Spruce in a pot: how to plant and care at home, what kind of soil is needed

Growing spruce in a pot has many features. In order for the culture to retain its attractiveness, it is important to carry out planting work correctly. Proper plant care is also important. It should include systematic watering, fertilization, pruning. Thanks to this, the culture will retain its decorative effect as long as possible.

Which spruce is better to plant in a pot

Not all types of fir trees develop well at home. To get a beautiful coniferous plant, you should choose the following types of fir trees:

• ordinary;
• araucaria;
• Konika;
• dwarf blue spruce varieties.

Don't take seedlings to grow in the forest. A wild crop may not take root in a container. Therefore, experts advise buying decorative varieties in specialized nurseries.

It is important to avoid purchasing conifers decorated with toys or sparkles. Such seedlings are treated with aerosols that cause clogging of pores. This results in the death of culture.

When buying a crop, consider the following:

1. The needles should be evenly colored, flexible and resilient.
2. Shoots should not be overdried. It is important that they remain elastic and easily bend in different directions.
3. There can be no cracks or peeling on the bark. Also, it should not contain flaky areas.
4. The capacity should match the size of the crown diameter. Sufficient height is also of great importance - the root system should not be visible from the drainage holes.

Planting instructions

Decorative spruces are highly susceptible to movement from one substrate to another. Therefore, landing work is important to carry out correctly. The roots are considered the most vulnerable part of the tree. They take root after transplantation within 3 months. It is best to move the spruce to a new location in the spring.

First you need to prepare the substrate. It is recommended to purchase it in the nursery when buying spruce. However, if desired, the soil can be made with your own hands. To do this, you need to mix lowland peat, vermiculite, sand, perlite. It is required to add wood ash to the resulting composition - 20% of the total amount of the mixture.

When choosing a container for planting, you should give preference to plastic containers. It does not overheat in summer and does not freeze in winter. To activate the development of the roots, you should plant a spruce in a fairly free container.

After transplanting, the plants shed part of the needles, and the tips of the branches begin to dry out. This process is related to adaptation. When the right conditions are created, the tree will quickly recover. To carry out planting work, it is recommended to do the following:

1. Plentifully water the spruce.
2. Pour boiling water over a new container to get rid of bacteria.
3. Place drainage on the bottom. Its thickness should be 5-10 centimeters.
4. A 5 cm nutrient substrate must be placed over the drainage.
5. Remove the spruce from the tank and look at the state of the root system. If there are damaged or rotted areas, it is recommended to cut them off and treat with wood ash.
6. Place the spruce in a new container. It is important that the root neck is at the same level as in the previous container.
7. Fill voids with soil.
8. Water the tree with 1 liter of water.

When planting in winter, the earthen ball on the roots should be left and moved with it to a new pot. In the spring, it is enough to gently wash off the soil with running water and completely replace it with a new substrate.

Tree care

In order for a plant to develop normally, it is important to understand what kind of care it needs. Before bringing the culture into the house, it needs to be stopped for several days in a cool room. Otherwise, a sharp change in temperature will provoke the beginning of growth. This will lead to the rapid development of the root system and weaken the culture.

Where to put the pot

Firs need moist and cool air. Therefore, the place for it must be chosen very carefully. There should be no heating devices nearby. Also, the plant does not tolerate increased dryness of the air. Therefore, the room needs to be periodically ventilated and moistened.In winter, the plant is at rest, so it needs to be moved to a cool place.

Irrigation

Coniferous plants that are grown in containers need a lot of moisture. Therefore, they need to be watered at intervals of 2 days. For 1 time under the spruce it is worth pouring 2-3 liters of water. However, excess moisture also harms the culture. It provokes rotting of the root system. To determine the required amount of water, it is worth focusing on the drying of the soil. In addition to root watering, spruce trees need crown spraying.

In winter, the culture rests, therefore it needs to be watered less often - 1 time in 3 weeks. The procedure is carried out at a temperature of + 6-10 degrees. With parameters of 0 degrees, it is required to moisten the soil no more than 1 time per month. In the summer, this should be done 1-2 times a day. For this purpose, it is worth using settled water.

Feeding

During the active period of development - from May to September - the culture needs to be watered 1-2 times a month with solutions of mineral fertilizers. They are sold in flower shops. Spruce does not need other additives. In this regard, she is considered very unpretentious. In winter, feeding the culture is not required. At this time, she enters a period of rest.

Do I need to transplant

After purchasing, a spruce seedling needs to be transplanted into a new container. The subsequent development of the conifer depends on the correctness of this procedure. When transplanting, it is important to consider the following:

1. This procedure is considered quite stressful for a tree. Therefore, it should be carried out a maximum of 1 time in 2-3 years. But with intensive growth of needles and too strong development of roots, it is better to transplant immediately. Otherwise, the root system will fill all the free space in the pot.
2. For transplanting, choose a transparent plastic container. This will help control the development of the root system and monitor soil moisture. Equally important is the presence of large holes that do not clog.
3. The seedling should be taken out for transplanting with a clod of soil. It must not have open roots.
4. For a coniferous plant, it is required to prepare a sufficiently acidic soil. At the bottom, be sure to make a drainage layer.

Growing spruce in a pot is considered a rather complicated and time-consuming process that requires compliance with a number of rules and recommendations. In order for the culture to grow and develop normally, it needs to be properly looked after.

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