Growing spruce from seeds at home and in open ground

Growing spruce from seeds is not that difficult, but the process takes a lot of time. It is necessary to follow the established timing and planting rules so that the grains germinate safely.

What do spruce seeds look like?

Spruce seeds are slightly oblong, teardrop-shaped, with reddish-brown wings at the thick end. The shell of the grains is dense, but not very thick, dark or brown in color.

High-quality seeds should be uniform in color, without inclusions or spots. Before planting, you need to make sure that the grains are smooth and shiny, not wrinkled. It is also advisable to smell the material - spruce can only be grown from seeds without a rotten smell.

Preparing spruce seeds for sowing

Planting spruce seeds and growing a healthy, strong tree is quite easy. But direct sowing must be preceded by special preparation.

Where do spruce seeds ripen?

Mature spruce trees bear two types of cones - male and female. In the first, the pollen necessary for pollination develops, and in the second, the rudiments of seeds develop. Female cones are located at the ends of two-year-old shoots of spruce; they first grow vertically upward and then hang. They reach a length of about 15 cm, and a diameter of up to 4 cm, while the dimensions may vary depending on the type.

Seeds are produced by spruce trees aged 10-70 years

Harvesting spruce seeds

Collecting spruce seeds from the top of a tree in order to grow a crop in a summer cottage is necessary from late autumn to mid-winter. Grain ripening usually occurs in October, but material can be harvested until February. It is recommended to collect spruce cones that have not fully opened for seeds. Good donors are mature, but not too old trees.

Disclosure of cones

Before propagating spruce by seeds, planting material must be removed from the cones and prepared, otherwise it will be more difficult to grow it. They do this as follows:

1. The collected cones are placed in a fabric bag and placed closer to the radiator.
2. Leave the material to dry for a couple of weeks.
3. After the cones “fluff” and open on their own, they are shaken over a white sheet of paper.
4. The fallen seeds are poured into another bag and gently rubbed in your hands for 10-15 minutes.
5. After separating the lionfish, the remaining grains are washed in running water for 2-3 minutes to remove the greasy film.

It is not recommended to collect completely dry cones in the forest or on the site. The seeds of the crop scatter throughout the area immediately after the outer scales open. Accordingly, for planting it makes sense to harvest only dense, smooth and not yet hardened cones.

Stratification of spruce seeds at home

To germinate spruce cone seeds, it is necessary to stratify the planting material. The procedure will help the grains awaken, accelerate their development and increase their endurance.

To begin with, spruce seeds are soaked before planting. The material is placed in cold water for 3-4 days, and then removed and dried at room temperature on a paper napkin. After this, the seeds are placed in sand and placed in a plastic container in the refrigerator for 4-6 weeks. The grains should be kept at a temperature of 2-3 °C.

When to plant spruce seeds

It is necessary to sow spruce seeds after stratification in standard terms. Planting is usually done at the end of February or at the beginning of March.

You should focus primarily on the length of the day. If sowing is too early, it will be more difficult to grow strong seedlings due to the lack of sunlight.

Growing spruce from seeds in open ground

You can plant spruce seeds not only in home containers, but also directly into the ground. The procedure is usually performed in the southern regions or in the Central regions, where the ground thaws already in April.

To grow a coniferous tree on a plot, you need to choose an open and warm place, but protected from the wind. The ground is dug up and fertilized with peat mixed with clean river sand and forest soil. The further algorithm looks like this:

1. The soil is properly watered and compacted by hand.
2. The seeds are laid out on the surface at intervals of 4 cm.
3. The planting material is sprinkled with peat mixed with pine sawdust in a layer of up to 2 cm.
4. The substrate is thoroughly sprayed with lukewarm water.
5. The bed is covered with a transparent film.

The germination rate of spruce seeds is quite good. If planting is done correctly, you can grow greens in just three weeks. During this time, the bed needs to be re-moistened from time to time and ventilated daily.

In a temporary bed in open ground, spruce is grown for up to three years, and then transferred to a permanent place

How to properly plant spruce seeds at home

The easiest way to grow spruce from seeds is at home. In this case, there is no need to wait for good weather and stable warming. The procedure is carried out in standard terms, regardless of the conditions outside the window.

In plastic containers

Most often, germination of spruce from seeds is carried out in plastic containers with sides about 10 cm high. Before use, the containers are washed and disinfected with a solution of potassium permanganate, and drainage holes are made at the bottom.

The further procedure for sowing spruce seeds at home looks like this:

1. The containers are filled with a nutrient substrate consisting of peat and dry sand, and the soil is sprayed with clean water.
2. Spruce seeds are laid out on the surface of the soil at small intervals of about 4 cm.
3. The grains are lightly pressed with your fingers and pressed into the ground.
4. The container is closed with a complete transparent lid or cling film is stretched over it.

There is no need to bury the seeds when planting - this will prevent the seedlings from growing. But if you wish, you can sprinkle them with a thin layer of soil. The container must be placed in a warm place with moderate diffused lighting.Before emergence, the cover from the container is removed daily for 15-20 minutes for ventilation, and the soil is also moistened as necessary. To grow spruce seedlings, the container with seeds must be kept at a temperature of about 20 °C.

Rolled cigarettes

If there are no plastic containers or pots, you can plant spruce seeds and grow the crop in so-called rolling papers. They do them as follows:

1. On a flat table, roll out the laminate backing to a width of about 15 cm.
2. As a second layer, use paper napkins or toilet paper folded in half and moisten it generously with water from a spray bottle.
3. Spruce seeds are laid out along the edge of the tape so that they slightly protrude beyond the boundaries of the future rolled-up cigarette.
4. Sprinkle the grains on top with fertile soil.
5. Carefully roll the tape into a roll and secure the structure tightly with rubber bands so that it does not fall apart.

The finished rolled-up cigarette is placed vertically on a flat saucer with the seeds facing up and sprayed with a spray bottle. To grow seedlings faster, the structure can be covered with a plastic bag to create a greenhouse effect.

It is possible to grow spruce seedlings in rolling papers without using soil, but the seedlings in this case will be too weak

How long does it take for spruce seeds to sprout?

The timing of germination after planting spruce seeds at home depends on the quality of care. If you perform the sowing procedure correctly and then provide the grains with comfortable conditions, the first shoots will appear in two weeks.

If there is a lack of moisture, unstable temperatures or in the absence of light, it is much more difficult to grow spruce. Seedlings will appear above the surface of the substrate in 3-4 weeks at best, or they will not sprout at all.

Seedling care

You can grow spruce at home by following simple recommendations. In the first 2-3 weeks, care only involves airing the container with seeds. After the first shoots form above the soil surface, you will need to remove the film and move the container to a light windowsill.

To grow strong and healthy seedlings, you need to pay attention to several points:

1. Temperature. Spruce care at home is carried out at 16-18 °C. The crop reacts equally poorly to heat and cold in the first stages of cultivation. The spruce needs to be ventilated every day, but drafts should not be allowed.
2. Watering. To grow strong seedlings, it is necessary to moisten the soil in a container or roll-up in a timely manner. When watering, they are guided by the condition of the substrate - they should be carried out only when the soil begins to dry out. Use soft water at room temperature. You need to add it to the soil using a syringe or spray bottle. When watering from a watering can, the soil at the roots of the seedlings is eroded.
3. Spraying. Spruce reacts negatively to dry air. To grow healthy seedlings, you need to spray the seedlings with lukewarm water twice a week. The procedure is carried out in the morning or evening; it cannot be performed at the height of the day in bright sunshine.
4. To successfully propagate spruce from seeds and grow it safely, you need to provide the seedlings with a sufficient amount of light. The length of the day should be 12-14 hours. At first, spruce sprouts need to be shaded.But when they reach 5-6 cm above the surface of the substrate, they can be exposed to direct sunlight.

Spruce from seeds develops slowly. But in order to grow it without problems, it is necessary to transship the seedlings from time to time. The procedure is carried out when the previous container clearly becomes too small for seedlings.

Spruce trees up to three years old react sensitively to transplantation, so they try to preserve the earthen ball as much as possible during the transshipment process.

To grow a spruce, before transferring it, you need to choose a larger pot and fill it with nutritious soil. The seedlings are moistened abundantly in advance, and then carefully removed from the previous containers and transferred to new ones. The first few days after transshipment, the plants are shaded from the sun so that they take root faster.

Transplanting a seedling into open ground

It is necessary to grow spruce seedlings from seeds at home within three years. After the expiration of the period, it is allowed to plant the plant in open ground in a permanent place.

For a tree on the site, you need to choose a well-lit place with dry and loose soil. The crop develops poorly on a clay substrate; it cannot be planted in a swampy lowland. Spruce is shade-tolerant, but it is easier to grow it in the sun, and decorative varieties look more impressive in good light.

Transplanting a tree into open ground is carried out in early spring after the soil has thawed, but before the start of active growing season. The seedling is moistened in advance to soften the substrate in the container. Holes are dug on the site, approximately twice the size of the root system.

The immediate transplant algorithm looks like this:

1. A drainage layer is poured into the holes, and nutritious soil is placed on top and properly moistened.
2. Spruce seedlings are carefully removed from the pots along with a lump of earth.
3. Plants are lowered in the center of the prepared recesses.
4. Fill the remaining voids with soil and water the seedlings generously with lukewarm water.

To ensure that moisture evaporates more slowly, the tree trunk circle can be immediately mulched with sawdust or pine litter. When planting, leave about 2 m between individual trees. When placed close together, it will be difficult to grow a healthy spruce - the plants will quickly begin to interfere with each other.

Conclusion

There are several ways to grow spruce from seeds - directly in the open ground, in containers or in self-rolling tapes. When using any method, you need to pay attention to caring for the crop, moisten the seedlings in a timely manner and provide them with stable temperature conditions.

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