Content
The presence of evergreen coniferous trees in a house or apartment not only positively affects the quality of the air, but also creates a special warm and cozy atmosphere in the home. There are a large number of ornamental conifers that are small in size and suitable for home cultivation. Fir in a pot is an ideal plant that can decorate any room. Caring for such a fir at home is quite simple and can be done even by those who do not have rich experience in growing ornamental plants.
Is it possible to grow fir in an apartment
There are no particular difficulties in growing fir at home, since these trees take root well in almost any natural environment.
Do not be afraid that the fir in the house will be too hot. Having a southern or even subtropical origin (fir is native to the Caucasus and Central America), plants generally have good tolerance to a wide range of temperatures (from -30 ° C to + 35 ° C). They are able to do without water for quite a long time, and it is much easier for them to endure droughts than excessive waterlogging.
Fir varieties in a pot
Currently, there are several dozen varieties of decorative fir, adapted for home cultivation. At the same time, there are also common varieties that change their usual life cycle at home, their growth slows down significantly. So for trees in open ground, the average growth rate is 30-50 cm per year, in indoor conditions they decrease to 4-6 cm per year.
A photo of various types of indoor fir is presented below:
Currently, the most popular varieties for growing in an apartment are the following breeds:
Nordman fir
Its dwarf variety, Golden Spreader, reaches a height of no more than 1 m in 10 years. At the same time, its crown is very dense and dense. The diameter of the crown at this age is also about 1 m. The needles have a shiny golden-green color above and white-matte below.
Fraser fir
Has a dense conical crown. Shoots extend upward from the trunk at a slight angle. Under natural conditions, the height of trees reaches 15-20 m, at home - about 10 times less.
Upright fir
It is a species of Nordman fir with a longer trunk and more graceful crown. At home, it reaches 1.5-2 m. Growing such a fir in a pot is quite problematic, since you will have to literally fight its growth.
Golden fir
It is sometimes called Korean, although this is not entirely true. In general, the term "golden" can be understood as several breeds of this plant, both having a constant golden hue, and changing the color of the needles during the change of seasons. In an apartment, such a change in the color of the needles can rarely be seen, since the conditions for keeping the plant, as a rule, do not change.
The original golden fir has a permanent green-yellow or gold color. It belongs to dwarf breeds, the growth of which rarely exceeds 1 m.
Gray fir
Another name for the plant is decorative one-color fir. Usually its growth does not exceed 1.25 m. The tree has an asymmetrical crown. The needles are thin, relatively long and dense. Often, due to external similarity, this plant is confused with an ornamental spruce.
Optimal conditions for growing fir in an apartment
First of all, it should be remembered that the growth of fir at home in a pot is to some extent not entirely natural for this plant, therefore, for a long and long life, it will need to comply with certain conditions.
First of all, this concerns the composition of the soil for the plant. Unlike pines and spruces, which are able to grow on almost any soil (moreover, they prefer acidic soils), fir and thuja are calciphiles. That is, for them, the norm is slightly alkaline, or, in extreme cases, neutral soil. And if the first years of a plant's life can grow in soils in which peat predominates (rich in nutrients, however, a very "acidic" component), then in the future, its amount should be reduced.
The soil itself should be moderately moist, without stagnant water. Excessive moisture can very quickly lead to decay of the roots and death of the tree.
The room temperature, like the air humidity, in principle, can be anything. Excessive constant humidification of the air for the plant is undesirable. The optimum temperature for indoor cultivation is between + 20 ° C and + 25 ° C.
How to transplant a fir into a pot
It is advisable to immediately transplant the purchased tree into a new container. But this does not apply to plants purchased in the winter. They require an acclimatization period of about 1 month.
Choosing a flowerpot
It is advisable to choose the volume of the fir pot in the range of 5-10 liters. A smaller volume will not be enough for a plant, in a larger one, the plant will direct most of its energy to the growth of the root system, which, of course, will affect not only its growth, but also its attractiveness.
On the other hand, larger pots contain more nutrients, and after a while the plant will regain its exterior. In addition, more soil is able to retain moisture for a long time.
On ¼ part of the height of the flowerpot, it is necessary to lay drainage from expanded clay or small pebbles. The presence of a pallet with a height of about 7-10 cm will also be required.
A plant transplant is necessary every 2-3 years. They do it in the middle of autumn. In this case, the diameter of the pot should be increased by 2 cm. The plant is transplanted together with a lump of earth. At the same time, the old soil is not washed out or cleaned, so as not to injure the root system. Fertilizers are applied 15-20 days after transplanting.
Soil preparation
Weakly alkaline soil can be obtained in various ways. It is best to take loam or leafy soil as a basis. The use of peat-containing substrates is allowed, but their amount in the total volume should be small. The approximate composition of the soil may be as follows:
- humus - 2 parts;
- sod land - 2 parts;
- river sand - 2 parts;
- peat - 1 part.
It is advisable to sprinkle the soil in the pot on top with a layer of river sand 1 cm thick or mulch from sawdust or needles.
Planting fir in a pot
There are two ways to plant home decorative fir in a pot: by cuttings or using seeds.The seed method is more preferable, since the cultivation during propagation by the vegetative method is too long - from several months to a year, and the rooting result for some plant varieties may be questionable.
The seed planting method is divided into several stages:
- It is necessary to collect seeds from fully ripe buds.
- Before planting, seeds are stratified - they are kept in a refrigerator at temperatures of + 2-5 ° C for about a month.
- Immediately before planting in a pot, the seeds are soaked in water with a temperature of + 20-25 ° C.
- Seeds are planted in spring (best in April). Planting seeds in the ground should not be done too deep, 1-2 cm is enough.
- Immediately after planting and watering the seeds, the pot is covered with foil and placed in a warm and shaded place. When shoots appear, the film is removed, and the pot itself is exposed to sunlight.
- If the seed was planted in a special "box for seedlings", it should be picked, that is, transplanted to a permanent place in the pot. This can only be done when the height of young plants reaches 8-10 cm.
If a choice is made in favor of growing using cuttings, the algorithm for planting decorative fir in a pot will be as follows:
- The preparation of the material begins with the selection of lignified shoots on an adult plant. They should be flawless, various injuries, traces of rot and other damage on the shoots should be absent.
- Cuttings are cut from the selected shoots, their length should be no more than 12 cm.
- The lower part of the cuttings is cleaned of needles and moistened in a solution of a root growth stimulator.
- The cuttings are placed in a mixture of peat and sand (in a ratio of 1 to 1), after which they are covered with a film. Remove the film only after rooting.
Over time, it will be necessary to change the composition of the soil, since peat is an acidic environment, and fir prefers slightly alkaline soils. This is a rather complicated procedure, since it is fraught with the risk of damage to the root system. Therefore, planting is carried out in a separate container of small volume, which is necessary only for rooting the cuttings.
In the future, the whole plant with an earthen lump is transplanted to a permanent place in the soil of the corresponding composition. This is also one of the reasons why fir seed growing is preferable.
How to care for a fir at home
Caring for indoor fir at home is a routine of watering, feeding, and pruning the plant. Moreover, the latter is rarely used for most ornamental varieties, since the plant has low growth rates, as a rule, its crown, formed in a natural way, does not need special processing.
How to water a fir in a pot
Watering of plants is carried out according to the scheme usual for ornamental plants. The soil is watered with warm water (2-3 ° C above room temperature) to a state of medium moisture. Watering is usually done once a week. A pot of 5-10 liters will require no more than 0.5-1 liters of water for one watering.
Watering is carried out at the root. It is better not to use a drip tray; moreover, all water from the sump should be removed 30 minutes after the end of watering. In winter, the frequency of irrigation does not change, but the amount of water decreases by 1.5-2 times.
An alternative to watering is to spray the plant every 3-4 days with water from a spray bottle.
How to feed
Since the plant has a small amount of soil, caring for room fir involves applying additional fertilizing. Top dressing is done several times per season. Usually, 3-4 feeding with a complex preparation for ornamental conifers (for example, Kemira universal) is enough for a plant.
Pruning
In most cases, caring for a fir at home does not involve intensive pruning of the plant. Most of the ornamental varieties were selected on the basis of independent crown formation.
However, sanitary pruning, like pruning overly fast growing shoots, must be present (and in some varieties, for example, Nordman or Upright, it is mandatory). The optimal pruning time is mid-spring.
Rules for caring for a fir in a pot in winter
Usually, the conditions for the winter keeping of fir are not much different from the summer. You just shouldn't place a pot of wood near heating appliances or in places of high humidity (for example, in the kitchen). In addition, in winter, the plant should be watered with less intensity, and completely abandoned feeding.
In some cases, it is possible to take out the fir outside the premises in winter in order to bring the conditions of its keeping closer to natural ones. This is done for different purposes. For example, to stimulate a change in the color of needles or to increase the number of cones in the next season.
The plant normally tolerates such procedures, however, the basic rules for their implementation should be followed in order to avoid its death.
It must be understood that in a limited volume of the pot, the soil freezes much faster than in natural conditions. We can say that if you expose the plant for a long time to frost, the soil will freeze completely, which will lead to the death of the plant. Therefore, such procedures should not take too long.
If there is a desire to let the plant "enjoy" the frost, this should be done for short periods of time. For most of the winter, fir in this case can stand in some place of the house, where the temperature will be quite low, but not below zero. Thus, it will be possible to keep the fir in the pot until spring.
Diseases and pests of indoor fir
Fir has a high resistance to most diseases and pests. The only serious disease problem is fungus caused by excessive soil moisture.
If the plant has been attacked by a fungus, it should be treated with any fungicide. The best solution in this case would be treatment with a 1% solution of copper sulfate, followed by transplanting the plant into another soil. In the future, in order to avoid the repetition of such cases, the watering of the tree should be reduced.
Of the pests, the pine cone roll and the shoot moth should be noted. These pests will have to be treated with insecticides or acaricides (for example, with Aktara, Caesar, Commander, etc.).
Conclusion
Decorative fir in a pot is one of the best solutions in modern floristry. She will be able to perfectly fit into almost any interior. Caring for a fir in a pot at home is simple and can be carried out with a minimum of time and material costs.
