Zealous gardeners love to experiment and achieve amazing results. This may include the cultivation of pine seeds. This is quite possible if you plant an evergreen. How to get a conifer from a cone at home, and how to care for a sprout and a young plant will be discussed in the article.

How to collect and prepare pine seeds

Cones of ordinary pine need to be found on adult trees. In the forest in autumn you can choose your favorite plant, collect its seed fruits. But it is important that the seeds ripen only the next year, so only ripe cones (last year) are required to be harvested, starting in mid-September.

Signs of a mature fetus:

• Brown color;
• opened flakes.

Next, the collected material should be laid out, for example, on the battery. This contributes to the full disclosure of the scales. Then take two cones, knock them against each other - at the same time seeds will sprinkle, and they need to be collected.

Pine seed has a long light part - the wing. With his help, it moves downwind. This part can be removed, leaving only the germinated seed itself. It is important to choose only such planting material that is suitable for growing - large, whole, mature.

To quickly identify suitable seeds, just submerge everything in water. Pop up throw away. And those that plunged to the bottom of the tank, place in warm water for two days to swell. Change the water four times. Then dry the planting material.

Now take 3 parts of sand (preferably river) and one - seeds. Mix them and place in a container of your choice in a cool place (with a temperature of 0 to + 5 ° C), for example, in a refrigerator. And leave the seeds alone until February. Such an event is called stratification - that is, an imitation of natural conditions.

Soil preparation

Where you collected the cones, you should stock up on soil. If you have not done so, you can prepare the soil mixture yourself.

To do this, use:

• turf soil (2 parts);
• peat (1 part);
• sand (the same amount);
• needles, crumbled pine bark.

Next, consider the drainage system. Small pebbles and expanded clay are suitable.

Landing

In February, it is time to plant pine seeds. Remove them from the refrigerator and sift from the sand. A day before sowing, treat with a strong solution of potassium permanganate. You can germinate the seeds by placing them in a cloth moistened with warm water until seedlings (or cracking) appear.

Important! Spill the prepared soil with 1% potassium permanganate solution and warm up for 20 minutes. in the microwave - this will rid the soil of parasites and harmful bacteria.

Start sowing and follow the rules:

• take into account the landing depth - 25–35 cm;
• water the soil well;
• cover the boxes or containers where the seeds were sown with plastic wrap;
• put these boxes in a place where the temperature will be in the range from +22 to + 24 ° C;
• periodically (once a day) remove the film and moisten the soil.

The seeds should germinate no earlier than a month and a half later. 60 days at the latest.

Care

Ordinary pine has a complex process of seed germination. To come closer to observing natural cultivation, it is necessary to gradually carry out activities related to the care of the sprout and the young tree.

Did you know? The bactericidal effect of pine resin is so strong that this effect has been preserved on fabric soaked with resin about 3 thousand years ago and found by archaeologists.

Behind the sprout

When you notice the appearance of sprouts, remove the plastic film from the container and move it to a place with good lighting.

From this moment, young pine seedlings require special care:

• watering once in 10-15 days;
• spray irrigation;
• the use of "Fitosporin" for the prevention of diseases;
• exclusion of direct sunlight.

Behind a tree

Remember that pine trees do not like dry and too hot room air for them. Overdrying or waterlogging of the soil affects the tree as negatively as external conditions that do not correspond to natural conditions. If the needles are crumbling, this is a dangerous sign. The pine tree is probably dying.

Did you know? Lambert pines grow in North America - their height reaches 80 m.

The best irrigation is either the lower watering - through the sump and drainage, or the use of a spray bottle. You do not need to approve a young plant, some gardeners use only watering with root stimulants. Once a year, you can feed the tree with special preparations for conifers.

Prophylactic irrigation with foundationazole helps to avoid fungal diseases. And the most important thing is the wintering of the pine trees. At the same time, the upper part prefers coolness - from 0 ° C, and the roots can not be supercooled (it is important to avoid frosts).

Pot growing

You can have a home tree, you can plant a pine tree in open ground. For growing in a pot at home, do not rush to transplant seedlings from the container. Pine trees can be planted the first time after 3 years, and it is better to move the tree to a permanent place after 5 years.

In advance, you should consider what kind of pot is useful for this, taking into account the fact that the root system of the pine is very malleable to the conditions and quality of the soil. That is, such a feature can be used when choosing a container in which a young tree will be located for a long time.

Important points for growing pine in a pot are:

• digging and putting in a pot with a lump of earth around the roots;
• transplantation every 2–4 years;
• the presence of a good drainage layer;
• creation of natural winter conditions (transfer to a balcony, for example).

Video: How to transplant pine seedlings into the ground or pot

When to transplant

Seedlings with good care will grow and delight you. When they reach a height of 35 cm, you can safely transplant them into open ground or another permanent place. There are different recommendations on the time suitable for transplanting: some are of the opinion that you can do this before the seedling reaches the desired size.

Important! Be sure to mulch the earth around the young pine with needles and bark - this helps to maintain soil moisture and feeds the plant.

This approach is due to the increased survival of previously planted trees. Further transplants will already be associated with the growth of the root system. It is already important to increase the pot in which the tree will grow from year to year. But there is nothing to fear - conifers grow very slowly.

Unpretentious conifers are such only in the natural environment. In the home, they certainly require a special approach. Creating such conditions for growing pine in a pot is an interesting occupation. It is not incredibly complex, however, it has nuances. Experts who try to grow coniferous trees on their own in an apartment may find the tips in this article useful.