Siberian cedar has a number of healing properties. Its needles secrete volatile, which cleanse the air of harmful bacteria. In the natural habitat, cedar pine grows up to 40 m, but low-growing varieties have been bred for cottage farming.
We will reveal all the secrets of how to grow cedar on your own.
Planting and growing Siberian cedar from seedlings
Siberian cedar pine belongs to evergreens. Healing properties are possessed not only by the needles of the plant, but also by resin, as well as nutshells. In folk medicine, raw materials are used for infusions and decoctions. If you plant cedar for therapeutic purposes, it is very important that the plant begins to bear fruit early. Therefore, it is better to purchase and plant a finished seedling.
Choose seedlings with a closed root system, but if there are none, then you can buy another. It is important to pay attention to the condition of the roots. Seedlings with an open root system are subject to higher requirements. Ideally, they dig them right in front of you. The plant tolerates the transplant worse, so you need to save an earthen lump. If transportation is necessary, the root system is carefully packed in burlap, then wrapped in a bag. An earth ball is moistened with water.
In order for the seedling to quickly take root in a new place, choose a tree no older than 6 years old and create suitable conditions for it:
• Choose a landing place with good lighting, but without direct sunlight;
• dig a plot with the addition of peat, rotted manure, coniferous land and humus;
• make pits one third more than the root system, install support for seedlings.
If you plant not one cedar, but several, then between them you need to leave from 3 to 8 m.
This is the optimal distance for growth and development. After planting, the seedling is tied to a support, well watered and mulched with coniferous litter.
At first, the soil is moistened every 3 days if there is no rain. After a year, you can make nitrogen fertilizing for better growth.
How to grow cedar from seeds: step-by-step instructions with photos and basic rules
Cedar pine can be grown from seeds. This activity is troublesome, requires special skills and knowledge, but gives a lot more pleasure. Moreover, not every gardener can brag of cedar grown by himself. If you want to enjoy the process and do not pursue other goals, then be patient.
Cedar seeds grow tight. For germination, nuts from the supermarket are not suitable, they will not germinate at all. Buy a pine cone or prepared seeds at a specialty store.
Before planting the seeds you need to prepare:
• Pour seeds with warm water and leave for 3 days, periodically change the water. Empty seeds will pop up, and quality seeds will swell.
• Process sound seeds with a solution of potassium permanganate for 2-3 hours, dry.
• Prepare a substrate for germination, it can be sphagnum, sawdust or peat.
• Place the substrate in a container, moisten well and sow the seeds. Leave for 3 months in the cold.
• Sow germinated seeds to school for shelter. Planting depth - 3 cm. Mulch the bed before emergence.
Preparation for sowing takes place in two stages, it is better to do this fall. After the seeds have swollen and you have selected quality ones, rinse well and rub them with your hands. This is necessary to wash away resins and other substances that slow down the germination process. Quality seeds are stratified for three months. It is better that it took place in vivo. Drip the seed container in the snow or put it in the cellar. In spring, sort through the seeds, remove any rotten ones and those that have not bent. Plant seeds with white sprouts in the school.
For planting, take a lot more seeds than you want to get seedlings. As you can see, many of them are rejected during the cultivation process. In a greenhouse or under a film shelter, cedar is grown up to two years, only then can the film be removed. Seedlings are transferred to a permanent place only at the age of 6 years. All this time, tender sprouts need proper care.
Caring for Cedar Seedlings
Shoots appear in May, grow very slowly. They are demanding on air and soil humidity.
The first year of life, the sprouts are carefully watered, not forgetting to ventilate the greenhouse. If you do not adhere to this rule, then the shoots will be hit by a "black leg".
Getting rid of this insidious disease will not be easy. At the end of the first year of life, seedlings reach a height of just a couple of centimeters.
These are thin sprouts with a palm on the top. But the plants winter well and do not need additional shelter.
Cedar is a winter-hardy culture, tolerates a drop in temperature to -60 ° C. If the sprouts are insulated, they will spit out.
Important! If you grow cedar seedlings at home in pots, after planting it in the ground, you need to cover it with dry foliage. She still does not have time to adapt to street conditions.
In the second year, the sprouts will grow by another 5-7 cm. You can start feeding. Use a liquid solution of potassium sulfate under each plant 3 times a season.
Digging the soil under the seedlings is not necessary, rather shallow loosening of the soil. Cedar seedlings do not need special care, standard procedures are enough. By the end of 4 years of cultivation, they should gain 20-30 cm in height.
Fruits cedar grown from seeds late, at the age of 20 years. The first bumps may be empty.
Open cedar transplant
When the seedlings reach 6 years, they are transplanted into the open ground. Follow the planting rules for seedlings with an open root system.
It is better to transfer plants to a permanent place in the evening or in cloudy weather; keep an earthen lump as much as possible. The best time to plant is spring. If it turned out to be dry, then the trees will have to be additionally watered. After this, the topsoil is loosened so that a crust does not form.
Watch for weeds, remove them in time. If you do not restrain their growth, then they will clog the root system of a fragile plant. Do not remove large weeds with the root, otherwise damage the young roots of the tree, just cut them under the root.
Problems in growing cedar seeds
Cedar seedlings are very sensitive to fungal diseases. The peak of the disease occurs in the spring. At this time, you need to carefully monitor the plants and carry out treatments on time.
To prevent the disease of seedlings, you do not need to plant them in wetlands or areas with a high occurrence of groundwater. The needles begin to turn yellow and dry.
Cedar seedlings also suffer from Fusarium, in a short period of time, all seedlings fall. As a preventative measure, treat the seeds before planting and the soil with approved products, do preventative spraying and ventilate the greenhouses on time.
Of the pests, young aphids harm pine aphids - hermes. You can notice its presence by a white coating on the needles. Aphids suck juice from young needles, the seedling dies. They get rid of pine aphids, like a normal pest. Perform a series of treatments with complex insecticides.
