How to plant a Christmas tree from a pot, brought from the forest, from a branch, planting in autumn and winter

Description and structural features of the Christmas tree

Spruce is a prominent representative of the pine family, reaching a height of 35-40 meters. Its branches in relation to the trunk are either horizontal or inclined downwards. With good lighting of the lower row of branches, it lasts for a long time, reaching almost to the ground. A young Christmas tree has a smooth, dark brown bark, but as it gets older it becomes rough, covered with scales, with a grayish coating. Short spruce needles are characterized by rigidity; they remain on the branches for seven years.

The oblong cones, up to 15 centimeters long, ripen in October, but the trees scatter seeds from mid-winter to April.

Thanks to the presence of a wing, spruce seeds easily scatter around the area. The tree is valued for its wood, which is light, shiny, and has a pinkish tint. Due to the superficial growth of the roots, the tree is often torn over by strong winds. The life cycle of a Christmas tree reaches more than two hundred years. Coniferous trees are often used in landscape design and the creation of hedges along railways and highways.

Methods of propagation of coniferous trees

• It is best to do cuttings in the last month of spring, although autumn is also suitable for this.

Cuttings are prepared from a tree older than four years, cutting off branches no more than 10-15 centimeters long.

• To ensure that the branches take root well, they are soaked in a solution of growth regulators, which include succinic acid.
• In order for the cuttings to take root, they are planted in containers, filled with a substrate of humus, garden soil, sand, taken in equal proportions.
• The branches are buried 5 centimeters, holding them obliquely.
• Covering the planted cuttings with film, place the containers with the cuttings in a cool place with sufficient lighting.
• Spruce branches take a long time to take root – up to four months.

And the seeds of the plant are sown in the off-season at a depth that is four times their thickness. The top of the planting is covered with sawdust. Sprouts sown in the spring appear after half a month, and in the fall - with the onset of warm spring days.

Biologists have developed more than a hundred decorative forms of the common Christmas tree, which serve as an excellent decoration for garden plots. And the varieties of coniferous trees are selected depending on where it will grow and in what climate.

Spruce in landscape design

To get started, we suggest you watch the video - perhaps you will find answers to your questions in it:

Let's start with the fact that all kinds of spruce are an excellent material for creating the style of a suburban area, which is why when choosing planting material you should pay attention to coniferous varieties.

Thanks to the thick, beautiful crown, the shape of which can be adjusted depending on the purpose, high and low spruce trees are successfully used to create compositions such as:

• rockeries;
• hedges;
• topiary;
• single and group plantings.

The combination of low coniferous plants with neatly formed crowns, stone and decor made from natural materials is suitable for decorating an area in both a regular and natural style, which is why rockeries with spruce as a key element are very popular.

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

Rockeries are also good because they require small investments with maximum aesthetic effect: almost all plants can be grown with your own hands, and stones can be found right on the territory of the dacha, brought from the river bank or from a quarry

A living spruce hedge is an excellent fencing element that can be planted along the perimeter or between two different functional areas. Tall, densely planted trees will completely replace the fence, and miniature ornamental plants will decorate the area and create a natural atmosphere.

Other plants are also suitable for hedges. More details here: https://diz-cafe.com/ozelenenie/rasteniya-dlya-zhivoj-izgorodi.html

In this case, low, but planted trees close to each other have a decorative rather than a functional purpose - they separate the rockery area from the rest of the territory

Having a small Christmas tree at your dacha, you can practice the art of topiary - create a geometric figure, spiral or other simple three-dimensional object from a lush spruce crown. This is where one of the properties of coniferous plants comes in handy - slow growth (3-5 cm per year).

It is better to start understanding the basics of topiary with the least complex shapes - a cube, pyramid or ball, and then move on to more complex configurations, for example, spirals

Against the background of brick and wooden buildings and fences, groups of sparsely planted fir trees of varying heights look beautiful, and a single tall fir tree can become the center of a recreation area or an excellent background partner for a gazebo (benches, garden decor).

Many people specially plant a spruce to celebrate New Year and Christmas in nature. A holiday spent in the fresh air is more interesting and fun than a banal family feast, and the process of decorating a tree with garlands and toys is a real magical ritual that children will remember for a lifetime

Preparation of seedlings, timing and rules of planting

Two years after propagation, when the Christmas tree seedlings have become stronger, they are planted in a permanent place.

Start planting either in early autumn or mid-spring.

A place for young plants is chosen away from other trees, choosing an area where the soil is sandy or loamy. When planting several trees, the distance between them should be two to three meters.

Features of planting spruce - tips from Greensad

June 30, 2015

Today, many amateur gardeners plant coniferous plants on their plots. Indeed, their appearance will decorate any area, and coniferous plants are considered unpretentious in care.

Perhaps the most difficult moment is planting a young seedling, especially a large one. Spruce is considered one of the most popular coniferous trees among gardeners.

In order for the spruce to tolerate planting well and take root on your site, you must follow the following rules for planting spruce.

Spruce trees do not tolerate dry roots; the plant must have a lump of earth, which must be moistened as it dries. Therefore, buy only plants in containers and only from garden centers. If you are tempted by a low price on the market, you will most likely end up losing both money and time.

How to replant a spruce

Having purchased a seedling and chosen a place for planting, prepare the planting hole . They dig it in advance: upper diameter 40-60 cm, lower diameter 30-50 cm, depth 50-70 cm. For heavy soil and for places where soil water is high, place “ drainage ” at the bottom - crushed stone or broken brick with sand in a layer of 15-20 cm.

Prepare the soil mixture with which you will fill the planting hole. The soil from the pit is mixed with peat, humus and sand are added. It is advisable to add nitroammophos fertilizer 100-150g (3/4 cup) when planting. It is not necessary to feed them later.

Optimal soil proportions for planting spruce trees: 2 parts turf soil, 2 parts leaf soil, 1 part peat, 1 part sand.

When can you replant a spruce:

The recommended time for planting seedlings (seedlings) is usually spring, before the start of growth (vegetation) and autumn, from the beginning of September, and autumn planting is completed before the onset of cold weather. Large spruce trees (more than 3 meters in height) are recommended to be planted from November to March, with a frozen earth ball.

Now they proceed directly to planting. Pour soil mixture into the hole on top of the drainage layer, so that the surface of the soil in the container coincides with the surface of the soil at the planting site (be sure to take into account soil shrinkage), pour 5 liters of water into the hole. Carefully remove the seedling from the container and place the root ball in the hole. Remember that it is undesirable to destroy the earthen lump.

If this happens, you have 15-20 minutes left to complete the landing. The plant is placed in the hole in a way that is convenient; it is important to align the trunk vertically on all sides, fill it in without tamping the root ball too much with the prepared soil mixture. When planting a spruce tree, it is necessary to water the planted tree.

This is done primarily to ensure that the soil fills all the voids and tightly fits the root system of the seedling. To do this, make a small earthen dump around the seedling. This will hold water when watering. Pour in another 10-20 liters of water, depending on the size and age of the seedling.

If spruce planting is carried out in the summer, then in the next month and a half of planting spruce trees, it is necessary to pour 10-20 liters of water under the tree once a week (depending on the size). During the first year after planting, the soil in the holes will settle. The tree trunk circle should be mulched with peat or compost with a layer 5 cm thick.

This will retain moisture, increase the temperature of the soil, and enrich it with nutrients. In spring, the mulch is mixed with the soil, carefully loosening it around the young plantings to a depth of no more than 5-7 cm.

Recommended tree care

Keep in mind that spruce trees love good lighting, but young seedlings need shading . Therefore, either plant them near fences or buildings that will provide the necessary shade in the first years of life, or think about how this can be done in another way.

Spruce trees can be planted singly or in groups, with a distance between trees in a row of 2 to 3 meters, but not less than 1 m. Do not forget that the spruce root system, although superficial , takes up a lot of space around the tree itself. Over the years, she may encounter obstacles (the foundation of the house, communications).

In this case, it itself will suffer and can harm your buildings. Don’t forget about competition for food and light between plants. Due to the fact that spruce has a shallow root system, spruce trees cannot tolerate trampling and soil compaction.

Mulching with peat or sawdust for the winter is recommended for the first two years after planting young seedlings (with a layer of 6-8 cm). It is also advisable to cover young spruce seedlings with spruce branches for the winter.

In the spring, after early spring frosts, the spruce branches are removed. Mature plants are quite winter-hardy and do not require additional protection. Often young spruce seedlings suffer from the bright spring sun (February-March).

Due to the fact that the ground is still frozen and the root system is not really working, I deliver moisture to the needles, the latter simply burn. Moreover, you cannot notice this right away; the needles fall off in the summer, and the plant will lose its beauty.

To prevent this from happening, we once again remind you of the need to shade young spruce trees. As trees age, they become more resilient.

Additional watering is recommended in case of prolonged absence of rain, and always in case of drought. Take a handful of soil from under the plant and squeeze it in your fist. Unclench your fist; if the lump crumbles, watering is required. If the soil is sufficiently moist, the lump will not crumble.

If, when you squeeze the soil, it spreads between your fingers, then the soil is waterlogged . When watering, water is poured not under the trunk of the seedling, but around the root ball, in a circle 20-30 cm from the trunk. In dry and hot weather, you need to monitor soil moisture.

Watering in hot weather: 10-12 liters, once a week for each plant.

Source: https://greensad.ua/articles/el/posadka-eli-i-pravilnyj-uhod-za-nej/

Christmas tree care

The Christmas tree is an unpretentious tree. The rules for caring for her include the following:

• During dry and hot summers, water the tree generously once a week, up to one bucket of water for each plant. And to avoid yellowing of the needles, they are sprayed with a watering can.
• Loosening the soil is done carefully and shallowly due to the fact that the roots of the tree are close to the surface.
• There is no need to worry about the fact that the Christmas tree grows slowly, especially in the first two years. This is quite natural.
• The plant does not like it when the soil around it is compacted and may die from the proximity of groundwater.
• Before the start of the winter period, young plantings must be mulched with a layer of sawdust; in ornamental species, it is better to protect the needles from cold and bright sunlight with kraft paper or spruce branches.
• Mature trees do not need to be covered: they are not afraid of frost.
• When spruce plantings grow, it is necessary to remove old, dried branches.

More information can be found in the video.

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 the right 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.

How to plant a Christmas tree from a branch

Many people believe that it is impossible to grow a conifer from a branch, but this is not entirely true. In order to get a seedling, find a tree under eight years old, select a young branch at the top of the crown and carefully cut it.

After this you need:

• Remove all needles from the bottom of the seedling and place in water with a small amount of potassium permanganate;
• After a few days, prepare a container with soil, which you can buy in a store or collect in a spruce forest. Place a layer of drainage at the bottom of the pot;
• Provide greenhouse conditions - cover with film, it is recommended to additionally cover the top with shading cloth for the first time;
• Planting should be done at a slight slope;
• During the first days, it is important to water the seedlings four times a day and only when roots form, reduce the frequency of watering to once a day.
• Often, rooting occurs only in the second year, but this can be accelerated by harvesting petioles in the spring.

Let's watch a video on how to plant a Christmas tree from a branch:

How and when to plant and replant in the fall

Soil and climatic conditions in different regions of our country differ significantly, and in order to properly plant conifers on a site, weather factors should be taken into account. Planting can take place in October or November. Preparing plants for winter is a complex chemical process during which the chemical composition of cells is adjusted by reducing the amount of water and increasing the carbohydrate content. After the plant goes into so-called hibernation, it can be safely replanted and planted in a permanent place.

According to the advice of specialists and experienced gardeners, autumn planting of conifers can be carried out in August or September, at the stage of active growth and development of the suction root system. High survival rates are ensured by the ability of the root system of a coniferous plant to quickly regenerate . In any case, it should be remembered that conifers should be planted without violating the integrity of the earthen ball around the root system. In this case, the plant takes root very quickly.

Choosing a seedling or tree

Planting material can be purchased at a specialized store, nursery, garden center, or dug up in the forest yourself.

If you want to buy a spruce from a nursery, then when choosing it, pay attention to the following:

1. Appearance of the seedling . The plant should have smooth, shiny and not dry needles.
2. Soil moisture . This is very important because dry soil has a detrimental effect on the tree.
3. Root system . The further growth of the spruce depends on its condition and the absence of damage. Make sure that the roots do not protrude beyond the pot.
4. Container size . The seedling should be located spaciously in the container (for example, if the height of the spruce is 1 m, then the optimal width of the pot for it is at least 50 cm).

When searching for a Christmas tree in the forest on your own, you must follow these rules:

1. Immediately after the tree is dug up, it is necessary to wrap the roots in a damp cloth and then wrap them in polyethylene. Access to open air very quickly damages the roots.
2. Transportation must be done as carefully as possible so that the soil from the roots does not crumble.
3. Planting must be carried out on the same day after digging.
4. Choose a cold, preferably with frost, autumn day for this procedure.

Video: How to plant a coniferous plant correctly

How and when to plant and replant in spring

Planting blue spruce, juniper, fir and other conifers, which are popular in our country, can be done not only in the fall, after the heat subsides, but also in early spring, even before the onset of very hot weather. The technology and rules for planting coniferous plants are as follows:

• If the site is represented by heavy and clayey soils, then it is necessary to provide the plants with drainage from broken bricks and sand.
• The distance between planted conifers depends on the growth and development of the tree: dwarf varieties should be planted with a distance of 30-35 cm, and tall plants should be planted with a distance of 50-70 cm.
• Most types of coniferous crops grow well on soils that include turf soil, peat, humus and sand in a ratio of 2: 2: 2: 1, with the addition of 0.25 kg of nitrophoska or 0.15 kg of Kemira-universal.
• A good result is achieved by adding about 8-10 kg of sawdust into the planting hole when planting fir seedlings.
• When planting seedlings of yew, pine and Cossack juniper, it is advisable to add lime to the planting hole.

Choosing the optimal place on the site for spruce

For spruce with a bare root system, planting time is limited; they can be planted (or replanted) only when dormant, in early spring or early autumn.
After winter, while the plant has not yet “woke up”, it will more easily endure the “relocation”. At the end of summer, the growth of ground organs stops, and all nutrition is directed to the roots. This promotes the survival rate of spruce. To correctly determine where it is best to plant a spruce, you need to know exactly its final dimensions. For example, the “ordinary” and “spiny” species grow up to 40 m. This must be taken into account when digging a “small Christmas tree” in the forest. She will definitely grow to that height someday.

For small plots, breeding varieties of different sizes and colors are more suitable. Among them you can choose real little ones 30–50 cm in adulthood, and medium-sized trees 3–8 m.

The following forms are popular on sale:

“Little Gem” spruce and other dwarf forms are used in landscape design in tree and shrub groups and flower beds.
Medium-sized spruce trees look good alone, like a Christmas tree. Dwarf forms are used in group plantings and flower beds.

Coniferous trees: planting and care (video)

The area for planting should be prepared depending on the biological characteristics of the crop being planted:

• most varieties of pine and juniper are characterized by light-loving properties, and they are best planted in open and well-lit areas;
• for growing thuja and thuja, you can set aside a place with sufficient lighting and partial shade;
• Fir, spruce, and hemlock should be planted in the presence of sufficient shade, and yew belongs to the category of the most shade-tolerant.

The root collar of the plant must be located at the same level with the soil. For better survival rates, it is recommended to carry out foliar feeding with Epin. A prerequisite for faster adaptation of a plant to a permanent location is abundant watering.

Recommendations for replanting spruce from the forest

1. When choosing a spruce in the forest, you should not try on large trees. It is better to focus on specimens up to 1 m in height;
2. Carefully inspect the crown and trunk of the tree for damage by diseases and pests. Plants with cracks in the trunk or mechanical damage are not suitable;
3. The crown is carefully tied with a cord. It looks as if a tree is being moved from the Christmas tree market for the New Year's holiday;
4. They retreat 20–25 cm from the trunk, dig in, forming a lump. Roots that protrude beyond its limits must be carefully trimmed with pruning shears;
5. The lump is wrapped in a strong fabric, for example, burlap, tightly tied with a cord and raised to the surface;
6. Moved manually or on a trolley to the landing site;
7. By this time, the landing pit should be ready;
8. The lump is placed in the hole so that the root collar is flush with the edge of the hole. It is advisable to turn the tree to the cardinal directions the way it grew in the forest, otherwise survival will be problematic and may even lead to death;
9. After this, the fabric around the lump is untied, but not removed. Over time, the fabric will rot, and at first it will help retain water when watering. This will not affect root regrowth;
10. The lump is covered with earth, a circle around the trunk is formed, and watered.

Feeding and fertilizers

Fertilizing for coniferous crops is important mainly for young plants that have a weak root system. The following means are used to feed conifers:

• compost is the best traditional fertilizer and imitates forest soil well; the standard layer of compost in tree trunk circles is 8-10 cm;
• Ready-made compost-based fertilizers, including “BIUD” and “NOR”, which need to be applied in early spring, have good efficiency;
• vermicompost in liquid form, as well as in granules and powder, is applied scattered over the soil in tree trunk circles and then mixed with the soil; the best and most popular fertilizers based on vermicompost are “Greenworld”, “Pokon”, “OMU”, “Bona Forte”;
• Treating conifers with a special nutritional spray in spring and summer is very effective.

All feeding should be accompanied by abundant watering at the rate of 150-180 liters for each adult plant. Arborvitae and fir need abundant irrigation the most. It is also recommended to carry out sprinkling of conifers in spring and autumn, which allows you to remove dirt from the above-ground parts of the plants.

Trimming and processing

As a rule, when growing coniferous plants, thinning and removal of dried tree branches is carried out according to the following rules:

• pruning should be done no earlier than the second year after planting the plant in a permanent place;
• at one time it is necessary to trim no more than 25-30% of the total green mass of the plant;
• Pruning is required in special clothing, which is due to the release of resin by plants, which cannot be washed off;
• To trim coniferous plants, you should use a well-sharpened garden tool, which should be periodically treated with disinfectants.

For conifer varieties with spring flowering, pruning is carried out in August. Larch and cypress are best pruned in November.

In order to treat coniferous crops as effectively as possible, it is very important to correctly assess the type of damage to the plant. Most often, conifers are affected by rust of larch and pine, rust of Weymouth pine and cedar, common and snowy chute, as well as fusarium and other fungal diseases. For the purpose of prevention, tank mixtures are used, as well as insectofungicides, which are sprayed several times during the growing season.

Expert advice

The most widely used method is cutting to the bud, which involves performing pruning according to the following rules:

• the inclination of the cut to the kidney should be no more than 45 degrees;
• the elevation of the lower edge above the base should be about 2-2.5 mm;
• having lifted the branch, you should cut to the outer bud, and if there are inclined branches, the cut should be made to the inner bud;
• if it is necessary to rotate the branches in the tier, then a side cut is made;
• shortening the shoots requires the length of the bacon to be no more than a couple of centimeters.