How to propagate blue spruce cuttings

The natural habitat of blue firs is small and located in North America. Today, however, these conifers can be found in many parts of the world. Due to its resistance to harsh natural conditions, these plants have become very popular. Consider how you can breed blue spruces on their own and, thus, significantly save their finances.

Description of a coniferous plant

Blue spruce has always stood out among its fellows. The shades of its needles are from blue to blue-gray, the crown has a conical appearance and is dotted with oblong cones. The largest age in a natural habitat is up to 700 years. In our latitudes such plantations live for about a century. The average height of trees is 30 m, although sometimes there are giants twice as large. Today, breeders bred more than 70 species, including massive and stunted trees, and even creeping along the ground.Some varieties allowed trees to turn into a shrub that rises 50 cm above the ground and has a width of up to 2 meters.

The most common breeding method

Spruce can be propagated by seeds and cuttings. Seeds can be purchased at garden centers or they can be harvested independently from cones. Seeds will need a lot, because they do not germinate very large. In addition, this method of reproduction does not guarantee the preservation of maternal qualities. But the reproduction of coniferous cuttings of the same popular both at home and in industry scale. The bottom line is the use of parts of the branches of spruce to get a full-fledged tree as a result.

Cutting: terms and conditions

Cuttings harvested in late April or early May, when the time of spring sap flow begins. The branches should be no longer than 10 cm, since others have an overly developed bud, which will immediately begin to grow in the shoot, and this will lead to the expenditure of forces and damage the formation of roots.

How to grow blue spruce

Blue spruce propagated by cuttings by carrying out the following actions: the search for material for the collection of cuttings, their separation and subsequent rooting.

Procurement of cuttings

Ideal cuttings for further cultivation are lateral shoots older than a year and measuring 10 cm. Mother trees must be older than 4 years old.

Selected branches are detached from the trunk in such a way that a thickening is preserved at the end, which is a remnant of old wood. According to gardeners, thickening blocks the secretion of resin and, thus, clogs the lower cells of seedlings and prevents moisture from penetrating inside. Preparation is recommended to do in the morning or on cloudy days. After separation, the branch should be immediately packed in a plastic bag. Planted on the same day.

Rooting

Withstanding the stalk before planting 2 hours in the root stimulator, spruce can be rooted for 1.5 months. In another case, it will take more than three months.A prerequisite for successful germination of roots is a suitable temperature, the ideal place is wet and at the same time warm conditions. You can create them using polyethylene or bottles.

In the first year after disembarkation, no visible changes in the form of the emergence of new needles and growth do not occur, and many have the opinion that rooting failed. However, you need to know that this is the time when the root system grows, which means that the Christmas tree does not have the strength to increase the needles either, it will happen next year.

How to plant seedlings

Being in search of information on how to plant a Christmas tree, you need to know what points you should pay attention to in order to get a full-fledged healthy tree on your site. Professionals know that the ideal time for planting is winter, this will save the root system.

How to choose a place for blue spruce

The key to a proper fit is the choice of a good place and some other things that should also be taken into account:

• Wind. Determining the place for further growth of the plant, it is necessary to take into account the peculiarities of the root system, namely, its low stability to strong wind. This is directly related to the fact that, after a while, the taproot dies, and the tree is held only by the surface roots. The older the tree, the more protected the place should be.

• Illumination. Choosing a place to land, you need to give the advantage of a well-lit. If there is little light, it will lose the decorative color of the crown, the growth will decrease, the tree will start to die.

• The soil. Almost all ate like acidic or slightly acidic soil. By density, they should be with good air or water permeability. If the land in your area is loose or too heavy, you can add clay and sand, and then the land will be perfect. Also, small trees are harmed by close-lying groundwater.

With all this important to pay attention to the size of the selected type. Since even slowly growing in the first years of life, spruces can further grow into a huge beauty, which, with its crown, will close everything around.

Planting a plant

Blue spruce has its own characteristics of planting. only by observing these rules, one can be sure that it will grow well and for a long time please with its beauty:

• The landing pit must be the same as the root system. For trees aged 2-3 years, its size is approximately 60x80 cm.
• The distance between tall pits is from 3 meters and more, for dwarf ones - up to 1 m, and for medium ones - from 3 to 5 m.
• At the bottom of the pit for drainage pour a layer of broken bricks, which will not allow excess water to stagnate. From above pour a mound of fertile soil mixed with humus.
• A sapling is lowered into the center of the pit so that the root neck is located at ground level.

• Carefully cover all the earth and a little compacted. Watered with warm water and, if necessary, fixed with two pegs.

If the planting was done correctly, the plant will quickly take root and will delight with its needles.

Conifer Tree Care Rules

Despite the fact that conifers have very slow growth, even small Christmas trees look very effectively in the form of landscape decoration, so it’s worth tinkering with them.

Most often, these plants do not require careful maintenance, quite enough watering, especially in the first time after planting. If necessary, you can apply dressing to improve the condition, which will affect the appearance of the spruce.

As you can see, it is easy to grow blue spruce. If you follow all the rules and do the necessary work on time and with love, you will only expect a positive result.