When to transplant a Christmas tree from a pot into the ground. How to properly transplant a Christmas tree from the forest to the site. Procedure - how to transplant a spruce tree

When gardeners or mansion owners decide to plant a spruce tree on their plot, they wonder how to transplant it from the forest to their plot. Is it possible to do this?

In the article we will answer all the exciting questions about choosing a place for replanting, how to properly dig up a spruce tree in the forest, and its further planting in a new place.

Selecting a place for transplantation

Since spruce can grow up to 10 meters in height, and the crown span can reach 5 meters, you should choose a planting site very carefully. A good option There will be an area where there will be no other fruit-bearing trees nearby.

Also, before choosing a planting site, keep in mind that spruce tall tree, no wires or cables should pass over it. The landing site should not be closer than 15 meters from buildings and structures.

It is also important to consider the soil in which the spruce grew. In the forest it is different from the one on the site, even if you have a forest behind the site. For a successful transplant, it is better to grab several buckets of earth from the place where you dug up the spruce.

Note: When digging up spruce in the forest, it is important to remember and somehow mark the south side of the trunk.

Please note that the spruce will take root better in a new place if it is planted in exactly the same direction as before. If you neglect this feature, the tree can often get sick and eventually die.

Digging up a spruce in the forest

The recommendations are as follows:

• the best period for replanting spruce is early spring and late summer;
• First, we choose the spruce we like in the forest. It is better if it is about a meter, no more. Such a seedling tolerates transplantation better. Carefully inspect the spruce, it should be healthy, without visible damage;
• dig up the spruce around the perimeter of the crown, carefully, without injuring the roots. Then wrap the roots in cotton cloth and deliver to the planting site.

Landing at a new place

Procedure for transplantation:

1. Dig a hole of the required size in the area.
2. Place the spruce in it. Do not remove the fabric, but simply untie it so that it covers the bottom of the hole and retains moisture for the roots. Don't forget about the south side of the trunk.
3. Fill the hole with soil you took from the forest.
4. Water generously. Carefully monitor the soil, it should not dry out.

Care

Don't forget to take care of your Christmas tree. Usually mature spruce loves illuminated areas, but a young seedling will feel better in shaded areas. If there is no such place, think about a canopy.

Spruce trees can be planted either one at a time or in groups; the main distance between them should not be less than 3 meters.

Things to remember: root system in spruce it is located superficially and can cover large areas around the tree. Over time, this can lead to a collision of roots with the foundation of the house or communications, which in turn can harm both the tree itself and the buildings.

Due to its shallow root system, spruce does not like soil to settle and become churned. To do this, you should not forget about loosening the soil around the tree. For the winter, in the first few years, it is recommended to mulch the ground under the spruce with sawdust or, and cover it with spruce branches.

With the onset of spring, the spruce branches are removed. It is not necessary to cover adult plants for the winter: due to their frost resistance, they tolerate cold well. A blue spruce generally tolerates even the most severe frosts.

It is necessary to water the spruce in cases where there has been no rain for a long time. A must during drought. No feeding is required for the tree.

The main thing is to monitor soil moisture. To do this, squeeze a handful of earth in your hand - if the lump sticks together, then the earth is sufficiently moistened. If the soil crumbles, it means watering is necessary.

If the soil comes out like mud between your fingers, it means it is waterlogged. Usually water the tree once a week, with several buckets of water for each.

It is also necessary to care for the crowns of the tree; for this, in spring and autumn, diseased, dried and broken branches are removed.

Spruce – frost-resistant, evergreen tree with a superficial root system, undemanding to growing conditions and resistant to air pollution. Grows well on sandy loams and loams, does not like close proximity groundwater. It loves bright, diffused light, so it fits perfectly with birch plantations.

It can reach a height of 40 m. The roots spread 15 - 20 m from the trunk, so you should not plant the spruce closer than 20 m from the house and on a small plot of land. Since the root system of spruce is superficial, it is characterized by cases of windfall, and this is real threat for home.

Spruce grows very slowly, and if you want to quickly green up the area, you can transplant it to permanent places already mature trees (up to 15 m tall). Best time for transplanting large trees - the beginning of winter, when the ground is quite frozen, but the air temperature is not lower than minus 8 - 12 °C. With more low temperatures The spruce roots may freeze. You can replant spruce trees at the very end of winter, while the soil has not yet thawed. In both cases, when digging up trees, the frozen soil adheres well to their roots, and the roots are minimally damaged.

For transplantation, choose a healthy spruce without visible damage. In the spring, a trench about 1 m deep and 20–30 cm wide is dug along the perimeter of the crown, cutting off the roots of the spruce with a shovel. Peat or humus is poured into the trench, and fertilizers are added to stimulate root formation. The poured soil is well shed; Watering is repeated several times during the summer, especially during the dry period. By autumn, many thin roots will form in the trench.

A planting hole with steep walls is dug in the fall; the earth from it is placed in the basement so that it remains soft. They also store sand, 2–3 buckets of bedding from under spruce trees and dry fallen leaves. The diameter of the planting hole should be 1 m larger than the diameter of the crown; The depth of the hole is about 1 m. A tall spruce is dug up with a rooter: it holds both the roots with the ground and the crown without damaging them.

You can dig a tree up to 2 m tall yourself by digging it along the outer radius of the trench and cutting off the remaining roots. The depth to which the roots of a tree of this height go is no more than 60 cm. Having tilted the spruce strongly, the earthen lump with roots is watered, and it becomes covered with a crust of ice. When transporting spruce, this will protect the soil from weathering and the roots from drying out. Then, burlap is placed under the roots of the spruce, tied around the trunk and the seedling is transported to the planting site.

Before planting, forest litter, a little sand and dry leaves are poured into the bottom of the hole. The seedling is installed so that the root collar is 5–7 cm above the ground level: when the ground settles, the tree will fall into place. The space between the walls of the pit and the earthen lump with roots is covered with soft earth and compacted. 3-4 strong stakes are driven along the edge of the planting hole, and the spruce is tied to them so that it does not fall from the wind. The tree trunk circle is well covered with peat, humus, fallen leaves, and spruce branches. It is important to maintain the orientation of the tree in the north-south direction when replanting.

Spruce trees no more than 1.5 m tall take root best - the smaller the seedling, the easier it can tolerate replanting, for which September - October or early spring, when the growing season has not yet begun, are suitable. Deadline transfers – May 10. If trees in the forest are dug up on their own, they are dug around the trunk along the perimeter of the crown, cutting off the roots with a shovel. The smaller the seedling, the closer to the surface its roots are. The buried seedling is tilted strongly, a jute burlap is placed under its roots and tied around the trunk.

The diameter of the planting pit should be larger than the earthen clod. Peat, humus, sand, forest litter from the spruce forest are poured into it and everything is mixed. The hole is well watered and the seedling is placed in it without deepening the root collar. The seedling can be placed in a hole directly in a jute burlap - it will not prevent the roots from growing. The gaps between the earthen lump and the walls of the pit are filled with soil, gradually compacting it. Water the seedling well by dissolving 100 - 150 g of nitroammophoska in water. Works well succinic acid(stress suppressant) – 1 tbsp. l. for 10 liters of water. You can use root formation stimulants: “Kornevin”, “Epin” or “Heteroauxin”. In the future, fertilizing is not necessary. Watering is carried out once a week, 1 - 2 buckets (depending on the size of the seedling), since spruce is very demanding on soil moisture.

Along the walls of the pit, stakes are driven in, to which a young tree is tied with guy wires so that it does not fall down with the wind. The tree trunk circle is generously covered with peat or humus to avoid rapid drying out of the soil. Young spruce should be protected from direct sunlight with agrill or burlap, even in spring.

Well suited for transplanting trees sold in plastic containers or with a lump of earth packed in a bag. When purchasing them, you need to pay attention to the condition of the plant, the quality and size of the root system.

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

Choosing a Christmas tree variety

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

Upon registration summer cottage Three types of spruce are predominantly used.

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

Choosing a spruce for small dacha, you should stop at a plant of medium or dwarf height, and tall ones are suitable for country house with a plot large area. When decorating garden plots, medium-sized or dwarf species are especially popular.

Purchasing or searching for a seedling

You can have a Christmas tree different ways. You can choose it from a nursery, bring it from the forest, or grow it yourself in a container.

• Nurseries sell mature trees, digging them up in the presence of the buyer, or offer spruce trees in containers. Trees whose root system is exposed may not survive until they are planted in the ground. Therefore, it is very important to choose a spruce with intact roots and a clod of earth that protects them from exposure external environment. It will be much easier to grow such a tree, since the tree will tolerate replanting well, will suffer less pain and adapt faster.
• If the type of tree does not matter, then you can bring a Christmas tree from the forest, choosing a tree from 1 to 2 meters. The tree should be dug up from all sides to remove it with a large lump of earth. Small trees can be transported from the forest with their roots exposed, 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. Add soil taken from the forest to the container for planting, or add soil mixture for coniferous plants. The seeds are planted in the ground to a depth of 5 mm and placed in a cool place.

During the warm season, the tree should be regularly moistened, and in cool times, reduce watering to twice every 30 days. To ensure periods of rest, the plant should be periodically placed on the balcony or in the yard. In one year, a spruce can grow up to 25 cm in height.

Selecting a location

Since spruce can reach a height of 10 m and a width of 5 m, you must carefully choose a planting site. 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 greatly depletes the soil, so it cannot be planted next to fruit-bearing crops. In addition, it should be borne in mind that in adulthood, spruce is a fairly large tree. Therefore, plant it under electrical wires undesirable.

Fir trees feel great surrounded by birch trees. They are not afraid of the shade that birch trees provide; on the contrary, it is even useful to them. Spruce is one of the rare trees that retains its beauty in the shade.

In the forest you can find and dig up small one-year-old fir trees. To carefully replant a tree, you should 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 them off. Then place the spruce on a thick cloth and carefully pack it, marking the cardinal directions with colored tape. Load the tree and a bag of forest soil into a vehicle 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, you need to take soil from the forest from the place where you dug up the Christmas tree.

All varieties of spruce love light soil. They grow poorly on heavy types of soil. Before planting the plant in poor soil, it is necessary to apply mineral fertilizer (about 100 grams).

Planting a tree

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 active growth. Coniferous trees grown in a container can be planted later, since their roots are not affected.

The size of the hole for planting the plant must match the volume of the earthen ball. For small plants 2–3 years old, a hole of 60 by 80 cm is sufficient, and if it is necessary to plant a large tree, the hole should be slightly larger than a ball of earth. The distance between the recesses for large plants should be three meters, for medium-sized ones - 3-5 m, and for dwarf plants from 0.5 to 1 m is sufficient.

Sequence of actions when landing

1. Brick fragments are placed at the bottom of the dug hole to ensure drainage. Soil is poured on top. Forest soil mixed with humus is suitable for this purpose.
2. The plant is placed in a hole along with a lump of earth. Under no circumstances should the root collar be buried in the soil; it should be correctly positioned flush with the surface of the earth.
3. Carefully cover the roots with soil and compact lightly. It is important to maintain the original position of the tree relative to the cardinal directions when replanting. To do this, you need to make a mark on one of the sides of the tree, so that you can then navigate by this sign.
4. The 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 trunk circle for laying mulch from chips and sawdust to protect against frost, drying out and rodents.
5. During the first time after planting, the seedling needs regular watering and care. In summer, the soil under the tree needs to be watered, but in winter there is no need to do this.

Enter mineral fertilizing need it next spring. If the spruce planting is done correctly and proper care is provided, it will adapt fairly quickly.

Plant care conditions

They love spruces sunlight, but young seedlings need additional care and shading. They may suffer from the spring sun, which can cause them to lose their needles and lose their decorative properties. It is better to plant them near walls and fences, which will initially give them the necessary shade.

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 compaction of the soil, so it is undesirable to trample the surface of the earth near the tree. Young seedlings should be covered with spruce branches for the winter, which should be removed after termination. spring frosts. Adult spruce trees are quite frost-resistant and do not need insulation.

During 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 once every 7 days.

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

By observing these simple rules, you can create a picturesque corner at your dacha, and a healthy and well-groomed plant will fit favorably into the landscape of the site. Spruces have a lot decorative varieties and shades of pine needles, so a suitable specimen can be selected for almost any style direction.

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

A SPRUCE IN A POT IS COZY AND ORIGINAL, ECO-FRIENDLY AND FASHIONABLE, RATIONAL AND AESTHETIC. IT'S NICE TO KNOW THAT ON HOLIDAYS, YOUR HOUSE IS DECORATED WITH A LIVING TREE AND NOT A CUT-DOWN TREE. ANOTHER UNDOUBTED ADVANTAGE THAT PRODUCT SELLERS TALK ABOUT IS THE POSSIBILITY TO PLANT IT IN THE GARDEN OR KEEP IT ON THE BALCONY. BUT HERE IS THE DIFFICULTY STARTING

It turns out that not every plant sold under the guise of a “New Year’s tree” is capable of growing in a garden, much less on a balcony in a limited amount of soil and without snow cover. We still have to work out how to preserve it before planting it in the garden.

Before you go shopping, you should decide how you want to use the plant after the holiday. The answer to this question will help determine not only the type of conifer, but also its size, crown habitus and the size of the pot in which the plant is planted.

If you are going to plant a plant in the garden after the holiday, you should study the issue of winter hardiness of the selected species and variety (shape), find out the size of an adult plant (whether it is a large tree about 20 m tall or a dwarf not exceeding 1 m) and its preferences regarding location, so that roughly know where and with which neighbors you can place a purchase.

Thus, among coniferous species there are no shade-loving species, but spruce, fir and thuja can tolerate slight shading, and forms with colored needles are more light-loving. Pine is more drought-resistant compared to thuja, spruce and fir. All of them require well-drained soil of medium texture (loam), since they cannot tolerate stagnant water.

It should be noted that Canadian spruce and western thuja can turn brown (burn) in late winter - early spring. Resistant to middle lane Russian spruce, E. prickly, E. Canadian, Scots pine, p. cedar, village Weymouth, balsam fir, whitebark fir, monochrome fir, subalpine fir, Korean fir and western thuja.

But from the acquisition of the so-called “Danish fir” (Nordmann fir, or Caucasian fir), black pine, p. small-flowered ‘Negishi’, p. Geldreich’s ‘Compact Gem’ and ‘Malinki’ are best avoided. They are not suitable for our climate.

If your balcony is insulated and the temperature on it does not drop below -5... -7 °C, you can buy ordinary conifers that are resistant to the middle zone. If the temperature on the balcony and outside does not differ much, pay attention to more winter-hardy species and forms (Scots pine 'Watereri', 'Nana', 'Compressa', 'Beuvronensis'), since on the balcony even when covered with kraft paper and non-woven material, the conditions are harsher than in open ground.

The entire range of conifers offered for the role of New Year's tree can be conditionally divided according to two decorative characteristics: the shape of the crown and the color of the needles.

The pyramidal shape of the crown is characteristic of most fir trees (including Korean fir varieties 'Silberlocke' and 'Samling'), common spruce 'Columnaris', e. prickly ‘Iseli Fastigiate’, e. Serbian, e. Canadian 'Conica', thuja occidentalis 'Smaragd' and 'Brabant', Scots pine Fastigiata, and species plant, With. European cedar and s. Korean.

Blue needles are characteristic of prickly spruce varieties 'Hoopsii', 'Glauca', 'Fat Albert', Scots pine ‘Glauca’, p. cedar dwarf 'Glauca', With. Veymutova 'Amerland'.

If you grow a tree on the balcony, pay attention to the slow-growing forms of Canadian spruce ‘Nana’, ‘Conica’, ‘Echiniformis’, i.e. ordinary ‘Nidiformis’ and ‘Little Gem’, e. Serbian ‘Nana’, western thuja 'Tiny Tim'.

The thuja occidentalis has a conical or ovoid shape of the crown. ‘Yellow Ribbon’, ‘Smaragd Witbonf’, ‘Wagneri’, ‘Woodwardii’.

In order to avoid making an unfortunate mistake when purchasing and not to purchase a plant that was initially doomed to death, you need to know a few simple rules.

Information about spruce is welcome

See if there are labels on the plants: this is not only a significant “plus” for the manufacturer and confirmation of the quality of the product, but also brief, succinct information for the buyer about the preferences of a particular crop (light/shade, dry/wet), its growth pattern and winter hardiness. All this is important to know when purchasing a plant for a more or less long term.

Where is the Christmas tree from?

The root system of conifers is very fragile and vulnerable. If the plant was dug out of the ground in a hurry before the holiday and squeezed into a pot, then it is practically doomed to death. Therefore, you should not make purchases in dubious stores, on roadsides and places of spontaneous trade. If you really intend to keep your new pet, then choose a local nursery that professionally breeds conifers. IN as a last resort you can buy a Christmas tree in a reliable garden center. By the way, conifers in pots stored in winter period outdoors, must be covered with sawdust or snow.

No need to break!

You should definitely refrain from purchasing if the needles are falling off the plant. Signs that the tree is no longer viable are the following: the branches are brittle (in a living plant they are flexible and the roots look lifeless (healthy roots are succulent and have yellow or white tips).

Until you see it for yourself...

If possible, you should carefully remove the tree with roots from the pot, for which the container is first lightly squeezed with your hands and tapped. Ideally, the root system should completely encircle the entire lump. If the soil immediately crumbles and the roots stick out in different directions, then it is better to refrain from purchasing.

Negative factor

Be sure to pay attention to the moisture content of the substrate in the pot. Dry soil not only indicates poor quality of plant care, it is also an extremely negative factor for the tree itself. It has been noticed that coniferous crops whose roots have been overdried die almost one hundred percent.

Health is in the needles

Pay attention to the color of the needles. The presence of brown, brown or yellow shoots should alert you. This is a clear sign of disease or death of the plant. However, green needles

(blue, silver in some forms) is not a 100% guarantee of health. A coniferous plant can remain green all winter, and with the onset spring warmth- quickly crumble.

A large pot for a large Christmas tree!

A knowledgeable buyer will immediately pay attention to the proportionality of the container and the tree. Hardly beautiful lush plant may have been grown in too small a pot. This means that it is very likely that the root system was severely pruned before planting in a new, cramped container, which will have an extremely negative impact on the further viability of the plant.

Christmas tree in a bag

Manufacturers can offer conifers not only in containers, but also with an earthen ball wrapped in burlap. After purchase, such a plant should be removed from the wrapper and planted in a container of a suitable size (preferably 3 - 5 cm in diameter and deeper than the existing lump). It is not advisable to purchase plants with an open root system. Even in regions with cool temperatures, not cold winter, even when dug up in a special area, such conifers take root worse than plants with a closed root system grown in compliance with agricultural techniques.

How to care for a Christmas tree in a pot

Immediately after purchase, you cannot bring the plant into warm room(room), as well as after the holidays - take it outside. Large temperature fluctuations- too much severe stress which can lead to death. If you live in a private house, you should think about whether to dress up the purchased plant in front of the windows of the living room or children's room outside? At the same time, it is not necessary to plant it immediately - you can simply dig the pot deep into the snow.

After all, the plant was purchased specifically for the room; the coniferous plant should be placed on a balcony or terrace for a few days to ensure the smoothest possible temperature transition. During severe frosts, the temperature on the balcony, and especially on the terrace, is negative, so you should cover the pot with an unnecessary blanket or non-woven material. By placing the plant in this way, a weak polyp should be produced.

After 5-7 days (or later if time permits), the plant can be brought into the room. Optimal temperature keeping it indoors is + 16...+19 °C, which, of course, is uncomfortable for humans. Therefore, conifers usually have to put up with the +22… + 24 °C we are used to.

In an apartment or house, conifers need abundant watering and it is advisable high humidity air, for which the container can be placed on a wide platform with expanded clay poured on it. Water needs to be added there systematically. You can also put pieces of ice or snow in the pot - this is not only an additional source of moisture, but also great way cooling the soil and air around the plant. Conifers react to lack of watering by dropping their needles and drying out the branches. Overwatering is also harmful: it causes root rot. Feeding is not needed, as it stimulates the growth of shoots, and our task is not to awaken the plant, but to keep it as safe and sound as possible. Young, weak, immature growth will certainly die when the plant is returned to the terrace or balcony after the holidays.

When placing a spruce tree in a room, you should not choose a place near a heat source (radiator, stove). No matter how romantic the picture of a spruce tree by the fireplace may be, not a trace of the plant’s beauty will remain next to the heat of the fire.

ON A NOTE

After purchasing from a plant, you should wash the needles, since the dust accumulated on them clogs the stomata and disrupts respiration and metabolic processes. You can wash it with a shower, having first wrapped the pot with the substrate in polyethylene so as not to over-moisten the lump.

What to do with live spruce after the New Year?

So, the holiday has died down, you admired the New Year's tree, the children played enough and danced around it...

What does the plant expect now?

As mentioned above, temperature changes are extremely undesirable, especially now, after warm room the plant “woke up”. If the size of the pot and the area of ​​the window sill allows, it is advisable to place the container by the window, where it is a little cooler than in the room itself. This is how you need to maintain the plant before planting it in the garden, providing it with timely watering. If the “spruce” has begun to grow, you can add additional light to it so that the growth is decorative and healthy.

When the plant is too large and the window sill is narrow, you can put it on an insulated balcony. But when negative temperature the tree must be insulated, and not only wrap the container well and put a layer of cardboard or insulation under it, but also throw 1-2 layers nonwoven fabric to the crown. In the future, it is necessary to ensure that the spring sun’s rays do not touch the New Year’s tree, otherwise under cover it may end up as if in a greenhouse: the shoots will begin to grow, and then, with daily drops in temperature, they will freeze.

Besides the harsh winters, coniferous plant Another problem awaits you on the balcony - a small volume of substrate. No matter how low the growth rate of the plant, its roots need to develop, so it is advisable to annually transship the coniferous plant to new container. It should be 3-5 cm wider than the previous one.

After a few years, when the root system reaches a significant size and the container is too large, the plant will have to be planted in the garden. Conifers grown in containers require systematic feeding with complex mineral fertilizer. Feeding is carried out from April-May to the end of July. Starting from August, fertilizers containing nitrogen are eliminated.

If you plan to keep your coniferous plant on the balcony all year round, it should be noted that only a glazed space where the temperature does not drop below - 10 ... - 12 ° C is suitable for this purpose. And in order for the tree to survive harsher cold conditions, you will need to provide careful shelter, especially in the container. After all, coniferous shoots can be tolerated painlessly very coldy, which cannot be said about their root system.

If you do not have the opportunity to even keep a coniferous plant on the balcony, you can take it to the dacha. The pot with the green pet should be placed in a place protected from the wind as much as possible and the tree should be covered with snow to the very top.

Transplanting spruce from a pot into open ground

LONG-WAITED LANDING

Before spring planting of plants in the garden, which is preferably carried out from the end of March to April, you should prepare landing hole. Its diameter should be approximately 20 - 30 cm larger than the diameter of the container. Drainage must be placed at the bottom. The soil mixture for filling the hole should contain turf soil, peat and sand (2:1:1).

When planting a plant, try not to disturb the earthen ball and damage the roots. You can spill or soak a lump of earth in a solution of a growth stimulator - this will help the plant adapt to new conditions and take root better. When planting, the root collar of conifers should neither be raised nor buried, it should be at the level of the soil - if the soil subsides after planting, the plant should be placed on a mound about 5-7 cm high.

If you want to decorate the same coniferous plant in your house for more than one year, then it will be most convenient to transplant it into a larger diameter container, which you then dig into the garden, and with the onset of winter, remove it from the ground and transport it to your apartment or balcony.

Finally, the second half of May has arrived. And if you notice that the buds on the New Year's tree are swollen, you can be congratulated: attention and care helped the plant stay alive and healthy.

Caring for a New Year's tree in a pot - questions and answers, advice from readers

IN Lately Before the New Year, trade began to offer small live Christmas trees in containers. This makes it possible to save the tree’s life by planting it in the country or in the city near the house. But how to make such a Christmas tree take root? Please advise!

Alexander Danilovich STARIKOV, Moscow region, Zelenograd

Indeed, there is a certain danger that during the New Year and Christmas holidays, living trees located in an unusual environment (living quarters) may not withstand such conditions. However, if you follow certain rules, it is quite possible to keep the Christmas tree alive through all the vicissitudes of the festivities. However, a New Year's tree can be pine, thuja, or juniper.

Choosing a tree

It is worth noting that there are two options sold New Year's trees-grown in containers and dug out of the ground. The former, of course, will be more hardy and, most likely, will survive forced stay indoors well. If the plants were dug up and planted in pots shortly before sale, damage to the root system is quite possible, which casts doubt on their adaptation after transplantation into the pound.

You can determine whether a plant is really grown in a container like this: try to remove it a little (4-5 cm) from the container and carefully examine the roots. They should densely braid the lump, and at the very edge they should have a yellowish color.

In dug up trees, the root system will most likely separate from the earth clod, since it has not had time to “grow into it.” It is best to avoid purchasing such plants.

Health check

While the tree gets from the place of cultivation to the counter, a certain time usually passes. And it could have been in the store itself for a relatively long time. And it is quite possible that the plant did not receive proper care. To find out whether the seedling has received watering, you should knock on the container: the duller the sound, the more dry the soil ball is. You can also stick your index finger into the soil to control the moisture content. Overdried plants should also be discarded; it is quite possible that they are already dead. After all, the needles on conifers do not fall off immediately after the plants die.

But even if the humidity is okay, inspect the plant and touch the needles. Damaged bark, dried twigs, yellowed and dry needles can be alarming. It should be green and elastic.

Rules for green "guests"

Since the home environment is unfavorable for conifers, we must try to keep their stay indoors as short as possible. At least, you shouldn’t keep the plants warm for more than two weeks.

For the same reason, it is best to place green “guests” away from heating radiators and other heat sources, and ventilate the room from time to time. You should also try to increase air humidity using special humidifiers. You can periodically spray water from a spray bottle.

The soil in which the tree grows must be watered daily. At the slightest yellowing of the crown, the plant should first be taken to a cooler room, where it should remain for a day or two, and then outside. The same thing - with gradual adaptation to the cold - must be done when the time comes to plant the plant in open ground. This can be done with a lump of earth in winter - the planting hole must be filled with a mixture of earth and peat. An agronomist answered a reader's question

HOME TREE FOR EVERY NEW YEAR

New Year- a family holiday and kind, and somehow this kindness does not fit in with the fact that from the first of the month until the end of the New Year holidays, the number of used-up spruce trees in the city’s landfills increases like an avalanche. At this time, hundreds of thousands of young trees are destroyed as a tribute to tradition.

An artificial spruce is beautiful, but there is absolutely no romance, so many reluctantly choose living, but already cut down spruce trees.

But there is a way out of the situation - you need to take it and buy it live spruce in a pot and grow at home. All you will need to do is bring the spruce in from the street on New Year’s Eve, decorate it and then take it out into the cold again.

Spruce cannot be kept in the house for a long time, she reacts negatively to dry and hot air, and the soil in the pot dries out very quickly, so you need to be careful and careful.

When choosing a live spruce in a pot, give preference natural trees devoid of unnecessary decorations such as sparkles, artificial snow and the like. This may hide some kind of plant defect.

The most common - this is a transplant of spruce from open ground in a pot a few weeks or even days before the New Year. Alas, such a spruce is akin to a cut one - the likelihood that it will continue to grow in a pot is negligible. Usually, after ten days or even faster, after you bring it into the house, such spruce trees will actively begin to shed needles, and the remaining ones will begin to turn yellow.

In addition to decorated fir trees, you should not take those that are simply dug up with a clod of earth and wrapped in burlap. You can purchase such spruces only if you are going to plant them on your site, but they will no longer grow in a pot.

Most best option-purchase spruce from specialized nurseries with a good reputation and be prepared for a serious price for such a tree. Such a spruce will not only effectively decorate the room, but will also improve the health of the air in the house, fill it with the New Year's aroma and lift your spirits.

After you purchase and bring the spruce home, be sure to place it in the brightest and preferably cool place possible, then humidify the air in the room, water the soil in the pot and spray the needles with water.

If the air in the house is dry, then next to the spruce you need to place a bucket or bowl of water so that it evaporates and maintains air humidity at optimal level at least near a tree.

If funds allow, you can buy an electric humidifier.

But even under these conditions, you need to spray the needles with water from a spray bottle at least once every couple of days and preferably use melt water (snow, ice) and always at room temperature.

You need to water the soil in the pot as it dries, avoiding waterlogging or drying out of the soil, and also use melt water.

As the spruce tree grows at home, its needles may still begin to turn yellow, and this manifests itself gradually from the very tips of the needles - this indicates that there is too little moisture in the soil or air, and its deficiency will urgently need to be eliminated.

When the Christmas tree has already fulfilled its New Year's role, you will need to remove all the decorations from it and place it in the yard or on the balcony, where the temperature will not be higher than +6 degrees. When placing a spruce tree on the balcony, you also need to periodically water the soil in the pot, but when you put it outside, the spruce tree needs to be covered with snow as well as possible so that the roots in the pot do not freeze.

IN spring time spruce must be protected from exposure to direct sunlight, otherwise the needles will sunburn may also begin to turn yellow and fall off.

If you wish, you can transplant the spruce with a lump of earth into the garden, but then keep in mind that it is better not to replant it back into the pot, because the spruce is very afraid of transplantation.

Only LED garlands can be hung on a live spruce, as they do not heat up, but incandescent lamps in the garlands will cause burns to the pine needles and wood.

Spruce is a real decoration personal plot. After all, this is a piece of a real forest - mysterious, enigmatic and powerful, not like weak and capricious pears or plums. Squirrels or forest birds can live on the tree, and for the New Year it can be decorated with a garland, and then the estate will turn into a place for a fairy tale.

We choose and plant

In order to plant a Christmas tree on own plot, it is not at all necessary to buy an expensive seedling from a nursery. You can find a small young tree in the forest, dig it up and bring it home. Do it better in early spring or autumn.

A place for a forest guest must be chosen and prepared in advance. Over time, it will grow up to 10 meters, the crown diameter will be 5 meters or more, so plant it next to fruit trees or buildings should not. It is also necessary to take into account the fact that its roots lie shallow, but spread over a vast area, much larger than the crown area. They can cause damage to buildings and other plantings, depleting the soil. It is best to plant the tree at a distance of at least 15 meters from the house and other buildings.

From time to time, needles will fall off the tree, which oxidize the soil. They will need to be collected with a rake and removed from the site, or simply planted nearby with plants that tolerate acidic soil well.

It is also necessary to take into account the presence of communications on the site - electrical wiring or gas pipe, spruce should not be planted next to them.

Dig a hole measuring 70x70x70 cm, make drainage layer at the bottom, pour a little water so that the ground is soaked, and the seedling immediately finds itself in soft, moist soil.

Now you can go into the forest to get a seedling. Find a small tree no taller than 1 meter, with proportionally spaced branches. Examine it to see if there are any serious injuries or birth defects. Determine which branches of the spruce tree face the south and which ones face the north, mark them with tape or another method, so that you can plant it on your site in the same way, focusing on the cardinal points.

Carefully dig up the Christmas tree from all sides at a distance of 30-40 cm from the trunk, remove it from the ground, as far as possible, along with the soil. Wrap the roots in a piece of cotton cloth and take the spoils home.

Fill a bucket or bag with the soil in which the Christmas tree grew. Shoot upper layer- it is more fertile. Thus, the seedling in a new place will find itself in its usual soil and will take root more easily.

At home, install the spruce in a hole, taking into account the cardinal directions, and cover it with earth. You don’t have to remove the fabric, but simply untie it. Water and mulch the circle with pine needles or sawdust.

At first, the seedling is watered frequently, preventing the soil from drying out. It can be shaded from strong sun with an awning or shield. With age, the spruce will get stronger and will easily tolerate both sun and cold, but at a young age, and immediately after transplantation, it must be protected from direct and bright sunlight.

If you want to plant a whole group of Christmas trees, leave a distance of about three meters between them, because over time, small seedlings will turn into tall and spreading trees.

Care

Caring for a spruce tree is not difficult; just loosen the soil around the trunk, water it and feed it. At the same time, they dig up the ground shallowly, trying not to touch the roots.

Only young plants need to be fed with compost or peat. If they are older than five years old, they can do just fine without fertilizers, extracting nutrients roots from the top layer of humus. To make this task easier for them, the soil needs to be moistened 1-2 times a week.

Broken or damaged branches are cut off in the spring, or as needed. When pruning, improperly growing branches, if any, are also removed.

A tree can be prepared for winter by insulating a circle around the trunk, sprinkling it with spruce branches or dry leaves. If sprinkled with peat, it can be left in the spring as fertilizer; the leaves and spruce branches are removed in the spring.