closed with a lid.
The order of work is as follows:
- The containers are filled with 2-3 volumes of soil mixture: 3 parts of dry sand + 1 part of peat.
- Spray the ground thoroughly.
- Spread the seeds over the moistened earth.
- Slightly stir the soil with your hand or fork to deepen the seeds.
- The lid is closed, and if not, cover the pot with foil and put the containers in a warm place where the direct rays of the sun do not fall.
- As the soil dries up, spraying is carried out.
- When the sprouts hatch and become visible, the containers are slightly opened so that the plants are normally ventilated.
- In the summer, the pots are taken out into the fresh air, under the shade of large trees, and in the winter they are returned to a room with a temperature of 10-15 degrees.
From the window to the plot
If you are growing a Christmas tree for your summer cottage, and the transplant time (and this usually happens two years after pecking from seeds) is already coming, it's time to accustom it to fresh air. Periodically, the plant needs to be exposed to the street, gradually increasing the intervals. This period of addiction should last a couple of months, after which the Christmas tree will acquire the opportunity to live in the open air.
This tree is already ready for transplanting.
When planting on a site, it is advisable to add a little forest land to the hole, and after the tree has found a new place, for some time before it takes root, you need to water the tree. Once the tree takes root, no watering is required, except perhaps in dry seasons.
Growing a tree from seeds is not as difficult as many other plants. However, the result of your efforts will grow not one, or even two years, but decades and even centuries. This is why the tree is very different from other plants, and its planting in open ground is carried out once and for a long time.
Few of the people who are passionate about gardening did not grow anything not only in their summer cottage, but also on a window or balcony - parsley, dill, seedlings, in the end. But not many people “aimed” at the tree. Is it possible to grow spruce from seeds at home? Quite, if you follow the simple rules.
Open ground transplant
The seedling gets used to the home atmosphere, without wind, heat, rain and cold. Before planting in a permanent place, the spruce must be accustomed to the street for about 2 months so that the plant does not die. Every day, the tree is taken out to the balcony for 2 hours, after 2 weeks the time is increased to 4-5 hours. In recent days, the seedling is left on the street all night.
A tree is planted in open soil in April, when the ground warms up to 13-15 * C.A hole is dug on the site, the size of an earthen coma, in which a spruce grows. The hole is covered with earth from the forest, mixed with garden soil. Before planting, the plant is watered to make it easier to remove it from the pot. Gently lower the spruce together with a lump of earth into the hole, sprinkle it with soil, tamp and water. Sawdust, peat are spread around the seedling, when watering it will be an additional food for the plant.
As soon as the tree takes root, watering is stopped, it is enough to water the young once a month; during the drought period, the earth is moistened every week.
If you have patience, then a coniferous tree will grow near the house for more than a dozen years. There will be no need to chop down a Christmas tree in the forest every winter or buy an expensive artificial thing for the New Year. At the same time, no professional skills are required to grow a Christmas tree, care is not difficult, you just need patience and time.
There are several methods of how to grow spruce at home. The choice of propagation method depends on how quickly you want to get a new tree, as well as the time of year.
Collection and preparation
Of course, seeds will be required to start a spruce growing operation. These can be purchased in stores. If, for any reason, a purchase is impossible or undesirable, you can acquire seeds by collecting fir cones in any park. However, you should not collect everything in a row, only cones that did not have time to open, but at the same time have already fallen from the tree, are suitable as a blank for growing. You need to collect them either at the very end of autumn or at the beginning of winter. The best cones for germination are from fir trees under 10 years old, but not from young trees either.
After collecting the cones, they need to be placed near the battery for several days. As soon as the cones open, they should be gently shaken, preferably over a prepared container or clean cloth. Seeds should sprinkle from them. To get rid of the scales on them, the seeds are folded into a bag of gauze or cotton cloth and gently rubbed between the palms. After all the scales have come off, the seeds are placed under running water for thorough rinsing. Then they are disinfected, for which a weak solution of manganese is used, and dried.
For stratification, which is the next step in the algorithm for growing a future tree, the seeds are placed in a refrigerator. Experienced gardeners create real natural conditions for seeds by laying future spruces under the thickness of snow, but given how changeable winters have become recently, it is better to act with confidence and stratify the seeds in the refrigerator.
For this procedure, you need to prepare an appropriate container. A certain amount of peat or peat tablets will be required - according to the number of seeds that are planned for planting. Soak peat in water, then squeeze out excess liquid. The peat prepared in this way is placed in a container, seeds are laid on top of it, and then sprinkled with a small amount of peat.
After that, you need to put a transparent lid on the container or stretch a plastic wrap and put the structure in the refrigerator, where it will be stored until spring.
Seed preparation for sowing
Closed bumps must be forced to open. They are left in a manganese solution for 30 minutes for disinfection, washed with running water and placed in water for 12 hours to swell. In the morning, the liquid is drained, the cones are put under the battery in a box. When the scales open, the seeds are shaken out - the tip of the cones knock on the table.
In winter, planting material can be planted in the ground under mulch - peat, sawdust. Such conditions are close to natural. Until April, they will lie under the snow, harden, then they will begin to germinate. This will increase the immunity of plants.
Suitable varieties and types of spruce for seed propagation
It depends on which variety of spruce is chosen for growing, how well the seeds will sprout, as well as the soil in which they should be grown. There are many varieties of spruce, they differ in the size of the needles, the shape and color of the needles. If you plan on growing your own Christmas tree at home, one of the dwarf varieties will do. Well, those that will later be planted on the personal plot should belong to the usual varieties. Most often, this is a green or blue tree familiar to everyone, although it can also be a pyramidal Korean one. However, it should be borne in mind that cones taken from a blue spruce do not always give shoots of a similar color and decorative appearance. It is possible to understand what color a tree will have only after three to four years of its life. Then it becomes clear whether it is blue spruce or ordinary green.
The necessary conditions
Stratified seed should not be planted in a small container. Once it sprouts, growth is quite intense. The smaller the pot, the closer the future tree is in it. And a transplant during such a period is a sure way to ruin a fragile plant. Therefore, the pot should not only be large, but also quite deep.
Watering the seeds should be regular, but not frequent. - once a week will be enough. As soon as shoots appear, watering ends, periodic spraying of the shoots with a spray bottle with water begins. This moisture is enough for future spruce trees.
Surprisingly, spruce grows most intensively in winter. Therefore, one should not be afraid to chill a young tree, but, on the contrary, it is recommended to put it on a glazed balcony or window sill as soon as the cold comes. Thus, it will harden and get used to the optimal natural conditions for it.
But the direct rays of the sun are absolutely not what a young spruce needs. Otherwise, it will not give either a pleasant coniferous aroma or beautiful needles. In order to withstand bright sunlight, you need a height of 0.3-0.5 m and an age of at least 3-4 years.
Seedling care
The sprouts break through for a very long time, before sprouting, the soil is moistened once a week. Conifers do not like drought, they can die. Prefers spruce and spraying from a spray bottle. Often people bring small seedlings from the forest, plant them on the site, they soon dry up. Heat, dry soil, direct rays, unsuitable soil, rare watering ruin the young.
Spruce caring is a long and painstaking process. At home, it will reach a height of 30-50 cm in 4 years, only then it can be transplanted to the site. Direct rays of the sun are detrimental to the Christmas tree, in the forest they grow in shaded places, large trees give a lot of shade. Only after 3-4 years, the spruce is periodically exposed to the bright sun, it is taught gradually so that the plant does not get stress.
How many years do they ripen?
Having landed a young Christmas tree in the ground, one should not expect intensive growth from it. For the first three to four years, conifers grow very, very slowly.
It is much easier to sprout a tree than to grow it, because ordinary, non-decorative spruces have been growing for decades. In the seventh to eighth year of life, the tree has usually already formed, reached a height of one or more meters.
How to plant?
Stratified seeds are planted in the same soil in which mature trees grow, but it must be disinfected. This is done by calcining in the oven. Next, it is necessary to spill soil, but not with water, but with a solution of manganese in a weak concentration. After that, you can sow the seeds. To make the soil more nutritious, you can mix it with a little peat or with special soil for growing conifers. Even if you purchase the latter and plan to grow spruce in it, it is still recommended to disinfect it with a manganese solution.
The primer can also be disinfected with a special etching agent. It is necessary to act exactly according to the instructions for its use.
To prepare stratified seeds, they need to be soaked for 2-3 days. The water should be warm. Once the seeds are swollen, they can be planted.
A drainage layer should be placed at the bottom of the container in which your spruce will grow. - best of all from pebbles or small stones. Next, the soil is laid out in a thick layer, it is spilled with a solution of potassium permanganate. After evenly laying out the seeds, you need to sprinkle them with soil, but its layer should be thin. To avoid erosion of the soil, it is not watered, but sprayed with water from a spray bottle. After that, a cling film is stretched over the pot and placed on the window.
Then comes a rather long waiting period - from 2 weeks to several months. This is normal, since seeds tend to take a very long time to germinate.
How to grow a spruce from a twig
Cuttings of a tree should be harvested in late April - early May. Select young side shoots up to 10 cm long and pull them off the mother plant. It is desirable that there is a small piece of old wood at the end of the shoot. Immediately place the twig in a growth promoter for 2 hours and start planting. It is carried out in this way:
- Dig seedling trenches.
- Place a 5 cm layer of drainage on the bottom of the grooves.
- Sprinkle 10 cm of soil on top and cover it with 5 cm of washed river sand.
- Deepen the cuttings at an oblique angle to a depth of 2-5 cm.
- Cover the branches with foil and burlap for shading.
It is necessary to moisten the soil in the greenhouse daily. In this case, it is better to use a spray bottle or a shallow watering can. In the summer, watering should be increased up to 4 times a day. After the seedlings take root, you can reduce moisture to once a day and remove shading. Young plants need shelter for the winter. You can replant trees next year.
Growing a coniferous beauty on your own will not be difficult for a novice gardener. The main thing is to adhere to the basic rules of care, and the tree will definitely take root.
Care advice
The appearance of the first sprouts of Christmas trees is a real event, because they do not look like future trees at all. They are very susceptible to infections, primarily blackleg.
They need to be provided with proper care, which consists of the following procedures.
- The sprouts do not need to be watered to avoid decay. Periodic spraying with lukewarm water from a spray bottle will be more than enough. If the temperature changes dramatically in winter, it does not harm the sprouts. The only thing they should avoid is direct sunlight.
- A healthy sprout looks like this: light green stem with a sprouted seed at the end. After analyzing all the seedlings, you should thin them out, removing the weak, curved and other defective ones. As soon as the first needles appear on the sprout, you can apply fertilizers specifically designed for conifers, in accordance with the instructions for use.
- In the dry and warm air of the apartment, the sprouts are bad, so it would be better for them to stay on the balcony or loggia. If it gets cold, they can be brought back into the room. The optimum temperature for the growth and development of Christmas trees is +15. When direct sunlight hits the shoots, the plant does not develop properly. Deformation of the branches occurs, then the Christmas tree may die.
- When the sprout has formed, overgrown with needles, watering resumes, but it should not be excessive. The formed tree does not need watering, provided that it grows in open ground. Be sure to mulch. For the winter, in the first two years of the tree's life, the trunk must be insulated with a peat layer. Further, wood insulation is not required.
For information on how to properly grow a spruce from seeds, see the next video.
Spruce is a coniferous plant that serves as a classic decoration of the territory. The blue spruce is one of the endangered species, therefore it is listed in the Red Book.This factor affects the cost of pine needles seedlings. But why spend money on buying young trees if you can grow them yourself? We will try to understand together how to grow a spruce from seeds, because in addition to saving finances, the gardener gets a healthy plant adapted to the environment.
Owners of country estates massively purchase cuttings of blue spruce for further cultivation, even despite the high cost. This is because not everyone has an idea of how to grow a spruce from seeds, but you will know for sure.
Transplant and further care
One-year-old trees are planted in the ground. This is a required operation. The main thing is to do the work correctly, otherwise the plants will not take root.
The pit is prepared in advance. It should be larger than the root system of the seedling. The distance between the blue Christmas trees is at least 40-50 cm. Forest soil must be added to the hole. One-year-old Christmas trees are carefully removed from the nursery. They try not to damage the roots, and most importantly, they cannot be overdried.
Each seedling is dipped in a clay chatter, set in the center of the pit. After the seedling is covered with earth, it is tamped and watered. Unfortunately, even with the observance of the technology of cultivation and planting, only half of the blue Christmas trees survive until the age of three. Three years later, the trees are replanted again already at a distance of 100 cm.
Water abundantly, since the root system of young trees is close to the surface. For each three-year-old plant, a bucket of water is poured weekly. In dry weather, moisturize more often. Weeds must be removed and loosened the soil no deeper than 7 cm. To retain moisture, the soil is mulched.
For the winter, the branches of young Christmas trees are neatly tied to the trunk with a net so that they do not break off under the weight of the snow. From the rays of the scorching sun, the crown is covered with a cloth or agrospan.
Blue spruces are beautiful conifers that can beautify any area. Moreover, seedlings can be grown by hand. Although blue spruces are finicky plants, the end result is worth it.
The timing of sowing blue spruce seeds depends on the region. In central Russia, seeds are sown in April or at the end of June. In the southern regions, breeding is carried out in the summer, when the heat and heat are not so aggressive.
After 10-15 years, the central root dies off. For the development of the plant at this stage, other roots take responsibility, which have time to branch out. If the plant dies, then a spruce clone will most often grow from the rhizome.
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Cutting method: features
This is the easiest way to grow a new coniferous tree. Planting material is rooted in a greenhouse, since open ground has a negative effect on still immature conifers. So, planting a spruce begins with the selection of cuttings. Winter cuttings work best and produce results up to 4 times faster. The most favorable period for rooting is considered the moment of swelling of the kidneys. The main thing when breeding spruce is not to forget about maintaining the temperature regime and the required level of moisture.
Blue spruce, grown in this way, reaches 1 meter in height after 5 years. At this point, the tree can be replanted to a permanent place of growth.
Sowing technology
The seedling quality of seedlings largely depends on the choice of location. A well-lit place is chosen for planting. Adult blue spruce grows on any type of soil and is undemanding to moisture. Seedlings of blue spruce trees are bred in greenhouse conditions for six months. In the apartment, the tree can be planted in a special container.
Seed preparation
To grow a blue spruce from a cone, the planting seeds are strengthened by placing them under snow. They are kept in a humid environment at zero temperature for about two months. The easiest way is to bury the future sprout material in a deep snowdrift.
A similar effect can be achieved by soaking in a 1% solution of potassium permanganate for 24 hours. The proportion of the liquid solution is 10 g of potassium permanganate per 1 liter of water. With proper preparation for planting seeds, the first seedlings will sprout in the soil within 15 days.
Sowing scheme
The best soil for sowing conifers is the weaned soil from the lawn. It can be mixed with fertilized soil taken under mature conifers. Be very careful when sowing your pine seeds. After changing temperatures, chilled seeds lose their soybean properties after 50 hours.
Seed collection
To grow any plant with your own hands, you need selected planting material, which is better not to buy, but to get it yourself. For growing spruce seedlings, seeds obtained from the fruits of a coniferous plant - cones are used. The collection of cones is carried out in mid-February. This is the perfect time to harvest complete spruce seeds. The cones are placed in a cloth bag and placed next to a heater or fireplace, which facilitates quick opening and free access to the grains. After a few weeks, you should be able to take out the seeds without damaging them. After the cones open, the spruce seeds in the bag are rubbed together to cleanse the lionfish. Rinsing under running water will get rid of the greasy film formed due to the release of essential oils. At the final stage of preparation, the planting material is well dried.
How to grow a spruce from a cone
First of all, planting material is needed. Any spruce cones are suitable for growing, but it is advisable to collect them in early February. They need to be prepared before planting. To do this, dry the buds for two weeks so that the "petals" open and you can get the seeds. They need to be cleaned of husks and essential oils.
Put the seeds in a weak solution of potassium permanganate for 30 minutes, then keep them in warm water for about a day. Next, transfer the seed to bags of wet sand and place them in the freezer for 1.5-2 months. After the stratification process, you can start planting. How to grow a spruce from seeds:
- Fill pots or containers with soil. It is advisable to use land brought from a coniferous forest.
- Moisten the soil well.
- Scatter the seeds over the surface and sprinkle them with a 1 cm layer of peat mixed with sawdust.
- Cover the pots with covering material from above.
Caring for the seedlings is easy - just provide them with regular but moderate watering. When the seedlings grow a little, leave the most viable ones. In the fall, feed the trees with mullein solution. Plants can be transplanted into open ground in 2-3 years.
Preparing the soil
In order for the blue spruce from seeds to grow healthy at home, it is recommended to prepare the site before sowing the specimens.
Important! Do not sow blue spruce seeds in places where you grow vegetables - they do not take root in the beds and die quickly.
The optimal growing medium is lawn soil mixed with soil taken from under a coniferous tree. Growing in greenhouses involves two planting techniques:
- directly into the ground;
- into an additional container.
When planting seeds in pots, do not forget to prepare a peat mixture with the addition of limestone flour and ammophos in a ratio of 6: 0.035: 0.020 kg. The mixture is scattered into containers in which the spruce is planted. The pots themselves are buried deep into the earthen embankment in the greenhouse.
Important! Choosing the first method of planting, an additional top layer is poured over the soil layer - from sawdust and peat.
Is it possible to sow blue spruce at home
Experienced gardeners suggest sowing spruce at home, since indoors it will be easier for you to create good conditions for growing seedlings. Weather permitting, the boxes in which you will grow seedlings can be placed in a greenhouse. Otherwise, a window sill will do.
For sowing, you need to soak the seeds in a solution of trace elements that increase germination for 10 hours. After the end of soaking, do not forget about the preparation for planting, since it is impossible to allow the seeds to be left without soil (after cold) for more than 50 hours.
Dissolve 20 grams of foundationol in a ten-liter bucket of water and treat the seeds with it after soaking. This will allow you to grow blue spruce more resistant to various diseases.
Prepare the mixture into which you will sow the spruce. It should consist of peat (5 kilograms), to which ammophoska (20 grams) and limestone flour (30 grams) are added. Place it in pots or seedling boxes. Spruce loves warmth, so install containers in a warm place - on a windowsill or in a greenhouse. Next, sow the seeds as follows:
- make holes in the ground 1.5 cm deep;
- put a seed in each;
- sprinkle the grooves with soil mixture;
- Tighten the pots with plain cling film.
If you will be sowing seeds in a greenhouse in the ground, then you must first tamp it. The seeds are placed at a distance of 5 centimeters from each other on the surface layer of the soil. Sprinkle the seeds with a mixture of peat and sawdust of coniferous trees.
We plant seeds
First, determine the most favorable date for planting the spruce. The seedling will feel comfortable in nature if the ambient temperature is around +19 o C (+ -1-2 o C).
Important! After changing the temperature regime (i.e. after the refrigerator), they can only be stored for 50 hours.
Before landing, the planting material is treated with a foundationol solution: 20 g per 10 liters of water.
Spruce is planted in well-moistened soil. If the spruce is grown in greenhouse conditions, then the containers are deepened into the ground by 1.5 cm, and a film is pulled from above. If on the open ground, first they tamp the earth in the hole, after which they put the seeds, covering them on top with a peat mixture and a thin layer of sawdust (about 1 cm).
Important! The distance between individual seeds should be at least 3.5-6 cm.
How to choose planting material
Spruce cones are harvested in February for placement in a linen bag. Over time, after drying in an apartment, the cones will open slightly for trouble-free extraction of seeds with transparent wings. To remove the wings, the seeds are ground, then removed from debris and essential oil.
After the final stage of drying, the sowing material is placed for two months under a layer of snow in a summer cottage. A similar technique for apartment storage is placing in the refrigerator for better hardening until mid-March. Seeds that have been processed and selected for planting can be purchased at horticultural stores. It is advisable to give preference to a good manufacturer.
Seed germination
The first shoots can be observed in 10-14 days. If spruce seedlings are placed close to each other, there is a need to thin them out. Of the entire row of plants, only the strongest specimens are left, keeping the distance between them up to 7.5 cm.
When immature seedlings move to the active growth phase, it is necessary to maintain optimal conditions for growing needles, which are as follows:
- cancel watering and put into practice light spraying of seedlings with water - 2 times a day;
- maintain the temperature regime: the minimum temperature is +13 o C, the maximum temperature is +15 o C.
Important! Remember that night frosts and direct sunlight during the day have a detrimental effect on immature young needles.
A month later, the seedling of a young blue spruce reaches a height of 3-4 cm. Experts note that indirect diffused sunlight has a good effect on the growth rates of specimens. Since small needles are not resistant to diseases affecting plants, namely to root rot, there is a need for special protection: first, the application of a fungicide will be required, after - treatment with an insecticide solution.
Plant transplant
You already know how to grow spruce seedlings from seeds, but it is impossible to do this qualitatively without transplanting annual plants. The procedure is carried out in early spring. After the seedlings reach the required level, it is important to plant the specimens you bred so as not to lose the plants.
Before transplanting, pits are prepared, which are tamped and sprinkled with a layer of earthen mixture from under a coniferous plant.
Preparing the substrate for growing blue spruce
The substrate for growing blue spruce from seeds was prepared in advance. It consisted of high-moor and lowland peat, river coarse-grained sand, fertilizers with a long period of action. The substrate was laid on a VLT-100 geotextile substrate of the Hungarian manufacturer of roof gardening materials DIADEM with the following parameters: water permeability coefficient (kn) 90 I m 2 / s with a density of 100 g / m 2. The thickness of the substrate for growing spruce together with the substrate was 25 cm.
Before sowing seeds of blue spruce, the soil surface in the greenhouse must be carefully leveled and tamped, after which it is necessary to mark the rows and aisles so that you can walk and work freely.
How to carry out a transplant correctly?
Small Christmas trees are dug out of the ground, separating the interwoven roots of individual specimens. It is necessary to carry out this work quickly, but carefully so as not to damage the root system and not let it dry out.
Blue spruce, grown from seeds at home, requires special care. These are often standard rules.
Interesting! By the third year of growth, less than half of the seedlings survive.
Three years after the sowing of the seeds, the plants are re-transplanted. This is done to provide sufficient space for the roots of the spruce. During this period, the Christmas trees are planted at a distance of 1 m from each other.
Are you wondering how much spruce grows from seed? And we have an answer to this question. After 5 years, you will have a full-fledged spruce, exceeding 1 meter in height.
Such a bluish-green beauty will become a real decoration of the garden or will successfully complement the landscape composition. It is quite difficult to grow plants with your own hands, but due to the entertaining process and in case of a positive result, when it turns out that the efforts were not in vain, you will certainly be proud of your herringbone tree.
Description of firs
Blue spruce is a type of coniferous plant. The height of a mature tree in our latitudes is about 15 meters, the conical or cylindrical crown extends 6-8 meters.
The color of the needles depends on the variety, temperature and climatic conditions. On young plants, red or purple cones bloom, on adult spruces they are light brown.
Blue Christmas trees adapt well to dry and frosty climates. Frost resistance reaches minus 30 degrees. But the most important thing is that the city smog doesn’t care for coniferous branches. They also protect the air from pollution.
Growing spruce from seeds with your own hands is difficult but exciting. It is interesting to observe how the plant develops, its needles transform, changing the color of the needles with age.
