Shelter of conifers for the winter: how to shelter and protect conifers. Preparing conifers for winter. Shelter of conifers for the winter How to properly cover fir for the winter

Autumn is the time when cottages and household plots need to think about the upcoming winter and how to save plants from freezing. Having coniferous plants on the site is prestigious, luxurious and beautiful. They grow for a long time and I really don’t want the only winter to spoil the appearance of the beauties. This is especially true for young seedlings-conifers.

If the conifer grows in a container and is not too voluminous in size, then the fastest way to protect against frost is to bring it into the room. However, this is not always possible. Therefore, the ephedra in the container is covered for the winter with spruce branches. The branches are laid around the container using the "hut" method. If possible, place bags stuffed with straw or sawdust under them. Since in winter the winds can be strong and even stormy, it is better to sprinkle spruce branches with additional earth.

When, then winter shelter measures are slightly different from the previous version. First, the trunk circle of the conifer is insulated with a layer of sawdust, straw, peat or coniferous needles. Next, wrap the barrel with spunbond non-woven material that is resistant to weather changes or burlap. Tie it down so the wind doesn't blow it away. Polyethylene films for sheltering coniferous plants for the winter are not suitable, they enter the tree into a state of blockage. It is advisable to install screens (screens) to protect against wind and spring sun.

If the coniferous plant is sprawling, then in winter the branches can break from snowfall, therefore, to shelter for the winter, the branches are tied and another equally important device is built - a canopy or screen from the wind. If for some reason it was not possible to make a canopy, then after each heavy snowfall, try to appear on the site to shake off the snow from the branches. If, after a snowy winter, the branches are still broken, then the small ones are removed, and the large ones are pulled together. Cedar, pine and cypress are especially affected by this.
Tall conifers (juniper or thuja) are quite difficult to cover for the winter, but it is quite possible to tie the branches.

Adult cedars, yew, fir, spruce and pine, whose age exceeds 4-5 years, it is not necessary to cover for the winter, only young seedlings.

In the spring, when the sun begins to appear, coniferous plants often get sunburn. You can determine this by yellowing needles. This is a very serious damage, so it is better not to remove any shelters until the end of April, in particular, this applies to awnings, screens and windings. It is better to do this in cloudy weather. BUT in autumn, before frosts, you need to water and mulch abundantly so that the conifers most painlessly endured the temperature difference.

After winter, if the coniferous plant has lost its color, then shade it and lightly spray the branches with warm water, and when the air temperature is stable + 10 ° C outside, treat it with the biostimulator "" or "Zircon".

How and how to cover coniferous plants in winter?

In the pre-winter time, prepare coniferous trees and shrubs. In order to avoid faults from a pile of snow, the branches of vertically growing junipers and thujas are neatly tied. For this, an ordinary twine is suitable.

Kraft paper, burlap, non-woven materials such as agrospan, lutrasil, spunbond can be used as a covering material. At home, even newsprint and wrapping paper can be used for shading. The only condition is that the material must "breathe", so films and plastic are unsuitable.

The snow around the plant is trampled or cleared. Now wrap the material around it, completely covering the needles. Fasten the seams with a stapler, leave a gap at the top for breathing (on the shady side, so that the sun's rays do not fall on the needles). There is also a frame method of shelter - a frame is installed around the plant and covered with a cap sewn from agrospan. Shelter and cap are fixed with pegs. You can see the types of frame shelters on our website.

In separate frosty and sunny winters, it is enough to shade mature, long-planted plants with a fine mesh from the sunny side.

When is the cover removed?

Removing the shelter requires great care and compliance with several conditions. Firstly, it is necessary that the earth thaw out no less than to the depth of the bayonet and the root system of the plant begins to work. This happens around the end of April.

Secondly, the shelter is removed in cloudy weather so that a sharp change in illumination and direct rays do not cause a shock to the needles. Ideally, if you have studied the weather forecast in advance and opened the plants on the eve of a cloudy period of 4-7 days. Then your coniferous pets will be able to gradually adapt to the light regime and painlessly move from sleep to growth.

Not a single site can do without coniferous crops. It is they who give a picturesque view of the territory in winter, when all the deciduous trees are bare, and the flower beds are empty. There are so many varieties and types of coniferous crops that you can create entire compositions, the decorative effect of which will be high in any season. But there is one caveat: not all coniferous crops endure winters equally. If the seedlings were brought from Europe, where the climate is much milder than Russian and even Ukrainian, there is a possibility of severe damage to the crown and freezing of the roots. Let's take a closer look at how to avoid this.

You can reduce the likelihood of winter troubles to zero already at the stage of buying seedlings. If you purchase thujas, junipers in domestic nurseries, where they have grown for several years in the same climatic conditions as in your area, then problems with winter hardiness will disappear. Weak cultures freeze out already in the first year after planting in the nursery, so they simply do not reach the shelves.

But more often we buy planting material on the market, where it is impossible to check whether the seller gave accurate information about the growing conditions of the seedlings. And even if all the plants were grown in the local climate, there is no guarantee that they were not overfed with nitrogen fertilizers to accelerate growth. And an excess of nitrogen significantly reduces the immunity of crops and leads to freezing.

Therefore, the owners themselves must take care of the conifers, preparing them for hibernation at the end of autumn.

In small areas, different types of dwarf pine coexist perfectly, which stands out for its winter hardiness and ability to withstand snow loads.

Among the crops that are most damaged in winter, the leaders are thueviki, fir (except for Siberian and Vichy), metasequoia, cypress and cypress trees. In areas with a harsh climate, it is better not to plant these crops or tune in to the fact that every winter they will have to be protected from frost.

The list of the most unpretentious conifers includes:

• Ate (except Eastern and Brewer);
• Cedars;
• Larch (except Western);
• Pines (except Thunberg);
• Junipers (except Turkestan and Zeravshan);
• Hemlock;
• Western thuja.

Other varieties need to be selected taking into account the length and severity of your winters.

Rules for preparing plants for wintering

Autumn moisture-charging watering

Despite sub-zero temperatures, life processes in coniferous crops do not stop, but only slow down their course. Therefore, trees and shrubs must be prepared for winter, taking into account this circumstance.

Before the onset of the first frosts (approximately the end of November), spend the last abundant watering of the conifers. Pour 2 buckets of water under each crop up to a meter, and from 3 to 5 above a meter. In this way, you will provide the plants with a supply of moisture for the pre-spring period. At the end of February, when the sun begins to bake, the coniferous crown comes to life and requires nutrition and moisture from the roots. And if it is not enough in the soil, then frost binds the earth to a great depth. The roots cannot take up water, so the needles become dry and easily burned by the scorching rays.

Irrigation is especially necessary:

• one-year-old and two-year-old seedlings that have not developed a strong root system;
• rare breeds of conifers with poor winter hardiness;
• plants, the crown of which was formed and sheared in this season.

If there are coniferous trees grown using the bonsai technique or with a topiary haircut on the site, they need a solid shelter from the snow

Phosphorus-potassium supplements

In order for the young branches of conifers to mature by the beginning of winter, you need to properly feed the plants. Starting in August, exclude all fertilizers that contain nitrogen. It provokes the rapid growth of green mass, and this will greatly weaken the immune system. It is useful in September to add a mixture of potassium and phosphorus to the soil. Thus, you will accelerate the lignification of branches and strengthen the root system.

Mulching young plants

A necessary condition for a healthy wintering for rare and non-hardy coniferous varieties is mulching. The ideal option for mulch is tree bark. It is large, makes it possible for oxygen to flow to the roots and, when the temperature rises, does not prevent the release of excess vapors from the ground. With this mulching, the plants will never dry out, as is the case with sawdust.

Adult conifers or those that were bought at a local nursery do not need to be sprinkled with mulch. They will cope with the winter without shelter.

Trouble during the winter months

If you have taken into account the previous tips, it means that in winter your pets will feel quite comfortable, but the care does not end there. Winter weather brings many surprises, and they must be dealt with in time.

Surprise one: heavy snow

Sometimes heavy snowfalls occur in winter. Wet snow settles on conifers with a heavy load, causing breaks in skeletal branches and breaking off thin ones. If your pet is covered with a sticky and wet snow cap, do not try to shake it off by tilting the branches or shaking the trunk. At this time, the bark and branches are so fragile that you will provoke cracking. It is necessary to wrap the end of the board with a soft cloth and pry each branch of an adult tree with it, gently swinging it up and down. Shake off all branches in the access zone of your growth with a stiff brush or broom, leading from the tips to the trunk.

The crown of spherical and columnar varieties can be saved by tying it with twine. Just do not pinch the branches, so as not to disturb the circulation of juices. The twine should tightly press the crown to the trunk, but not squeeze.

The crown tied with twine becomes compact and dense, without letting snow into the middle, which helps to survive the winter without breaking

Surprise two: freezing rain

With a contrast of day and night temperatures, tree branches can become covered with an ice crust. It has enough weight, tilting its paws and threatening the safety of the plant. You will not be able to shake off such beauty, as it tightly sticks to the needles. In this case, the props that you used in the summer to support fruit trees will help out. Substitute them under any branches that are bent too low to keep them from breaking. It remains to wait for a sunny day, so that the ice slides under the rays by itself.

Surprise three: gusty wind

Some areas experience squally winds in winter. It is not dangerous for low-growing, dwarf trees or creeping shrubs, but vertical arborvitae, tall cedars or spruces can easily be uprooted (especially on light sandy loamy soils).

If weather forecasters have announced a storm warning, make sure by placing streamers. They are of two types: with fixation to stakes and anchor type.

The essence of the first option is that thick stakes are driven into the ground near the tree from four sides, the height of which is more than half the height of the trunk. A twine is stretched from each support to the trunk. It is not tied on bare bark, but the trunk is pre-wrapped with roofing material or a wooden block is placed at the place of tying. True, it is not always possible to drive stakes into the frozen ground in winter, therefore, conifers have been strengthened in this way since autumn, especially recently transplanted large-sized ones.

With the help of an anchor stretch, you can not only protect the tree from gusts of wind, but make it grow strictly vertically.

The second type - anchor - provides for the installation of steel stretch marks, which are attached to the tree at one end, and pulled onto the anchor with the other. Anchors should be located outside the root system. To protect the barrel from steel, it is necessary to wrap the tree with thick burlap, and use wooden lining on top of it.

Surprise Four: The February Sun

Even the most persistent conifers run the risk of freezing or, conversely, getting burned by the end of winter. At this time, the weather is unstable, and often during the days the sun shines so brightly that it provokes an early awakening of the roots. They begin to actively feed the crown, expecting an early warmth, and then the so-called return frosts may come. You can’t stop the flow of sap, but you can cover the crown with a thick non-woven material, like lutrasil, or at least put linen potato bags on young seedlings.

To prevent rapid thawing of the earth, mulch it with sawdust. Their white color will reflect the sun's rays, and the roots will not wake up so quickly. But when a stable heat sets in, the sawdust must be removed immediately so that the plant does not rot.

Without shelter with lutrasil or other non-woven material, the crown of many rare conifers may not withstand the test of severe frosts.

Another danger is fraught with the sun's rays, which burn tender young needles. Therefore, at the end of winter, all annual seedlings and exotic conifers are covered from the south with shields or the crown is completely wrapped in burlap.

It is undesirable to protect conifers from the sun with non-woven material, as it accumulates heat and can increase the drying of the needles.

To protect against the February sun, you can use burlap or agrofibre, which creates soft twilight inside the shelter and keeps the needles from drying out.

Don't worry if some plants turn yellow needles in winter. This is how junipers and hemlocks react to cold. In the spring the color will be restored.

If you carried out all the security measures on time, the conifers will quickly recover from hibernation and will delight you with their decorative effect.

Coniferous plants in the garden are a true decoration, bringing grace and rigor to the landscape, possessing a magical attraction, bewitching and soothing. The erroneous opinion that conifers hibernate without problems leads to diseases and loss of decorative plants. Therefore, the preparation of coniferous plants for winter is an important and necessary condition for preserving their decorative effect. A few simple and quite feasible tricks will help preserve their solemn beauty during the winter.

And eat and drink

Preparations begin at the end of summer. The first thing to take care of is top dressing. Since August, nitrogen should be completely eliminated, focusing on phosphorus-potassium fertilizers. This will accelerate the maturation of new growth, increase the stability of the root system and have a general strengthening effect. After the leaves of deciduous plants completely come off, they proceed to water-charging watering. This is a prerequisite for a favorable wintering of conifers. The diameter of the irrigation circle should not be less than the diameter of the crown. Moreover, the younger the plants, the more important watering is for them, since their roots have not yet gained sufficient strength and can suffer greatly during the freezing of the soil. High soil moisture will prevent this.

It is recommended to mulch the trunk circles, this will help protect the root system from frost. In this case, the layer of mulch should be at least 5 centimeters, loose enough. Remove the mulch in early spring to prevent the roots from drying out.

We strengthen conifers

It is very important to maintain the integrity of the crown during the upcoming snowfalls and freezing rains. For thin coniferous branches that have become brittle in the cold, even icing will become an unbearable burden, not to mention snow piles. Few people have the opportunity in winter after each snowfall to shake it off the plants. Therefore, it is easier to prevent by preparing the plants in the fall than to eliminate the consequences with the onset of spring.

Vertical pyramidal crowns are tied in a spiral from the bottom up without tightening. There is no need to tightly “swaddle” the ephedra, the crown must breathe. It is enough to fix the branches in their natural position.

For multi-stemmed forms, in order to avoid the collapse of the trunks, they are fixed with a string, without tightening. For horizontal (creeping) species, it is recommended to place stones under the skeletal branches to prevent their deformation under the weight of snow, otherwise the branches will remain twisted, the crown will lose its natural appearance. It is stones, and in no case a tree, which, when wet, can become a refuge for various kinds of fungal infections. Young thin-barreled "verticals" must be equipped with supporting stakes, driven in next to the trunk and fixed for stretching. Such a measure will prevent the tree from tilting under the weight of precipitation and will protect it from breaking, twisting and eversion along with a weak root system.

Final preparations

Winter treatment of coniferous plants is recommended to be carried out in a complex, from pests and diseases at the same time. To combat fungal and other infections, fungicides are used, with harmful insects - insecticides and acaricides. A very good result is shown by spraying with copper-containing drugs for diseases. From pests, you can use the drug "Aktellik".

It is best to refrain from pruning conifers in the fall, it will weaken the plant and reduce the chances of a successful wintering. Even if it is a hedge, then crown formation should be postponed until spring. Only damaged and broken branches are removed as needed.

Protect from burns

The shelter of conifers is carried out, as it does not sound absurd, not from frost, but from heat and sun. The biological feature of these plants is the ability to very quickly leave the dormant state under the influence of even a slight increase in temperature during the thaw. At the same time, the roots located in the frozen ground are not able to provide the needles with a sufficient amount of moisture. To protect against such troubles, coniferous plants are shaded for the winter with screens on the south side or completely covered with covers.

In no case should non-woven insulation or polyethylene be used as a covering material, which are designed to keep heat inside the shelter. Their use can lead to aging of the crown during the thaw. It is recommended to “cover” the conifers with burlap or gauze, which allow cold air to pass into the crown. The light color of the shelters also helps to reflect the sun's rays, preventing the needles from heating up and leaving their dormant state prematurely. Remove shelters not earlier than the ground thaws.

Resuscitation of green pets

If, for some reason, winter damage does occur, then with the onset of heat, plants should be helped to restore the damaged areas as quickly as possible. Browned needles are sprayed with warm water and shaded with a light cloth. Upon reaching the average daily temperature of eight degrees, they are treated with biostimulants ("Zircon", "Epin", "NV 101"), which awaken the recovery processes in plants.

Coniferous plants are the highlight of garden landscape design, and proper care and competent preparation for winter will ensure the healthy appearance of green pets. It should be remembered that it is easier to prevent damage to plants during the cold period than to treat them later.

Thuja is a coniferous tree belonging to the Cypress family. A voluptuous beauty immigrated to our backyards from eastern North America. Due to its structure and various colors, thuja is often used to decorate the landscape as a hedge. The coniferous tree is quite unpretentious, however, in order for it to have a beautiful appearance, the plant needs to be thoroughly cared for in preparation for winter during the autumn period.

Features of caring for thuja in the fall and preparing for winter - general tips and tricks

The quality of the autumn care for the thuja depends on how the coniferous tree will endure the winter. To help the plant survive until spring, it is important to water and feed it on time.

Regular watering it is necessary to provide a thuja growing in a region characterized by dry autumn. Before the coming frosts, watering should be especially plentiful: the roots will be saturated with moisture for a long time, and the wet earthen lump will freeze longer, which will protect the rhizome from sub-zero temperatures. If autumn turned out to be abundant in rains, the coniferous tree is not watered.

Unlike deciduous trees feeding thuja is not recommended. The thing is that any supply of concentrated fertilizers can push the tree to a new round of crown formation. The shoots that have grown on the eve of winter will die under the influence of sub-zero temperatures, thereby greatly worsening the condition of the tree.

Coniferous trees growing in a pot can be fertilized with diluted micronutrient fertilizers.

Video: preparing conifers (including thuja) for winter

Pruning thuja in autumn

Removing branches is a very important stage in the autumn care of thuja, since her well-being and beauty depend on garden manipulation. As in any business, during pruning, you need to stick to the golden mean so that the plant can recover before the onset of frost.

Why cut thuja?

Depending on the variety, the thuja can have the shape of a ball, column or pyramid, so in most cases it is not necessary to form a crown of a coniferous tree. Why then cut the thuja?

1. To improve the appearance of the tree. During pruning of an evergreen tree, dried, diseased and insect-infested branches or parts thereof are removed from the crown. If the branch is still alive, and the affected area is very small, run your hand along the branch and remove the dried needles. In some cases, instead of the affected needles, healthy ones grow on the shoot, and there is no need to remove it.

Important! Sick branches should be pruned as soon as they appear. This will help prevent infection of the entire tree.

1. For shape correction. Cut off too long shoots that stand out noticeably from the crown. And also during trimming, the top is removed if it has dried out or has become too elongated. As a result of cutting off the top, healthy shoots will receive more useful elements, and the tree will activate the growth of side shoots, which will give the thuja even more splendor.
2. To prevent pest attacks and the best breathability.

When is the best time to prune - in spring or autumn?

Coniferous tree perfectly tolerates pruning at any time of the year. Some varieties are sheared 3 times a year. Because of this, we can say that the main thing in the cultivation of the crown is not the time of pruning, but its consistency and correctness. Therefore, pruning of thuja can be carried out in the fall.

Terms of pruning thuja in the fall

There are no specific deadlines for carrying out manipulations aimed at thinning or forming a thuja. The main conditions in choosing the right day for pruning are cloudy dry weather and temperature above +4 C. If you do not follow this rule, the wounds will heal for a long time, and the needles near them will turn yellow.

How to cut thuja in the fall - instructions and diagram

Trimming the thuja is a very delicate matter, therefore, in order for it to be useful for the plant, the manipulation must be carried out especially carefully.

Thuja is cut as follows:

1. Dry, diseased, sun-damaged or insect-damaged shoots are removed from the crown.
2. Inside the bush, some of the branches are removed. The thinning significantly improves breathability. And also manipulation is a precautionary measure against the attack of pests.
3. To promote growth in width, cut off part of the top. To achieve the formation of a tree in the form of a ball, the removal of branches protruding from the crown will help.
4. In order to maintain the chosen shape, a part of last year's shoots is cut off from the crown. Please note that you can not cut the tree too much - it can lose its decorative beauty for a long time.
5. If it was not possible to cut the thuja on time, the manipulation is transferred to spring or summer. For several approaches, the tree is relieved of frozen and extra branches.

The most common thuja haircut patterns: topiary, spherical, spiral.

Topiary haircut represents the formation of a crown in the form of any figure or object. In special stores, metal forms of various figures are sold, which must be installed above the plant. After some time, the thuja will fill all the free space of the form. Those shoots that will bulge should be cut off.

In a similar way, a crown is formed in the form ball or spiral: all excess shoots are gradually removed until the tree takes on the desired shape.

According to experienced gardeners, crown formation is best done a year after thinning. During this time, the tree will fully recover and will easily endure large-scale formative pruning.

Video: how to cut thuja autumn, spring or summer

Care after pruning, top dressing

For a week after sanitary or formative pruning, it is necessary to monitor the condition of the thuja, since after active intervention the plant weakens and is highly susceptible to diseases and attack by false scale insects and aphids. In the event of a problem, the thuja is sprayed with special preparations.

Immediately after the end of the cultivation of the crown, the thuja is abundantly watered and fed. Complex mixtures for conifers, diluted manure, green manure are used as fertilizers.

How to save thuja in winter?

By nature, thuja is endowed with high frost resistance and the ability to endure the coldest winds. Recently, however, breeders have bred ornamental varieties that do not have such characteristics. Also, young trees that are not yet strong enough need shelter for the winter.

Video: how to cover thuja seedlings for the winter

How to cover the thuja for the winter?

During the preparation of the thuja for winter, care must be taken not only to cover the roots, but also to protect the evergreen crown, which during the winter cold can suffer from cold winds, a lot of snow and bright sun at the end of winter.

Thuja shelter for the winter is carried out as follows:

• First of all, warm the soil around the perimeter of the root system. To do this, lay the mulching material in a layer of 10 to 30 cm. A more accurate thickness of the mulch is determined based on the weather conditions of the region where the overseas beauty grows. The best covering material for arborvitae is peat, rotted manure, straw, compost, soil from under coniferous trees, dry leaves.
• Small trees are covered with 5-liter plastic bottles: the bottom is cut off at the container, and then the resulting cap is placed on top of a young coniferous tree.
• The crown of adult trees is wrapped with thick paper, lutrasil or agrotherm, which are fixed with a rope or wire.
• To prevent branches from bending and breaking under the weight of accumulated snow, the shelter is regularly cleaned from precipitation.
• Under the influence of bright sunlight, the bark of trees becomes covered with severe burns. To prevent such damage, in the second or third decade of February, shields are installed on the sunny side.
• Shelter is gradually removed only after the established spring heat.

The level of decorativeness in the next season completely depends on how well the preparatory work of the thuja for the winter was carried out.

Video: how to cover a thuja for the winter

How to keep thuja in a pot?

Conifers up to two years old are often grown in pots or containers. Before the onset of winter, the plant is fed, and then transferred to an unheated room, where the temperature ranges from +4 to +10 C. Pre-wrapped with paper, the thuja will winter well in a bright pantry or on a balcony.

What are the features of preparing for winter in different regions

Due to different climatic conditions, the rules for sheltering thuja are slightly different from each other.

In the middle lane

In the Moscow region, thujas are covered according to the usual scheme: first, a 15 cm layer of mulch is spread, and then the crown is wrapped with material.

In the Volga region

The trees growing in this region are prepared for winter in the same way as in the middle lane. The main difference is that the thickness of the mulching layer increases by 5 cm.

In the Urals and Siberia

Already from the beginning of winter, a lot of snow falls in the northern regions, the severity of which can harm young and thinly branched trees. Therefore, it is very important to build a wire frame in the shape of a cone before sheltering the thuja. This design will allow the snow to slide down easily and protect the branches from the remaining precipitation.

Typical mistakes of leaving in the fall and preparing for winter

Due to ignorance of the technology of growing an evergreen tree, novice gardeners make unacceptable mistakes when preparing arborvitae for winter, namely:

• The crown is not covered for the winter.
• Feed with fertilizer for deciduous trees.
• Do not install sun screens.
• The crown is cut on a sunny day, which causes the needles to turn brown near the cut.

Autumn care for thuja will not cause difficulties for the owner of this evergreen, the most distant from gardening. So that after wintering the coniferous tree does not lose its decorative effect, it must be watered abundantly, cut off, and also cover the soil around the trunk.

The well-being of plants, their health, and appearance throughout the year depend on how carefully the conifers are prepared for winter. It would seem that conifers feel great growing in central Russia, and they are not afraid of any winters. Indeed, many of the conifers are unpretentious, but even local pines and spruces can not endure all the vagaries of winter, not to mention exotic plant species. Therefore, you need to worry about how to help your plants survive the frosty time well and maintain their beauty. Each type of coniferous plants needs an individual approach, but there are some common points. So, let's open a couple of secrets on how to prepare conifers for winter.

Moisture-charging irrigation

The preparation of conifers for winter begins in the fall, when deciduous trees throw off their crowns. At this time, it is necessary to shed the root of the plants well, about 5-8 buckets for each. Such watering is especially desirable for plantings made in this and last seasons, varietal specimens and exotics - in any year of life.

It is much easier to prevent diseases and other damage to trees and shrubs during cold days than to treat them afterward and restore lost decorative properties.

What is it for? The needles of such plants wake up from a frosty sleep earlier than others. And it often happens that the roots at this time are not yet able to "get" enough moisture due to the frozen soil. As a result, the needles are burned.

If the soil was well and timely moistened, then it will freeze less, and the risk of spring damage will be minimal.

Strengthening new landings

Coniferous trees collect large amounts of snow on their branches. And if winter also pleases us with heavy snowfall, then a sticky snow mass can form on them. This weight is sometimes too heavy, especially for seedlings that have not had time to take root. Therefore, in order to avoid their falling and to prevent the breakage of the roots, it is better to fix the plants with stretch marks. This material is useful for owners of blue spruces.

Snow can be knocked off plants using a board or pole wrapped in a soft cloth in advance.

Burn Protection

Cypress trees, columnar junipers, some varieties of arborvitae and Canadian spruce must be protected from sunburn. For this, the conifers are covered for the winter with special material.

Good for this purpose:

• sackcloth;
• pritenochny grid;
• woven polypropylene panels.

Coniferous trees collect large amounts of snow on their branches. And if winter also pleases us with heavy snowfall, then a sticky snow mass can form on them.

Having chosen a suitable material, it must be applied to the plant and tied with twine, without pulling the branches strongly. No need to "brick up" the crown all the way to the last branch. If there are "windows" - this is even good, because there will be access to fresh air. If the plant is very large, then just shade its south side. For admirers of dwarf conifers, this article will be useful.

The preparation of conifers for winter begins to be carried out in the fall, when deciduous trees throw off their crowns.

Preparing conifers for winter (video)

Crown tying

Crown tying is needed for those plants that are resistant to wind and are not afraid of the spring sun. It is necessary to loosely tie their branches so that they do not twist and break under the weight of snow or freezing rain.

Each type of coniferous plants needs an individual approach.

What to do, if…

• a lot of sticky snow?

Snow can be knocked off plants using a board or pole wrapped in a soft cloth in advance. It is not necessary to shake the trees and hit them with all your might, it is easy enough to tap with small dots. So you will not damage either the bark or the branches.

• freezing rain?

In this case, try to give the branches their original position with ties and props. Do not try to melt the ice with a hair dryer, warm water.

Together with artificial heat, the kidneys may wake up prematurely. When sunny weather comes, the ice will come off on its own, you just need to support the plants until this period.

Cypress trees, columnar junipers, some varieties of arborvitae and Canadian spruce must be protected from sunburn

The well-being of plants, their health, and appearance throughout the year depend on how carefully the preparation of conifers for winter takes place. Small labor and material costs can prevent the occurrence of diseases, as well as the death of rare and valuable specimens. It is much easier to prevent diseases and other damage to trees and shrubs during cold days than to treat them afterward and restore lost decorative properties. We recommend learning how to protect and cure trees from sunburn.

There is an opinion that coniferous trees are unpretentious plants, and therefore they tolerate even the harsh Russian winters well. However, they also need good care, protection from diseases and proper processing in the autumn. Then coniferous plants will delight their owners for many years with their beauty and the enchanting smell of resin.

Preparing for winter

It is necessary to prepare conifers for the cold season in advance. In autumn, they are well shed (up to 9 buckets for each plant), young trees are mulched with tree bark, and fertilizers are applied. Some gardeners prefer to feed the conifers in the fall with rotted compost (cover the plants with a layer of 5 cm or more), others use special purchased fertilizers.

Trimmed conifers shelter for the winter. Do this after abundant watering and top dressing. In the cold season, it will not be possible for plants to receive adequate nutrition, and therefore they must make the necessary supply from the fall. The main thing is to observe the dosages and not to "overfeed" coniferous trees.

Note. If you apply too much fertilizer in the fall, the plant will begin to grow intensively and will not be able to prepare for the winter. The result can be deplorable - the conifer will freeze.

These trees are in great need of magnesium. It is this element that is responsible for the integrity of the needles. With a magnesium deficiency, the needles turn brown, dry out and crumble. This is most pronounced during the dry season. To compensate for the lack of this microelement, it is better to use liquid mineral complexes specially designed for coniferous trees.

Work time

Preparation for winter begins from the very beginning of autumn. Ephedra are treated against diseases and pests, if necessary, mulched, shed, and weeds are removed. If we talk about top dressing, then it is usually applied twice: in May (during the period of active growth and development) and in August-September.

If you are late with autumn fertilization, then young conifers will simply have a nutritional deficiency. After all, they will spend a lot of energy on rooting. It is more difficult for hungry trees to survive in winter, the probability of their death is high.

If you plan to use liquid formulations, then you should strictly follow the instructions. A highly concentrated solution will destroy the root system. For top dressing, dig a shallow circular groove. This is where the nutrients are added.

If granular fertilizer is used, do not leave it on the surface. It should be embedded in the soil. In parallel with fertilizer, dolomite flour is often applied, which not only deoxidizes the soil, but also supplies it with a number of trace elements.

Fertilizers and top dressings

Coniferous trees need good nutrition, but not all fertilizers are equally useful for them.

Feed selection rules

• Fertilizer for conifers should contain a minimum of nitrogen.
• Magnesium in the composition of top dressing should be in an easily digestible form.
• A large number of trace elements will only benefit plants.

When choosing a nutrient preparation, it is necessary to be guided by the above rules, because an incorrectly selected fertilizer will only cause harm. Gardeners advise it is better to skip feeding than to destroy the plant with wrong actions.

It is enough to feed conifers twice a year: in spring and autumn. The second top dressing is designed to prepare the plants for the period of cold weather, to assist in the maturation of growth over the past year.

It is especially important to apply fertilizers for young conifers, the root system of which is not yet strong enough and is not able to extract food from the soil on its own.

organic

Ephedra should not be overfed with organic matter for the winter. In young plants, excess nutrients can cause burns. In addition, autumn overfeeding will disrupt the process of preparing plants for a dormant period.

Compost

Rotted plant residues are a traditional type of fertilizer for conifers. It is this fertilizer that serves as an excellent imitation of native forest soil. It is to the introduction of compost that plants are so responsive.

They are fed as follows: the top layer of soil under the tree is well loosened, then sprinkled with a layer of compost (8-12 cm is enough). Fertilizer should not be left on the surface, because it is slightly embedded in the soil. This will make it easier for plants to absorb nutrients.

If there is no compost heap on the site, you can purchase ready-made fertilizers based on compost.

Some gardeners instead use a biohumus solution or an ordinary herbal infusion (popularly called green manure). Also, conifers will like coffee pomace fertilizer.

All top dressing is usually accompanied by watering (for one conifer - from 140 liters). Fir and arborvitae are especially fond of water. In addition, it is recommended to carry out the so-called sprinkling of coniferous trees in the fall, designed to eliminate pollution from their ground part.

Note. Not all conifers are suitable for autumn composting. In some cases, this is best done in the spring.

Biohumus

This organic fertilizer is convenient to use, effective, and most importantly - helps to strengthen the immunity of conifers.

In addition to the main macronutrients, biohumus contains at least 10 microelements and vitamins that will benefit the conifers.

mineral

When choosing suitable mineral complexes, one should not forget that they should contain little nitrogen, but a lot of magnesium and other trace elements. A lot of nitrogen is not needed either in autumn or in spring. This element contributes to the intensive growth of shoots, which is unacceptable for slowly growing conifers. If the branches grow quickly, by winter they simply do not have time to get stronger and mature, and therefore inevitably die.

For the same reason, fresh manure is not placed under the conifers, even in a diluted form. Excess nitrogen should not be either in mineral complexes or in organic matter.

Many gardeners are convinced that conifers do not need organics at all, since they perceive ready-made mineral complexes much better. However, any mineral fertilizer should be applied diluted to make it easier for the root system of plants to absorb nutrients and vitamins.

Do not forget about the periodic liming of the soil around the conifers. For this, a dolomite is used. It, in addition to the main task, supplies the soil with magnesium and calcium, and in an easy-to-digest form.

Foliar processing

It is usually carried out in order to protect conifers from pests and for external feeding with useful compounds.

To destroy harmful insects, as well as their larvae, insecticides are usually used. If the plant is overcome by ticks, then take acaricides. In order to eliminate the fungus - fungicides. This is the general name of a group of drugs designed to solve a specific problem.

When processing conifers, you should strictly follow the instructions. Otherwise, following the destruction of pests or diseases, the tree itself will die.

Important! Do not experiment with mixing different drugs. This will not benefit the conifers.

Biofertilizer "BioGrow"

Learn more

Processing is prohibited on hot days. The best time for this is late evening or early morning without dew and wind.

In the autumn, you need to have time to do several of these treatments. After all, the killed pests probably managed to lay eggs, diseases (especially fungal ones) are spores.

When using any pesticides on your site, you should take care of your own safety (protect your eyes and skin), and also strictly follow the dilution scheme indicated on the package.

Foliar top dressing

Coniferous trees are very fond of external treatment with nutrient compounds. It is produced by spraying with special devices.

If you use the root method of fertilizing, the plants will be able to absorb only 20% of useful elements, with the foliar method this percentage increases to 80.

You can not do without foliar top dressing in cases with coniferous hedges on the site. Usually they are planted quite densely, and therefore lack nutrition. Foliar top dressing can solve this problem. Their autumn application leads to the accumulation of nutrients and favors a successful wintering.

Note. Nutrients, falling on the needles, begin to act already 4 hours after application.

Biofertilizer "BioGrow"

Allows you to increase the yield from your summer cottage by 50% in just 2-3 applications

Learn more

Features for plants

All conifers need their own autumn processing: some will not survive the winter without abundant watering, the second - without top dressing, and the third - without shelter. Indeed, for all the similarities of care, there are significant differences.

For pine

Before the first frost, the root system of newly planted trees is covered with a layer of peat (8-9 cm). In this case, peat plays the role of mulch, which will protect against frost and relieve moisture loss. In some regions, young pines are also covered with spruce branches to avoid frostbite of the crown. He will save the plants from sunburn at the very beginning of spring.

It is generally accepted that an adult conifer does not need feeding at all. In the forest, it is humus from fallen leaves, and in plots - rotted compost. When embedding it in the ground along the trunk circle, it should be borne in mind that the rhizomes of the pine are located close to the surface - they can be easily damaged.

Mineral fertilizers for pine are used once a year, like organic fertilizers. They are usually spread over different periods: if compost is introduced in the fall, then the mineral complex is set aside in the spring. Or vice versa. There is no fundamental difference here. However, some gardeners are categorical in this matter, preferring to apply mineral fertilizers exclusively in the spring. Usually they are not even bred, but simply scattered around the tree and watered abundantly.

For spruce

Spruce also needs preparation for winter. But, in addition to peat, tree trunk circles can be covered with non-woven fabric or craft paper.

Mature plants do not need to be fed unless there are external signs of starvation. After all, they practically do not grow up to 6 years, and therefore consume little nutrients. Special growth stimulants are suitable for them, as well as complex formulations, which are advised to be used no more than 1-2 times a year.

Biofertilizer "BioGrow"

Allows you to increase the yield from your summer cottage by 50% in just 2-3 applications

Learn more

Top dressing is needed for spruce after 7 years, when the tree begins to grow up to 0.5 m per year. If forest spruce grows on the site, and not decorative (dwarf), it is not worth overfeeding it so as not to spoil the entire landscape design. Gardeners note that with poor nutrition, such spruce trees grow no more than 3 years, then a beautiful, fluffy crown is formed.

Popular drugs

Well-known, widely used products that can be purchased in stores.

Florovit

Fertilizer specially designed for conifers, containing a minimum amount of nitrogen, a lot of phosphorus, potassium and magnesium. Autumn top dressing with this preparation not only nourishes the plants, but also increases their immunity, allowing them to survive even a fierce winter. Release form - bags, plastic buckets of different weights. Approximate cost - from 620 rubles per 3 kg.

Osmocote

The fertilizer is remarkable for its prolonged action. As soon as the soil temperature drops below +5, the granules stop dissolving. They will continue their work in the spring. And therefore, when it is introduced in the fall, there is no need for spring top dressing. The approximate cost is 500 rubles per 0.5 kg.

Bona Forte

Fertilizer is famous for its economy. One package (5 kg) is enough to feed 200 conifers. In addition to the main macronutrients, it contains silicon and other trace elements. The drug prevents browning of needles, strengthens the root system of plants. Does not contain chlorine. The average cost is from 419 rubles for 5000 g.

Conclusion

Growing beautiful conifers on your site is not so difficult. The main thing is to provide them with proper care, abundant watering, metered nutrition and, if necessary, shelter for the winter.

Do you think that just because modern landscape designers and ordinary summer residents love and actively use coniferous trees in the arrangement of personal plots?

Different types of conifers, such as prickly spruce and common spruce, as well as junipers: virgin, ordinary, Cossack, are used in the construction of hedges. For the design of alpine slides and rockeries, they take dwarf forms of black or prickly spruce, junipers: horizontal, scaly and recumbent.

Instances with atypical coloring of needles are in demand for placing accents and color spots in large landscape compositions. The needles of these trees are very different: gray, bluish-green, bluish-silver and blue-steel in spruces, golden yellow and golden-bronze in juniper. Well, how can you not admire them?

There is nothing better than mountain pine when forming low-growing decorative groups, as well as for fixing the soil on stony steep slopes.

In addition to the extraordinary decorativeness, coniferous, especially large-sized trees, give the site solidity and significantly increase the price of this property.

Preparing adult conifers for winter

But such beauty requires appropriate care. Of course, if your trees are already old enough (over five years old), they will not need special care. They will benefit from watering in October - November, when the ground has not yet frozen.

For watering each adult conifer, two buckets of water are needed. A dense crown interferes with the natural moisture of the soil, and the needles evaporate the moisture supply before frost, and without watering the tree will not be able to store enough water.

Why protect young plants?

The main danger for young plants, especially yews, cypresses, junipers and Canadian firs, that is, species with delicate and soft needles, is sunburn, which they can get in the spring.

In spring, the soil is still frozen and the plant does not receive the right amount of water. At the same time, intensive evaporation of water by needles occurs. The bright March sun plus the reflection from the still white snow - and the tree will receive a strong ultraviolet burn. At the same time, the needles dry and quickly turn brown.

This can happen with other conifers if the winter happens to be frosty and with little snow, and the soil freezes too deep. Therefore, do not neglect autumn watering. For young plants, it will be useful to mulch the root system with a 10 cm layer of peat.

One might ask: “But how do the trees survive in the forest?” First, they grow more densely in forests. The little ones are always in the shade of adults, where the dark green color of the needles allows them to get the maximum solar energy. Secondly, nobody counts trees there.

In hot regions, there is enough solar energy, so people from there have a yellow-green tint of leaves, their leaves are covered with a powerful matte wax coating (the coating protects from ultraviolet radiation).

You probably bought your green pets in a nursery. On your site, every plant is registered, and it will be sad if it dies.

Young stock preparation

To protect the crown, use burlap, kraft paper, light cotton fabric (it is better if there are several layers). Do not overtighten so as not to damage the branches. Small-sized plants simply cover with spruce branches.

Black or white non-woven material (spunbond, lutrasil, agrotex) will not provide protection, as it easily passes the sun's rays. A young plant is likely to suffer from overheating.

It is strictly forbidden to use plastic film. It does not allow moisture and air to pass through, under it everything will rot and rot.

Another way to protect against solar radiation is to install on the more illuminated side of the screen tree. After the snow melts, all shelters can be removed.

Young animals will need to be protected until about the age of five. Then the tree adapts, becoming more and more resistant to solar radiation.

Breeders are working on breeding varieties of conifers that will not suffer from spring ultraviolet burns. Such varieties may appear in the near future.

Another misfortune that can happen to conifers is breakage and breaking off of branches due to the severity of the snow. Try to sweep it away in time. Tie vertical conifers loosely with twine. Tie the central shoots of weeping spruce forms to a support. Tie crowns of junipers with a columnar shape so that they are not broken by snow. In standard plants (larch), in the first three years for the winter, the trunk is wrapped with burlap. This saves them from frostbites.

Each plant requires individual care. The health of conifers and their successful development will depend on how correctly and carefully all activities will be carried out - from the selection of a place and site preparation, to disembarkation and subsequent care.

Experts advise to purchase only winter-hardy species and varieties of conifers, but it would be nice to know what surprises the next winter will bring us! In an unfortunate set of circumstances, any plant can suffer if it is not properly prepared for wintering.

Moisture-charging irrigation

At the end of leaf fall of deciduous trees, pour conifers well under the root (5–8 buckets per plant). Do not waste time on forest trees and old, time-tested plantings of thujas, pines, spruces: they have developed roots, and they will take care of themselves. Watering is desirable for all plantings made in the past and current seasons; for varietal specimens and exotics, regardless of the time of planting (there are some very stable ones among them, but if you are a beginner gardener, it is easier to water everything than to figure it out - there will be no harm from this).

The crown of conifers wakes up early, often when the roots cannot yet provide it with moisture due to frozen soil. Hence, the burning of needles is a common problem in the middle lane. Well-moistened soil freezes to a shallower depth, which reduces the risk of spring damage.

Fixing new landings

The crown of a coniferous plant collects a lot of snow. If there is heavy snowfall at above zero temperatures, such a mass of snow can stick on the branches that the seedlings that have not had time to take root will turn up with roots. So it was in October 2007, when even small plants, up to a meter high, fell and lurched. In anticipation of snowfalls, thoroughly fix all the plantings of the current year with stretch marks to exclude even small movements: because of them, small roots break off and the plant survival time is delayed.

Burn Protection

Columnar junipers, cypresses, arborvitae varieties, the crowns of which have burnt you in past years, and all varieties of Canadian spruce need to be additionally protected from sunburn with shelter. Lutrasil and other covering materials are not suitable: solar heat accumulates under them, and we just don’t need this. The purpose of the shelter is to shade the crown, not to allow it to heat up. Burlap, a special mesh or even woven polypropylene panels perform this function well. They are applied to the plant and tied with twine (do not tighten the branches too much!). Do not try to wall up the crown tightly - let the "air" remain. It is enough to shade large specimens only from the south side.

Crown tying

In varieties of arborvitae and young pines that are resistant to the spring sun, which you are not going to shade from burns, do not tie the branches tightly so that they do not bend or break under the pressure of snow or (God forbid) freezing rain. In some years, even local forest pines suffer from snowfall.

What to do, if…

No precaution provides complete protection from the weather. Therefore, it is useful to know what to do if:

... a lot of sticky snow fell

Knock snow off the branches with a pole or a board wrapped in a soft cloth. Do not shake the trees, do not hit them with all your might: tap often with small jerks so as not to damage the bark and the branches themselves (in winter they lose their elasticity and break easily).

… it was freezing rain

With the help of supports and screeds, try to give the branches their original position. Do not try to melt the ice on the branches with a hair dryer or warm water - the kidneys may wake up prematurely from the heat, and a new one will be added to the trouble that has already happened. The ice will melt by itself with the onset of sunny weather, even if the air temperature is still negative.

... in spring, the needles on the plants turned yellow or discolored

Noticing this, immediately shade the crown by sprinkling water first if the weather is sunny. Water the affected plant with warm water. If the water spreads without being absorbed, then the soil is still frozen. Then water several times a day in small portions. When the daytime temperature rises steadily to + 10 ° C, treat the crown with Epin, Zircon or HB 101.

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

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

Planting firs

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

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

Planting an evergreen tree

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

Spruce feeding

Many summer residents mistakenly believe that manure is an excellent fertilizer for all plants, shrubs and trees. But it's not. The main mistake when caring for conifers, including spruces, is to fertilize them with manure. This approach has killed a lot of green beauties in summer cottages, even experienced gardeners. If the gardener feeds spruces with such fertilizer, then he can forget that beautiful evergreen shrubs will stand on his site.

While some literature recommends feeding spruces with weak mullein infusion, it is best not to put the tree at risk.

Tree feeding must be done correctly

For feeding spruce, it is best to use mineral fertilizers. Since spruce, unlike other trees, does not shed foliage in autumn, it does not need additional nutrition to restore the crown in spring. It also does not require nutrition for the formation of the crop. Thus, this tree needs to be fertilized quite a bit. Coniferous beauties need micronutrients and vitamins only for growth.

Mineral fertilizers

It is very important to avoid fertilizers that contain a large amount of nitrogen, since all conifers do not tolerate excess nitrogen. Although nitrogen-containing fertilizers stimulate growth, this can be dangerous. So the intensive growth of unripened shoots leads to the fact that they are not ready for the winter cold and die. After wintering, your fir trees will meet you in the area with yellowed needles. Growth points in the cold die off, and the tree becomes infected with chlorosis.

It is for this reason that it is necessary to exclude nitrogen-containing top dressing when planting seedlings, as well as when mulching. If you want your spruce to grow, it's best to use compost. 3-5 kilograms of this fertilizer is enough for 1 square meter. Biohumus is no less effective. You can buy such top dressing in specialized garden stores.

How to improve productivity?

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

Photosynthesis of spruces is less than that of deciduous trees and shrubs. In order for photosynthesis to take place successfully, the tree needs magnesium. For liming conifers, it is recommended to use dolomite flour, which contains magnesium. But this fertilizer is not enough. It is necessary to carry out top dressing with other compounds in which there is easily digestible magnesium.

Microelements are very important for the normal development of spruces. If the tree lacks at least one element, it develops poorly, the shoots are not mature, and chlorosis may also occur.

Rules for choosing fertilizers

When choosing fertilizer for spruce, consider the following rules:

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

Specialized stores have a large selection of dressings for spruces, both Russian and foreign. Before you buy a fertilizer, evaluate its composition according to the criteria described above.

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

Spruce is enough to fertilize 2 times a year. The first dressing is spring. It is held in May, when growth points begin to wake up. The second top dressing is carried out at the end of summer. Its purpose is to prepare the tree for winter and help the annual growth mature.

Spring top dressing

For spring top dressing, you can use a fertilizer such as "Uniflor-buton". It is ideal for spruces and meets all the basic principles of proper fertilizer for conifers. It contains 18 trace elements, there is easily soluble magnesium and little nitrogen. Also a good fertilizer for spring top dressing is Uniflor-cactus. It has very little nitrogen, but magnesium, calcium and 18 trace elements are present.

At the first feeding, a small amount of fertilizer is enough. For 1-5 liters of water you need to take 2-3 ml of the drug. Fertilizer is applied evenly around the trunk circle. If you prefer to use the sprinkling method, then you need to dilute 2-3 ml of fertilizer in at least 10 liters of water (such a large amount of water will prevent plant burns). In this case, top dressing will be foliar. But at the same time, the nutrient solution, when rolling into the near-stem circle, will nourish the tree through its roots.

Foliar feeding of trees

Autumn top dressing

The second top dressing is carried out at the end of summer - at the beginning of autumn. It is optimal to fertilize spruce at the end of August. Ideally suited for this drug "Uniflor-micro", which contains 18 trace elements and magnesium.

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

Spruce care: cutting, watering, mulching

Grooming refers to a haircut. What does it mean? After wintering, it is necessary to cut off all defective branches affected by the cold near the trees. Also, a haircut may be needed for grown fir trees that are planted close to each other. In this case, the crowns must be thinned. Shearing is carried out once a year after young branches grow up.

It is important to observe moderation when cutting, as the unnatural crown protects the plants less well, and they can suffer from wind and frost.

spruce watering

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

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

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

spruce mulching

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

To prepare the mulch, you can take the bark of trees, chips and sawdust. Mulch is laid in a thick layer (4-5 centimeters). If you are against mulching, you can use ground cover plants.

Preparing fir trees for wintering
If by the end of summer - the beginning of autumn the soil was sufficiently moistened, then no additional preparation for wintering is required. It is not necessary to build any additional shelters for fir trees for the winter period. During winter thaws, such shelters can only provoke the appearance of a fungus on the trees.

If the winter is snowy, then it is necessary to come to the site from time to time to shake off the snow from the branches. Excessive snow cover leads to breaking trees. Young spruce will not tolerate too much snow in the first years. If there is no way to visit the site in winter, you can tie the branches up with twine in late autumn.

Common illnesses

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

To minimize the possibility of the appearance of a fungus on a tree, it is better when buying seedlings to give preference to varieties that are highly resistant to diseases. If it was not possible to avoid tree disease, then fungicide treatment can be used for treatment.

Yellowing needles

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

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

Yellow needles as a sign of tree disease

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

If the shoots look burnt, then perhaps such a pest as the common spruce sawfly has settled on the spruce. If caterpillars of this pest are found, it is necessary to treat the branches with a solution of Fufanon (20 milliliters of the preparation per 10 liters of water).

When brown spots appear on the needles and further yellowing or blackening, it is necessary to treat the tree for a disease called common schütte. To do this, spray with one of the solutions. This can be Bordeaux liquid (for 10 liters of water 100 grams of the composition), cinebum (for 10 liters of water from 50 to 100 grams of the drug, depending on the age of the tree), colloidal sulfur (for 10 liters of water 200 grams of the drug). The same compositions can be used to process the branches of a tree when orange spots appear on the needles and swelling of the shoots.

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

spruce breeding

Spruce trees can be propagated in a variety of ways. So for species spruce seeds are used, breeding species are grown from cuttings with vaccinations. But the most popular way of reproduction are branches. You can cut them in spring (at the end of April), in summer (in mid-June or at the end of August) and in autumn (in November).
Picture 8. Reproduction of the tree.

Branches from young trees, aged 4 to 8 years, take root best of all. It is necessary to cut them at the top of the crown, since such cuttings take root best. The optimal length of the cuttings is from 10 to 25 centimeters.

How to properly care for a spruce

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Choosing a type of Christmas tree

Location selection

spruce digging

tree planting

Plant care conditions

Nature itself gave man an evergreen beauty - spruce - as a friend. It is decoratively green all year round and cleans the air wonderfully. Everything has already changed around, and the spruce is still nobly beautiful, very proportional and resilient. To grow such an incredibly kind plant to people, you need to think about the proper planting and care of a spruce seedling in a summer cottage. You will read about all this, as well as about the types and varieties of fir trees, about the choice of seedlings, the timing and place of planting in this material.

Popular types and varieties of spruces

The most popular spruces that summer residents grow in their gardens are the following:

• ? Common (European): Nidiformis;

  Nidiformis

• ? Barbed (blue): Hupsi, Glauka, Glauka Globoza;
• ? Canadian (gray): Albert Globe, Konika, Echiniformis;
• ? Eastern: Golden Star;
• ? Black: Nana.

Video: types and varieties of firs

By the way! cultivation canadian spruce we will definitely consider in one of the following articles, but for now you can watch the video below.

Video: how to plant and care for Canadian spruce

By the way! In general, there are no serious differences in the cultivation of various types of conifer, whether it be ordinary, blue or Canadian spruce. That is why further general instructions for planting and caring for spruce in a summer cottage will be presented.

Video: top of the best varieties and types of spruce - the basics of care and cultivation

Spruce propagation methods

There are only three ways to propagate spruces: plant with seeds (difficult and long), grow from cuttings (easier and faster), buy and plant ready-made seedlings (the easiest, but more expensive).

Note! Detailed information about propagating spruce cuttings and planting seeds you can also find on our website.

When and how to plant a spruce seedling in a summer cottage

Seedling selection

Seedlings of all conifers, including spruces, should be bought only in containers, that is, with a closed root system. These trees do not tolerate drying out of the roots, in other words, the plant must necessarily sit in an earthen coma, which must be regularly moistened as it dries. Therefore, buying a seedling with an open root system on the market, you are at great risk. Optimal is to purchase a container plant in specialized garden centers.

Landing dates

The ideal time for planting spruce is spring (April-May) and early autumn (late August-September). The most favorable season is still spring, when the earth has completely thawed after winter, but sap flow and vegetation have not yet begun. It is during these periods that the root system of plants goes into active growth, so it will be easier for the conifer to take root in your garden.

Although, if you bought a spruce seedling in a container in the summer, then there is no point in waiting for autumn. In this case, you can plant in the summer, unless you need more frequent watering and shading from the sun's rays.

Place on the site

In order for the spruce to grow well and not get sick, it needs to find the right place in the garden. Coniferous trees do not like deep shade and the scorching sun, so it should be well lit, but not too open. In this regard, it is ideal if there is light partial shade. Small decorative conifers can be planted near the house, but it is advisable to plant a large spruce away from the dwelling (somewhere at a distance of 10-15 meters) and from other plants, because this conifer has a superficial root system, which will simply take all the moisture and space at the nearest neighbors.

If you are planning a group planting of fir trees, for example, you want to make a hedge, then plant seedlings at a distance of at least 1 meter, and preferably 2-3 m.

As for landscape design, as you probably noticed, spruce trees are very beautifully combined with other conifers: thuami and junipers.

Planting hole and soil

The size of the planting hole for planting spruce can vary depending on the size of the seedling itself. As a rule, the hole should be 2 times larger than the earthen ball of the plant. Say, if it is 30 by 30, then a landing pit of 60 by 60 centimeters will do, although 1 by 1 meter may be needed.

If your land is heavy on the site, and groundwater passes too close, but at the bottom of the pit, a layer of drainage of 15-20 centimeters should be poured, for example, from crushed stone or broken brick, and sand should also be added there.

The planting hole should be filled with a good fertile soil mixture, which can be prepared using the following components: soddy soil, leafy soil, peat and sand, taking them in a ratio of 2:2:1:1. And also add a little less than a glass (100-150 grams) of nitroammophoska, mixing the fertilizer well with the resulting substrate.

Landing

Step-by-step instructions for planting spruce seedlings in open ground:

1. Find a suitable spot in the garden.
2. Dig a planting hole and prepare the soil mixture.
3. Make drainage, if necessary, and fill in some soil.
4. Place the seedling so that its root neck is 3-5 centimeters above the ground. Do not under any circumstances go deep!
5. Next, fill the hole with prepared soil mixture and lightly tamp.
6. Water the planting hole generously. The roots of the plant should be in good contact with the ground, and for this water should not be spared.
7. When the soil settles, add more potting soil and water again.
8. If the seedling is young, then tie it to a support.
9. Mulch the near-stem soil with peat or compost for better moisture retention.

Video: how to plant a spruce

By the way! If you are going to transplant an old spruce with a height of more than 3 meters, then such a plant should be planted with a frozen clod of earth at certain times: from late autumn (from November) to early spring (to March).

Spruce care in open ground in the country

Despite the fact that spruces require good lighting, young seedlings should be mandatory in the first couple of years shade. This can be ensured either by planting a spruce seedling near the fence, or by pulling a special awning. This is especially dangerous in early spring, when the ground is still frozen, food does not reach the roots, that is, the conifer can simply burn out.

Also, in the first 2 years, young conifers should mulch peat or sawdust for the winter. The layer of mulch should be about 6-8 centimeters. It will not be superfluous winter shelter from spruce. Mulch will also help retain moisture better.

The plant is not very demanding on irrigation, but in dry weather it needs frequent moisture (about 1-3 buckets of water per week), especially for young trees. Moreover, it is desirable to pour water not directly under the trunk, but into the trunk circle. It is best to do this in the evening after sunset or early in the morning, but not in sunny time.

Advice! Coniferous plants are also very fond of and respond well to watering. sprinkling especially during dry summer weather.

Another important step in the care of spruce is weed weeding. Do not forget that the root system of the plant is high enough, so weeding should be shallow, about 5-10 centimeters.

coniferous plants do not require pruning, but from time to time it is still necessary (if desired) to carry out corrective and formative haircuts.

Video: haircut spruce and prickly (blue)

As a rule, conifers are quite unpretentious and do not require additional top dressing, but if you fertilize the spruce with compost, loosening the near-trunk circle, then the plant will be very grateful to you and will definitely be noted for its more magnificent forms and rich color. As for mineral dressings, then once a year you can scatter fertilizer in the near-stem circle of the plant, and then pour plenty of water. In general, there are special fertilizers for coniferous plants.

Important! Do not fertilize in the autumn, otherwise the plant will grow and may die due to the onset of frost.

Diseases

If the winter turned out to be warm and humid, then the conifer can pick up a fungal disease. Periodic inspections of your garden pets and various fungicides will help you cope with the scourge.

Coniferous plants are one of the favorite crops that you always want to have in your country house, especially spruce. In order for the ephedra to live up to your expectations and be able to withstand adverse conditions, pay attention to our tips and special recommendations for planting and caring for it.

Note! On our site you can also find detailed materials on growing other conifers in the garden, for example, thuja and juniper.

Video: how to plant a coniferous plant (spruce)

Not every amateur gardener wants to grow an ornamental spruce in his backyard. Since this business cannot be called simple, since a coniferous tree requires special care. And it will take a very long time to wait until they become large and can decorate the garden with their beauty. Spruce can be a great find for those gardeners who live in northern latitudes. All its species are not subject to severe frosts and dark, cloudy days. You can try to grow such a tree with seeds, seedlings or cuttings.

Which variety to choose for cultivation

If you create competent growing conditions for spruce, then it will be a beauty on your site. We will discuss these options below. But it is worth remembering that the success of this business depends on the choice of variety. Currently, more and more different varieties of spruce have been bred, which can be grown in almost any climatic zone. Being engaged in the choice of one or another type, one should be guided by its decorative properties and the maximum dimensions of the tree. In the event that you have a very small personal plot, then tall varieties should not be grown, since spruce, after it grows, will occupy the entire plot. For growing ornamental varieties, low small spruce trees are best suited. And there are a lot of them. Now we present to your attention the most suitable types of spruces that will be suitable for private cultivation on a personal plot:

Norway spruce (European). With proper care, a spruce tree can reach up to 30 meters in length. Needle diameter - 5 meters. There are varieties that are significantly smaller in size (up to eight meters), and dwarf (no more than one meter). Representatives of this species are best suited for creating hedges. They are able to easily bring severe frosts and lack of sunlight. Decorative spruce varieties of this variety, beautiful in appearance, are Columnaris, Inversa, Compacta, Elegance, Nana, Gregoriana, Clan-brassiliana, Echinaformis.

Prickly spruce (blue). It is a fairly popular species for landscaping personal plots. Spruce has the shape of a pyramid, and sharp needles, 2-3 cm long. It can reach 25 meters in height. Representatives of this species prefer light, are not subject to severe frosts. You should pay attention to such varieties of prickly spruce - Hoopsii, Glauca, Iseli Fastigiata.

Spruce Serbian (Balkan). Trees with a low growing crown. They can grow up to 30 meters in length. They grow well in the shade and tolerate drought well. As its branches grow, the shoots of the new growth begin to hang down in the form of a beautiful fringe. Due to this, the spruce looks quite original. The most famous varieties are, Gnom, Karel, Pendula Bruns.

Canadian spruce (gray, white). It is the most winter-hardy, early-growing variety. Not picky about the soil. In the wild, it can reach a height of up to 30 meters. At present, many undersized ornamental varieties have already been bred - Albertiana, Pendula, Conica, Alberta Globe.

Siberian spruce. This type of spruce can perfectly adapt to the northern harsh conditions. The crown of the tree is cone-shaped. A bright dark green needles can decorate any garden. The most popular of all existing ornamental varieties is Glauca.

Tien Shan spruce. This type of spruce has a narrow crown. It comes from China. The ends of the branches are drooping. Needles reach a length of up to 4 cm. Spruce prefers high humidity and plenty of sunlight. In our country, the decorative spruce variety Globosa is popular.

Where to plant a spruce

After reading this article, you can learn how to grow spruce in the country. The choice of landing site is very important in such a case. If possible, you can allocate an illuminated area for growing this species of spruce. It can take root well in the shade, but it reaches intensive growth only in the light; under these conditions, the crown of a small tree will develop a crown of the correct shape. And highly decorative miniature varieties of spruce cannot do without the sun at all. You should first make sure that the soil on the plot is well aerated and drained, since a young tree can simply die from an excess amount of moisture. Spruce, like all other gymnosperms, love alkaline soils (pH 4.5-6.0), where various fungi multiply very actively. If there is increased acidity in the soil, then various bacteria will form there, which will adversely affect the future development of a coniferous tree. The soil must be rich in various trace elements. Then the plant will be able to take root even in scarce areas.

Growing spruce from seed

Trying to grow spruce from seeds is very difficult. This growing method is not very popular among amateur gardeners. But if they can provide the plantings with the necessary care, then the plant will be able to sprout and grow well on the site. You can easily purchase this planting material at any specialized store. But in this case, there are risks to buy not very high-quality seeds that simply will not sprout. For this reason, if you have free time, take care of collecting cones yourself and prepare the seeds for sowing.

Spruce seeds.

1. Seed collection should be done in late October, early November. It is necessary to dry the collected cones at home and get the seeds out of them. Next, do the following:
2. The collected seeds should be treated with a solution of potassium permanganate and put in a container with calcined sand, to a depth of about 1.5-2 cm.
3. The pot must be placed in the refrigerator. Thus, you can create optimal conditions for the seeds to germinate.

At the beginning of March, you can briefly take out a container with seeds and put it in a lighted, warm place. For these purposes, a window sill will be a great place. In a warm place, spruce seeds should give the first shoots no later than a month later. Throughout this period, it is necessary to water the soil abundantly. After the first shoots appear, it will be possible to reduce the watering regimen for young spruce. To ensure protection, you need to protect the plant from various diseases and pests. Before you decide to plant the plant in open ground, the area can be treated with insecticides and fertilized.

A sprouted sprout of spruce.

You can move a young spruce to its permanent place of growth in early May, when warm weather sets in. It is necessary to prepare a hole in advance for planting a Christmas tree. The depth of this hole will depend on how many centimeters the sprout is stretched in length. At the bottom of the hole, various mineral fertilizers and compost should be poured. Next, you should place a seedling in the prepared hole and sprinkle lightly with earth. In order for the tree to take root faster in new conditions for it, cover the seedling with polyethylene or a plastic bottle. Every laziness should open this mini-greenhouse. After one week, you need to remove it altogether.

Growing spruce seedlings

Trying to grow a spruce from a seedling is much easier. But you should be prepared for high financial costs - in specialized nurseries, planting material of good quality is very expensive. They are usually sold in pots. It is best to plant them on a plot with a lump of native soil. The main indicators of a healthy seedling:

• The needles on spruce should be shiny and smooth.
• The soil in the container is slightly moist.
• The roots should not protrude beyond the boundaries of the container.

Plant a seedling in May - and with the onset of winter, he will be able to get used to the new conditions for himself. It is necessary to prepare a hole, up to 60 cm deep. at its bottom you need to lay drainage (pebbles or broken bricks), and a layer of nutrient substrate (peat, turf and leaf soil, sand). The substrate will take up approximately 2/3 of the hole. In the event that you have purchased several seedlings at once, then you should place them at a distance of 2.5 m from each other, since after a couple, three years the Christmas tree will grow. An exception can only be dwarf spruce varieties - you can plant them no more than one meter apart. The plant should be deeply deepened into the hole so that the root bud remains at the level of the soil. After landing, you should sprinkle the trunk with peat and water the soil.

Growing spruce cuttings

Spruce can be grown in two ways. But in any case, there should be a competent landing in the open field and good care. In addition to growing spruce from seeds, it can be grown from cuttings. Spruce cuttings are the most popular propagation method among gardeners. The cost of planting material is not very expensive. And you can pick a branch in the nearest park or forest from you. Lignified shoots that are one or two years old can perfectly take root. You should pay attention to the fact that there must be an apical bud on the handle. Unfortunately, without it, a small tree will not grow in heights. The shoot length is 7-10 cm.

Spruce cuttings.

Planting should be done immediately after cutting the cutting - in autumn or spring. All needles should be cut from the bottom and placed in a special solution for good strengthening. After a day, you can plant the stalk in a nutrient substrate that is covered with perlite, sand and peat. The cutting must be deepened into the ground by 4-5 cm at an angle of 30 degrees. Next, the branch can be watered a little for two weeks to create greenhouse conditions for it by covering it with polyethylene or a plastic bottle. After two or three years, from a slightly grown tree, you can cut cuttings and increase the area of ​​\u200b\u200bspruce plantations.

Growing spruce: care rules

Young plantings will require proper care from you, since even well-rooted seedlings, in the absence of the necessary conditions of detention, can simply die. The basics for growing young firs and caring for them are as follows:

Watering. Spruce can tolerate dry weather well and live without soil moisture for several weeks. But the WTO as regards highly decorative varieties of trees, they will not tolerate such an attitude towards themselves. They need 10-12 liters of water every week. When watering seedlings, try to avoid getting moisture on the needles. To be able to provide sufficient moisture and avoid rotting of the root system, it is better to mulch the near-stem circles of young Christmas trees. As mulch, you can use bark or coniferous sawdust.

Mulching tree trunks with stones.

Top dressing. If you provide the necessary care for spruce, it will be able to develop perfectly without fertilizers. You can feed highly decorative varieties once a season with various complex fertilizers. Newly planted seedlings must be constantly watered with growth stimulants.

Pruning. It is necessary to form a crown. This procedure can positively affect not only the appearance of the Christmas tree, but also its health. In autumn and spring, it is necessary to remove diseased branches from the tree. Carrying out this procedure, you should not get carried away too much - excessive pruning can simply destroy a young spruce.

Transfer. The tree will not always grow in the place allotted to it - occasionally, Christmas trees should be transplanted to another part of the garden. Given the fact that as it grows, the Christmas tree forms a fungus root in the soil (the bark system of the tree connects with fungi), transplantation should be done together with a clod of soil. The most important thing is not to damage this very fragile system during transplantation. You will not need to prepare a very deep hole for planting, as the roots will develop in breadth. On the new site of the Christmas tree, special care will be required - constant watering of the soil and shading. A large number of firs are not afraid of very severe frosts. But still, decorative varieties will need to be protected in winter - branches can bend under heavy snow and ice. And young seedlings of the Christmas tree will require mandatory shelter. Trunk circles must be well mulched in late autumn, so that the root system is completely covered. You can cover the crown of the tree with non-woven material or kraft paper.

Spruce diseases and pests

In order for the spruce to be beautiful, use proper care and competent cultivation in order to prevent diseases in plants. Even highly decorative varieties of spruce can be safely attributed to resistant plants. They are very rarely affected by diseases and attacked by various pests. But, despite this, there is still a danger of damage to coniferous trees, especially with illiterate care for them. Below we will tell you about the most dangerous fungal diseases:

Shutte. The needles of a tree affected by this fungus begin to turn brown and fall off. You will be able to identify this disease without any problems by the very dark color of the transverse stripes on the needles.

Gray mold. Most often it affects young plants of dwarf forms. This disease begins to manifest itself by the appearance of a gray-white bloom on the branches. If the necessary measures are not taken, the fungus will be able to completely cover the entire crown of the tree. As a rule, fungi begin to develop due to excess moisture. It is her that the spruce does not like. Do not allow excessive neglect of plantings and do not overwater young trees. In the event that you found traces of a lesion, it is necessary to treat the spruce crown with fungicides.

Among the pests, the most dangerous are:

Spruce mite. It is very difficult to see a bug in the lush needles, because it is very small. The tree begins to lose its appearance. The needles turn brown. Mechanical methods of struggle in this case will be powerless, since it is impossible to remove all the bugs and larvae on their own because of their small size. Here special preparations - acaricides can help you.

Hermes. This insect promotes the growth of needles into galls. Aphids begin to develop rapidly in these galls. You can fight Hermes by cutting off the formed galls and treating the plant with insecticides.

Spruce sawfly. A very dangerous pest. He is able to hit young Christmas trees. The needles turn brown, and a mud coating appears on the branches. In order to completely get rid of the sawfly, you will need to treat the affected spruce branches with insecticide at least three times.

bark beetle It is quite difficult to control these pests. It is much easier in practice to use effective methods of prevention. It is necessary to constantly monitor the health of your Christmas trees, as bugs begin to infect only weakened plants. With the onset of spring, it is imperative to treat the plantings with insecticides.

Spruce aphid. You can detect these insects with the naked eye. This pest is a small green bug. Aphids begin to feed on spruce needles, sucking all the juices out of it. As a result, the branches begin to become bare. It also shows itself well in practice in the fight against aphids, the use of insecticides.

Finally

Now you understand the technology of growing spruce. Try to take care of the planted Christmas tree, and then no pests and diseases can prevent it from growing and developing well!

Unlike deciduous trees, the appearance of conifers remains attractive at any time of the year, which is why many owners seek to decorate their site with this Christmas attribute. But before you plant a spruce on the site, you should decide on the type of tree, choose the optimal location and properly prepare the soil in the country for planting.

Choosing a type of Christmas tree

The main criterion for choosing the type of coniferous tree is the shape of the crown and the height of an adult plant.

When decorating a summer cottage, three types of fir trees are mainly used.

• Ordinary spruce is a type of plant with a height of 1.2-3 meters. Shade of needles from golden to bright green. This species is most often found in the country.
• Gray spruce - got its name due to the grayish color of the bark of the tree and the gray-blue or ashy shade of the needles. Tall varieties of spruce have a cone-shaped crown, and in dwarf plants, the top looks like a nest or a ball.
• Prickly spruce is a tree with a decorative cone-shaped crown, sometimes reaching a height of 40 meters. Less common are dwarf trees up to 2 m. The needles of such firs are very sharp, have a color from whitish blue or silver to turquoise.

When choosing a spruce for a small cottage, you should stop at a plant of medium or dwarf height, and tall ones are suitable for a country house with a large area. When making plots in the country, medium or dwarf species are especially popular.

Purchasing or searching for a seedling

You can start a Christmas tree in different ways. It can be selected in the nursery, brought from the forest or grown independently in a container.

• Nurseries sell grown trees, dig them up in the presence of the buyer, or offer spruces in containers. Trees that have a bare root system may not survive until the moment they land in the ground. Therefore, it is very important to choose a spruce with intact roots and an earthy clod that protects them from the effects of the external environment. It will be much easier to grow such a Christmas tree, since the tree will tolerate the transplant well, it will hurt less and adapt faster.
• If the type of tree does not matter, then you can bring a Christmas tree from the forest by choosing a tree from 1 to 2 meters. The tree should be dug from all sides in order to extract it with a large earthen clod. Small trees can be transported from the forest with bare roots, but during transportation, cover them with tarpaulin material, and upon arrival immediately plant them in a prepared hole.
• To grow a seedling from a seed, you need to bring open cones from the forest in winter and collect the seeds. In a container for planting, add earth taken from the forest, or pour soil mixture for coniferous plants. Seeds are planted in the ground to a depth of 5 mm and placed in a cold place.

In the warm season, the Christmas tree should be regularly moistened, and in the cool season, watering should be reduced to two times in 30 days. To ensure dormant periods, the plant must be periodically exposed to the balcony or courtyard. In one year, spruce can grow up to 25 cm in height.

Location selection

Since spruce can reach a height of 10 and a width of 5 m, you must carefully choose a place for planting. Under natural conditions, the plant feels good near the river, where its root system can receive enough moisture. But the tree does not like wetlands, so caring for it involves arranging drainage.

Spruce strongly depletes the soil, so it should not be planted next to fruit-bearing crops. In addition, it should be borne in mind that in the adult state, spruce is a rather large tree. Therefore, planting it under electrical wires is undesirable.

Christmas trees feel great surrounded by birches. They are not afraid of the shadow that birches give, on the contrary - it is even useful to them. Spruce is one of the rare trees that retain their beauty in the shade.

spruce digging

In the forest, you can find and dig up small one-year-old Christmas trees. To carefully transplant a tree, you must first dig around it. The circumference of the pit should be equal to the diameter of the lower branches, and the depth should be at least 0.5 m.

The roots of the plant must be carefully removed from the ground, without shaking. Then lay the spruce on a dense fabric and carefully pack, marking the cardinal points with a colored tape. Load the tree and the bag with forest soil into transport and transport it to the planting site, being careful not to damage the branches and root system during transportation.

The soil in the forest is different from that in the garden. Therefore, it is necessary to take the land from the forest from the place where the Christmas tree was dug.

All varieties of spruces love light ground. They do not grow well in heavy soils. Before planting a plant in poor soil, it is necessary to apply mineral fertilizer (about 100 grams).

tree planting

The best time to plant spruce is spring or early autumn. At this time, the plant has already passed or has not yet entered the phase of active growth. Container-grown conifers can be planted later as long as their roots are not affected.

The size of the pit for planting the plant should match the volume of the earthen coma. For small plants of 2–3 years of age, a recess of 60 by 80 cm is enough, and if necessary, plant a large tree, the pit should be somewhat larger than an earthen clod. The distance between the recesses for large plants should be three meters, for medium ones - 3-5 m, and for dwarf plants it is enough from 0.5 to 1 m.

Landing sequence

1. Shards of brick are laid at the bottom of the dug hole to ensure drainage. Soil is poured on top. For this purpose, land from the forest, mixed with humus, is suitable.
2. The plant is placed in a hole along with an earthen clod. In no case should the root neck be deepened into the soil; it should be correctly positioned flush with the ground.
3. Carefully cover the roots with soil and lightly compact. It is important to maintain the original position of the tree relative to the cardinal points during transplantation. To do this, you need to make a mark on one side of the tree, so that later you can navigate by this feature.
4. The Christmas tree must be fixed by tying it to two stakes, and an earthen roller should be made around the tree to retain irrigation water and form a trunk circle for laying mulch from chips and sawdust in order to protect against frost, drying out and rodents.
5. In the first time after planting, the seedling needs regular watering and care. In summer, the soil under the tree must be watered, but in winter this is not necessary.

It is necessary to introduce mineral top dressing next spring. If planting spruce is done correctly and proper care is provided, it will adapt pretty soon.

Plant care conditions

Spruces love sunlight, but young seedlings need extra care and shading. They can suffer from the spring sun, because of which they can lose their needles and lose their decorative effect. It is better to plant them near walls and fences, which will give them the necessary shade at first.

It should be taken into account that the root system takes up a lot of space around the spruce and can eventually run into communications and the foundation of the house. It is located shallow and does not like soil compaction, so it is undesirable to trample down the surface of the earth near the tree. Young seedlings for the winter should be covered with spruce branches, which must be removed after the end of spring frosts. Adult spruces are quite frost-resistant and do not need warming.

With prolonged drought, the plant needs additional care in the form of watering. It is necessary to carefully monitor the level of soil moisture. When watering, water should not be poured under the trunk, but in a circle within a radius of 30 cm from the tree trunk. The amount of water to moisten the soil in hot weather should be from 10 to 12 liters per plant when watered every 7 days.

Blue spruce is a rather demanding plant, the care of which consists in pruning dry and diseased branches. This event should be held in spring and autumn. When growing blue spruces for decorative purposes, it is necessary to provide them with appropriate care, it consists in the formation of the crown of trees. The first time pruning should be carried out in the year of planting, and then every 2-3 years, cutting the branches by 10-15 cm.

By observing these simple rules, you can create a picturesque corner in the country, and a healthy and well-groomed plant will fit favorably into the landscape of the site. Spruces have many decorative varieties and shades of needles, so you can choose a suitable specimen for almost any style direction.

Spruce care consists of proper planting, shading, fertilization, pruning and infrequent watering. Coniferous trees planted on the border of a summer cottage or on the sides of the road look very decorative. The plant is quite difficult to adapt and take root, but if the result is achieved, the spruce will delight the eye with its lush needles all year round.

Coniferous plants occupy a special place in our gardens: they form the basis of the composition, cover unwanted details and outbuildings, and in winter they maintain the shape of the entire garden. Many of them are able to change the color of their needles depending on the season, creating additional color accents. Even for the most unstable climate, you can pick up conifers to beautifully decorate your site with them.

Most conifers are quite unpretentious, but growing exotic plants, you have to take some risks. Even local pines and firs do not always endure the vagaries of winter weather, not to mention overseas species. In nature, everything is natural.

She gets rid of weak plants to make room for the development of stronger, better adapted specimens. Naturally, coniferous "foreigners" have a harder time. But they can also be helped.

Each plant has its own preferences, which must be considered during winter preparation, but there are some general points that apply to any type of conifer.
Preparation should start from mid-August. It is at this time that nitrogen fertilization is stopped. If this is not done, the shoots will continue to grow actively, which is why they will not have time to ripen before winter.

In some species of coniferous plants, shoots may not ripen due to drought. For example, cypress is often damaged by frost due to the fact that it needs high humidity to ripen shoots.

In most coniferous plants, such as thuja, cypress, larch, in the fall it is advisable to cut out all the broken, diseased and yellowed parts of the branches. For this operation, you can use ordinary garden shears or pruners.

It is useful to water the roots of plants with a solution of a root formation stimulator, such as Kornevin. It is brought strictly under the root, before the onset of the first cold weather. This is done so that the roots develop better before the winter frosts.

Trunk circles should be mulched with some organic matter. This is especially useful for young seedlings with an underdeveloped root system. The mulch should be loose, and lie in a layer of at least 5 cm to protect the roots from severe frosts. In the spring, the mulch should be removed to prevent damping-off and allow the soil to warm up more quickly.

In a dry autumn, it is imperative to carry out moisture-charging irrigation. This is especially important for those exotic species that continue to grow during the winter months.

If the roots of young plants are not yet sufficiently developed, they should be additionally fixed for the winter. This is especially true for tall species of conifers, the root system of which lies shallow: thuja, spruce, fir. To do this, a long stake is installed next to the trunk and a plant is tied to it to protect it from gusts of wind.

Many species of conifers are quite winter-hardy during the dormant period, but very easily come out of it when the temperature rises at the very end of winter. This can damage them with recurrent frosts. So, in the Moscow region, it happens that even Siberian fir freezes slightly, the frost resistance of which in its homeland reaches minus 50 ° C. Therefore, conifers often also need protection from the first sun.

Sometimes, in early spring, plants get burns from the sun's rays reflected by the snow surface. It mostly happens on the south side. Sunburn can also occur due to lack of moisture - in winter, nothing comes from the roots, and the needles in the sun begin to heat up. Trees and shrubs suffer not from an excess of light, but from a combination of frozen soil and warm air. Therefore, conifers recommend shading for the winter, or even sheltering. For shelter, a rare burlap is used, which is loosely tied around the plant, or special covers. In no case should coniferous plants be wrapped with thick non-woven material or plastic wrap. These materials are good only to keep the heat inside, which will inevitably lead to dampness during thaws.

Many plants in winter can also suffer from snow bulk: the branches bend under its weight, and then do not return to their previous position. Under the pressure of adhering snow, thin branches can even break off. Therefore, plants of columnar and other exotic forms for the winter are recommended to be tied with a rope.

The well-being and healthy appearance of coniferous plants throughout the year depends on how well the preparation for winter is carried out. Relatively small material and labor costs can prevent illness, or even the loss of rare and valuable specimens. It is much easier to prevent damage to trees and bushes during the cold months than to treat them later and restore the lost decorative effect.