Fir: planting and care

Most lovers of ornamental gardening strive to decorate their summer cottage with beautiful evergreen trees. This is understandable, since such plantings have an excellent appearance and decorate the garden throughout the entire calendar year. And as a leader, many prefer to plant fir - an incredibly beautiful coniferous tree with soft fluffy needles.

Is it possible to plant fir on the site?

Fir belongs to the pine family and includes more than 80 species, representing both tall trees and small shrubs. This plant is quite often found growing wild. It can be found in coniferous and mixed forests; it can grow either as individual trees among spruce and pine trees, or in small groups. Planting fir in the country is quite common.These trees do well in many climate zones; they are durable and unpretentious. The technology for growing fir on a personal plot is simple and does not require special knowledge.

Fir in landscape design

The tradition of planting fir trees on personal plots has existed for a long time. In Soviet times, numerous plantings of these trees decorated the territories of sanatoriums, rest homes, scientific institutions, and schoolyards. This is due not only to the decorative component. Fir emits a magnificent pine aroma, and its needles emit a large amount of phytoncides - volatile compounds that disinfect the air. These trees are planted in both single and group plantings, using them as architectural elements, pillars or rows of columns in the design of alleys.

Which fir to plant at a dacha in the Moscow region

The climate of the Moscow region is quite suitable for planting fir. Severe frosts have now become very rare, so the likelihood of trees dying in winter is low. The following types can be used for planting in the Moscow region:

1. Balsam fir. Under natural conditions, it lives up to 300 years, growing up to 15 m. There are dwarf varieties (Nano and Piccolo). The needles are up to 2.5 cm long, soft, even. It has a dense, specific pine smell.
2. Korean fir. An evergreen coniferous plant with a wide pyramidal crown. Reaches 15 m in height and 2.5 m in diameter. The needles are up to 2 cm, blunt, rich bright green.It has quite a few varieties (Silberlock, Molly, Tundra, Oberon, Green Carpet, etc.), and is widely used in ornamental gardening.
3. Siberian fir. Under natural conditions, it lives up to 200 years, reaching a height of 50–60, and in some cases 100 m; the trunk diameter can reach 2.5 m. The crown is cone-shaped and narrow. The needles are up to 3 cm long, soft, with blunt tips. Has a subtle pine aroma.
4. Great fir. Found in the wild in North America. The tree grows up to 35-50 m, sometimes up to 70 m, the trunk diameter is up to 1.5 m. The crown is pyramidal, becoming round in an adult tree. The needles are soft, up to 5.5 cm long, bright green with a white stripe below. Lives up to 200–250 years.
5. Whole-leaved fir. It grows up to 30 m by the age of 100, and at a more mature age – up to 55 m. The crown is wide, conical. The needles are up to 4 cm long, light green, flat.

Growing and caring for fir in the gardens of the Moscow region is no more difficult than in other regions. The above species have long and successfully grown not only in this area, but also much further to the north.

How to plant fir on the site

Planting a fir is no more difficult than any other tree. For planting, seedlings that have reached the age of 4 years are used. They can be purchased in specialized stores or nurseries. Photos of fir seedlings below:

Landing dates

The best time to plant fir in a permanent place in the garden is April. If deadlines are missed, do not rush. You can also plant fir at the end of August or beginning of September. The technology for planting fir in autumn is no different from spring. However, later dates are undesirable, since the seedlings may not have time to acclimatize to the new place and will die from frost.Planting fir in open ground in winter is possible only in the southern regions, where there are no negative temperatures.

Where to plant fir on the site

Shady or semi-shaded areas are suitable for planting fir. The soil is preferably loamy, loose and fertile, moderately moist. It is recommended to plant these trees a short distance from natural bodies of water. Fir can also be planted near the house, but it is also necessary to take into account the dimensions of the future tree, as well as the fact that it will provide significant shade.

Preparing the landing site

To plant fir correctly, holes for future trees must be prepared in advance, preferably 2-4 weeks before the expected planting date. Their size depends on the size of the container in which the seedling grows, since planting is carried out together with a lump of earth on the roots. Usually a hole of 0.6 m in diameter and the same depth is quite sufficient. Drainage made of coarse crushed stone, expanded clay or broken brick should be laid at the bottom. Then the hole is filled halfway with a soil mixture consisting of river sand, peat, humus and turf soil, taken in a ratio of 1:1:2:2. Additionally, you can acidify the soil using clay or sawdust.

After preparing the soil, the hole for planting fir is spilled with 2-3 buckets of water and left for 10-14 days. During this time, the soil will have time to settle and become saturated with nutrients.

Fir seedling planting technology

Before planting, the container with the seedling should be spilled generously with water. This will allow you to easily remove the plant along with a lump of earth.After this, it is installed in the planting hole strictly vertically and covered with nutrient soil, lightly compacting it. In this case, the root collar should be slightly above ground level. The planted plants are watered abundantly, after which the soil is mulched with humus.

When planting fir in the ground in a permanent place, it is necessary to take into account the dimensions of future trees. To prevent them from competing with each other, it is necessary to observe certain intervals when planting. When designing alleys, the distance between neighboring seedlings is 4-5 m, for group plantings - from 2 to 4.5 m, depending on the desired density.

How to replant a fir

Fir, especially at a young age, tolerates transplantation calmly if all necessary measures are followed. The tree is replanted at the same time, in April or early September. Fir can only be replanted with a closed root system. To prepare the plant for replanting, a year before the planned event, the ground around the trunk is bayoneted with a shovel at a distance of 25-30 cm from the trunk; for older trees, this distance must be increased to 50-60 cm. Over the course of the year, the tree will grow a large volume of adventitious roots to replace the chopped off ones. and will endure the transplant calmly. A year later, the tree is dug up and removed along with a lump of earth.

You can transfer it to a new place on a piece of tarpaulin or other dense fabric. It is advisable not to do this alone, since a tree with an earthen lump can have significant weight.

Preparation of the planting hole and planting are carried out in the same sequence as for a young seedling.

Is it possible to plant a felled fir?

Felled coniferous trees can stand in water or wet sand for quite a long time. At the same time, the plant often begins to produce fresh needles, and young cones appear on it. Many consider this behavior of the tree to be proof that, under certain conditions, it is possible to grow a full-fledged root system on a felled fir and then plant it in open ground.

However, it is not. It is still not possible to bring a felled fir back to life. Coniferous trees take cuttings rather poorly, and even small branches with a heel cannot always be rooted. An adult fir tree, after being cut down, is guaranteed to die, which can only be delayed by constantly replenishing it with water.

How to care for fir

Caring for fir is not particularly difficult. The tree is quite unpretentious and, as a rule, does not cause any trouble to the gardener. The only exceptions are decorative species, which require constant care.

How to water a fir

Fir does not require watering. For most species of this tree, artificial irrigation is not only not required, but is also contraindicated, since excess moisture has an extremely negative effect on it. The only exception is moisture-loving species, such as, for example, balsam fir, which must be moderately watered several times during the summer and only during prolonged drought. For other species, precipitation is sufficient.

How to feed

Nutrients added during planting are usually sufficient for the first few years of the fir's life. In the future, fertilizing is carried out once a year, in the spring.0.1-0.15 g of Kemira-Universal complex fertilizer is usually added to the tree trunk circle, combining this procedure with cleaning and loosening the soil.

Loosening and mulching

Caring for the root zone of fir after planting is one of the mandatory procedures that must be carried out constantly. It is very important to keep tree trunks clean; this significantly reduces the likelihood of diseases and pests appearing on plants. Loosening should be carried out after each rain or watering, removing weeds. Peat, humus, tree bark or wood chips can be used as mulch, spreading it in a layer of 8-10 cm.

Tree trunk circles are usually mulched within a radius of 0.5 m around the tree trunk, without covering the root collar.

Fir pruning

Most types of fir have a neat, beautiful appearance without any intervention. The only exceptions may be decorative species that must be maintained within the given crown dimensions. Pruning of these trees can be done in early spring, before the growing season begins. In addition to such pruning, in the spring they also carry out sanitary cleaning, during which they remove broken, dried out and frozen branches over the winter.

Preparing for winter

Mature trees tolerate winter cold quite well without any preparation. It is advisable to cover young plants for the winter. It is best to use spruce branches for this or build a special shelter in the form of a frame made of slats covered with burlap. The interior space of such a shelter is filled with straw, fallen leaves or wood shavings. This method is guaranteed to protect newly planted young trees not only from winter frosts, but also from damage to the crown by the bright spring sun.

Fir propagation

You can grow fir yourself from seeds or by propagating it by cuttings. This is a rather lengthy process, so a gardener who decides to take such a step should be patient for several years to come.

How to grow fir from seeds

Growing fir from seeds at home is a rather long and labor-intensive process. Difficulties arise already at the stage of seed procurement, since the ripened cones are located on the upper part of the tree. In addition, fir seeds are light and volatile; they quickly fall out and are carried by the wind. Therefore, they are prepared as follows. Unripe cones with closed scales are picked from the tree and placed in a warm place. After the cones ripen and open, the seeds are poured out of them.

After collecting a sufficient number of seeds, they are subjected to stratification. It can be carried out either at home, by placing the planting material in the refrigerator, or outside, simply by burying a container with seeds in the snow. They need to stay in such conditions for about 120 days. Stratified fir seeds are planted in April in special containers filled with a mixture of sand, peat and turf soil. The planting depth should not exceed 1-2 cm. The containers are covered with plastic film, simulating greenhouse conditions.

Periodically, the containers are ventilated, and the soil is moistened and gently loosened. After 3-4 weeks, the first shoots should appear. A year later, they are picked into separate containers and kept for growing up to the age of 4 years. Only after this, young fir trees are planted in permanent places in the spring.

How to propagate by cuttings

Fir can also be propagated vegetatively. Annual shoots 5-8 cm long with one apical bud are used as cuttings. Often they are not cut, but torn off, leaving a heel on the cutting - part of an old woody shoot. Cuttings are taken in the spring, using shoots growing from the north side of the tree in its middle part. It is advisable to do this in cloudy weather. Before planting, harvested cuttings are disinfected by keeping them in a weak solution of potassium permanganate for 5-6 hours. Then they are planted in containers with nutritious soil consisting of humus, sand and turf soil, taken in equal proportions.

The planted cuttings are placed under film or glass. It is necessary to regularly ventilate them, as well as moisten the soil substrate. Rooting fir cuttings is a rather lengthy process. It takes about a year for the cuttings to develop their own roots. A full-fledged root system will be formed only in the 2nd year.

Some nuances of fir propagation are on video:

Diseases and pests

If you follow all the rules for caring for fir, diseases and pests appear on it quite rarely. Problems are possible only under unfavorable weather conditions, as well as violation of planting rules or poor ecology. The most common diseases that affect these trees are the following.

• Booswarm of Schutte fir. A fungal disease manifests itself in yellowing of the needles, which subsequently turn black.The needles stick together, but do not fall off for a long time. In autumn, the rounded black fruiting bodies of the fungus are clearly visible on them. As a preventive measure, it is recommended to prevent thickening of plantings and waterlogging; you should also pay attention to the quality of planting material. When a disease appears, it is necessary to cull and treat neighboring plantings with biological products or fungicides.
• Fusarium. Caused by soil fungi. It occurs when there is excess moisture and trees are planted on heavy, poorly drained and clayey soils. The disease begins with damage to the roots and then penetrates all tissues of the tree, which gradually turns yellow from below. When a disease occurs, the infected tree is destroyed, and the soil and neighboring plantings are treated with fungicides.
• Rust. A fungal disease that especially often affects young plantings. It appears in the summer in the form of a yellow or orange coating on the branches and greatly weakens the trees. To prevent the appearance, young plantings should be treated with copper sulfate or Bordeaux mixture, and the plantings should not be allowed to thicken.

Among insect pests, several groups are traditionally distinguished:

• Sucking (Hermes aphids, false scale insects, spider mites).
• Needle-eaters (fir moth, pine moth, fir moth).
• Damaging bumps (cone moth).
• Root pests (wireworms, beetles).
• Stem pests (black fir longhorned beetle, bark beetle).

Insect pests are controlled by treating plantings with biological products, as well as various insecticides, acaricides and other means. Spraying fir trees with various infusions (tobacco, garlic, dandelion) is also widely practiced.

Growing fir as a business

The constant demand for decorative coniferous trees allows us to consider growing fir in the country as a way to earn money. However, fir can be used not only as an element of landscape design. Fir brooms are very much appreciated by lovers of bath procedures. Infusions and oils are obtained from the needles of this tree, which are used in the treatment of many diseases and are an excellent preventive measure. Camphor is obtained from fir - a substance widely used to treat infections of the respiratory tract, lymph nodes and other diseases.

Fir wood is not inferior in quality to pine or spruce. Therefore, it can be used in construction, as well as for the manufacture of various wooden fittings, decorative elements, carpentry, and furniture.

Conclusion

It is possible and necessary to plant fir on a personal plot, if space and conditions permit. It has many beneficial properties and does not require significant care. Such shade-tolerant evergreen trees not only perfectly enliven the black and white picture of winter, but also significantly improve the overall microclimate of the garden.

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