How to care for a live potted Christmas tree

The New Year holidays are coming to an end, and it is a pity to throw away their main symbol - a fragrant live Christmas tree. Fans of flora in many countries liked the successful alternative - a tree in a pot. It can be stored indoors until the onset of warmth, followed by transplanting on a personal plot of land.

In order for the plant to take root and develop normally, one should study and adhere to the basic rules of its acquisition and care.

Plant selection

When buying a variety of coniferous tree seedlings, one must take into account its adaptability to life in the cold conditions of our climatic zone. Ideal for:

• ordinary spruce or pine;
• dwarf spruce conic in a pot;
• ate prickly, Serbian;
• decorative blue spruce of Dutch, Danish, North American or Russian varieties;
• fir growing in Siberia, Korea or the Caucasus mountains;
• columnar western thuja.

When choosing a seedling, you need to make sure that it was not transplanted into a pot or tub yesterday. To do this, it is enough to gently move the trunk, rake out the topsoil. If in doubt, ask the seller to carefully pull out the plant, inspect the root ball, the condition of the root system. It should be intact and densely branched.

Ate loves content in acidified peat-based soil mixes. If the tree was grown from the very beginning in one container, the roots of the plant will be evenly distributed throughout the pot. Its size should be proportional to the crown of a living tree in a pot. Miniature tubs, pots most often indicate the use of various growth stimulants and the low probability of successful further transplantation of such conifers in a summer cottage near the house.

Dense needles dyed in one color, a strengthened root system indicates the health of the seedling, good prospects for its further growth.

Safe places to buy spruce are nurseries and specialist gardening shops. Now the most humane way of using Christmas trees has begun to appear in big cities. After growing in special nurseries, buyers are offered to rent them for New Year's celebrations for a period of 17 days. After that, the tenant returns the plant to the nursery, where it is looked after by experienced specialists, and with the onset of warmth, spruce trees are planted in forest parks, on alleys, and other designated places.

In order not to damage the branches, the trunk of the tree, do not overload it with toys, decorations and garlands.

Christmas tree in a pot: how to care for an apartment

Ornamental conifers are capricious and sensitive to light, moisture, and keeping at the optimum temperature.

After the purchase, you should not immediately install the tree in an honorable warm New Year's place. A few days in a cool room with sufficient air flow will allow him to better adapt to new conditions. For a holiday, put the tree away from batteries and other heating appliances.

After the New Year and Christmas, it is better to immediately move the Christmas tree to the glazed balcony.

Spruce in a pot at home requires careful maintenance. The soil for its maintenance must be regularly kept moist, avoiding drying out or waterlogging. The needles, twigs are constantly (at least 5 times a day) treated with a water spray. Low humidity can lead to drying and death of the ornamental plant.To make the tree evenly illuminated, it is recommended to periodically rotate it around its axis. This will ensure a uniform color of the needles, reduce the risk of disease. To avoid burns, the plant should be protected from direct sunlight.

Ate is especially susceptible to temperature extremes. It is necessary to ensure their constant content at temperatures from 0 to 10 degrees Celsius, a constant flow of fresh air. If it becomes very cold on the balcony, you can additionally wrap the tree with a warm blanket, straw, hay.

In winter, potted Christmas trees are dormant, so they should not be fertilized or fed.

Features of individual varieties

Serbian (Balkan) spruce is considered the most slender among lovers of conifers.

Her decorative varieties Gnome (adult height up to 1.5 meters) and Nana (up to 3 meters high) look great on the New Year's holiday.

Among the blue (thorny) spruce trees in a pot, decorative varieties are in great demand:

• semi-dwarf Edith with harmonious forms and gray-blue needles;
• Fat Albert with a bright color and regular crown;
• green with blue Glauka Globoza with a spherical crown.

Many Russian florists know how to care for the popular Canadian Potted Konik tree. It grows very slowly, with an annual growth rate of up to 5 centimeters. Even in adulthood, the height of the plant rarely reaches one meter. Earthen sod with an admixture of leaves, a small amount of peat and sand serves as a nutrient soil for the plant. Konica is less capricious than other coniferous plant varieties. It can grow in a tub (pot) for several years.

The analogue of the variety is the decorative Canadian cone-shaped Christmas tree in the Sanders Blue pot. The spruce has soft, bluish-blue needles, annual growth up to 7 centimeters. With proper care, it grows for 50 years, reaching a maximum height of 3 meters. Loves light, moist fertile soil. In the open field it can withstand frosts up to 40 degrees.

Miniature varieties of Korean fir fit well into the interior:

1. A diamond with dense dark green needles. By the age of 10 it grows up to half a meter, winter-hardy, loves moisture, moderate exposure to sunlight.
2. Cis is in the form of a small soft dense ball. Has bright purple bumps. Loves moisture, acidified sandy loam soil.
3. Frost-resistant fir of Fraser.
4. Oberon with a cushion crown.

Caucasian and Danish fir varieties are distinguished by a strict conical shape, soft fluffy green needles. For the New Year, golden, erect, gray varieties of fir are also installed.

Farmers from Denmark have successfully mastered the cultivation of the beautiful Nordman fir in tubs, which is in great demand in the capital cities on New Year's days.

Fir trees are unpretentious and durable. Home care consists in regular watering (without waterlogging), sufficient drainage of the soil. When planted in open ground, they grow up to 30 centimeters annually and can live up to 100 years.

The mountain fir Compact with flat needles, glossy silver overflow of needles is in great demand. Along with a well-proportioned tapered shape, its unusual color shades have made it the best selling live potted spruce in many regions.

The brightest of the blue thorny spruce trees, Hoopsie, the leader of New Year's celebrations in Europe. Its main advantages are a strict crown cone, silvery-blue needles. Loves light, frost-resistant, unpretentious in conditions of increased urban gas pollution and air pollution.

In a series of varieties of ordinary fir trees in a pot, the German spruce Kupressina stands out. She has an original tapered ovoid crown, emerald green color of needle-like needles. The variety showed good resistance to snowstorms and snowfalls.

Spring transplant

With the onset of warmth and sufficient thawing of the soil, you can transplant your winter beauty from a pot into open ground. It is advisable to do this before the plant begins to flow.A free, well-lit place is best suited for planting. We carry out the transplant sequentially:

1. We are preparing a spacious pit so that the roots of a coniferous plant are spread freely, evenly in the prepared space.
2. We lay a sand drainage with a depth of 20 centimeters at the bottom.
3. We prepare an earthen mixture for backfill, consisting of two parts of turf, one part of peat and one sand.
4. When installed in a hole, the root collar of the plant should be level with the ground.
5. We fill up the hole, compacting the soil layer by layer.

Fertilizer when planting is used individually, taking into account the characteristics of the variety and the state of health of your tree.

Gradually, after each New Year, a new coniferous seedling will appear on the garden plot. The Christmas tree alley will delight your eyes and warm your soul for a long time.

How to care for a Christmas tree in an apartment - video