Living tree in a pot: decorating a house in winter and a garden in summer

Choosing a live spruce to plant in the garden after the holiday

More recently, an alternative to artificial Christmas trees and live “disposable” ones has appeared. Many of our members of the forum are interested in whether it is possible to buy a Christmas tree in a pot for celebrating the New Year, which will then grow in the garden. Here is what a member of our portal writes.

Kombat93

FORUMHOUSE member

Hello! I bought a spruce, help with how to care for it? How to water (a lot, a little, how often, etc.) Where is the best place to water? And in general for care, the Internet gives little, only descriptions of the species in the main. I think you can help me!

We decided to study this topic to help you choose and properly care for spruce in a tub. On the forum, many readers share their experience in this matter. How to choose the right one, take care of the green beauty, so that later plant her on the site? Let's figure it out.

Content

• We buy a Christmas tree
• Pay attention to the roots
• Species diversity
instagram viewer
• Home care
• How to keep a tree in a pot before transplanting?
• Outdoor transplant
• Spruce care on the site
• Several myths about potted fir trees

We buy a Christmas tree

If you want to grow a Christmas tree in the garden, you need to approach it responsibly. After growing in tubs, dwarf breeds of conifers take root well.

When buying a spruce, pay attention to the features of the species. It must be cold-resistant. It is desirable that this indicator be one or even two zones higher than your climatic zone. The roots in the tub freeze faster than after transplanting into open ground.

Pay attention to the roots

It is important to pay attention to the root system of the tree and the size of the spruce. Conifers are sold as follows:

• with an open root system;
• with an earthen lump;
• in containers.

Tatham

Participant FORUMHOUSE

Please advise! I want to buy a real Christmas tree, so that it smells, a meter and a half (at least), dress it up for the New Year, and then plant it in the garden. I thought maybe I could go to the nursery... To bother or not?

Answering a question from our reader, it is worth noting that a large tree is sold with an open root system. Such trees are bought on special plantations. You can independently dig the plant you like (or the service staff will do it in front of you).

Small, young trees take root. Adults, large spruce trees adapt worse to new conditions. The advantage of buying a tree dug out in front of you is a moist root system. She definitely did not have time to dry up, so the chances of success are great. At home, the tree is left in a bucket of water for several hours. It is then transplanted into a large container of conifer soil.

Fir trees with an earthen ball were specially grown in such a way that the stress during transplantation was minimal. The root system is kept hydrated. For this reason, the earth ball is wrapped in burlap. After the purchase, it is removed, the tree is placed in a tub with moist soil. The chance that the plant will take root is higher than that of trees with open roots.

If the plant was sold in a container, lift it out of the pot. The roots should look healthy, fresh, and the soil should be moist. A properly selected variety will be suitable for growing in a tub or for planting in a garden area.

Species diversity

Many people doubt whether it is possible to keep a Christmas tree in a pot until it can be planted in the ground. Our user with a nickname MurenaD there are already several trees planted in the ground after they celebrated the New Year at home.

To achieve this result, you need to choose the right type of spruce. Suitable for this are:

• Norway spruce (European). Ornamental varieties are chosen, such as Compacta, Nidiformis. They grow no more than 2 m in height.
• Gray spruce (white, Canadian). This plant is frost-resistant, undemanding to growing conditions. The height of an adult tree reaches 25 m, so decorative species are bought, for example, Conica, Echiniformis. Their height does not exceed 1.5 m.
• Blue spruce (prickly). A beautiful plant up to 25 m high. It takes root well in our climate.
• Scots pine. Winter-hardy tree, undemanding to care. The pine tree is light-requiring, it grows up to 40 m in height.
• Common fir. Grows well in the countryside. Does not tolerate air pollution.
• Nordman fir (Danish, Caucasian). A suitable variety for growing in climates with frosts down to -29 ° C is called Jadviga. The rest of the Nordman fir is more thermophilic, suitable for the southern regions.

Home care

Having chosen a suitable Christmas tree, upon arrival home, you need to perform several mandatory steps. If you want to plant a Christmas tree in the ground in spring, you must not allow the plant to "wake up" from hibernation. It should be warm for a short time. MurenaD brings the tree from the balcony into the house for just a few hours. It is permissible for the tree to be warm for 1-2 days.

Having brought a plant from a nursery or store, the whole pot is soaked in water for 2-3 hours - the earthen ball should become completely wet. After the excess water is drained. The plant is now set in a large container with fertile soil for conifers. Gravel is poured at the bottom, creating drainage. Some water is poured here.

The Christmas tree is placed in a cool place in the room (preferably near the balcony, window, etc.), away from heating appliances. You don't need to fertilize the tree. You can decorate the spruce with light toys, tinsel. If you definitely want to use a garland, choose a low wattage model with lamps that do not heat up. After celebrating the New Year, immediately transfer the tree to the cold, for example, to the balcony.

How to keep a tree in a pot before transplanting?

You need to properly care for the Christmas tree, which is located indoors. She needs moderate watering. The ground should not be dry or too wet. You also need to spray the crown from a spray bottle and maintain normal air humidity in the room. Watering is carried out with settled water at room temperature.

It is important to monitor the condition of the earthen coma. As soon as it becomes dry, water the soil evenly with a little water. After the holiday, the spruce is put on the glazed balcony, insulating the pot with a blanket. You need to transplant the plant into open ground as soon as the ground becomes soft. This can happen in spring, but thaws occur in some regions. If the ground has become soft, it is permissible to transplant the plant even in winter.

Outdoor transplant

Usually, it becomes possible to transplant a tree to a garden plot in February-April. The sooner you do this, the better. Spruce grows well on loams and sandstones. The plant does not like compacted soils.

A pit for transplantation is being prepared on the site - the diameter should be 25-35 cm larger than the earthen lump. Make the walls vertical. A drainage pad of 10 cm of crushed stone or gravel and 10 cm of sand is laid down.

It is necessary to prepare the soil in which the spruce will grow. To do this, mix one part of peat and sand, two parts of sod land. The tree is planted taking into account that the soil will sag by about 6-8 cm. Having installed a tree with an earthen lump in the hole, it is gradually sprinkled with the prepared substrate. Each layer is compacted around the coma. The spruce root collar remains at ground level.

During planting, root system stimulants are used, for example, "Heteroauxin" or "Kornevin". They are introduced into the soil in an amount of about 120-150 g.

Spruce care on the site

Most conifers do not tolerate drought well. Therefore, in hot, dry weather, you need to water the tree. The procedure is performed once a week. On average, one spruce needs 9-12 liters of water. For young plants, it is important to shallow loosening to a depth of 7 cm.

It is necessary to ensure that the soil does not compact, most types of spruce cannot stand this. After winter, the peat substrate is mixed with ordinary garden soil.

Periodically pruning (plucking) of the dominant branches is carried out. Lateral shoots can be pruned to form a crown.

Pruning is carried out before the beginning of the growing season in early spring. The weather should be dry outside. Examine the crown of the plant to determine where new shoots are emerging. They usually grow in the correct order to be observed when pruning. It is necessary to shorten too long, bare shoots. This stimulates the formation of a lush crown. The branching of the plant will intensify.

You need to prune immediately after the place where the shoot begins to branch. The procedure is carried out only for strong, healthy trees. The branches should be shortened to a green shoot, not brown, dry areas. Otherwise, new shoots will not appear. Only from the green areas with needles will new branches appear after pruning.

If you do not want to prune and the crown is irregular, you can fix the branches in the desired position. They can be tied up or propped up. Over time, they will "get used" to this and will grow correctly.

Several myths about potted fir trees

In order to prevent a fatal mistake when growing a Christmas tree in a pot for further transplanting it into the garden, you need to pay attention to common myths. Some sellers and nursery workers unknowingly give buyers incorrect information. Here are some of the most common myths:

• Myth 1: If the temperature is not higher than +20 ° C in the room where the spruce is kept in the tub, it will survive the winter perfectly. In reality, even at a temperature of +15 ° C, the tree enters the growing season. It is useless to replant a tree during the period of sap flow, it will not take root.
• Myth 2: A gradual adaptation of the tree to the outdoor temperature is required. In fact, the tree begins to prepare for wintering in the fall. This is a lengthy process that takes several months. Therefore, if the spruce is out of its dormant state (it has stood in a warm room for many days), it will not be possible to “adapt” it to the cold in a few days.
• Myth 3: The earthen ball should be watered abundantly during the New Year holidays. In fact, dry air in the room comes from heating devices. It dries up the soil in the container and the needles. Therefore, the tree should not be in such conditions for long. Abundant watering will not save the needles from drying out.
• Myth 4: Periodic spraying will help the needles not dry out. In reality, the indoor air should have a humidity of at least 50% for the plant to feel good. If the room has heating devices, spraying will not help. You need to constantly stand near the tree with a spray bottle. Therefore, only a special humidifier will help.

By observing the listed requirements for growing a Christmas tree in a pot, you can dress up a living tree for the New Year. Then you transplant it into the garden so that the plant becomes a decoration of landscape design.

Prefer potted spruce? Click Like!

Together with the spruce in the garden, you can plant others evergreens. And out of season you can do indoor miniature garden. In the video - do it yourself landscaping: when the first pancake is not lumpy.

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