Siberian cedar is a symbol of health and strength, a tree of life that you can try to grow at home. Growing cedar from a nut is not as difficult as it seems. First, you need to purchase planting material: it is advisable that it be a solid cone with large scales - the seeds are stored better in it. It is important that it is fresh, from a new harvest, without mold or foreign odor: such buds are sold in the fall, from the end of September. Roasted or dried pine nuts are not suitable for this purpose - the embryo dies when high temperatures. It is better to find a reliable seller in advance. You should not buy cones in places where cedars definitely do not grow.
To extract the seeds, the cone must be boiled with boiling water - then it will open. From the remaining scales you can prepare a healing tincture or decoction, which is used to treat many diseases.
Seed stratification
When growing cedar at home, the only difficulty that may arise is the stratification of seeds, which is necessary for their germination. It happens in several stages.
- First, the nuts are soaked in hot water for three days, changing it daily. Some of them may float up - these are empty seeds, they can be thrown away immediately.
- The rest need to be treated with a pale pink solution of potassium permanganate and fungicide, immersing the nuts in it for several hours.
- The next stage is cold stratification. The nuts should be mixed with clean, damp, fine-grained sand (you can calcine it in the oven in advance), sawdust or peat chips in a ratio of 1:3.
- The resulting mixture should be placed in a fabric bag and placed in a small wooden box, in which holes are made in advance to allow air access.
- The container with nuts is placed on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator (in the vegetable compartment) or placed in the cellar for at least 3 months. The temperature for seed germination should be about +4-6 °C, a decrease to –4 °C is allowed for no more than 2-3 days.
Every 15 days, the bag needs to be ventilated, the mixture moistened to its original state, and ensure that the nuts do not rot or become moldy (damaged ones should be removed and the sand replaced). After some time they will begin to sprout. The best period for sowing is April-May. If you sow seeds without treatment at this time, they can germinate a year later.
Accelerated stratification
There are more quick way germinating cedar seeds at home, but it is less reliable than stratification in the refrigerator. You will need fresh, clean nuts, which must first be washed in warm water, free from resin, and then keep in cold (not higher than 0 °C) for about 3 days. It should not heat up, otherwise nothing will work. To prevent this from happening, you can periodically add ice cubes to the container. The seeds that have sunk to the bottom are suitable for planting.
You can plant them in a substrate prepared in advance (sandy, loamy soils or a mixture of peat and sand are best), the temperature of which should not be higher than 15 °C. The nuts are sown to a depth of 2–3 cm, compacting the soil on top - this will help the sprouts get rid of the hard shell. Containers are needed with a height of at least 8 cm and a volume of about 300 ml. Crops are mulched with sawdust or peat chips, placed in the most illuminated part of the house, but without direct access sun rays, and watered regularly. Seedlings need a temperature of about 20–22 °C.
You can use another option for quick stratification.
- Pine nuts are soaked in warm water for about 8 days. It needs to be changed every 2 days.
- After this, a sand-peat mixture is made into which the seeds are placed.
- The crops are kept at home at room temperature, periodically moistened and shaken, for 30 days, until they begin to hatch.
- Then the seedlings are put into the refrigerator and stored at a temperature of about 0 ° C until planted in the ground or immediately planted in a pot.
Seedling care
Growing cedar at home from seeds is somewhat more difficult than in open ground, since this tree is very demanding on lighting. If there is not enough light, it is best to illuminate the seedlings with special lamps. It is necessary to prepare for wintering the seedlings in the first year of life, if they remain at home and are not planted in the ground: they will need a temperature no higher than 10 °C. Such parameters may be glassed balcony or in the barn. If this condition is not met, young plants will die after transplantation into open ground.
One of the main enemies of crops is fungal disease- “black leg”. To prevent it, regular treatment of plants with a fungicide is necessary (once every 2 weeks).
It is better to start immediately accustoming young cedars to the open air: as soon as the threat of frost has passed, take them out into the garden or onto the balcony. This needs to be done gradually. Plants from seeds grown at home and not in the ground are very tender and can easily die from hypothermia or, conversely, overheating. The soil on top should be mulched with sawdust, pine needles or peat chips so that it does not dry out. These plants need moderate watering, without excess, otherwise the risk of root system rotting will increase, but the soil should not be allowed to dry out. Cedars respond very well to feeding. For this purpose, you can use special fertilizers for coniferous trees. They need to be applied infrequently: once in the spring and twice in the summer.
Wintering and transplanting seedlings into open ground
Young cedars grow very slowly: in the first year of life they look like stems about 2–3 cm high with a bunch of short needles at the top. In the second they can grow up to 7 cm, and in four years they can reach 20–30 cm. As they grow, the seedlings will need to be transferred to larger containers, making sure that they are planted at the same depth. Plants can overwinter at home on the balcony or in the garden; it is not necessary to dig in pots if the temperature is not lower than 10 °C.
Young cedars need to be transplanted into open ground before they reach a height of 1 meter. The planting site should be chosen in the shade, with a low groundwater level. Such seedlings will bear fruit no earlier than in 20 years - for this you need to plant several trees so that they pollinate each other.
Conclusion
Growing cedar at home from seeds is complicated only by the need for stratification and creating the required temperature for overwintering the seedlings. The latter is necessary to prepare plants for transplanting into open ground. Caring for young trees involves regular watering and fertilizing.
In many ways, obtaining good seedlings depends on planting material. When choosing, you need to focus on the size of the cone and its scales - the larger they are, the better. Cold stratification over several months gives optimal results, as it is close to natural conditions seed germination. You can try several ways to grow a tree that will delight not only its owner with its beauty, but also his grandchildren.
Cedar is one of the most beautiful representatives of coniferous trees. Its lifespan is 450–500 years, and cedar pine reaches maturity at 80–85 years. This long-liver pleases not only with its spreading long needles, but also with delicious pine nuts, rich in vitamins, microelements, fats and protein.
Cedar can be grown from a nut
You can also find cedars on summer cottages, and on the territory country houses. Most often they are planted as annual seedlings, but not many people know how to grow cedar from a nut at home.
Planting material
Growing cedar from nuts is not an easy task, because there are no high-quality planting raw materials on sale. Nuts that you can buy in the store are absolutely not suitable for growing cedar at home. Most often they are shelled and fried. Not many people decide to germinate seeds themselves, because it is much easier to buy annual seedling and plant it in the ground.
Buying pine nuts from hand is also not the best good idea. The seeds retain their germination capacity for 1 year, in the second year it decreases by 50%, and after that the seed will not germinate at all.
In addition to the shelf life of nuts, its conditions may also be violated, which negatively affects the planting material.
To grow cedar from seeds at home, you will have to collect pine nuts yourself. This can be done in areas where cedar pine grows at the end of October and November. At this time, the collection of ripe cones begins. You can take seeds or cones with seeds that have fallen to the ground, but they may be damaged by mold or rodents, and there is a high probability that it will be last year's harvest.
It is better to pick the cone directly from the tree, but this is not easy to do due to the height of cedar pines. The pickers use long sticks with beaters on the ends, knocking the cones off from the very tops. Such seeds are more likely to germinate.
To collect seeds, it is best to pick a cone from a tree yourself.
Preparing seeds for germination
To plant seeds, you need to remove them from the cone. This is done quite simply. The cone is placed close heating devices or quickly burn with flame from all sides. Under the influence of temperature, the scales open, releasing the seeds. On an industrial scale, special devices are used that crush the cone without damaging the pine nuts.
After removing the seeds, care must be taken to disinfect them. To prevent many fungal diseases, pine nuts are soaked in a solution of potassium permanganate for 2-3 hours before planting.
Planting seeds
An important point in growing cedar from seeds is stratification - the creation of conditions as close as possible to natural ones. In the forest, pine nuts, falling into the ground in November–December, overwinter under the snow and only germinate in the spring. Creating something similar at home is quite simple:
- After soaking in potassium permanganate, pine nuts are planted in a specially prepared substrate to a depth of 1–2 cm. Planting too deep prevents seed germination.
- Seeds planted in a container are watered so that all the soil is wet, but not soggy from excess moisture. Otherwise, the nuts will begin to rot.
- 5–7 cm of snow is placed on the surface of the substrate. The container is covered with polyethylene and placed on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator for 3 months. If weather conditions do not allow you to immediately cover the plantings with snow, then this can be done later.
- Once a month or as the soil dries, the nuts are watered with water at room temperature. It is advisable to use melted snow.
After 3 months of stratification, the container with the cedars planted in it is taken out of the refrigerator and placed on the south window. Most often, the first shoots appear already in the second week.
Cedar sprouts well on a south window
Substrate for planting seeds
The quality and composition of the soil play an important role in growing cedar at home. Seeds should be germinated in a mixture:
- river sand;
- fine gravel chips;
- peat
Sand and gravel are calcined before planting. This prevents the development of many diseases and kills mold spores. Sometimes cedar seeds are germinated in a mixture pine sawdust and fertile soil. This composition is very similar to the soil of a cedar forest, but it dries out quite quickly, so you need to carefully monitor the watering of the sprouted nuts.
Before planting nuts, the soil should be calcined.
Transplanting seedlings
When the cedar sprouts have reached 3 cm, they need to be planted in separate containers, where they will grow for the first year. The main thing when transplanting is to handle the delicate roots carefully so as not to damage them.
Drainage is placed at the bottom of the pot; you can buy it in a store or use cedar cones. The second option is better, because it brings the growing conditions closer to natural ones. The substrate is made from river sand, fertile soil and pine sawdust.
A month after transplantation, you can begin hardening the seedlings. First they arrange ventilation, and after a while they take it outside.
A young tree should not be left in the scorching sun, but shade is not suitable for it either. You need to place the pot with cedar in a place with diffuse shadow - under another tree or canopy.
During the first 10 years, cedar pine grows very slowly, but when good care will grow sharply. It is better to plant the seedling in the ground before three years. This tree is well accepted and easily withstands winter.
A three-year-old seedling can already be planted in the ground
Caring for a young tree
If it was possible to plant a cedar tree at the dacha and the tree took root, then all the requirements for growing pine were carefully met. Now you can start caring for the seedling. You need to remember the following recommendations:
- For full development, forest trees enter into symbiosis with mycelium. This useful neighborhood will help the cedar grown in the country grow stronger. To do this, take 5 handfuls of forest litter and pre-chopped caps of ripe forest mushrooms, soak it all in a bucket of warm water. A day later, the cedar is watered with the resulting mixture.
- It is impossible to loosen the soil around the tree, because the roots are located very close to the surface and there is a risk of damage.
- The soil around the seedling is mulched to retain moisture and control weeds. Crushed cedar or other coniferous cones, sawdust, and pine nut shells are used as mulch.
- Water the plant as the soil dries out, but cedar reacts painfully to waterlogging and may die. Every year in spring and autumn you need to apply fertilizers for coniferous trees. If you take good care of the cedar during the first 10 years of its life, it will grow actively and bear fruit well.
Let's work for Mother Nature and grow the famous Siberian tree on our site! The task is difficult, but doable. May inspiration never leave us and may our strength never run out!
If we want to grow cedar from seeds...
Buying seedlings for growing will cost more, and they may not take root. Therefore, it is better to try to grow cedar from seeds yourself. It is necessary to seriously approach the issue of choosing planting material. The seeds should not have any foreign odor. If the material is covered in mold in places, it is also not suitable for germination. However, when proper storage the seeds may remain suitable for several years.
For breeding, select the largest nuts. They are preliminarily subjected to the following procedures:
- soak;
- disinfection;
- stratification.
To prepare the seeds, they are soaked in warm water for 3 days. Moreover, the water is replaced with fresh water every day. Nuts gain moisture. To prevent seedlings from becoming infected with fungus, cedar seeds are treated with a 0.5% solution of potassium permanganate for 2 hours.
Choosing nuts for planting
Then the nuts must be mixed with sand. The mixture must be moistened and placed in a bag made of natural fabric. They should be stored in the refrigerator at a temperature of about +3ºС. This is called seed stratification, that is, treating them with cold. For storage, you should prepare a wooden box, make holes in it on the sides to ventilate the mixture. Place a bag of seeds in the box. The preparation is kept in the cold from autumn to spring.
During this time, it must be checked and moistened when drying. If moldy seeds appear, they need to be removed and the sand around them replaced. There is a gradual softening of the shells. And some even begin to sprout white roots.
How to plant cedar
After the required period, the seeds are removed and washed well. Then the nuts, ready for germination, are planted in pots filled with soil and sand. The pointed end of each seed should point downwards. The planting depth is 1 cm. In this state, the planting is kept for 1 month in the shade. Seedlings should be grown at room temperature.
A month later, germination begins, and the pots are placed closer to the light, while avoiding direct sunlight. Roots emerge from the nuts and go deeper. A green sprout grows above the roots, in the upper part of which there is still an open shell. After a few days it subsides. At the top of the shoot, a bunch of green needles opens up like an umbrella. Typically, about 30% of all seeds germinate. This is considered a normal result.
Cedar sprout
When summer comes, the seedlings are taken out into the fresh air. And for the winter it is better to hide it in a greenhouse. There you need to water it and feed it with fertilizer every six months.
As the shoots grow, they have to be transplanted into containers large sizes. Young seedlings do not need to be replanted until 3-4 years. By this time they reach a height of 25-30 cm.
Now they can be planted on open area into loose soil enriched with fertilizer. Do it better in spring. First, the seedlings are taken out into the air in pots, and after getting used to the new conditions, they can be planted in the ground.
Before planting a cedar in the ground, you need to prepare:
- suitable place;
- soil;
- seedlings correctly removed from pots.
Trees can be planted in an area where groundwater do not rise above 3 m. When planting shoots, it is important to maintain the integrity of all roots and capture them along with the ground.
As planting soil use peat with soil and sand. After the tree is planted, it must be watered so that the soil density becomes uniform. It is recommended to mulch the top with sawdust or chopped pine needles.
Growing cedar in open ground
There is another way to grow cedar from a nut. Without the greenhouse stage, the grains can be sown directly into open ground. It will be necessary to carry out systematic watering and weeding. You will also have to make sure that the crops are not attacked by mice or birds. If the seedlings are preserved, they will grow and develop in the same way as in the greenhouse.
Many gardeners use ready-made special soil for coniferous plantings. Mineral and organic fertilizers must be added to the soil.
Cedar in open ground
In a coniferous forest, litter is taken from under the trees and enriched with it seats. The litter protects the soil from loss of moisture, which is dangerous for coniferous plants. If even part of the roots dries out, the entire tree may die.
When planting, a distance of at least 3 m must be left between the cedars. The surrounding neighboring trees should also not interfere with the growing cedars. It is known that cedar trees grown in a spacious place can begin to be enjoyed much earlier than those planted in the shade, next to others. And after 18-20 years, cones form on them. In some trees, the age of fruiting can be delayed up to 40 years.
For 1 year, the sprouts should be kept in a shaded area of the garden. The soil should be moist. In hot weather, you can periodically spray the pine needles to give them freshness.
If you have to transplant a plant that has reached a height of 1 m to a new place, this can only be done in the spring. At the same time, it is moved with a large volume of earth. There should be about 0.5 m around the tree. For adult seedlings, mulch is done from grass, weeds or fallen pine needles. We must remember that excess moisture is harmful to cedar, just like drought.
Growing requires a lot of patience. Growth is slow. So, after 1.5 years the plants are several centimeters tall. Despite the fact that cedar takes a long time to grow, it will delight others with its beauty.
Who doesn’t want to have a self-grown evergreen tree at home! We are, of course, talking about the famous Siberian cedar. To some, this task may seem difficult to accomplish, but this is wrong. With minimal knowledge and funds, you can grow a cedar tree literally on your windowsill. But the question of how best to do this will be answered by this material.
So, it should be noted that we are not talking about the classic cedar from the cedar family, but about its “colleague” - cedar pine. Despite the visual and other similarities, it is still different types plants. Take, for example, the notorious nuts: in classic cedar they are inedible and dangerous to health. But in perfumery and medicine it is its essential oil that is used, and not cedar pine oil.
First of all, it is necessary to pay due attention to the selection of seed and planting material.
Which seeds to choose and how to process them correctly?
First, you need to take into account that the most suitable material for growing cedar is a cedar cone with the largest possible scales. As a rule, it contains higher quality and more viable seeds. Each bud should be checked for foreign matter or odor. So, if pronounced moldiness is felt, then such seeds are unlikely to produce at least some harvest.
It is important to know that cedar cones that are most suitable for planting appear on sale only in the fall. Only at this time of year they are sure to be fresh.
The seeds are extracted very simply: the cone is doused with boiling water, causing it to open quickly. In this case, all the “by-product” material remaining during the extraction of seeds can also be useful.
From the resulting scales, many experts make healing decoctions and tinctures.
High-quality cedar seeds do not require any specific processing, but their stratification is quite troublesome. It occurs through the implementation of the following mandatory points:
- The seeds must be soaked in heated water for three days, and the water must be replaced with fresh water daily;
- empty seeds need to be sifted out every day. It is very easy to identify them - they will appear on the surface;
- after three days, the prepared seeds are treated with a weak solution of potassium permanganate;
- then the seeds are immersed in a fungicide solution for at least three hours;
The above procedures represent hot stratification. But it is also necessary to perform cold processes. So, when performing cold stratification, it is necessary to perform the following mandatory manipulations:
- pre-purchased fine sand needs to be properly calcined in the oven. Then, after allowing it to cool, prepared cedar seeds are added there. Sawdust and peat are also added to the mixture in a ratio of 1:3;
- when the mixture becomes homogeneous, it is poured into a “breathable” bag, which, in turn, is placed in a wooden box or box. In such a homemade container must be made ventilation holes, otherwise the seeds will die;
- then the container is placed on the lower tier of the refrigerator, or in the cellar (but not in the freezer!) for three months.
In this case, every two weeks the mixture needs to be ventilated and moistened, monitoring the condition of the seeds. It is quite normal if some of them rot. Then they need to be removed and the sand replaced with fresh sand.
It is best to start sowing in May or April.
Accelerated seed processing
For those who do not have time to spend a long time preparing seeds for planting, we can suggest the following method. It also involves doing the following:
- refill every two days hot water seeds. This must be done within 8 days;
- place the seeds in a sand-peat mix;
- within a month, the seeds are regularly moistened and kept at home;
- All this is stored at a temperature no higher and no lower than 0 degrees in the refrigerator. At the same time, the condition of the seeds must also be carefully monitored.
How to carry out correct planting at home?
The final stage is transplanting the prepared seedlings. Unfortunately, many fail at this stage. However, considering the following useful tips, can be avoided typical mistakes, and therefore achieve the desired result.
So, seedlings need to be illuminated most of the day with special lamps at a temperature no higher than 10 degrees. Failure to comply with this condition threatens the death of newly emerged shoots.
It is also necessary to regularly expose plants to the cold so that they develop a kind of immunity.
And the last piece of advice: cedar is incredibly fond of feeding. It is sold in any specialized store and choosing it will not be difficult. But you don’t need to use it so often - a couple of times in the summer and once in the spring.
For those who have already built a house, are raising or have raised a son, now is the time to start planting a tree, especially one that will rise fifty meters into the sky and last for hundreds of years. We are talking about the ringing cedars of Russia, or more precisely about the Siberian pine pine, which you can grow with your own hands from pine nuts.
Ringing cedars of Russia
Majestic, centuries-old, evergreen pines were planted at one time by nobles on the territory of family estates, and by priests near monasteries. This tree differs from other varieties in its long, bluish-tinged dark green needles, collected in bunches, like human fingers, of five pieces. Every 5-6 years, cedars renew their outfit, and it takes a year and a half for a nut to ripen.
Pine nuts ripen in large cones, slightly elongated into an egg shape, at first purple, as they ripen, they become light brown, and then brown. It is better to collect pine nuts at the end of October or in November, carefully removing the cones from the branches, because those that have fallen to the ground are already empty. Dried cones open up and give very healing and tasty pine nuts, from which, under certain conditions, you can grow new trees.
Growing cedars
Under natural conditions, the cones that fall out will lie all winter on the cold ground under a layer of snow in order to germinate under the spring sun. This circumstance must be taken into account and the preparation of seeds must be brought closer to natural conditions.
Not many people succeed in germinating pine nuts, since there are certain subtleties in his . If you follow them, sprouts will definitely appear. About how to germinate pine nut, we'll talk.
You need to start with planting material. Naturally, the best nuts are those that are collected with your own hands, because purchased ones can remain in the warehouse for a long time, and, moreover, be stored incorrectly.
Cedar pine nuts cannot germinate as quickly as garden crops, since the embryo in them is still underdeveloped. For full development, 5-7 months of rest are required. low temperatures and high air humidity. These are the conditions that nature creates for nuts when they overwinter in the ground.
And for successful germination at home, stratification is necessary: soaking in a weak solution of potassium permanganate for a couple of hours. During this time they are calcined in the oven. river sand, then plant nuts in it to a depth of 1 cm, water it and place it in the refrigerator for three months, periodically moistening the soil.
Features of care
After 3 months, the container with the seeds is transferred to a sunny window. By the way, you can and should water with melt water, because under natural conditions plants feed on this kind of water. The sprouts sprout in 2-3 weeks.
In the summer, cedar pine seedlings can be taken out into the garden, gradually accustoming them to the sun and fresh air, and subsequently planting them in loose, nutritious soil.
It's important to know what's fresh organic fertilizer entering is unacceptable.
Young plants are easily tolerated, so you can leave a small distance between seedlings.
Next steps
At first, a young cedar grows very slowly and needs care. It needs sufficient sunlight, but it is also necessary to protect it from scorching rays. The temperature regime is not so important, because we are dealing with a native inhabitant of Siberia, but the optimal level of humidity must be strictly observed, because a lack of moisture is just as destructive for a young cedar as its excess.
It is advisable to plant a tree on the site before three years old, despite the fact that its height barely reaches 10-15 cm. The soil around the tree does not need to be fertilized or even loosened, but it must be mulched. To do this, it is recommended to collect fallen pine needles and cover the ground around the stem with it, or use pine nut shells for the same purpose.
Particularly caring owners water the newly planted cedar with warm water, to which an infusion of forest litter and mature mushrooms has been added, knowing about the symbiosis of trees with myceliums and their beneficial mutual influence. If you have the patience to pay attention to the small cedar for the first 10 years, then it will grow much faster, and then it will delight you with its first fruits.
More information
Considering the fact that cedars are pollinated by the wind, it makes sense, if possible, to take seed material from different trees, growing in different places.
Despite the assertions that in order to better germinate pine nuts at home, you need to free them from the shell, this should not be done for reasons of natural conformity, because no one carries out this procedure under natural conditions.
But recommendations about saturating the seed with your mental information and your own energy make sense, especially if the cedars are grown for yourself and not for sale. You need to envelop the seeds intended for sowing with the warmth of your body and soul, help them to germinate with your thoughts, picturing their wonderful future in your imagination. A tree grown in this way will preserve for many centuries the memory of the person who planted and raised it.
Hello, reader!
With this article I am opening a new section – trees. I want to tell you how to grow cedar (officially cedar pine) from a nut yourself. Cedar – unusual tree, everything in it is healing - the bark, the needles, the wood, and, of course, the fruits - cedar cones.
Methods for obtaining a seedling
- Sow in the ground in autumn;
- Sow in spring;
- Plant in cups at home.
I'll tell you more about everyone. But first you need to prepare the nuts for planting - awaken the sprouts. This is called a terrible word - stratification .
Setting the stage
Now we prepare the ground for planting. Where do cedars grow? In the taiga. The soil there is rotted pine needles and leaves. Therefore, we must add soil from a coniferous forest (from under pines, spruces, cedars) to the soil where our cedars will grow, otherwise they may simply not grow.
Landing
The nuts are ready, the soil is prepared - you can finally start planting. I tried all the planting methods, I’ll tell you about them all in detail.
Plant in the ground in the fall
The easiest way - 2 in 1 - is to plant in the ground in the fall. It’s not for nothing that it’s called “2 in 1” - we go through stratification, and the nuts are already in place (we’re waiting for the shoots!) The shoots will appear somewhere in early June. We monitor both regular bed: weeding, watering, loosening. To reduce all these procedures, small cedars.
Of course, not all nuts will sprout, some will die, others may sprout in another year, keep this in mind. Of those that have sprouted, not all will become trees - they still need to survive summer and winter. Conclusion: plant more nuts!
Planting in spring
We plant in spring in April-May after stratification. We choose beautiful, healthy, already hatched nuts. We remove spoiled ones (black, moldy). We expect shoots in June-July . This year I planted half a cup of nuts this way - not a single one sprouted!
Why?
They went through the stratification well - they sat in a snowdrift for 3 months and when planting, the nuts had already hatched. It rained all summer and it was cold - I'm afraid they rotted. And I didn’t prepare the soil for them in the garden (I learned about pine needles myself in the summer!), I planted them in loam - this is the result - the sprouts couldn’t break through the heavy, rain-beaten soil.
Of course, I could describe how well everything has sprouted for me and is growing by leaps and bounds. And soon I will be collecting cones from cedar trees in buckets. But I want you not to repeat my mistakes, but to do it better and more correctly. So that your cedars will definitely come up.
In cups
We got to the third method - put in cups. Just pick everything here flower pot approximately 1-1.5 liters, prepare the soil and plant the nut to a depth of 3-5 cm. Water regularly, but do not overwater. My experience of growing cedar at home was also unsuccessful. Kedrick sprouted, but then withered - I'm afraid I flooded it. More home I haven’t tried planting, I sow directly into the vegetable garden. But this good way for those who live in an apartment. Not everyone has a vegetable garden at hand. What I wish for everyone!
I think the landing has been sorted out. It is important to preserve the seedlings after appearing! If you sowed nuts on sunny place, then transplant the cedars into the shade or cover them from direct sun. Of course, it is better to immediately choose a suitable place, but just know that while they are small, they tolerate the transplant normally.
In dry weather, be sure to water. Imagine for yourself how they grow in the Siberian taiga. High humidity + shade. While the sprouts are small, cover them with leaves for the winter.
Cedars grow very slowly. They will continue to grow until they are 80 years old. Well, your children will probably try the first cones. Although I read that the first cones grew at the age of 25, but officially after 35-50 years. But still, cedar must be planted on the site. It’s great if you care for and cherish him from birth. He will answer you
Siberian cedar is the shortened name for Siberian cedar pine. In nature, this powerful plant reaches a height of 35–40 meters, having a spreading tiered crown and a trunk diameter of up to 2 meters. The tree can rightfully be proud of its frost resistance; it can withstand cold temperatures down to -55 degrees. In comfortable favorable conditions When grown, the plant lives up to 600–800 years and grows well in central Russia and Siberia.
To land on suburban areas seeds and seedlings are most often used low-growing varieties– they are no less decorative, and the aroma of their needles is as useful as essential oils tall ancestors. The most popular of them: Recordist - with a thick crown in the shape of a ball, and Icarus, which has a pyramidal crown.
Collection of cones and preparation of planting material
Siberian cedar has inflorescences of both sexes on one tree: shoots of male cones are located at the base of the growth in the central part, and female shoots are located at the top of the crown. Flowering time: May-June. From the moment the buds form until the seeds fully ripen, one and a half years pass.
The ripening of cedar nuts consists of several stages:
- 1. At the end of spring - beginning of June, ovules form on the tree, flowering and pollination occur. During the summer, seeds form.
- 2. Throughout the year, the ovules store pollen and gradually become a pine cone.
- 3. Overwintered winter cones actively develop from the beginning of the next warm season and by mid-July they grow to 6–8 centimeters in length, the yellow color changes to brown-brown.
- 4. In September the ripening period comes to an end, brown cones with an oily kernel become dry, and the seeds are easily separated from the scales with the intention of finding a place to grow. Ripe specimens fall to the ground at the slightest blow to the tree trunk.
Ripening dates may shift by a couple of weeks depending on the region, climatic conditions and the condition of the tree.
The seed method of propagating cedar is a very labor-intensive and very long process. It will take several years to germinate nuts and successfully grow them into new seedlings capable of independent life in the open air.
Collect pine cones for further planting Seeds can be collected in the fall or spring, when the waterfalls that have independently fallen from the tree are collected. After this, shake the nuts out of the cones, place them in a container and add hot water (not boiling water).
After an hour and a half, the seeds will need to be gently rubbed in your hands to wash off the resin and substances that prevent germination. The liquid after such a procedure will become very dark and must be drained. These steps: pouring and washing the nuts are repeated until the water stops taking on a dirty tint - about a day.
The next day, the seeds will be sufficiently saturated with moisture, and the most mature of them will sink to the bottom of the container. They are the ones who will serve well planting material in the future. If planned spring planting, then the nuts, without drying, should be placed in a glass jar with damp moss or river sand, filling it no more than 2/3. Holes must be made in the lid for oxygen access. In this form, the seeds are ready for stratification - cold treatment, by placing them in a cellar or refrigerator for 2-3 months.
After this period, the pine nuts should hatch - their shells crack and a small white root appears, then they can be sprouted. Some experienced experts advise soaking the seeds for 30 minutes in a weak solution of potassium permanganate before sowing in order to protect them from fungal infection and stimulate the appearance of sprouts.
Planting and growing cedar at home from seed
In order to grow cedar at home, it is important to follow step by step instructions, describing the stages of development of young plants of this species. A pre-steamed substrate is poured into a prepared flower pot or container: either peat and clean river sand in a 1:1 ratio, or soil for coniferous species. The seeds are buried so deep that the top of the shell is at ground level. The plantings are well watered and covered with glass or plastic film to create greenhouse conditions.
Nuts can be planted either in separate small pots or cups, or in a common spacious pot - cedar grows for quite a long time, and the plants will need to be transplanted into individual containers only after 3-4 years, when they reach a height of 15-18 centimeters.
On average, if the seed preparation was carried out in accordance with the recommendations, the seeds germinate within a few days. It is very interesting to watch the seedlings of cedars: the sprout gradually straightens and throws off the shell that it no longer needs, turning into a miniature “palm tree”. It is important to understand that cedar seeds never germinate all at the same time; the percentage of germination can be judged after a month. Usually about 25–30% of the planting material germinates.
The cover in the form of film or glass is removed from the pot after about 7–10 days, watering is done as the surface of the substrate dries.
Another equally popular and well-proven method of planting cedar seeds is to germinate nuts in wooden box or a box with sawdust and pine needles. The height of the container should be about 25 centimeters; there must be holes at the bottom for excess moisture.
Cedar pine seeds go deep into the substrate by 5–10 millimeters at intervals of 10–15 centimeters from each other. Stacked on top thin layer peat to maintain moisture. For the winter, the box is placed on the balcony or outside.
Caring for seedlings and their subsequent transplantation
Cedar sprouts do not require much attention; they only need to moisten the substrate and maintain temperature regime: room temperature air in summer time and cool in winter. It is useful to feed one-year-old seedlings with natural immunostimulating agents - nettle infusion, for example.
Cedar is a powerful tree; in natural conditions it grows up to 40 m in height. Decorative varieties have been bred for growing at home. They do not require a large area of land, and they also bear fruit.
Planting methods
For planting, choose fresh nuts, removed from a strong and healthy cone without signs of mold. Grocery store nuts are not suitable for cultivation because they are subject to heat treatment.
Source: Depositphotos
Knowing how to plant cedar at home from a nut, you can grow a useful ornamental tree
To grow a tree, prepare nuts from a cone as follows:
- Wash the seeds in warm water to remove the resin using toothbrush or a sponge.
- Make a stratification: place the nuts in cold water for three days. Change the water daily. Floating seeds are not suitable for planting; seeds that have sunk to the bottom should be planted.
- On the 4th day, drain the water and mix the seeds with peat or sand. Moisten the resulting mixture and place it in a wooden box with holes for air. Place the workpiece in a dark room with an air temperature of +4 °C for 3–6 months. This way you simulate winter conditions for the plant. Once every six months, take out the nuts to moisten the substrate.
- Purchase soil for coniferous plants at the store or bring natural soil from the forest. Plant nuts in March-April in a small container up to 200 g. Deepen the nut into the ground 2 cm, sprinkle with sawdust or pine needles. Place the pot in a shaded place where the temperature does not exceed +18...+20 °C. Water the crops regularly without over-watering.
It is advisable to plant several seeds, because 10–15% of them remain viable. With proper care, the first shoots appear after 60–90 days. Growth in the first 5 years of the tree’s life is slow; within a year the sprout grows 7 cm in height.
Growing and care
During the growth of seedlings, harden them and accustom them to natural conditions. To do this, take the pot out into the sun to take air baths during the summer period. Plant hardened seedlings in nutritious, light, loose, well-drained soil.
When landing, make sure that:
- the root system was completely immersed in the ground;
- the roots were not damaged or bent.
They are planted using the transfer method: they are moved from one pot to another along with the root ball, which contains friendly organisms. This will increase the survival rate of the plant.
Growing a tree from a nut requires a lot of effort and patience. The Siberian plant will decorate garden plot for many years.
