Dear readers, every housewife dreams of planting pine nuts. This desire is due to the fact that the kernels contain important micro- and macroelements that can have a positive effect on human health. I felt the peculiarities of landing from my own experience. I want to share with you observations that will help you get the desired result.
Planting cedar from a nut at home is difficult. It is necessary to devote a lot of free time and money so as not to start the process. Remember: not a single plant on Earth will grow without human care and bear fruit correctly. But the right actions help you get a harvest and enjoy the delicious kernels.
to grow cedar from a nut if you follow established rules that help the plant develop correctly and, as a result, bear fruit. The result will not come immediately - it is a long process, taking three years. But every day you will notice changes and enjoy your landing.
How to choose pine nuts for planting
There are criteria by which experienced gardeners choose cedar seeds . I studied this topic for a long time to get reliable information. After reading many articles, I came to the conclusion that there are not many main rules when choosing, the main thing is to be careful about the selection process when planting . It is important not to miss a single detail.
Initially, notice how alive the nuclei look. They should not be excessively dry and lifeless. Even an inexperienced eye can immediately determine which seeds cannot be used for cultivation. You'll just waste time and effort. Cedar can only be planted from a whole nut without visible damage.
The second main criterion when choosing will be the shade of pine nut . It should be a natural light shade. If excessive brown color is noted, then to grow a nut. Thus, each person can choose a pine nut for cultivation by examining morphological characteristics.
Growing and caring for young plants
Caring for the “young animals” is quite simple. First, you need to adjust the watering rates to prevent the soil from becoming waterlogged or drying out. You need to irrigate the soil at least once a week. You can also spray the crown with a spray bottle to make it brighter.
Did you know? Oil from cedar kernels is used in the production of high-quality optics.
Young plants should be fed twice a year. In the spring, potassium nitrate is used (60 g per specimen), and in the fall, superphosphate (50 g per 1 cedar). You will also need to regularly loosen the top layer of soil and remove weeds to avoid the development of diseases and pests.
Stratification of pine nuts
From my own experience, I have met people who try to plant a plant immediately after finding the right seed. This is a big mistake, but some people don't realize it. After failure, they talk about how it is impossible to grow Siberian nuts at home, because even four attempts did not lead to results.
Remember: first, each seed must undergo stratification , which takes a long period of time. Now I’ll tell you about this process in more detail. Here is the main stratification plan, which is considered universal and helps to obtain a productive seedling .
- Soak the seed in warm water for 4-6 days. Every day we change the water to a new one - this is an important condition that must be fulfilled during stratification.
- After passing the first stage, we immerse the seeds in washed clean sand or specialized peat. The seed should remain in this state for 50-60 days.
- Then we take out the seeds and leave them in a cool place for a couple of months. Only after passing through three stages is the kernel ready for planting.
Let's prepare the ground
An important stage in growing a plant is preparing the soil. Nut cedar requires certain living conditions in order to grow properly and receive the mineral and organic substances necessary for development.
The nut prefers dry places, so the soil should not be swampy or very wet. Dry soil allows the seeds to feel coziness and comfort, but the soil needs to be slightly moistened so that the tree receives dissolved substances in the required volume. If you are going to use at home , then choose dry soil saturated with mineral fertilizers.
If to germinate cedar seeds in open ground, check the soil in advance. It should be dry, if not, add some dry, clean sand. Be sure to add fertilizer.
The best option is to buy organic fertilizer - manure. A cheaper and more accessible option would be to use ash or mineral fertilizers, which are sold in every gardening store.
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.
During the first 10 years, cedar pine grows very slowly, but with good care it will grow rapidly. It is better to plant a 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
How to plant cedar at home
In pots
Home conditions must be favorable for growing a tree. Housewives use a pot in open ground as the main place for growing cedar from walnut.
How to properly germinate pine nuts?
We prepare the soil as described in the part above. Only after careful preparation of the soil do we begin planting. The plant should be placed in a bright, spacious place. I advise you to immediately use a large pot so that a strong root system is formed without damage.
Personally, I use a square wooden box as a pot. This is a convenient and practical method of planting a tree in the house.
You can replant the tree in open ground in the third year of the seedling. It is at this age that the plant grows stronger and becomes completely ready for the dacha or garden.
In the open ground
At your dacha, you can plant a walnut tree in an open area. This process has its own characteristics that need to be taken into account. As mentioned earlier, you need to carefully prepare the soil for planting the Far Eastern miracle. After the soil has become prepared, planting can begin.
Some gardeners make small holes; I do not recommend using mechanical devices to create holes. It is enough to push the nut with your finger to a depth of 1.5-2 centimeters. After this, all that remains is to wait for the kernel to germinate .
You can plant a tree in spring or autumn; experienced summer residents call autumn a favorable time for planting.
Recommendations
In order to grow a healthy tree, you first need good seeds. If it is not possible to find good pine cones in the natural growing conditions of cedar, then you can purchase nuts at gardening centers or buy a cedar cone in a supermarket. Shelled and roasted nuts are not suitable for planting.
When choosing a cone, you should sniff it and take a closer look.
A fresh, healthy bud smells pleasant with essential oils. Carefully examine the nut shell; if it is cracked, it will not sprout.
Seeds from a fresh cone are more likely to sprout than nuts from an old cone.
Even a two-year-old cone reduces germination by 50%.
When choosing cedar seeds, pay attention to the varieties of cedars and decide what you want to get as a result: beautiful pine needles or a nut harvest. Lebanese and Himalayan cedars are very beautiful, but you cannot eat their nuts; they are not edible at all.
If you are offered Siberian pine seeds, do not hesitate in your choice. This is what the Siberian cedar is called in the botanical sense, the nuts of which we feast on.
It is financially more profitable to grow your own seedling from a nut than to buy a ready-made plant. Of several seedlings grown independently, some will definitely take root, which cannot be said with confidence about an expensive single seedling purchased.
When caring for a plant, you should remember that both drought and excess moisture are harmful to it. There must be moderation in everything.
Timely feeding also has a beneficial effect on growth. The seedlings are fed with a solution of potassium sulfate three times (May, June, July). After planting in open ground, nitrogen fertilizers can be applied.
To protect young seedlings from pests, it is necessary to clear the tree trunk area of weeds and treat it with special insecticides.
Planting adult seedlings (more than four years old) is much more problematic than planting young ones. Adult seedlings are planted only in the spring and while maintaining the maximum volume of near-root soil from the previous planting site.
Experienced gardeners recommend planting cedar in a spacious place, assuring that in this case it can grow faster and begin to bear fruit earlier than trees planted closely with others.
When calculating the planting site, it should be taken into account that the diameter of the crown of an adult plant reaches 6 meters.
Accordingly, the nearest plants should be planted at a distance of more than three meters. The same distance should be maintained when planting cedar next to buildings. Over the years, the powerful root system of a mature tree can damage their foundation.
To speed up the process of growing cedar, you can try the cutting propagation method or transplant a young tree from the forest. But this is not so easy to do.
Central Russia is best suited for growing cedar: the Moscow region, Vladimir and Ivanovo regions, the Urals, Altai and, of course, Siberia.
Very patient people can grow a fruit-bearing cedar from a nut.
You will have to wait about 30 years for the result, but then every year the harvest will become larger and larger. By planting a nut with your baby, you can please his future children with the healthy fruits of the grown cedar.
Clean air, saturated with phytoncides, a beautiful lush cedar crown and healing nuts are the guaranteed result of a gardener’s work for the next 500 years.
How to distinguish cedar from pine
The Siberian walnut tree is often confused with pine because they are very similar in appearance. In order not to make a mistake in the forest with trees and cones, you need to know the main distinguishing characteristics of plants.
Firstly, cracks in the wood . Pine is characterized by deep cracks that immediately catch the eye, which cannot be said about walnut wood. Botanists will confirm that the life expectancy of pine is shorter, but you can accurately determine it only by cutting the wood. If you see two varieties of plants side by side, you can tell them apart by their height: pine trees are lower. The needles are also different, so experienced tourists and botanists recognize pine by its less fluffy branches.
Dear readers, thank you for your attention. In this article, I tried to fully cover the topic of growing a beautiful Siberian miracle, which gives an incredibly pleasant aroma, taste and becomes a decoration for a summer cottage or home. Growing becomes an interesting and exciting hobby that cannot be compared with anything else. The kernels can be used as food or as a delicious snack in the healthy lifestyle of every person.
What seeds are suitable?
The main condition when selecting cedar seed is that the nuts must be fresh. You can pick cones yourself in the forest or buy them at the market. When buying seeds at a garden store, you should pay attention to the collection date and expiration date. Preference is given to fresh seeds.
The choice of cedar variety depends on the preferences of the gardener and the climate of the growing area. Not every type of conifer is able to grow in the southern regions, in places with high humidity.
The most popular are:
- Siberian cedar pine;
- Korean cedar;
- dwarf cedar (dwarf form with a beautiful weeping crown shape);
- Japanese cedar or cryptomeria.
