How to transplant a blue spruce: when is it better to carry out the procedure and how to do it correctly

Blue spruce is a very popular crop, which is often grown in suburban areas. It is considered quite unpretentious to the conditions. However, to maintain the decorativeness of the culture, it is necessary to provide high-quality care. Sometimes gardeners have a question about how best to transplant a blue spruce. In order for the plant to adapt to new conditions, it is important to follow a number of rules.

Is it possible to transplant an adult spruce

The average life expectancy of blue spruce is several hundred years. In this case, an adult is considered a tree over 5 years old. Up to 10 years, the culture develops rather slowly. However, subsequently it increases by 60-70 centimeters during the year.

Certainly, transplanting a 5-year-old, 3-meter-tall young spruce is considered an easier task than moving a 15-year-old 7-meter specimen. However, with the right tools and skills, this is entirely possible.

In fact, the main difficulty lies only in moving a heavy and large plant. Otherwise, preparing a site for planting and extracting a crop from a previous site are comparable to the actions to be performed with a young tree.

When is the best time to transplant

In order for the blue spruce to withstand transplanting normally, this procedure should be performed at rest. This means that the manipulation is carried out before the buds open and the active movement of juices in the tissues.

Usually the required conditions can be created in early spring or late autumn. Large spruces are completely transplanted in winter. At the same time, it is important to maintain the integrity of the soil coma and the roots that are in it.In summer, replanting spruce trees is possible only if we are talking about a young seedling with closed roots bought from a nursery.

Digging instructions

To plant a new tree in the garden, it is important to properly remove it from the old place. To do this, it is recommended to follow these rules:

1. Give preference to young plants up to 1.5 meters high.
2. Dig the tree according to the diameter of the crown.
3. Gradually deepen the shovel from three sides and form an earthen ball.
4. Deepen the tool from the fourth side. This should be done at an angle as deep as possible to bring the tree up to the surface.
5. Take out the dug up spruce and put it on its side. Cotton cloth is required under the root.
6. Tie the ends of the material in pairs. Thanks to this, it will be possible to protect the spruce rhizome with a clod of soil from mechanical factors during transportation.

If the soil around the spruce turned out to be too dry and crumbly, the earth needs to be watered abundantly before digging up the tree. It is required to extract the culture only after complete absorption of moisture and compaction of the substrate. The tree needs to be transplanted to the site with soil from the previous place. To do this, you need to prepare a recess, taking into account the size of the earth coma. The diameter of the hole is at least 70-80 centimeters.

Landing at a new location

Planting a spruce in a new place is required by the rules. It is important to prepare the site and adhere to a number of landing recommendations.

Soil preparation

Not all areas are suitable for the full-fledged cultivation of blue spruce. Therefore, it is worth replanting the culture, taking into account the location in the natural growth environment. In the case of purchasing seedlings in a nursery, you should ask the owner for this information.

The most suitable option would be a well-lit area that is closed from direct sunlight. This place should be at least 10 meters from buildings. The occurrence of groundwater is of no small importance. They should be 2 meters from the ground. This helps to avoid excessive soil moisture and moisture stagnation near the roots.

When preparing a hole for planting a plant in the ground, do not add humus or other nitrogenous substances. The plant does not tolerate them and may not take root on the site. After choosing a landing site, you need to dig a suitable recess. This must be done taking into account the size of the seedling soil clod.

At the bottom of the pit, it is required to pour out a composition of sand and sawdust. You can also add needles collected in the forest to it and apply acidic mineral fertilizers. However, the last component is used only if the substrate is not sufficiently acidic.

Crushed brick or granite stones can be used as drainage. However, they should not be laid out in a separate layer. It is much better to mix all the ingredients with the earth. Before planting the plant, the substrate is recommended to be slightly moistened and loosened. After that, you need to make a small hill on which you need to install a tree.

If the soil lump is dense and has an even cylindrical shape, you can not use the embankment. In this case, the plant should be placed on a flat surface of the recess for planting. If you plan to plant several trees at the same time, the distance between them should be at least 3 meters. Moreover, this rule only works if another transplant is expected later.

Mature trees are characterized by a highly developed root system. Therefore, they can interfere with each other and even stop their growth. To avoid such problems, the interval between small seedlings should be increased to 5-10 meters.

Step by step instructions

A few days after preparing the recess for planting, it is required to pour a little nutrient soil into it. To prepare the substrate, it is recommended to mix leaf soil, turf, sand and peat in a ratio of 2:2:1:1. Then you need to loosen the ground again. After that, it is permissible to proceed to the landing work. To correctly place the spruce in the recess, you need to do the following:

1. Lower the dug-out tree into the recess right in the wrapping fabric. This will help avoid damaging the small roots.
2. Fill the remaining space in the recess with soil. However, it is important to ensure that the root collar remains flush with the ground. When transplanting a large tree, it should rise 3-5 centimeters above the ground surface.
3. It is good to fill voids around the root system and compact the substrate.
4. Plentifully water the transplanted tree. It is advisable to pour out the water in stages. This will help saturate the root system with moisture. At the same time, the moistened soil will be well distributed over the voids.
5. Cover the trunk circle with mulch. To do this, you can use sawdust, straw, compost or peat. The thickness of the mulching layer should be 5 centimeters. Thanks to this procedure, the moisture in the soil will remain much longer.

In order for the transplanted spruce to quickly adapt to new conditions, immediately after transplantation, it can be watered with a solution of a root formation stimulator. For this purpose, you can use "Kornevin" or any other drug.

Caring for a transplanted tree

In order for the spruce to develop normally after transplantation, it needs to provide full and high-quality care. It should be comprehensive and include watering, fertilizing, loosening and mulching. Of no small importance is the seasonal treatment of plants from pathologies and pests. They can significantly impair the decorative properties of the tree.

When and how to water

Seedlings need systematic moisture. A 1 year old plant needs to be watered several times a day. To do this, use a small amount of water. Since the root system of the crop is shallow, it will not immediately absorb all the liquid.

In the heat, it is worth using 10 liters of water per tree. It is recommended to moisten the soil in the evenings. For watering, use only warm liquid.

Sprinkling and sprinkling are considered important points in care. These procedures help to clean the branches of dust and give the tree additional decorative properties. They are recommended to be carried out at intervals of 2-3 days.

During watering, it is important to ensure that water falls clearly under the root, and not on the needles. In case of excessive moistening of the needles, sunburn appears on it. As a result, the tree will lose its decorative effect.

When choosing nutrients for feeding blue spruce, it is recommended to buy ready-made formulations that are designed specifically for conifers. It is best to give preference to products without a large amount of nitrogen. An excess of this substance can cause the death of the culture.

Loosening

After watering and precipitation, the trunk circle must be loosened. It is important to consider that the root system of blue spruce is located near the very surface of the earth. This means that it is extremely careful to work on the soil in order to avoid damage to the root system.

When loosening, deepening tools is a maximum of 7-10 centimeters. After this procedure, it is recommended to mulch the trunk circle. For this, it is permissible to use peat, straw or sawdust. The thickness of this layer should be 5 centimeters. This will help retain moisture and reduce the amount of watering. Mulch should be changed at least 1-2 times a year.

Pest control

When orange spots appear on spruce, it is permissible to use special products. With severe damage to the branch, it is necessary to cut or remove the entire tree. This will help avoid infecting other fir trees.

When burnt shoots appear on a tree, one can suspect a defeat by a spruce sawfly. To cope with parasites, it is worth processing the branches with Fufanon. To prepare the solution, it is recommended to take 20 grams of the product and mix it with 1 liter of water.

When the spruce turns yellow, it is possible to suspect the defeat of the tree by spruce-fir hermes. In this case, lumps of white cotton wool appear under the trees. To eliminate them, it is worth using a solution of "Horns" or "Antio". To prepare it for 1 liter of water, you need to take 20 grams of the drug.

If a tree is damaged by stem pests, holes of 5 milliliters in size appear in the structure of the bark. Improving the conditions of detention and treating the plant with insecticidal preparations will help to cope with them.

When there is a lack of sun or exposure to negative factors, there is a risk of spruce branches drying up on a certain side. In this case, it is necessary to create a shadow for spruce or improve its growing conditions.

Of the diseases, spruce is more prone to fungal infections. Fungicides - "Aktellik", "Caesar", "Nurel-D" will help to cope with them. It is recommended to spray plantings with a solution of such preparations 2-3 times during the season. It is recommended to do this with an interval of 2-3 weeks. Treatment of plants with fungicides should be carried out in warm weather to avoid washing off the active substances by precipitation.

In order not to face pest attacks and the development of diseases, you need to follow the rules of prevention. In this case, you need to do the following:

1. Plant conifers in well-lit and spacious areas. They must be blown by the wind. The moisture level of the substrate is also important.
2. Refuse to plant blue spruce near plants that carry various diseases. It can be berry bushes, tomatoes or potatoes.
3. Apply microfertilizers and immunostimulating agents that are designed specifically for conifers.
4. Water the crop systematically but moderately. It is important to avoid stagnant moisture near the roots.
5. Immediately remove or burn branches damaged by pathologies or parasites.
6. Copper-rich chemicals should be used in spring.
7. Sprinkle the conifer with ash before watering or rainfall.

Transplantation of blue spruce has a number of characteristic features. In order for this culture to grow and develop normally, you need to choose the right place for it and strictly adhere to the recommendations for planting. After that, the plant must be properly watered, loosened and fed. Of no small importance is the protection of culture from pathologies and pests.

Recommended