How to grow spruce from seeds at home - planting and care for beginners

Coniferous plants serve as a real decoration for the site and are often used in landscape design. However, not every gardener knows how to grow spruce from seeds. This is a rather complex, but very interesting process. It is considered lengthy and painstaking. To get the desired result, it is important to choose the right seeds and prepare them for planting. Comprehensive care of seedlings is also of great importance.

How to choose a variety

When choosing a spruce variety to grow on your site, it is important to consider the size of the future adult tree.Not everyone can afford to plant a tree 10-15 meters in size. That’s why many summer residents prefer dwarf varieties. The most popular varieties of spruce trees that can be grown on sites include:

1. Ordinary or European. In total, there are several dozen varieties of such spruce trees that are intended for garden plots. Such trees do not exceed 3 meters in height. At the same time, the color of the needles can be quite unusual - from bright green to golden. There are also some differences in the shape of the crown.
2. Spiny or blue. For summer cottages, it is worth choosing varieties that do not reach great heights, but have a beautiful crown shape and unusual needle color.
3. Gray or Canadian. The distinctive features of this species are the color of the branches and the shade of the needles. The needles are ashen in color. In this case, the crown can be cone-shaped or spherical. In total, there are up to 20 varieties of Canadian spruce trees that can be grown in the garden.

In summer cottages, varieties such as Oldenburg, Akrokona, Aurea. At home they usually plant Formanek or Treblish.

How to plant a spruce

In order for growing spruce to be successful, it is important to choose the right site for it. The preparation of seeds and compliance with the rules for planting them are of great importance.

Selecting a location

When growing spruce seedlings at home, you must adhere to certain rules. Spruce sprouts tolerate temperature fluctuations well in winter. However, you cannot place them on the windowsill. Tender seedlings can hardly tolerate exposure to direct sunlight.

When it gets warm in spring, the pot should be taken out into the fresh air during the day and brought back in at night. At this stage, the optimal temperature is +15 degrees.During the warm season, it is recommended to water the plant regularly.

You need to choose a place for a spruce on your site taking into account the size of an adult tree. Typically, such plants are planted away from buildings. Spruce grows well anywhere, but maximum crown lushness can only be achieved in a well-lit area. At the same time, direct rays at noon are undesirable, so an area in partial shade is usually chosen.

Soil preparation

It is best to take soil from the forest where spruce trees grow. If this is not possible, you can make the substrate yourself. In this case, the best option would be soil from an area where, apart from grass, nothing grew.

When preparing the substrate, consider the following:

1. It is advisable to combine the soil from an area in which nothing grew with soil in which conifers grew. You can also buy such land in a store.
2. After purchasing or preparing the land yourself, you need to bake it in the oven. This will help get rid of pathogens that can lead to the death of tender sprouts.
3. After calcining the soil, it needs to be shed with a pink solution of potassium permanganate. This will help completely disinfect the substrate.

Seed selection and preparation

To collect seed material, you need to take an unopened cone in early December. It is best to use fruit from trees in the city park as they are the best adapted. It is worth considering that young plants may have empty cones.Therefore, experts advise using several specimens from different trees at once.

If the cones are collected before December, you need to wait until they open. To speed up the process, the fruits should be placed on the battery. They must be in some kind of container so that the seeds do not scatter. To combat pathologies, fruits brought from the street must be treated with a weak solution of potassium permanganate. Purchased seeds should also be disinfected.

In addition to disinfection, this procedure will strengthen the immunity of the future tree. It is recommended to dry wet seeds thoroughly and then send them for stratification. In this case, it is permissible to use different stratification methods:

1. Bring snow into containers, place seeds in it and put them in the freezer for a month.
2. Heat the sand, pour it into a container in a layer of 2-3 centimeters and place the seeds there. Place the container in the refrigerator.

Stratification must be completed in February-March. At this time, the snow begins to melt and daylight hours increase. At this stage it is worth starting to carry out planting work.

Landing

As a container for planting spruce seeds, you should use the most ordinary plastic container with a lid. In order not to carry out the picking procedure, which provokes severe injury to the roots, it is better to immediately plant the seeds in separate 200 milliliter cups. After this, it will be possible to move the seedlings with a lump of soil into large containers or directly into open ground.

To carry out planting work, it is recommended to do the following:

1. Prepare the seeds.
2. Make a soil mixture and fill containers for planting.
3. Moisten the soil and spray with plain water from a spray bottle. You can also use Fitosporin solution.This will help prevent mold from forming.
4. Plant the seeds to a depth of 0.5-1 centimeter and cover with soil.
5. Moisten the soil again with a spray bottle.
6. Cover the plantings with film or a lid to create a greenhouse effect.
7. Remove the container to a warm place.

How to care for a tree

Tender sprouts need protection from direct sunlight. It must be provided until the seedlings reach a height of 5-6 meters. Caring for plants is quite simple. They should be sprayed periodically and then watered. It is best to use melt water for this purpose. The optimal temperature is +17 degrees.

When needles appear on the trunks, it is permissible to use fertilizers. It is recommended to give preference to special compounds that are intended for coniferous species.

Transplanting a seedling

During its stay in the pot, the spruce grows to 20-40 centimeters. After which it needs to be planted in open ground. This is recommended to be done at 2-3 years. It is worth considering that trees 5 years old do not take root well in a new location.

To transplant spruce into open soil, it is recommended to do the following:

1. Prepare a recess measuring 50x50x50 centimeters in advance.
2. Place a layer of crushed stone or pebbles at the bottom.
3. Pour a mixture of forest soil, peat, humus and sand onto the drainage layer. It is recommended to use these components in equal parts.
4. Make a hole the size of the pot with the seedling and water it.
5. Place the spruce in the hole by transferring it. It is important to avoid damaging the roots.
6. Compact the soil and water it generously.

When the spruce takes root, you need to start actively caring for the tree. In this case, proper watering is of great importance. A grown but still young tree requires 15 liters of water per week. During the rainy season, watering the crop is not required. In dry weather there is a risk of deterioration of the decorative properties of the plant. In this case, you need to water it with a hose.

Young spruce trees, 1 year old, need to be watered with a small amount of water. It is advisable to do this every day so that the soil remains slightly moist. It is also necessary to regularly loosen the soil so that fresh air reaches the root system. Fertilizers applied during planting last for several years. Therefore, new nutrients are not required.

Tips for beginners

In order for growing spruce by seed to produce results, it is necessary to give novice gardeners some tips:

1. Buy varietal seeds only in trusted stores.
2. It is best to use special large seedling cassettes for planting.
3. At first, it is recommended to moisten the soil by spraying.
4. Until 3-4 years old, spruce is afraid of direct sunlight. Therefore, the plant needs to be shaded.
5. Grow seedlings at a temperature of no more than +18-20 degrees.
6. Don't delay the transfer.A 5-year-old tree may not take root.
7. If the soil on the site is very poor, when planting in a hole, you can add mineral fertilizer - 100-150 grams. Subsequently, it is not recommended to feed the spruce.
8. In areas where snow falls late, the spruce should be covered with non-woven material during the first winter.

Growing spruce by seed is considered a rather complex and labor-intensive process. But with proper planting and quality care, you will be able to get a strong and healthy plant that will become a real decoration of your garden plot.