The decoration of any garden will be a stately fluffy handsome cedar - a symbol of health and well-being. In nature, a tree is considered a long-liver: on average, cedar lives 400 years, reaching a height of 40 m or more. Cedar trees in the natural environment begin to bear fruit in 40-60 years. The place for future planting is chosen based on the size of an adult tree. The roots of cedar pine grow in breadth with age and can damage the foundation of buildings.
How to grow a cedar from a nut at home
Growing a cedar from a nut at home is not a quick task, but an exciting one. As a result, there will be a spectacular evergreen tree on the site near the house, capable of not only giving tasty and healthy fruits, but also saturating the air with plant antibiotics - phytoncides.
Cedar forest
Where to get the necessary seed composition
The first thing you need to get a quality planting material. In nature, cedar pine is propagated by seeds ripening in cones for two years. Seeds for planting need to be purchased in specialized gardening stores, nurseries, on Internet sites. Planting material should be kept at the optimum temperature for no more than a year.
Cedar seeds
How to sprout pine nuts at home
The nuts selected for sowing should be large, with an intact shell, without signs of mold and an unpleasant odor. For the prevention of fungal diseases, seed is etched in a weak solution of potassium permanganate (potassium permanganate) for 2-3 hours.
After ripening, the seeds of pine cedar need winter rest. To germinate pine nuts and increase seed germination at home, stratification is needed that mimics natural processes. Step-by-step process:
- Selected nuts are laid out on a gauze or paper towel at a distance of 1-1.5 cm.
- Wet with plenty of water. In this case, it is convenient to use a spray gun.
- The moistened seeds are covered with another layer of gauze, re-moistened over a napkin.
- Having placed the prepared nuts in a plastic container, they are sent for storage in the refrigerator.
This process takes at least three months at temperatures up to 50 ° C.
How to germinate cedar seedlings
Young planting care
With the onset of spring, daylight hours increase, and then stratified seeds can be sown in prepared soil. It should be light, breathable and breathable. A mixture of sand and peat in a ratio of 1: 3 or a purchased mixture for conifers is suitable as planting soil.
Capacity for growing
You can use for germination ordinary balcony flower containers, wooden or plastic boxes. So that the soil does not wake up through the holes, the bottom is lined with covering material, cardboard or gauze.
Planting and Watering Rules
Seeds are planted with the pointed end down, not deepening, but only slightly pressing in, at a distance of 2-3 cm between the strips and put out for germination on a window or under a phytolamp. Pour the nuts right after sowing, in the future the soil needs to be moistened regularly, avoiding drying out. In order not to harm the hatching sprouts, moisten the seedlings from the spray gun. To ensure air access, the soil is gently loosened with a toothpick.
For your information! At room temperature, the seeds hatch for several days.
To grow a cedar from a nut to the first fruits at home with sufficient lighting will take 15-20 years. Seed germination is 30-50%. The vegetation period of cedar pine is very short, only 40-45 days a year. This leads to slow plant growth.
Cedar seedlings in a container
How to transplant a cedar
The first transplant of a cedar seedling, by analogy with a dive, will be a transplant in a separate container or in a school for growing. Before transplanting the cedar, it is important to find out the details: plants need good lighting, while direct sunlight at summer noon is destructive for them.
Be sure to monitor the soil moisture. Regular watering will provide comfortable conditions for the growth of young pines. In the summer, you can arrange a shower for seedlings and adult plants. This should be done in the late afternoon, after the heat subsides, so as not to provoke sunburn on the needles.
Important! Root competition is bad for tree development. To ensure proper nutrition, it is necessary to prevent thickening in the school, to remove weeds in time.
Cedar seedlings in the school
The roots of cedar pine grow close to the surface, from excess moisture, they can rot.
The average age of a seedling for planting in a permanent place is 3-5 years. Plants develop in different ways, seedlings of the same age can vary significantly in size. Better to focus on the size of the tree. Large, well-developed can be planted earlier, the rest are left to grow for another year. The optimal height for landing is 1.5-2 m.
Cedar is a large, powerful plant, the distance between seedlings must be observed at least 3-4 m. The root system of conifers has a main stem root and numerous branches that grow near the soil surface. Light soil is necessary for proper air circulation.
A hole for the tree is dug 1.5-2 times wider than the root coma. Half filled with a mixture of peat, humus and sand, which will provide young pine with nutrients.
Young tree
For your information! Cedar is a mycotropic plant. Mycorrhiza, otherwise fungus root is a successful symbiosis of mycelium and root cells. Settling on the roots, the mycelium cells provide the plant with the supply of nutrients, sometimes specially processing them. For the formation of mycorrhiza, forest land with mushroom residues is added to the planting pit.
Mandatory mulching of the basal region, thus retaining moisture around the roots, inhibits the development of weeds. If the soil is heavy, clayey, a layer of mulch protects the plant from drying out in the winter.
The correct option, close to natural conditions - coniferous-deciduous litter, moss. Mulching promotes the formation of subordinate roots, which enhance plant nutrition and accelerate its growth. Every year, the mulch layer needs to be updated.
Cedar pine trees are not afraid of temperature changes. They steadfastly endure both frosts and heat, do not suffer from return frosts. With age, annual growth is 50 cm.
Starting from the age of 10, young trees do not need special care, except for fertilizing once every three years.
Important! Excess nitrogen in the soil inhibits the growth and development of cedar pine, a plant needs much more potassium and phosphorus fertilizing.
Crown formation
Cedar pine trees can be used in container plantations, in open areas and even as a bonsai. To preserve decorativeness, cedar, like any coniferous or deciduous plant in a garden plot, undergoes crown formation from an early age. You can create a sprawling tree with lowered branches of the tent tree by removing the lower branches of the tree during the first 10 years at an altitude of 2-2.5 m from the root.
Having removed the branch flush with the trunk, they cover the wound with garden var. This procedure is carried out before the start of the plant vegetation, in winter or autumn.
Important! Coniferous trees should be planted away from buildings. If lightning or sparks get in, their resinous wood can cause a fire.
Cedar pine with fruits
Cedar is a coniferous or deciduous tree
This, of course, is a coniferous plant. In addition, sometimes Siberian cedar pine is often called cedar, although in fact these are two different types of plants.
According to the encyclopedic description, Siberian cedar pine (Siberian cedar) - an evergreen coniferous plant, is one of the species of the genus Pine. The length of the needles is 7-10 cm.
Pine nuts are industrially harvested in Siberia and the Urals. Delicious, rich in vitamins and amino acids, they serve as raw materials for cedar oil. Cedar gum resin has a pronounced disinfecting and healing effect.
Light durable wood has a beautiful yellow-pink color, very fragrant. Used for the manufacture of furniture, pencils, musical instruments.
Rich with different shades of foliage, highly decorative, in parks around the world you can find group and single plantings of the Siberian giant.
Growing cedar is difficult, but possible. The main thing is to follow the sequence of actions and buy quality planting material in advance.
