Blue spruce is one of the most beautiful conifers. You can use it to decorate a variety of areas. The peculiarity of spruce is that its needles have a blue color. Her homeland is North America. Blue spruce can be propagated by seeds or cuttings. Most often, it is the second option that is used, since it increases the chances of growing a healthy and beautiful tree.
Description of the method: propagation by cuttings
It is necessary to start breeding the blue beauty with the help of cuttings from their harvesting. In the role of the mother form, trees of blue, gray and silver species of Siberian Christmas trees are involved. Today they are present in a wide variety, as they actively decorate squares, botanical gardens and garden plots. The age limit for a tree should be 40 years.
If cuttings are carried out in younger plants, then they sprout roots in 80%, but older ones - only 50%.
Procurement of cuttings: rooting
Harvesting of seedlings is carried out by peeling twigs from the side of the tree. A layer of the old tree should remain on the resulting shoots. This allows the cutting to grow normally and not rot. If you use this method, then the resin will not stand out and the elements of the conductive system will not clog.
If you use a knife to cut the cuttings, then the resin will actively flow out, which prevents the full supply of nutrients for the normal growth and development of the seedling.
Terms for harvesting twigs (future seedlings)
The most suitable time for harvesting is spring - this is the end of April - the beginning of May. It is during this period that the covering scales of the kidney move apart and the green cone moves forward. If you follow these recommendations, then the resulting stalk will have roots already on the 80th day. And after 5 months, the length of its roots reaches 20 cm.
Video: how to propagate and grow a blue spruce from a cutting branch
On the video - reproduction of blue spruce cuttings:
But no one bothers to harvest cuttings in the summer. This will be done in mid-July. But the resulting seedlings at this time may not have time to take root in the ground, as a result of which only callus is formed. But the rooting of cuttings cut in the summer will occur only next year. But what they look like can be seen in this article in the photo.
Landing at home: step by step instructions
Step by step instructions for rooting and planting at home:
- The resulting cuttings must be planted in a greenhouse using sand. The layer thickness should be 1.5 cm.
- Then moisturize it.
- You can achieve better rooting if you use special growth stimulants. For example, heteroauxin is actively used today. To obtain a solution, you need to take 100 g of the drug and 1 liter of water.
- After thorough mixing, place the cuttings in the solution and keep there for 3-6 hours.
- Then rinse them with water and plant them in the prepared substrate.
In the first 2-3 weeks, you need to shade the cuttings during the day, and moisten the air. To do this, you have to spray the floors and walls with water, and loosen the soil.
If the temperature in the greenhouse is increased, then whiten the glass of the greenhouse, and shade the cuttings themselves. If the nights are still cold, then cover the greenhouse with mats. But how the blue spruce is sown with seeds will help to understand.
How to care during the growing process
Once the blue spruce cuttings have been planted, they must be carefully looked after. This is the only way to get a beautiful, healthy and tall tree. Spruces can grow even in the shade, so to get a fluffy tree, you should choose a sunny and warm place. At the same time, the soil there should be moist, and there should be no strong wind. Then the tree will be strong and straight. The presence of bright light is undesirable.
Watering
After watering, the soil must be loosened. This will provide access to water and air to the root system.
A mature tree does not need to be watered often. In a week, 10 liters of water will be enough for him. This amount is considered optimal in order to saturate the roots and prevent stagnant water. But how they are chosen is described in great detail in this article.
Video: how to root and care for cuttings
On the video - how to care for blue spruce cuttings:
Air humidity
In this regard, blue spruce is not too picky. It tolerates humidity normally, as well as a slight drought. To wash off dust and dirt, use a hose with water. Then the needles will acquire a rich blue color. But read how the planting and care of the Budley shrub takes place.
Transfer
If at the first transplant you picked up an unsuccessful place, then you can plant a tree again. Blue spruce tolerates such events perfectly. But that doesn't mean you have to do it often.
After the place has been chosen, it is necessary to dig a recess, lay drainage, pour soil that is suitable for the selected coniferous tree, and sand on top. When planting spruce, it is necessary to ensure that the basal neck is located above the ground. If this condition is observed, the healthy growth of the tree is ensured. Read about planting and care in the open field Phlox.
top dressing
Often you should not feed blue needles. This tree doesn't need it. The only thing that is possible is in the spring, before the shoots appear, to fertilize the soil near the trunk.
Before mulching with peat, sawdust or compost, weeds should be removed around the trunk, which can provoke diseases and attract harmful insects.
Loosening and pruning
Blue spruce does not like dense soil, so it is necessary to loosen it near the trunk. To do this, you need to use a chopper or hoe. Do everything very carefully. Do not dig deep, otherwise you can damage the roots.
You also need to monitor the appearance of the tree. Timely remove dried branches to form a beautiful crown. If the plant began to bifurcate, then one crown should be removed.
Pest control
If you find orange spots on a blue beauty, then you should use special preparations. With a strong defeat of the branch, cut or uproot the tree itself. In this way, you will prevent infection of other Christmas trees. Find out about the description of juniper Andorra Compact.
If there are burnt shoots on a young spruce, then this indicates a defeat by a spruce sawfly. To combat it, it is necessary to process the branches with fufanon. To do this, take it in an amount of 20 g and dissolve in 1 liter of water. When the needles began to turn yellow, this indicates the presence of such a pest as spruce-fir hermes. Under the tree you can see a lump of white cotton wool. To get rid of it, it is necessary to treat the Christmas tree in April with a solution of Horns or Antio. For 10 liters of water there are 20 g of the drug.
On the video - blue spruce pests:
If stem damage is present, then there will be 5 mm holes in the bark. You can fight them if you improve the conditions of detention and treat the culture with insecticides. Due to lack of sun or the influence of external negative factors, spruce branches on one side may dry out. In this case, you need to create a spruce shade and improve the conditions for its cultivation.
In my previous article on the propagation of blue spruces by seed, I wrote that such offspring do not always inherit both the blue color of the needles and other advantages of the maternal form. In addition, getting seeds from forms with blue or silver needles, various American species and Siberian spruce species seems to be quite a difficult task for an ordinary amateur gardener. And such seeds, obtained with difficulty, in many cases have low good quality.
Therefore, the seed method of propagation of blue spruces in practice, as a rule, has a rather low efficiency. The vegetative methods of propagating blue spruces by cuttings and grafting are deprived of these shortcomings. Such methods of reproduction completely transmit to the offspring all the decorative features of the mother plants.
Propagation of spruces by cuttings begins with the harvesting of cuttings. As mother plants, trees of blue, gray, silvery forms of North American species and Siberian spruce species are used, growing in many places in public gardens, in arboretums, in the Botanical Garden of the Russian Academy of Sciences, as well as in garden plots in Yekaterinburg and other cities of the region. The age of mother plants is usually 4-40 years. Studies have established that cuttings from 4-10-year-old plants take root by 70-80%, and from 30-year-old trees - only by 50%. Cuttings from seed plants take root better.
Harvesting is carried out by stripping lateral shoots on the axial branches of the first, second and third branching orders. When torn off, a small layer of old wood remains on the harvested shoots, which protects the cutting from rotting. With this method, the workpiece at the break does not emit resin and does not clog the xylem elements of the conductive system. When cutting the cuttings from the resin passages, after a few minutes, resin is abundantly released, preventing the entry of growth substances into the cutting. For convenience, when planting cuttings in the substrate, only the burrs formed during peeling are cut with secateurs.
The best time for harvesting spruce cuttings for vegetative propagation in amateur conditions is spring. This is the end of April-beginning of May, when the beginning of the spreading of the covering scales of the buds and the extension of the green cone occurs.
Practice has shown that in such cuttings, root formation begins in 75-80 days. 4-5 months after planting, the roots of the cuttings reach a length of 15-20 cm, having the second and third order, and become more elastic.
Cuttings can also be harvested in the summer after the completion of shoot growth in the second half of July. But such cuttings for the remaining time of the growing season do not have time to take root in open ground and can only form callus. Rooting of these cuttings occurs only the next year.
Cuttings harvested in autumn (September-November) and in winter also take root well, when the process of their rooting is transferred to greenhouses.
Rooting is carried out in greenhouses of various designs under glass or film cover. Temporary portable film greenhouses can also be used.
Cuttings can be planted either directly in the substrate in the greenhouse or in the substrate of the planting boxes located in the greenhouse. In principle, instead of planting boxes in amateur conditions, milk bags, glasses or cylinders made of plastic film and other similar containers with soil mixture can also be used for planting cuttings. Such greenhouses can be cold and with natural or artificial heating. The best temperatures for rooting cuttings of spruce are: substrate at a depth of 5 cm - 13-20°C, air at the level of the buds of the cutting - 10-19°C with a decrease in their night values by 2-3°C. The indicated temperatures of the substrate and air significantly accelerate the process of root formation. Therefore, when rooting spruce cuttings, it is very desirable to have insulated soil in a greenhouse.
In the process of arranging a greenhouse, drainage from small stones or crushed stone with a layer of 4-5 cm is necessarily laid on its bottom. A layer of soddy soil about 10 cm thick is poured over the drainage layer, and on top another 5-6 cm layer of a mixture of peat with washed quartz sand (1 :3) or such a layer of only one sand. During the entire rooting process, the temperature of the substrate should not exceed 20°C. A fully filled greenhouse is watered so that the water soaks well not only the substrate, but also the layer of nutrient soil underlying it, and then it is covered with tightly glazed frames or film. The distance between the surface of the substrate and the glazed frame or film should be at least 20 cm, and preferably about 30 cm.
In the process of harvesting or immediately after it, the cuttings are placed in plastic bags and transported in a tied state to the landing site. Harvesting is carried out in cloudy weather, either early in the morning or late in the evening. Axial shoots, especially of the first order, practically do not take root. In these cuttings, 2-3 weeks after planting, the apical buds bloom, an increase of up to 3-6 cm appears, which significantly increases the consumption of nutrients and water. The appearance of growth earlier than the roots entails the drying of such cuttings. At the same time, side shoots of the same branch (I group) take root well. They first form roots, and then growth. Therefore, now only side shoots are cut. Harvesting them by stripping in the spring does not harm the mother plant. Wounds on the axial shoot of the mother plant are completely covered with resin in 3-4 weeks, and overgrown with bark in a year. The axial shoot, from which side shoots are harvested, has 3-5 apical buds, it grows well and dissolves all the buds. Two years later, side shoots can again be harvested from the same branch. You should not cut a branch or “foot”, especially since there are axial shoots on it, which practically do not take root. At the same time, the removal of the axial shoot with apical buds harms the mother plant.
All lateral shoots of one year of growth on the axial shoot are divided into groups: group I - whorl of shoots located in the apical part of the axial shoot, group II - the next whorl, and so on. Group II cuttings take root worse than group I. In the year of the formation of the roots, the kidneys do not bloom in them. The cuttings of group III take root especially badly and for a long time. Their roots are formed in the 2nd and even in the 3rd year. The buds awaken on the 3rd and 4th year, in some on the 5th year, and the cuttings themselves of this group usually die from shading the growing, previously rooted cuttings. Axial shoots of the second and third order of branching, as well as side shoots from the same whorls (I group) take root well. Rooting is also influenced by the size of the tier from which the shoots are harvested.
Harvested cuttings before planting for rooting and improving root formation processes are treated with growth substances IMC or IAA. These substances, which are acids, have a stimulating effect on root formation in solutions with a concentration of from 0.005 to 0.01%. They are poorly soluble in water, so they are first dissolved in alcohol, and then water is added to the desired concentration.
Often they are used not in the form of solutions, but in the form of special pastes. In amateur horticultural practice, the sodium salt of IAA is most often used as a root formation stimulator - heteroauxin, highly soluble in water. To stimulate the root formation of spruce cuttings, a solution of 100 mg of heteroauxin in 1 liter of water showed itself well. In the specified solution at room temperature, the lower parts of the cuttings are soaked for 15-16 hours. A number of experts also point to a good stimulating effect on root formation in cuttings of spruce, soaking them in a solution of potassium permanganate at a concentration of 0.1 to 0.25%. An experimental test showed that in spruce cuttings treated with optimal concentrations of growth substances at room temperature of the solution, roots appear after 1.5 months, and in untreated cuttings - after 3 months (most of them take root only in the second year). The number of roots is most often 1-2 per cutting (Fig. 1).
Research by specialists has revealed that the rooting of cuttings harvested in the phase of expansion of the covering scales of the buds and the extension of the green cone, which is optimal for root formation, is strongly influenced by lower positive temperatures. At the same time, cuttings treated only with water, and then placed in sand to a depth of 1-2 cm and placed in a refrigerator for 8-12 days at a temperature of +3 to +5°C, revealed the best indicators in rooting. During the stay of the cuttings, there was no lighting in the refrigerator. The beginning of the appearance of roots in such cuttings was noted after 40-45 days, mass - after 55-60 days.
On cuttings treated with growth substances, when stored in a refrigerator, rooting was lower, the number of roots was less and they were less developed. The rooting rate of cuttings treated with only water after being refrigerated for 8-12 days was 94-95%. In my opinion, such a technology for preparing spruce cuttings for rooting does not present any difficulty for gardeners at all. It is only necessary to take the appropriate plastic bag, place a layer of wet sand 4-5 cm thick in it, immersing the rooted cuttings treated with water (aged in water) into the sand to a depth of 1-2 cm. Next, tie the bag tightly on top, thereby eliminating strong evaporation of moisture, and place it in a regular home refrigerator on a shelf where the temperature is maintained at 3-5 ° for 8-12 days.
The treated cuttings are planted in greenhouses at an angle of 20-30 ° to the soil surface to a depth of about 1 cm with a distance of 5x5 cm. They are planted in planting boxes or other planting containers in the same way. The lower part of the cuttings from the needles is not cleaned. Before planting the cuttings, the top layer of the substrate is slightly moistened and compacted.
After planting the cuttings, the greenhouses are covered with tightly glass or lightweight polyethylene frames and on top with one layer of gauze or sparse burlap for shading.
Care for planted cuttings in the first year consists in constant watering, weeding and ventilation of greenhouses. Watered 6-8 times a day. Ventilation is carried out by raising the edge of the frame. To determine the need for airing and watering a greenhouse, it is very desirable to place two thermometers in it to determine the temperature of the air and substrate, as well as a device for determining humidity. It is especially convenient to use electronic devices for remote observation for this purpose.
Rooting cuttings largely depends on weather conditions in the summer. In warm summer, the rooting rate of spruce cuttings harvested from lateral shoots, according to experts, averages 40-50%, and in cold summer - only 20-30%. In autumn, at the end of September, for hardening cuttings, shelters are removed from greenhouses. In dry autumn, watering of greenhouses continues. For the winter, the cuttings do not cover and do not mulch. Cuttings in planting boxes or other portable containers can be transferred to cool rooms or rooms for the winter, covered with glass or film, be sure to periodically spray and ventilate, and thus remain until spring. In the spring of next year, as soon as the soil thaws, the greenhouses are again covered with glass or film frames and shaded with gauze or sparse burlap. Planting boxes and portable containers with cuttings are again placed in greenhouses. In the spring, unrooted and weakly rooted cuttings in greenhouses with 1-2 unbranched roots stick out of the soil and then fall. Therefore, they are again planted in a loose substrate. During the summer, weed three times from weeds. In August, the cuttings are gradually hardened and the shelter is removed. In the second year, well-preserved cuttings take root and grow. Only in the 3rd year, the cuttings form a relatively good root system and growth. Rooted cuttings are transplanted into shkolka only at the end of the 4th, and sometimes even the 5th year. Thus, the cuttings are in the place of rooting in the greenhouse for 4-5 years. Cuttings in planting boxes or portable containers can outgrow cuttings in greenhouses and land earlier in school. It should be noted that the rooting of spruce cuttings is positively affected by a split with a knife about 1 cm deep made before planting in the middle of the butt part with a knife.
The soil on the ridges used for shkolka should be sufficiently fertile and moisture-intensive. It is highly desirable to have a high content of peat in it. Rooted cuttings are planted in rows at a distance of 40 cm a row from a row and 15 cm in a row. In the first year of transplantation, it is very desirable to keep the shkolki ridges under the film, which significantly reduces the number of dead plants. For the winter, the soil on the ridges in the year of transplantation must be mulched to protect the root system from frost. To accelerate the growth of seedlings in the shkolka, they are fed and watered. All plants in the school grow obliquely at first.
The apical shoots are first formed in them, then the growth of the lower lateral shoots and twigs intensifies, and a bushy tree begins to appear (Fig. 2).
Gradually, by the age of 7-9, the shoots of the central stem begin to increase in size and most plants take on a natural tree-like form, although with a thickened crown base. If the year of rooting of the cutting is considered the year of growth, then by the age of 10 the trees reach 0.6-1.1 m in height. The best of them have a regular crown and apical shoots (in the 10th year) 30-40 cm long. The height, for example, of seedlings of Siberian blue spruce at the same age under the same growth conditions was 0.9-1.7 m, that is, it significantly exceeded the growth of cuttings.
Some cuttings of spruce plants at the age of 10 remain bushy with a strongly thickened and expanded crown base. To improve the shape of the crown of such a tree and accelerate its growth in height, it is necessary to apply artificial crown formation to it with thinning and removal of the lower branches. The reason for the better growth of seedlings of spruce in comparison with its cuttings is the worse development of the root system of the latter. For example, digging up 8-year-old cuttings of Siberian blue spruce showed that most of them had a peculiar root system that developed from one or two axes of those roots that formed in the first year of rooting of the cutting.
Compared with seedlings of the same age, which had a regular branched root system, the roots of cuttings plants were one-sided, slightly branched, with a small number of overgrown roots (Fig. 3, 4). Only a small part of the cuttings had a good root system, which explains their slower growth. Despite this shortcoming, only cuttings of spruce completely retain all maternal characteristics.
In the 80s of the last century, I was also engaged in the propagation of prickly blue spruce and Siberian blue spruce according to the technology described above. I harvested cuttings from trees in one of the squares in Yekaterinburg (prickly blue spruce) and in my garden (Siberian blue spruce). Of course, the cuttings were prepared by tearing with a heel, not axial, but lateral of the first order. Everything was done very carefully without causing any damage to the trees. The cuttings were soaked in a solution of heteroauxin and about May 15 they were planted under a film in a greenhouse in the above substrate. At the same time, my mother lived in my garden, who, according to my instructions, watered the cuttings 5 times a day and ventilated the greenhouse, while observing its shading. In total, 10 cuttings of prickly blue spruce and 15 cuttings of Siberian blue spruce were planted. In the autumn of the first year, as expected, the cuttings were hardened. For the winter, the soil under the cuttings was not mulched. As snow fell, they were hilled with snow. In the second year in spring, 4 prickly blue spruce cuttings and 6 Siberian blue spruce cuttings were found, which were again planted in the substrate. By the end of the second year, 6 plants of prickly blue spruce and 11 plants of Siberian blue spruce were preserved. The plants were kept in the greenhouse for 5 years. At the same time, by the end of the 5th year, 4 plants of prickly blue spruce and 8 plants of Siberian blue spruce were preserved. In the autumn of the 5th year, the plants were planted in a shkolka on a ridge, where they were grown up to 10 years of age. Plant drop was also observed after planting them in the school in the first year. In total, in the 10th year of growth, 3 plants of prickly blue spruce and 7 plants of Siberian blue spruce were preserved. I believe that with all the costs of mastering the technology of growing cuttings, my result of growing it was quite good. In my opinion, the development of this technology is quite accessible to any amateur gardener.
Ephedra at home breed hard, blue spruce is no exception. You can get a young tree from seeds or cuttings. The second method is faster and is guaranteed to retain all the varietal characteristics of the species and the color of the needles. Remember that success depends on so many factors: the right material and time of year for cutting, as well as the temperature of keeping and watering.
Homeland beauty spruce - North America. There it is common in the mountainous regions of the west, southwest and is a symbol of two states: Utah and Idaho. Under natural conditions, it grows up to 40 m tall and can reach an age of several centuries. The crown of young trees is in the form of a narrow cone, while in older trees it is cylindrical. The needles are green with a bluish-blue coating. Ripe cones are light brown, about 4 cm in diameter when open. Spruce forms with blue needles are also found in the north of Russia. Wax coating protects the branches from excessive fumes and harmful atmospheric substances.
Attention! The definition of "blue spruce" speaks only of color, and not of belonging to the species. The species "blue spruce" does not exist, the blue color is found in common spruce, prickly spruce, Canadian, Siberian.
Decorative varieties with blue needles:
- Waldbrun (grey-blue pyramidal crown, about a meter high).
Waldbrun - Montgomery (bright blue flattened crown, height 2 m).
- Blue pearl (bonsai with bright green-blue needles).
blue pearl - Blue fog (dwarf variety, rich blue needles).
- Glauka Globoza (dwarf variety with silver-blue needles).
- Canadian gray (dwarf variety with fast growth, bluish needles).
Rooting cuttings of blue spruce
Medium-aged trees are selected for cuttings. As practice has shown, material from fir trees younger than four and older than forty years has a lower survival rate. You can collect twigs in early spring, summer or winter. They break out last year's horizontal shoots, leaving a "heel" of the bark at the end. This will delay the release of resins and prevent clogging of blood vessels. The optimal length of the branches is 6–10 cm. Planting is carried out on the same day. If transportation is required, the plant is wrapped with a damp cloth.
Advice. In dry hot weather, cuttings of conifers are not carried out.
To stimulate root growth, Kornevin is used. To do this, slightly damage the bark in the lower part of the cutting and rub the preparation. Can be soaked for 15-16 hours in heteroauxin. Twigs that have already been stored for some time are kept in water for 1-2 hours before that. Prepared cuttings are planted in mini-greenhouses with a light mixture. Soil composition:
- Coconut substrate.
- Horse peat.
Parts are mixed and laid out in containers. Drainage is laid at the bottom of the mini-greenhouse (expanded clay, fine gravel). You can use peat screenings or dry bark. The branches are stuck into the ground at an angle of 45 ° to a depth of 3-4 cm. The soil is pressed tightly so that there is no air space left inside. The top layer is coarse river sand. 1-2 cm is enough. This is done in order to exclude the possibility of decay of the lower part of the cuttings.
rooted cuttings After planting, the soil is watered with warm water and the greenhouse is closed. Containers are placed in a place without bright light. Rooting will occur in 2–2.5 months. At this time, the greenhouse is monitored, periodically airing. Watering begins from the moment the roots appear.
Alternative rooting methods for blue spruce
For branches broken in winter, use this planting option. The lower part of the cuttings treated with root is covered with wet moss. Instead of moss, you can use a soaked peat tablet. Wrap the top tightly with paper towels and secure with a rubber band. In such a roll, several cuttings are wrapped at once with a distance of 5 cm from each other. The whole packages are placed in plastic bags and hung in a cool room. With a successful outcome, the roots will hatch in 2.5-3 months. In May, they are planted in a greenhouse under the film.
Some advise holding spruce cuttings in damp sand at low temperatures before rooting. Twigs are placed in a plastic container with coarse river sand, deepening them by 1 cm. The container is closed and placed in a cold place with t + 1 ... + 3 ° C. After a three-week content, the branches are moved to a greenhouse, where at first the conditions are maintained from +15 to +18 ° C. Then increase to +20…+23 С°.
Planting cuttings Cuttings are planted obliquely at an angle of 30 ° and to a depth of no more than 1.5 cm, since conifers do not tolerate deep planting. The greenhouse is shaded from bright sunlight, protected from overheating, aired. The optimum temperature for rooting is +20 ° C. In cases of reduced modes, the walls are insulated with special mats. A high level of humidity (not lower than 85%) in the greenhouse can be maintained with a fogging installation.
Advice. In a greenhouse for conifers, a drainage layer 5 cm thick is required.
In the first year, a callus is formed, a kind of outgrowth from which roots will develop. In the second year, young seedlings can be determined for permanent residence in open ground. Christmas trees spend the first winter under cover.
Choosing a place and caring for blue spruce
All conifers prefer areas protected from wind and direct sun. Soils are preferably slightly acidic or acidic in ph. Heavy clay soil with constant moisture stagnation will not work.
The soil should be light with good air exchange. Consider how tall an adult tree will be, so that you do not have to disturb it once again with a transplant. The distance between trees of dwarf varieties is about a meter, for medium ones about three, for large ones at least five meters. When planting, drainage is placed at the bottom of the hole, the root neck of the plant is oriented at the level of the top of the soil. The width of the pit is selected taking into account the root system of the seedling.
For planting spruce, choose a place protected from the sun and drafts. In drought, Christmas trees are watered. One adult plant needs at least 10 liters of water. Blue spruce practically does not need top dressing. In the spring, you can water with a liquid solution of fertilizers for conifers.
Attention! Manure is not brought under the spruce.
Blue spruce can be affected by: spruce sawfly, bark beetles, scale insects, spruce (hermes) and root aphids. To combat insects, diseased trees are treated with insecticidal preparations. As a preventive measure, carefully inspect the trees, do not let the site become clogged.
Blue spruce can also be obtained from seeds. This method is longer and does not always give a complete transfer of varietal characteristics. Cuttings are considered a faster and more effective method. Experiment, and you will definitely be pleased with the result of your own work.
Reproduction of blue spruce: video
In the top of favorite evergreens is spruce, which always endlessly pleases summer residents with the dense greenery of its needles and the amazing fragrance of resins. To be guaranteed to grow a slender beauty in a summer cottage, it will be more interesting to propagate it yourself, for example, by cuttings. You will succeed if you listen to our time-tested and experienced advice and recommendations.
Spruce can be propagated in the following ways: sow seeds (difficult and long), grow from cuttings (easier and faster), buy and plant ready-made seedlings (the easiest, but also more expensive).
Note! About, how to plant a finished spruce seedling in open ground and take care of it in the future, read
seed method of reproduction
Propagation of spruce cuttings
An easier way to propagate spruce is cutting it at home, which is usually done in early spring at the start of sap flow.
Cutting cuttings
As a starting material for cuttings, it is desirable to take spruce top. Next, you should make cuttings 18-25 centimeters long, and do not cut, namely cut off by hands so that a “heel” is formed at the end of the cutting with the growth of the previous year.
Then they need soak in water during the day. Remove all needles, clearing bottom by 5-7 centimeters. Further, cut off any excess side branches leaving only the main trunk.
Cuttings ready for planting spruce should look like this:
Preparation of planting capacity (greenhouses) and soil
Now you need to do mini greenhouse from a 5-liter bottle, cutting the bottle so that about 20 centimeters remain above the handle, that is, about 2/3. Then at the bottom of the bottle it is recommended to do drainage holes, and not in the very center, but around the circumference, somewhere 1 centimeter from the wall.
It is important to prepare the correct air and water permeable soil mixture for planting spruce cuttings. It is optimal to make it from coconut substrate and peat, mixing 1 to 1.
At the bottom of the landing tank, lay out a small drainage layer 3-4 centimeters from gravel and / or expanded clay.
Planting a cutting
Step-by-step instructions for planting a spruce cutting at home:
Caring for cuttings after planting and planting them in open ground
Rooting cuttings will take about 2.5-3 months.
If the upper part of the bottle (greenhouse) fogs up, then the greenhouse should be ventilated without fail by opening the top cover. Additional ventilation holes can be made in the lid, in which case it does not even have to be unscrewed.
When the time comes for planting spruce cuttings in open ground, be sure to water the seedlings well beforehand. Only then can you easily get an earthen ball and plant small plants in your garden.
The next video shows the planting of spruce cuttings in autumn (October). However, many gardeners do not particularly complain about this period, since the percentage of rooting of cuttings is much lower than in spring, but still.
Video: growing blue spruce from cuttings at home
Video: the result of rooting blue spruce cuttings
Important! All information about choosing a place and planting spruce seedlings in open ground you'll find .
You really want to propagate spruce in your country house without any problems. You no longer need to restrain this desire. We set a vector of how to do this with the help of seeds, cuttings, ready-made seedlings. Now it's up to you!
The natural habitat of blue spruce is small and located in North America. However, today these can be found in many parts of the world. Due to their resistance to harsh environmental conditions, these have become very popular. Consider how you can propagate blue spruce on your own and, thus, significantly save your finances.
Description of a coniferous plant
Blue spruce has always stood out among its fellows. Its shades are from blue to bluish-gray, the crown has a conical appearance and is dotted with oblong cones. The largest age in the natural habitat is up to 700 years. In our latitudes, such plantations live for about a century. The average height reaches 30 m, although sometimes there are giants twice as large. 
Today, breeders have bred more than 70 species, including massive and stunted trees, and even creeping along the ground. Some varieties have allowed the trees to turn into, which rises 50 cm above the ground and has a width of up to 2 meters.
Important! Artificial varieties of blue spruce are extremely frost-resistant. This is very unusual for man-made plants. There are cases when they withstood frosts down to -35 degrees.
The most common method of reproduction
Spruce can be propagated by seeds and. can be purchased at garden centers or assembled independently from cones. A lot of seeds will be required, since their germination is not very large. In addition, this method of reproduction does not guarantee the preservation of maternal qualities. 
But the reproduction of coniferous cuttings of the same is popular both at home and on an industrial scale. The bottom line is to use parts of spruce branches to get a full-fledged tree as a result.
Cuttings: terms and conditions
Cuttings are harvested in late April or early May, when the time of spring sap flow begins. Twigs should be no longer than 10 cm, as others have an overdeveloped bud that will immediately begin to grow into a shoot, and this will lead to a waste of strength and damage the formation of roots.
How to grow blue spruce
Blue spruce is propagated by cuttings by carrying out the following actions: searching for cuttings to take, their separation and subsequent rooting.
Did you know? Separating the cutting from the mother tree with a knife, it is impossible to save the thickening. Consequently, the survival rate can be significantly reduced.
Procurement of cuttings
The ideal cuttings for further cultivation are side shoots over a year old and 10 cm in size. Mother trees should be over 4 years old.
The selected branches are torn off from the trunk in such a way that a thickening is preserved at the end, which is the remnant of old wood. According to gardeners, the thickening blocks the release of resin and thus clogs the lower cells and prevents moisture from penetrating inside.
Harvesting is recommended to be done in the morning or on cloudy days. After separation, the branch must be immediately packed in a plastic bag. Should be planted on the same day. rooting
Having kept the cutting before planting for 2 hours in a root formation stimulator, spruce can be rooted in 1.5 months. Otherwise, it will take more than three months. A prerequisite for successful root germination is a suitable temperature, the ideal place is humid and at the same time warm conditions. You can create them using polyethylene or bottles.
In the first year after planting, no visible changes in the form of the appearance of new needles and upward growth occur, and many have the opinion that rooting failed. However, you need to know that it is at this time that the root system grows, which means that the Christmas tree does not have the strength to grow needles either, this will happen next year. 
How to plant seedlings
When looking for information on how to plant a Christmas tree, you need to know what points you should pay attention to in order to get a full-fledged healthy tree on your site as a result. Professionals know that the ideal time for planting is winter, this will preserve the root system.
Did you know? Spruce never blooms, as gymnosperms do not. Every spring, on mature trees, the ovaries of male and female strobili - cones appear. However, botanists do not believe that cones are fruits. In their opinion, these are parts of the shoots that carry pollen sacs.
How to choose a place for a blue spruce
The key to a proper landing is choosing a good place and some other things that should also be taken into account:
- Wind. When determining a place for the further growth of a plant, it is necessary to take into account the characteristics of the root system, namely, its low resistance to strong winds. This is directly related to the fact that, after a while, the tap root dies, and the tree is held only by superficial roots. The older the tree, the more protected the place should be.
- Illumination. When choosing a landing site, you need to give preference to a well-lit one. If there is little light, it will lose the decorative color of the crown, growth will decrease, the tree will begin to die.
- The soil. Almost all spruces like acidic or slightly acidic soils. By density, they should be with good air or water permeability. If the soil in your area is loose or too heavy, you can add clay and sand, and then the earth will become ideal. Also, small trees are harmed by nearby groundwater.
With all this, it is important to pay attention to the size of the selected view. Since even spruces that grow slowly in the first years of life can later grow into a huge beauty, which will cover everything around with its crown. Important! It is recommended to plant a spruce with an open root system in the second half of September or in April. With roots in containers, this can be done at a later time.
Planting a plant
Blue spruce has its own planting characteristics. only by observing these rules, you can be sure that it will grow well and delight with its beauty for a long time:
- The planting hole should be the same as the root system. For trees aged 2-3 years, its dimensions are approximately 60x80 cm.
- The distance between the pits of tall ones is from 3 meters or more, for dwarf ones - up to 1 m, and for medium ones - from 3 to 5 m.
- To the bottom of the hole
