How to plant a blue spruce: rules for growing and caring for at home

The blue spruce is an attractive conifer native to North America. It is distinguished by an unusual color of needles, and therefore attracts the attention of many summer residents. At the same time, not every one of them knows how to plant a blue spruce. When growing a crop, you need to adhere to a number of rules - choose a strong seedling, prepare a place for planting and provide competent care for the culture.

Landing

Planting a plant is easy enough. At the same time, it is important to treat the process responsibly and take into account some of the nuances. You can grow a crop on the site in different ways:

• seeds;
• cutting;
• seedlings.

Depending on the choice of a particular method, a number of rules and recommendations must be followed. First of all, you need to choose the right place to land. Blue spruce needs a lot of light. She also needs a lot of space.

To get a plant with the desired varietal characteristics, it is best to buy ready-made seedlings. Moreover, it is recommended to do this in a specialized nursery. Only in this case, you can be sure of the desired quality of the plant.

How to choose a seedling

If you grow blue spruce from seeds, there is a risk of losing varietal traits. In addition, this method is considered quite complex and laborious. Therefore, experts advise novice gardeners to use seedlings for planting.

It is recommended to buy such plants in specialized nurseries, which create the necessary conditions for keeping. It is important to ensure that the crop is sold in a covered container.

It is important to use seedlings aged 3-5 years for planting, because at this age the roots reach their maximum development and are able to withstand transplantation. The plant itself at this age should have a height of about 80 centimeters.

A he althy seedling has fresh and lively needles. It should not have yellow or dry fragments. The soil in the container should be fairly moist. If the plant is poorly cared for, the soil in the container will dry out. In this case, the plant will not take root during transplantation and will die.

Sometimes gardeners dig up seedlings in the forest. This must be done with a clod of soil around the roots so as not to damage them. It is recommended to pour several buckets of soil into the planting hole from the place where the seedling grows. It must be mixed with the prepared substrate.

Where to plant

For planting blue spruce, you need to choose a well-lit area.It should receive a minimum amount of direct sunlight. Since the spruce root system grows very quickly, it is important to prepare enough space for it. In this case, it is required to avoid close proximity of neighbors. In extreme cases, 2-4 meters from the trunk, it is required to organize growth restraints in the form of a strip foundation.

The sun's rays pose a great danger to young needles. This is true for trees up to 3 years old. Subsequently, the tree can not be closed from the sun.

Since the culture is large and grows strongly in width, you should not place it closer than 20 meters from the house. Otherwise, the long root system of the crop may damage the foundation.

Time to board

To plant a spruce, you need to choose the right time. It is best to carry out the procedure in April. It is also permissible to carry out planting work in the first half of autumn. It is recommended to do this before the first frosts.

During these periods, the plant has not yet begun to actively grow or this phase has already ended. That is why the culture can be easily transplanted without harm to it. If the tree has developed in a container, it can be planted on the site at any time. It is important to avoid damage to the roots while doing this.

Instructions

When growing blue spruce in a summer cottage, she needs to ensure the creation of suitable conditions. It is important to consider the following:

1. Adult culture has a superficial placement of rhizomes. This means that it will take moisture from other plants that grow nearby. To prevent this from happening, it is recommended to plant the crop outside the perimeter of the site or provide for systematic abundant watering.
2. To ensure a quick adaptation of the seedling in a new place, when transplanting it, it is recommended to pay attention to the cardinal directions. In this case, the culture must be positioned in accordance with the coordinates in the natural growth environment.
3. Before planting spruce, it is recommended to fertilize the hole. For 1 landing pit, it is worth using 100-150 grams of nitroammofoska.
4. The roots of the plant do not withstand open air space. To avoid drying out, the root system should be kept out of the ground as little as possible. If this is not possible, the rhizome should be wrapped in a damp cloth.

When placing blue spruce in the garden, the planting process must include a number of successive steps.

In order for the culture to adapt normally to new conditions, the following actions are required:

1. 2 weeks before planting, dig a recess in the selected place. In width and depth, it should be 25 centimeters more than a clod of soil with a seedling. On average, it is worth focusing on the parameters of 60x60 centimeters.
2. At the bottom of the recess, put a drainage consisting of crushed bricks, and pour a nutrient soil mixture. To do this, you need to combine 50% of the topsoil, 30% of neutralized peat and 10% of humus and sand.
3. Process the root system of the culture with a clay mash. After it dries, the plant can be placed in a recess and the roots are carefully leveled.
4. Sprinkle the rhizome with the remaining soil and compact it a little. After that, the plant must be well watered.
5. Drive a wooden peg near the seedling and tie the trunk to it.
6. Sprinkle the trunk circle with sawdust and mulch with peat. This will help maintain optimal moisture parameters of the root system.

Care

In order for blue spruce cultivation to be successful, it is important to provide it with quality care. At the same time, the culture needs to be watered in time, fed from time to time, protected from pathologies and parasites. Young trees also need quality preparation for winter.

Water and fertilize

Blue spruce is a moisture-loving plant.However, excess moisture is contraindicated for her. In this case, the probability of rotting of the root system is high. When planting small seedlings in a greenhouse or when growing at home, it is important to monitor the presence of drops on the glass of the greenhouse or in the pan.

After planting a crop in an open area, it is recommended to control the condition of the upper soil layer. If, when the earth is squeezed in a fist, it crumbles, this means that it is time to moisten the plant.

Usually, when growing blue spruce on the site in spring and autumn, there is enough natural rainfall. In the summer, the plant requires additional watering. Immediately after planting, seedlings are recommended to be moistened several times a week. However, next year it is enough to water the spruce once a month. Moreover, this is required to be done in case of drying out of the soil under the scorching sun. For 1 spruce watering, it is worth using 40-50 liters of water.

The use of nutrients is important. For blue spruce, it is recommended to choose special preparations that are designed for coniferous crops. In particular, Pokon blends are highly effective.

For the first time, it is recommended to feed the plants at the time of planting. Subsequently, the manipulation should be performed 2 times during the season. At the same time, 30 grams of granules and 20 grams of Epsom s alts are required for 1 plant.

Humus or other organic means in this case, it is better not to use. Conifers are recommended to be fed with more suitable products.

Preparing for cold weather

Adult blue spruces do not need additional protection. At the same time, small plants measuring 50 centimeters require warming. The bottom line is that during heavy snowfalls the tree does not break. It also helps to protect against direct exposure to sunlight in winter and early spring.

To protect the spruce from snow, it is enough to tie it. To do this, the branches need to be lifted from the bottom up, tied with a rope or pulled with a net. To protect the crop from direct sunlight, the tree must be covered with a non-woven fabric.

Pest control

Blue spruce often suffers from fungal infections. Such problems arise in conditions of high humidity, thickening of plantings, infection of the soil. They are also often passed down from other cultures. Before buying, the seedling must be carefully inspected.

To protect the crop and prevent its death, you need to know how to prevent problems from occurring. Of the diseases, the plant most often suffers from shutte, fusarium, alternariosis, tracheomycosis. Also, blue spruce is prone to the development of ulcerative cancer, rust, pine spinner.

Among the pests that most often attack this crop, it is worth highlighting the scale insect, Hermes, and spider mites. They not only harm the plant themselves, but also carry fungal and bacterial diseases.

To avoid infection of the crop with fungi and pest attacks, it is recommended to carry out preventive measures. In this case, you should do the following:

1. Plant coniferous plants in well-lit and spacious areas. They should be well blown and have optimal soil moisture parameters. If you plant a crop in a swampy area, there is a risk of its decay.
2. Do not plant blue spruce near plants that carry various diseases. At the same time, you should avoid the neighborhood with tomatoes, berry bushes and potatoes.
3. As top dressing, use exclusively microfertilizers and immunostimulating agents that are designed specifically for conifers.
4. Water the plants regularly but in moderation. It is important to avoid stagnant moisture near the roots of the crop.
5. Get rid of dry, broken or disease-damaged branches in time. At the same time, it is desirable to burn them in time.
6. With the advent of spring, carry out preventive treatment of the crown with chemicals. They should contain quite a lot of copper. Before the next watering or rainfall, it is recommended to sprinkle the plantings with ash.

Blue spruce is a widespread coniferous culture, which has excellent decorative properties. That is why the plant is often used in landscape design. In order for the culture to become a real decoration of the site, it is important to adhere to the basic rules for planting.

Comprehensive plant care is also of great importance. To prevent the tree from being attacked by parasites and developing diseases, it is recommended to carry out preventive treatments.

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