How to propagate pine trees at home?
Currently, almost every plot has some kind of coniferous tree growing. They decorate city squares, parks, and streets. At any time of the year they attract the eyes of passers-by. And if the nearby forest consists mainly of plantings of the well-known Scots pine, then on well-kept private estates, areas of botanical gardens and parks you can observe original trees belonging to certain varieties of pine, the number of which is about 100 units. Of course, they don’t just grow like that.
To grow a beautiful tree, you need to take advantage of the offers of specialized companies that sell seedlings or grow it yourself. In any case, you will have to seek useful information on caring for it.
Content:
Pine appearance
Evergreen conifer tree, which blooms in May, belongs to the Pinaceae family of pine plants. It includes spruces, firs, larches, cedars, and has the Latin name Pinus sylvestris L. The height of pine can reach 50 m, and its lifespan is 500 years or even more. The leaves are needle-like needles 5.7 cm long. They are dark green in color, convex at the top and have a groove on the inside.
Needles are attached in twos and grow up to 5 years. Pine buds look like young shoots located at the tops of the trunks.They have a pink color with a brownish tint. Green cones of the first year, buds, shoots, needles, resin, pollen have medicinal properties, and have been used for many centuries in medicine recipes of different nations.
Pine cones are ovoid in shape and consist of scales covering the seeds. Only in the second season do they open, and the seeds can be used for new plantings. Most often, seeds have one wing, which helps it move in air currents. In some species of pine trees, the seeds do not have wings, and the seed has a wooden shell in the form of a hard nut, for example, the fruits of the cedar pine, which is well known to everyone.
Do-it-yourself pine propagation
Currently, the demands of commercial activities lead to an ever-increasing increase in the industrial cultivation of pine seedlings. Restoration of forest plantations and the needs of landscape designers cannot be satisfied with private proposals.
Therefore, in many countries, various methods have been developed for growing the required number of strong young trees that can grow well in different climatic conditions.
One of the innovative methods is the method of growing pine seedlings with a closed root system. Although in Russia it is still practiced to grow seedlings using the open root system in unprotected soil.
The need to master an expensive modern method is associated with obtaining plants with strong root system. It is on its size in comparison with the green part that the percentage of survival after planting in a permanent place depends. Often ordinary summer residents go into the forest and dig up a tree, which dies in its second year of life.To avoid this, it is necessary to strictly follow all stages of the technology for growing seedlings, namely:
- Preparing seeds before planting. For this purpose, carefully remove the wings by rotating in the water. To activate the processes of awakening and growth of seeds, they are placed in a refrigeration chamber with a strictly maintained temperature of -1° and humidity. In this state they can be stored for several years without losing their viability. At home, the method of snowing seeds is very often used. In the second half of March, a canvas bag with seeds is placed in snow, covered with sawdust, and then with another layer of snow.
- Sowing seeds on automatic sowing lines. Special cells are filled with peat, it is compacted and two seeds are sown in the holes created by the existing device. They are covered with a thin layer of sawdust and placed in a greenhouse. Shoots appear on the twentieth day.
After the emergence of seedlings, the plants are fed, for example, with Kemira-universal 2 fertilizer, containing a set of microelements. They are watered regularly and only after 6 months the grown seedlings are placed in another cooler room for hardening.
With this growing method, it reaches the standard height required for planting a seedling in a permanent place after a year. It is approximately 12 cm with a very strong root system. In open ground, this size is achieved only after three years.
Phased growing seedlings The method of a closed root system completely eliminates its injury and ensures 100% survival rate.Moreover, seedlings with a closed root system can be replanted not only in spring or autumn, but also at other times, when the growth of the above-ground part of the tree has just begun or has not yet stopped.
Caring for young crops is not difficult. They do not require regular watering.
The main thing is not to miss diseases associated with fungal diseases such as Schütte vulgaris. You can fight them by using the Tilt fungicide. A sign of cancer is the drying of needles in May and the death of shoots in the summer. You can try to save the tree by regularly and repeatedly watering it with foundationazole. White fluff often appears among the needles.
This is the harmful effect of the emerging aphid, called pine hermes. It is combated by spraying with a solution of Rovicurt or Actellik. If you wish, you can master pruning branches to form the desired crown.
All stages growing pine can be repeated at home on your own, using film and a specially organized school for growing seedlings. Finally, it is very important not to forget to go through the stage of hardening the seedlings before planting them in open ground. This process is not very fast. In forestry, it is common practice to use a scheme in which the seedling grows in the seed section for two years and in the school for the same number of years.
Planting in a permanent place is done in a previously prepared place, preferably in the sun, which pine loves very much. Mineral fertilizers are applied to the hole, watering and mulching with peat are carried out.
In addition to seed propagation of pine trees, if desired, you can master more complex grafting methods.
Pine varieties for landscape design
Scientific research has shown that pines are relict species of trees that came to us from the era of dinosaurs. But their primeval beauty has come to us practically unchanged, along with numerous beautiful legends about it. There are a large number of species of this tree. They have different heights, crown shapes, and needle sizes.
I would like to plant as many of them as possible, but common sense and the experience of neighbors will always tell you which variety to choose. Most Popular decorative types of pine in small summer cottages are the following:
- Glauka. The pine has beautiful fluffy branches with a conical crown width of 1 m and a height of up to 2 m. The color of the needles is gray-blue.
- Nana. Blue pine, up to 1 m high with a multi-peaked crown. The variety is distinguished by beautiful purple cones.
- Pygmea. A small miracle for an alpine slide, the size of which is only 40 cm in height. A multi-topped tree with golden needles.
- Scots pine. A large beautiful tree with a fantastic aura, creating a special atmosphere around it. The healing aroma coming from the pine tree makes relaxing in its shade pleasant.
Maybe a pine tree, planted with love and care on a summer cottage, will one day become one of the most ancient trees on the planet, reminiscent of the famous Methuselah, growing for almost five millennia in a California national park.
Video instructions for propagating coniferous trees by cuttings:
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