Fir - growing and caring for an evergreen beauty in the garden
Do you like evergreen conifers? Then you will surely be pleased with fir, the cultivation and care of which everyone can do. Choosing the right place for her in the garden, you just have to water and sometimes fertilize the plant. Hardy, unpretentious, lush, green - in general, a real beauty. Do you want one for yourself? Then we suggest that you familiarize yourself with the simple secrets of its cultivation.
When can you plant fir
One of the most affordable ways to get an ephedra is to buy a ready-made seedling with a closed root system. The advantage of such plants is that they can be planted almost all year round: in spring, autumn and even summer. The only thing is, when the soil is already very frozen, it is better not to risk it, but to keep the seedling in the house until spring.
Another important point is that plants in pots are planted by transshipment. At the same time, the earthy clod remains intact, and with it the mycorrhiza living in the roots, which helps to obtain food and moisture.
Where is it better to plant
Fir is a drought-resistant and sun-loving culture, so it should be planted in a well-lit place or in a light partial shade. The planting hole must be made 20 cm wider and 30 cm deeper than the pot in which the seedling grows. Fir loves loose, nutritious soil. It is advisable, instead of the earth that was in the hole, to fill in the prepared soil mixture from:
- 2 parts of sod land;
- 1 part sand;
- 1 part peat.
Pour drainage (expanded clay) at the bottom of the hole, then - a little soil and 100 g of nitroammofoska. It is imperative to mix fertilizers with the ground, and only then can the seedling be installed without deepening the root collar. Fill the voids with nutritious soil, compact and water abundantly. You can pour directly on the needles, but by substituting a hand, the fir loves a shower.
Fir: growing and care
In order for the planted fir to feel good, develop and always please with the rich color of green needles, you need to pay attention to it.
Growing an evergreen beauty consists in observing the following rules:
- Immediately after planting and the first watering, mulch the trunk circle with peat, coniferous chips or small spruce branches. Mulch will prevent the soil from drying out.
- Establish a support and tie up the stem of a young plant so that the wind does not break it.
- Water regularly, about once a week, pouring in 1 bucket of water.
- If, during planting, mineral fertilizers were introduced into the hole, the fir can not be fed for the first 2-3 years. In the future, you can once a year in the spring add humus or compost to the trunk circle. It will be nice to feed the growing fir with minerals once a season, in spring or early autumn. The same nitroammophoska (30 g per 1 sq. M) will do.
Despite the drought resistance and photophilousness, young fir trees are afraid of burns. Therefore, it is advisable to build a shelter for them in the spring, otherwise the needles may turn yellow and crumble.
Regarding pruning, the fir forms itself and does not need pruning. The only thing is that after wintering, you may need to cut off broken branches or diseased ones. Thus, growing and caring for fir is not particularly troublesome, but pleasant. Having bought and planted a seedling, in a couple of years you will already receive a small tree with a beautiful bright crown of fluffy needles.