Cedar is one of the most beautiful representatives of coniferous trees. Its lifespan is 450–500 years, and at maturity cedar pine reaches 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 meet cedars both in 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. Pickers use long sticks with beaters at 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:

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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 of 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 pine 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.

You cannot leave a young tree under scorching sun, but the shadow doesn’t suit him 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:

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.

Cedar is a beautiful and slender tree that, without exaggeration, can be called majestic. The unforgettable aroma of its pine needles, which is liked by many, also deserves attention. Therefore, it is natural that many gardeners are interested in how to grow cedar from a nut at home, especially since it is much more economical than planting from a seedling.

Cedar can be grown from a nut. This is a cost-effective task

Choosing a nut and preparing it for planting

Growing cedar from seeds is not the easiest, but quite realistic task.

The first thing that her solution involves is a careful selection of nuts:

1. Seeds intended for cultivation should not have an unpleasant odor.
2. Nuts whose surface is covered with mold cannot be considered suitable for planting.
3. To avoid fungal infections, all seeds are treated with a weak solution of potassium permanganate (0.5% potassium permanganate solution is sufficient). The average duration of the procedure is 2 hours.
4. Nuts collected on the slopes of the Sayan or Altai Mountains are best suited for planting.

The most suitable age of pine nuts used for cultivation is no more than three years. Practice shows that germination in such cases is maximum, and therefore young seeds should be a priority. If there are no such nuts, then others whose age does not exceed 8–10 years will do.

To grow a healthy tree, you need to choose your nuts carefully.

Having decided on the seeds, you can begin to implement the sequence of actions, which is presented below:

1. Soaking selected nuts for 72 hours (water needs to be changed daily).
2. Mixing seeds with sand and moistening them.
3. Place the nuts in a fabric bag that fits into wooden box with ventilation holes.

The final step at this stage is to place the container with the seeds in the refrigerator. There they must spend about 5 months at a temperature of 3–6 °C, that is, in conditions close to winter, but not harsh.

In the future, pine nuts should be checked regularly to maintain moisture and prevent mold from appearing. If it appears on some seeds, then you need to get rid of them and replace the sand with new one.

Pot and soil requirements

While the seeds are in the refrigerator, you can do something else important matter– preparing a place for their future planting. It should not be large in size: it is quite possible to germinate pine nuts in a pot containing about 200 g of soil mixture, which can be:

• natural forest;
• loamy;
• containing a large number of humus.

If the gardener cannot waste time searching for suitable soil in which to plant cedar, then he can always buy ready-made composition for coniferous plants in a specialized store. The choice of soil should be approached responsibly, since the future of the plant directly depends on its composition.

Cedar needs potassium, and a high nitrogen content is contraindicated for it due to the inhibitory effect on its root system.

Rules for planting and watering

The likelihood of growing cedar at home increases if you plant the nut in March or April. There are others useful recommendations, which help to solve this problem without error:

• the optimal seed planting depth is from 0.5 to 2 cm;
• the nuts can be placed quite close to each other (10 mm or more);
• the seeds are sprinkled with sawdust or pine needles on top;
• You need to place as many nuts as possible in the pot.

The last point is explained by the fact that in most cases only 10–15% of seeds succeed in germinating, i.e., one out of seven or even ten nuts.

Particular attention must be paid to watering. Despite the fact that cedar belongs to moisture-loving plants, he perceives flooding negatively, and therefore it is extremely important to adhere to the following rules:

1. It is advisable to spray nuts planted in the ground with a spray bottle. This makes it possible to reduce the leaching of substances beneficial to plants found in top layer soil.
2. Before you start watering, you should determine the degree of soil moisture. To do this, just stick a match into it: if it turns out to be wet, then you need to wait a little while performing the planned procedure.
3. The recommended frequency of watering seeds after planting is once every 2 days. If moistening is carried out less frequently, then the cedar grows much more slowly - experiencing great difficulties in reaching the surface and characterized by poor development of the root system.

The temperature should be room temperature, i.e. within 18–22 °C. It is advisable to avoid placing the pot in direct sunlight; it is much better to place it in the shade.

Provided that all the above points are taken into account, the seeds germinate relatively quickly: about a month from the moment of planting. True, many gardeners call other terms - up to 90 days, explaining this by the difference in the quality of the selected nuts. Next, the pot can be placed in a brighter place, provided that the exposure to sunlight is moderate.

Further actions

It is worth noting that growing cedar from a nut is a rather lengthy process, and therefore the appearance of sprouts should not be considered an unconditional success. In terms of development speed, cedar is noticeably inferior to most coniferous and deciduous trees. Observant gardeners have found that cedars grown from seeds at home grow only 6–7 cm per year in the first few years.

In the first year, small cedars cannot be planted in open ground in a dacha or local area, because they need this time to strengthen and adapt. The latter will go away faster if you take the pot outside in the warm season.

Small cedar trees can be replanted at 2–3 years of their life. They tolerate the procedure without any particular difficulties, especially if the gardener takes into account the following points:

1. Plant roots must be handled with care. When replanting cedar shoots into open ground, you should avoid kinks and fractures of its roots.
2. The best option for replanting is together with a lump of earth from a pot. This preserves the microflora to which the plant is accustomed, and therefore significantly increases the chances of its successful adaptation in a new place.
3. There is no point in refusing to fertilize cedar, even if the soil in your dacha or local area quite fertile. Nitrogen-potassium-phosphorus fertilizers are optimally suited for this purpose.
4. It makes sense to place several stones around the trunk of a growing tree. Gradually, their lower surface will be covered with fungal growth, which has a very beneficial effect on the cedar.

Another useful procedure for growing cedar is mulching the soil. With its help, you can minimize soil drying, stimulate grass growth around a young tree, and create an optimal microclimate for cedar. It is recommended to include pine needles, fallen leaves and grass clippings in the mulch.

Cedar is an evergreen coniferous tree. It represents strength, health, beauty, longevity and purity. Growing cedar is a noble endeavor, but extremely labor-intensive. Of course, the easiest way is to buy ready-made seedlings, because after planting they will require virtually no care other than regular moistening of the soil. But it is much better to grow a cedar from a nut - this way you will be close to your tree from the first minutes, and when after many years it spreads its rich crown above the ground, the pleasure will be incomparable.

How to grow cedar from a nut at home?

1. Nuts purchased in grocery store or at the market, since they are prepared for consumption by cooking in boiling salted water. It is best to find a smooth, pleasant-smelling cedar cone with no signs of mold or staleness.
2. Remove the nuts from the cone and rinse with warm water. Additionally, you can rub the shell with a toothbrush or sponge - this will wash away the resin that blocks moisture from accessing the kernel itself.
3. After you have cleared the nuts of excess resin, you need to stratify them, that is, keep them in cold (about 0°C) water for three days, changing the water once a day. After this time, you will notice that some of the seeds rose to the surface of the water, and some sank to the bottom. Floated nuts are empty or of poor quality, even with correct landing they will not sprout, but drowned seeds can and should be planted in the ground.
4. After three days, drain the water and mix the nuts with peat, forest soil or coarse washed sand, then lightly moisten the mixture and place it in a wooden box with holes for air or a perforated flower pot. After all the manipulations, the container with nuts can be put away in a dark, cool place - now the seeds should lie for several months (from 3 to 6 to imitate natural winter) at a temperature of about +4°C. Every couple of weeks, remove the seeds and moisten the soil. Try to choose the time so that the seeds are planted in March-April.
5. After a long preparation of the seeds, you can finally start planting. It is better to use natural forest soil, but if this is not available, you can buy special soil for conifers at a flower shop. The volume of the pot should be small, about 200 grams, and the planting depth should be about 2 cm. The seeds can be sprinkled with pine needles or sawdust on top. Protect the sown seeds from high temperature and bright sun: it is better to place the pot with the future tree in a shaded place with a temperature of 18-20°C. And, of course, the soil should be periodically moistened, while at the same time preventing the seeds from being “flooded”.
6. Best to drop off maximum amount seeds, because only 10-15% of them will sprout. Depending on the quality of the seeds, the first sprouts will sprout in 2-3 months and will be barely noticeable - up to five years, cedar grows very slowly, and the growth is up to 6-7 cm. By the third year of life, the sprout can reach 15 cm, and after five to six years it can be planted in open space.
7. Cedar loves well-drained rocky or loamy soils. Therefore, it is advisable to mix the soil in the place where the cedar is supposed to be planted with sand and gravel.

There is another interesting nuance: they say that before planting, you need to hold pine nuts in your mouth for several minutes - this way the future tree will absorb your energy and information about you, and only then will it truly grow to be yours, a grateful cedar. Of course, this moment is very similar to superstition, but in the first years of its life, the cedar definitely needs your love and care.

Decorative conifers captivates with its grace and beauty. Since for our climate zone it is possible to grow various forms, the question arises, how to grow cedar from a nut? A few facts about the cultivation and properties of the plant will help answer the problem.

Features of cedar wood

You need to know the characteristics of the plant in order to understand how to grow cedar. This evergreen plant attracts the attention of gardeners due to its appearance features:

• lush paws;
• densely planted and abundantly covered with needles;
• rich green color;
• beautiful cones;
• tall, smooth trunk;
• bright bark;
• nice smell.

Growing the plant requires patience and careful adherence to all instructions. But the result can amaze the most demanding esthete. Because cedar can improve any area.

Cedar has a tall, even trunk

The root system of the tree is very pronounced. The main root is surrounded by strong lateral branches; it holds well in the soil. This allows the plant to hold a lump. By covering the area around the trunk with its needles, cedar creates a special temperature and exchange regime.

Collection of seed material

One of the sources of seed material may be its natural conditions growth. To do this, you don’t have to visit a cedar forest; you can go to the nearest botanical garden for the necessary samples or order seeds from the forestry department.

You need to get the seeds in the cone. Since during transportation various processes can occur with a nut:

• drying out;
• frostbite;
• damage by various insects;
• loss of surface integrity;
• debate.

In the cone they are protected from external mechanical and climate impact. You should not buy nuts in stores or markets, since the seeds are treated with hot oil for culinary purposes. This means they are no longer suitable for landing.

You need to get cedar seeds in a cone

Where to get the necessary seed composition

For the beginner gardener important issue is where to get it required material. Purchasing samples from unverified sources does not guarantee the germination and viability of seeds. You can order cedar seeds through:

• garden societies;
• botanical gardens;
• departments of botany and horticulture at universities;
• thanks to independent sellers;
• from the forestry;
• via seed almanacs.

Any of the methods will give you the opportunity to get required amount for germination and planting. To be sure of the result, you should order several buds at once. Pay attention to the period of collection of cones; they should have been taken in the period October-November. What matters is the age of collection, the average duration of seed germination is 2 years.

Pay attention to the deadline for collecting cones

On what soils does it grow?

When preparing you need to take into account important fact, about to undertake germination. One of the most significant factors in successfully obtaining stable planting material where cedar grows. Knowing this issue increases the likelihood of obtaining normal seedlings.

In nature, cedar trees love gray podzols. This is soil consisting of:

• humus;
• silica;
• trivalent metals;
• sulfonic acids;
• loams;
• orstein grains;
• forest floor.

Such soils are considered characteristic of:

• Siberia;
• Southern Canada;
• Northern Europe;
• Far East;
• Central USA.

They have a pronounced shape. Gray loose composition from the upper horizon, more dense reddish tint lower. Accordingly, the germinated seed material should be planted in similar conditions.

Requirements for preparation for germination

To germinate pine nuts, you can preliminary preparation:

• soak the seeds in an aqueous solution with the addition of “Kornevin”;
• maintain a three-day period;
• change the water environment once a day;
• mix with purified river sand;
• place in a canvas bag;
• the container must have holes for air;
• place in the refrigerator;
• remove moldy samples.

It is better to use small containers for seedlings

The next step will be planting the material:

• after 6 months, plant in the ground;
• the substrate should contain a large amount of sand;
• hole depth 1 cm;
• the storage location of the container should be at room temperature;
• The sprouted material is exposed to light.

Thus, seedlings suitable for further planting are obtained.

Growing container

Many people wonder how to grow cedar from a nut in home pots. The first rule is that he shouldn't be too old. Even after treatment with manganese, there is a high probability of mold growth.

It is better to use small containers for seedlings, connected into palettes. They have a shallow depth and make it easy to remove the plant. Moreover, in this embodiment it is easy to observe them. Any material will do, since the plant is only temporarily enclosed in a container.

You need to water the cedar seedling with a spray bottle.

Watering mode

You need to water the plant with a spray bottle. To avoid leaching of necessary substances from the soil. The most common method is to check how dry the soil is with a match. Moisturize as needed, at intervals of no longer than one day.

Moisture requirements are necessary because the sprout has to break through the thick skin. Gradual soaking of the surface gives a peculiar swelling effect, after which the sprout can disrupt the integrity of the cover.

Successful germination can be achieved by adding one portion of various growth stimulants. Dosage guidelines are provided on the package. This will make it possible to more efficiently obtain the necessary planting material. You should not flood the plant, as this can cause it to rot.

When planting a nut in the soil, it should have an average temperature

Temperature

When planting a nut in the soil, it should have an average temperature, since under natural conditions the seed has similar conditions. After the first shoots appear, it is necessary to add surface heating. This can be done using a lamp, turning it on for several hours. Or by placing palettes with sprouts in a brighter place. During this period, you should carefully monitor watering; you will have to moisten every day.

Ecology of life. Estate: Planting and growing cedar. How to quickly stratify cedars?

How to quickly stratify cedars?

1. For 9 days, pine nuts are placed in the freezer, wrapped in burlap or any other material (to allow them to breathe).

2. After 9 days, take it out and put it in a bowl with water for 1-2 hours, preferably 9. Plant those that have sunk (meaning full).

3. It is necessary to plant in a box with a mixture, without soil. Composition of the mixture: 70% sand, 30% small or medium-sized sawdust (the mixture, unlike soil, is empty, there is no putrefactive flora in it, it retains moisture, cedar has a weak root that is easily susceptible to rotting and drying out, germination and survival rate in the mixture is higher if everything is done 99% correct)

4. Plant the nuts with the narrow end down (the root will appear from there, it will be easier for it to push the shell to the surface, it will immediately see the light, there is no need to waste time and effort turning the shells underground) Planting means only sticking it in (literally) so that they can be seen a little. Water carefully.

5. At the end, lightly cover with the same mixture (dry), with a layer of no more than 3 mm.

6. Cover the box with polyethylene (create a greenhouse effect, sawdust will retain moisture for a long time)

7. Place on the sunny side.

If everything is done as written, in exactly 9 days the cedars will sprout!

How to plant cedar seedlings?

1. Remove the polyethylene. Cedars gain strength and grow well only on the sunny side.

2. In the shade they will grow extremely slowly. Example: 5 years in the shade - 20cm, 5 years in the sun - 80cm.

3. Transplant into the ground according to the situation, after 1 - 2 months.

4. Before transplanting, prepare a hole in the ground about 10 by 10 cm.

5. Fill the hole with the same mixture of sand and sawdust.

6. Wet the mixture well in a box with cedars (so that it sticks together better when pulling out the seedlings)

7. Spoon or appropriate tool Carefully pick up the seedling to a root depth of approximately 3-5cm. And plant it in a hole prepared in advance in the ground (with the mixture).

Plant only in a place with sufficient quantity sun (on the sunny side).

How to choose a place and plant cedar seedlings?

For planting you will need: a bayonet shovel, fertile soil (5-10 liters), mulch - dry leaves, grass, sawdust or pine litter from the forest, for sprinkling the soil around the seedling after planting, and of course, the cedar seedlings themselves, from a trusted nursery :)

1. Planting cedars is a serious matter - you are shaping the future of your garden for tens and hundreds of years. you sit down beautiful tree- a symbol of strength and health - so take planting with JOY.

2. Choosing a planting site: an adult cedar is a powerful tall tree. Usually cedars are planted along the edge of the plot and with the expectation that when they grow, the shadow will fall on the house, bathhouse, outbuilding, parking lot, etc. At first, the seedling takes up little space, but after a few years you can remove the lower branches and there will be one trunk left below - it will not interfere - like pine trees in urban forest plantations.

A sunny place, shade or partial shade is not important for short seedlings; when the cedar grows, it will occupy its upper tier (growth can be delayed only in the complete absence of sun).

The distance of the seedling from the buildings and foundation, we recommend from 1.5-2 m, in our practice we have met a 20-year-old cedar at a distance of 1.2 m from the house in the front garden and a cedar growing normally, after 100 years, maybe (or maybe not) will create a threat to the house-foundation, or what remains of them. Some cedars grow up to 800 years old! The common age of cedars in plantings is 200-400 years.

3. We recommend choosing a distance between trees ranging from 4-5 meters for small garden plots, and 6-8 meters for an alley or sparse planting. If cedar trees are used for fencing, seedlings can be planted after 3 m, in a few years, if you do not trim the lower branches, the wall of trees will be impassable!

4. To plant, you need to dig a hole with a volume of about 10 liters, add forest soil, peat or humus inside and mix.

5. The seedling is transferred into the prepared hole, trying to preserve (not disturb) the earthen ball with the root system as much as possible. To remove a seedling, the container is usually lifted and turned over, holding the soil with the palm of your hand; sometimes the container can be cut.

6. The seedling is placed vertically in the center of the hole and sprinkled with earth, a near-trunk circle (a water-retaining edge made of soil) is formed around the seedling, the diameter is slightly larger than the dug hole, so that when watering the water does not go past the roots of the seedling. When planting, you must ensure that the ground level is tree trunk circle was 1-3 cm below the surrounding ground level.

The orientation of the seedling to the cardinal points for seedlings up to 70 cm is not critical; for seedlings larger than 70 cm, a mark is tied on the southern side of the crown, and the cedar in the hole is located in accordance with it.

7. Immediately water the seedling with its crown with a large amount of water from a watering can, then restore the verticality of the trunk, add fertile soil and adjust the water-retaining edge. Thanks to abundant watering, air bubbles are removed from the roots and the soil acquires a uniform structure.

8. After planting and watering, the soil above must be mulched - dry grass, leaves, sawdust or coniferous litter from the forest should be sprinkled on top. And water again from a watering can with a crown.

9. The first days require abundant watering, always with the crown! In the future, we recommend monitoring soil moisture and regularly watering, preferably with the crown, for seedlings coniferous species this is an important point!

As you can see, despite the long description, the planting process is not difficult; as experience shows, following the recommendations ensures almost complete survival of the seedlings.

Cedar planting looks very beautiful: cedar has a more lush crown compared to pine - the needles grow from the branches in bunches of five, while an ordinary pine has two, in addition, the needles are softer, longer and more fragrant.

Cedar is evergreen, powerful, beautiful and useful tree- a symbol of strength and health. Useful qualities: decorative, winter hardiness, healing properties, durability and also produces nuts. Few plants can boast such a set of qualities. published

Today we will talk about how to grow cedars from pine nuts, because... Many people already know what the CEDAR tree is for our Earth, for humans, and in general for the entire Universe.

It is best to plant cedars in the fall - this is natural for them, because... In the cold winter, they need to go through the so-called stratification - this is when the nuts freeze, fall asleep, and in the spring they awaken and sprout.

Cedars do not like waterlogging, but prefer well-drained soils, i.e. those where water does not stagnate. Therefore, if water may stagnate in the place where you are going to plant pine nuts, we recommend that you sprinkle the bed with sand on top (about 1 cm thick, but then you need to reduce the depth of planting the nuts).

You need to plant nuts to a depth of 1.5-2 cm. It is not necessary to make holes at all - just take a nut and stick it into the ground with your finger, pressing it a little. It is better to plant with the pointed tip down.

If the situation does not allow planting cedars in the fall, then you can plant them in the spring, but to do this, the nuts must lie in the refrigerator or in the cellar all winter to undergo artificial stratification. How we did it: at the beginning of winter we ordered a lot of pine nuts from Siberia, mixed them with wet sand, put it all in boxes and put it in the refrigerator. There they lay with us until spring, in the spring we planted them in the ground.

The cedars sprout in an unusual and very cute way. From the nut, the root first goes down, and then a sprout begins to hatch from the root, lifting the nut up, i.e. small green sprouts with nuts on top will be visible from the ground. And birds really like it, especially crows. Therefore, in the spring, when the cedars begin to emerge (or even immediately after planting), be sure to cover them with branches, otherwise they will be pecked by their feathered friends.

You need to find it or make it yourself wooden box with a side height of about 25 cm, there must be holes at the bottom for the free passage of water. Sawdust (any kind, but ideally, of course, pine) mixed with pine needles is placed in the box.

Stick in pine nuts at 0.5-1 cm. They can be planted often, at a distance of 1 cm from each other (cedars grow best in this environment, so don’t worry, they will have enough there). We pour peat 1 cm thick on top (you don’t have to do this, but without it you will have to water much more often in the summer).
The box stands outside in winter.

In spring, planting must be protected from birds with something (branches, rigid mosquito netting, etc.).

Cedar trees cannot be replanted in the first year. The transplant is performed at 2-3 years of age. When digging up small cedars using the latter planting method, their roots are not damaged or torn off.

Here's what experienced people advise:

To begin with, cedar seeds need to be saturated with moisture. At the same time, wash the substances that prevent their germination from the nuts. Place pine nuts in a bucket or basin and pour hot water. Not with boiling water, of course. So that it doesn't burn your hand.
After an hour, when the nuts are a little wet, we’ll wash them a little. Just three of them in the water, among themselves.
Some resin and substances that interfere with germination will pass into the water.
We wash the pine nuts and refill them warm water and leave for a couple of hours. Then, wash the nuts and change the water again. Thus, we soak the cedar seeds for about a day. By this time, most of the mature nuts will have sunk to the bottom of the bucket.
Well, we have done the preliminary preparation of cedar seeds.

Wet, saturated with moisture, cedar seeds are laid out on glass jars. The size of the jar depends on the number of cedar seeds. The jar can be filled halfway with seeds, maximum 2/3. It is best to take a screw-on jar. After wrapping the lid, we make holes in it, using a knife or a nail, for air access.
Cedar seeds packaged in this way are ready for stratification. Now we just have to find a place for their stratification, with a suitable temperature. I usually stratify the nuts in the cellar. The temperature there stays around 0°C. It can also be in the refrigerator. But the effect will be worse.

When stratifying pine nuts early, you can hide a jar in the garden. The main thing is to cover it with some foliage. Direct sunlight can ruin everything.
In general, stratification occurs at temperatures from +3 to -1. Freezing, even strong, is tolerated well by cedar seeds with gradual thawing.
Don't forget that pine nuts are a favorite treat for mice. They won’t be able to get the nuts through the metal lid... But mice can easily gnaw through the plastic lid. Such lids are definitely not suitable for us.

After 2-3 months of such stratification, pine nuts can already be germinated. Or you can leave them until spring, for sowing in the garden.
Even correctly stratified cedar seeds do not germinate at the same time. And all the seeds will definitely not germinate. For example, from 100 cedar nuts, we are guaranteed to get 20-30 cedars. In principle, not so little.
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When replanting, you need to take care of the root system, make sure that all the roots go underground and do not bend or break anywhere. It is necessary to replant with a clod of earth in which the cedar was sitting, since it contains friendly microorganisms for the tree and they will increase the chances of survival (the exception is the method with sawdust and pine needles - in this case the roots remain bare, but you can still grab a little sawdust and pine needles into the planting hole).

For drainage and soil improvement, it is very good to add a little sand, sawdust, pine litter or pine nut shells to the hole where the seedling will be transplanted. This is especially recommended for clay soil.

To improve the survival rate of cedar seedlings, it is good to use mulching: mown grass, deciduous or coniferous litter, the same pine nut shells, tree bark or moss brought from the forest are laid on the ground around the trunk. prevents drying out of the soil, prevents abundant grass growth, creates a local microclimate, creates conditions for the development of worm bugs under it and gradually forms material for fertilizer by winter.

You can also feed the seedling with natural immunostimulants: infusion of nettle and horsetail, leave for a week in a barrel, 1:1 water and plants, dilute with water when feeding 1:20. Here they play a role nutrients and just information from herbs.

And further. Very important: For survival and growth, cedars really need mycorrhiza, i.e. mycelium. Mycelium, which maintains symbiosis with a tree and increases the area for collecting water and useful substances 10 times. What can be done:

– you can bring forest litter with ready-made mycorrhiza.

– but it’s better to grow your own mycorrhiza on the spot: multiply mushroom spores and “sow”, or rather, spill them into the soil. To do this, old mushrooms are soaked for a day in warm water, and then the place where the cedars will grow is watered with this infusion, after which this place must be kept constantly moist (but not flooded with water). Mycorrhiza grows from fungal spores.
Boletus, porcini mushrooms, green rows, and milk mushrooms grow under the coniferous trees. Under the birches there are boletus, porcini mushrooms, russula, milk mushrooms.
Once a porcini mushroom, milk mushrooms form mycorrhiza with both conifers and deciduous trees, which means that old milk mushrooms and porcini mushrooms collected in birch groves should also be used to form mycorrhiza in areas where cedars and other coniferous trees are planted.
Spilling the soil with an infusion of mushrooms is not only a help to the trees, but also a mushroom harvest within 2 years. And after 3 years already good harvest. This is how mushrooms are grown))

Cedars love partial shade, so it would be good to plant them near the “nanny” - this can be any bush or tree (any tree except oak and some exotic ones - the cedar will outgrow, so don’t worry about it). They are needed for protection from the sun, as well as wind, and to retain moisture.

But the most important thing when planting cedars and other trees is your thought! If your thought is harmonious, if you plant a tree with pure thoughts: selflessly, for the happiness of the tree itself, the happiness of Mother Earth and future descendants, then firstly, the survival rate of such a tree will increase many times over, and secondly, it will strengthen that thought and the energy with which you planted it. Therefore, try to plant trees, and especially cedars, with good mood, smile and joy, and then there will be more of this on earth!

P.S. And if children plant cedar trees, then this... perhaps, is simply the best thing that can happen today!

Happy landing!

We traditionally call Siberian cedar pine (Pinus sibirica) cedar, and not real cedar - a coniferous tree from the genus Cedrus. Many people dream of growing cedar in their garden, thousands of kilometers from its natural habitat. And then in the store you come across pine nuts.

You can try to grow cedar from them, although germination will be low, and sometimes none.

The buds are often heated for shelling, which may kill the embryo in the seed. And then, who knows where and how long these nuts were lying? If you want to get results on the first try, look for whole pine cones. They are often sold at weekend fairs.

You can husk 2-3 dozen nuts from a cone. This is quite enough to get a good result.

Sowing cedar seeds

You can simply sow nuts before winter, burying them shallowly (1-2 cm) in a garden bed or in a separate pot dug into the ground. But there are plenty of people in the garden who want to feast on them: birds, mice. Therefore, if there are enough nuts, it is better to divide them into two parts: sow one in the garden before winter, and experiment with the second at home.

The nuts need help to germinate. They are so cleverly designed: they just won’t sprout in warm, moist soil, like, say, marigolds. They need stratification so that everything is as in nature: a nut fell to the ground, lay swollen under the snow during the winter, and when it became warm, it sprang up.

Scarification (breaking the hard shell of the seed mechanically) also greatly increases germination. To do this, before sowing, rub one side of the nut with sandpaper so that the shell becomes a little thinner.

Planting cedar at home

It is better to start sowing at home no earlier than March: while the daylight hours are short, it does not make sense. No matter how you dance around the seedlings, they will develop slowly, and it is very easy for them to die in an apartment.

To ensure that the seeds are well preserved, after scarification, soak them in a fungicide (Maxim) for an hour or two.

This the most important procedure, since the main enemy of home coniferous crops is blackleg.

Then, without drying, mix the nuts with a moistened neutral substrate (moss, sawdust, vermiculite, perlite, clean sand), place in a hermetically sealed plastic box and place it in the refrigerator at a slightly above-zero temperature - .

Now they need to be checked regularly to see if they have hatched. If they don’t sprout for a long time, you can try moving them to a warmer place. If the shell is cracked and at least one of the nuts has a white root, it’s time to sow.

The soil, consisting of high-moor peat and coarse washed sand (1:1), must be steamed in advance.

Place the pot with soil on the windowsill. We sow the seeds, burying the roots in the soil, leaving top part shells at soil level. Water, cover with glass, wait. After a few days, a sprout appears, straightens and throws off its shell, slowly turning into a tiny “palm”. Hurray, the baby is born! We remove the glass after a week or two, water only as the top layer of soil dries - without flooding, but also without allowing it to dry out.

If you forget about the nuts, they can germinate and even shed their shells right in the substrate in the refrigerator. The sprouts will be very pale, but viable. Such seedlings can be planted in a pot, covered with glass or film for the first 3-5 days - they will take root and develop normally.

You can plant nuts immediately in individual pots or in one large common pot, so that they can be replanted in a year or two.

Cedar care

Further care consists of watering and preventing blackleg. We prevent the latter by treating (watering) the soil once every two weeks with a “Maxim” solution.

(according to instructions). As soon as the threat of frost has passed, we take the seedlings out into the garden and dig in the pots in partial shade.

It is better to mulch the soil in pots with fine gravel or pine needles to avoid drying out.

There is much less hassle with outdoor crops. It is also advisable to scarify the seeds. Sown in the garden, they simply sprout (or don't sprout) in May. Next, you need to remember to weed and water them. In size and strength, both street and domestic ones will be the same by the end of the season.

Despite the fact that after the first year of life, pine trees are just stalks 2-3 cm high with a palm-shaped bunch of short needles on the top, they overwinter well. Any shelter will only provoke damping off. My cedar crops overwinter in pots that are placed in boxes and not buried.

It is convenient to monitor and care for cedar seedlings in pots for the next 3-4 years, transferring them into larger containers as they grow. In the second year they will grow to 5-7 centimeters, by the age of four - to 20-30.

This is where you can think about landing for freedom. Cedar seedlings do not transplant well if they have reached the size more than a meter. The landing site must be immediately selected so that the level groundwater was no higher than 3 m and to prevent the plants from getting wet.

Cedar trees begin to bear fruit late- at the age of about 20 years, and sometimes even more mature. And at first there will be very few cones, and the first ones may fall off or be empty. But how nice it will be one day to be one of the few patient gardeners who collects their harvests of sweet nuts!

Cedar pine from cones

At the end of Soviet power, fate brought me to the Krasnoyarsk Territory, to where the Podkamennaya Tunguska River flows into the Yenisei. I went to those places to earn money. I worked for a couple of seasons and returned home. But after my Siberian business trip, for many years I was drawn to visit familiar places again, see friends, and admire the grandeur of Siberian nature. And so, in the fall of 2007, I decided to go on a long-distance voyage.

People usually bring souvenirs and various curiosities from distant places. What could you bring from Siberia in your hand luggage - cranberries, lingonberries, caviar, sable and pine cones? Of course, customs would not allow caviar, sable and fish, but cranberries and lingonberries can be found here too. So I decided that pine cones were the most suitable souvenir.

Not without some wrangling with Russian customs officers, of course, but I still brought a few cedar cones. I gave some to friends, and with the rest I decided to conduct an experiment on growing Siberian pine pine in the conditions of Ukraine. I prepared a thick notebook for recording my observations, highlighted small area land and sowed pine nuts in the spring. Now I understand that there were many mistakes in my idea. The first shoots appeared only at the beginning of August, and although almost all of them sprouted by September, their life was short-lived. To summer next year only one seedling remained.

I consider my main mistake to be the wrong choice of soil. Ukrainian black soil still does not suit them. Along with the dead seedlings, my idea about the cedar grove faded into the background. Although the desire to continue the experiment did not disappear, and the only surviving seedling added to optimism.

Five years later, or rather in 2011, I came across an article about a cedar alley in the Yaroslavl region. And at the end of the same year I had another chance - I again ended up in Krasnoyarsk. The most valuable souvenir from the long trip was, of course, five pine cones. This time, remembering previous mistakes, I approached the matter differently. I made three-liter containers from black plastic film and filled them with soil taken from the top layer of soil in a coniferous forest. Just before winter, I soaked the nuts in a weak solution of potassium permanganate, sowed them one at a time in containers and covered them from freezing with leaves and grass. Fortunately, the weather allowed, the real winter that year began only on January 17th.

This time my cedars sprouted in early May. In the first year, the seedlings resembled one and a half centimeter hedgehogs and did not produce any growth. To protect them from overheating and drying out, I covered them with a sunscreen and regularly watered and weeded them. In the second year, the seedlings grew a little, only 3-4 cm. I was ready for this, because I knew that in nature they grow very slowly for the first five years, but then they become powerful, famous for their beauty and longevity.

In the third year, having made sure that the plants were alive and well and had adapted to our climate, I transplanted them into 15-liter buckets, having previously made several holes in the bottom of each container. The soil was taken from the same pine forest. After planting the seedlings, I covered the ground with fallen pine needles to protect it from drying out and the dominance of weeds. In the summer I still shade the babies with a sun protection net and water them regularly.

Now my “taiga” made of cedar pine is already five years old. All plants are alive and healthy. In the last two years they have given very good growth, some specimens have grown up to 80 cm. It is interesting that the northern tree, accustomed to severe and long frosts (sometimes until mid-May), awakens much earlier in Ukraine. The first growth appears already at the end of April - beginning of May. But the miracles don’t end there; a second wave of growth begins in July. Although the increase that is formed at this time is less than in April.

Under natural conditions, cedars begin to bear fruit after 25 years. Although I read that in ideal conditions The first harvest occurs even in the 15th year. But it was not possible to find in the literature what conditions should be considered ideal for them. Perhaps it is our natural and climatic conditions that will turn out to be the best for the Siberian cedar pine, which we usually call simply “cedar”. And along with dozens of species and varieties of other coniferous trees and shrubs, this pine will take its rightful place in our gardens and parks. In any case, five years of observing trees makes me feel optimistic.

YOUR OWN CEDAR – YOUR OWN CONES

Everyone who comes to our small summer cottage, they are surprised: how did you manage to grow real cedar in our conditions?! For me personally, there is nothing unusual about this.

Handsome and unpretentious

It is difficult to answer the question why cedars did not grow in Belarus, because there are no “contraindications” to this. And now through passion exotic plants begins, if not mass, then quite widespread cultivation of this interesting coniferous tree, which, undoubtedly, becomes an adornment of any garden plot.

The fact that this giant settled with me was a matter of chance. I myself am a biologist by training, and am constantly interested in what my colleagues are doing. So, about 30 years ago I learned that the Botanical Garden of the Academy of Sciences of Belarus began to study the behavior of the Manchurian cedar in our conditions. And when I asked for a seedling, they gladly gave me a whole “four”, hoping to thereby involve me in research. Without dividing the plants, I planted them in a dacha not far from my house. And in the future I did not dare to separate the “brothers” - this is how the cedar tree grows with 4 trunks.

When I started to become interested in the peculiarities of growing, I did not find any specific information: caring for a tree is almost the same as for all conifers. On our clay soil The plants have taken root perfectly, they do not require fertilizing at all.

Got it for nuts

Regarding fruiting, I was warned that nuts should not be expected earlier than 20 years after planting. And so it happened: the first cones appeared on the branches just in the 20th year. There were only 20 of them. But they turned out to be the size of an ostrich egg. And in the future they did not become smaller.

One year the summer turned out to be very dry and some of the cones fell off before autumn. What is the reason? Perhaps due to climatic differences: in the homeland of the cedar, in Manchuria, there is apparently no drought. Usually the cones fall off in the spring and then they can be collected and the nuts themselves extracted from them.

Every year I collect 30-40 cones, which yield 2-3 kg of nut grains. In Manchurian cedar they look like triangular pyramids the size of a bean. The taste is very pleasant.

There is a special atmosphere around the giant

But for my wife and I, nuts are not the main thing. Cedar, releasing various volatile substances, makes the air almost sterile. Near the tree you can breathe easily and freely, which benefits your health, and the pleasant resinous aroma lifts your spirits.

Of course, the tree takes up quite a bit large area, gives extensive shade. But, as it turned out, this can be seen not as a disadvantage, but as an advantage. Unexpectedly for us, boletus began to grow under the cedar tree. Not just one or two, but entire families. Last season I collected several buckets of these mushrooms.

When growing such giant coniferous trees (and the Manchurian cedar can reach a height of 30-40 m), the relationship between

communication with those who live nearby. We are lucky in this sense: the neighbors do not make any complaints about the shadow that the tree casts on their side; on the contrary, they ask not to cut off the branches that have “climbed” into their territory, and invariably thank us for fresh air, which gives this coniferous tree, exotic for our area: Laurel: cultivation, reproduction and benefits...

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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.

Growing cedar from a nut

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 the soil where our cedars will grow. coniferous forest(from under pines, spruces, cedars), otherwise they may simply not sprout.

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 look after a regular garden bed: weeding, watering, loosening. To reduce all these procedures, we mulch 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!

Caring for young cedars

I think the landing has been sorted out. It is important to preserve the seedlings after appearing! If you sowed nuts in a 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 respond to your concern. Believe me!