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Canadian Konica Spruce is not intended to be grown as a houseplant. Conifers generally make such demands on the conditions of detention that are easy to provide on the street, but in the house it is almost impossible. There are a few exceptions, such as araucaria. You can take care of the Konik spruce in a pot carefully and regularly, but in the house it will die anyway sooner or later.
But it is quite possible to hold out until planting in the ground a plant bought as a New Year's tree. True, only if the Konik spruce was initially viable.
How to choose Konika
Before the New Year, spruce trees are sold everywhere. Attractive potted trees with peat substrate can be found even in supermarkets. When buying such a spruce, most people expect to plant it later on their personal plot, or leave it as a houseplant.
Why Konika often dies after the New Year
Most often, the tree dies soon after the holiday, and the new owners are not to blame for this. Why?
Most of the 15-20 cm potted Canadian Konica trees come from overseas. During transportation, they are placed on pallets and wrapped in foil to retain moisture. But the container can linger at the border or on the road, no one will water it, especially if the plants are on shelves wrapped in cellophane.
As a result, the glauca spruce in the pot will die - after all, the culture cannot stand the drying out of the substrate. But this will not be noticeable right away - even dead conifers retain their inherent color for a long time. Then the Canadian Konik spruce will be unpacked and poured. Not everyone will be able to determine by eye that the plant is already dead.
In especially "neglected" cases, when Konika has already begun to dry, the trees are treated with sparkles, silver or gold. Nobody will paint a living plant - it will surely die from this.
In addition, in ordinary supermarkets, the premises are not provided for the maintenance of plants, there are no specially trained people who will take care of the conifers. Even if there is a competent amateur there, he simply will not have time for it. And no one will hire an individual or relieve an employee from basic duties.
Of course, you can go to the garden center for Konika, but even there they are trying to sell all the illiquid assets by the New Year. And is it worth torturing a good plant in order to enjoy its presence in the house for several days, and then earn yourself a headache until spring?
How to choose a viable Konik spruce
It is impossible to guarantee that a Konica purchased as a New Year tree will survive until it is planted in the ground. It is impossible to be sure that the plant was not overdried the day before the purchase, and then put in order. However, your choice of spruce should be taken seriously.
The spruce will definitely not survive until spring:
- Painted. With a 100% probability, any plant will die if all pores are blocked. Yes, no one will paint a live spruce - this is how dry needles are masked.
- Dry. Even a single overdrying of the substrate can cause the death of Koniki.
- With signs of disease or pest damage.It's hard to fight with them on Konik's spruce, and even more so at home.
- When at least some of the needles have dried up.
- If some branches of the Konik spruce are cut off, this is a clear sign that the tree was put in order after being damaged by drought or overflow.
This does not mean that you cannot buy such an ephedra. Of course you can, but after the holiday it will have to be thrown away or turned into a dust collector.
When choosing Konik spruce, you should pay attention to the following points:
- Needles and branches. They should be elastic, not break when bent, without signs of drying out and injury. If at least the tips of the needles have changed color, the spruce cannot be bought.
- Smell. First, you should smell Konika - a distinct aroma of pine needles only means that the seller wants to hide something and has used a perfume. An intact spruce tree in a pot does not smell. Then you need to lightly rub the needle and sniff your fingers. The aroma of black currant will show that the pot is really Canadian spruce, and, at least, its needles are alive.
- Earthen room. It will have to be considered carefully, and it is better to ask the seller for permission. If they refuse, it's better not to take Konik. The “right” spruce can be easily removed from the container together with the substrate braided with roots. It should smell like fresh earth, and nothing else. Extraneous odors, signs of decay, and a lot of dried roots signal that Konica should be left in the store.
- Naturally, the spruce should be watered, have no signs of diseases and pests.
Features of growing spruce Glaukonika in a pot
Konik spruce is absolutely not suitable for growing in an apartment, but it can live there for several months. In winter, this requires low temperatures, high humidity and a lot of sun.
Potted Canadian spruce suffers from heat and dry air, especially near radiators or other heating appliances. For normal life, the tree needs a dormant period with negative temperatures, so it will not stand more than one winter in a room.
Homemade Konik spruce in a pot on the windowsill feels uncomfortable in summer. Of course, you can take it out into the garden in the warm season, and in winter put it in an unheated room, where it can be illuminated with a phytolamp. But we are talking about an indoor plant, not a container plant. It should decorate the living space, not the shed.
It only makes sense to do this in winter. Even if Konika got to the site in a hot summer, and you can't immediately plant it in the ground, it is better to dig the pot under a spreading bush or tree with a dense crown. There, the spruce will feel much better than indoors.
Optimal conditions for growing Glauka spruce at home
It is impossible to create optimal conditions for spruce prickly glauk at home. This tree must grow outdoors. Even with perfect care for the Glauconika spruce in a pot, the ephedra will die, but not quickly, but slowly.
However, what optimal conditions can we talk about if the culture needs negative temperatures in winter?
How to care for potted Canadian spruce
Caring for glauk spruce at home is more inconvenient than difficult. It is impossible to provide ideal conditions for Konike there, but acceptable ones are difficult.
Transplant rules
Canadian spruce does not like transplants, but at a young age it tolerates them better than an adult tree. But if you disturb the roots of Konica, it will take a long time to recover. And is it necessary to injure the plant if in the spring it is still transplanted into the ground?
To answer this question, you should carefully examine the earthen lump. After the spruce has been brought home, the pot is placed in a place protected from the sun for several days, separate from other plants for adaptation. At this time, it is watered moderately so as to only moisten the substrate.
Then they prepare the workplace, for example, cover the table with old newspapers. Take Konika out of the pot so as not to disturb the earthen lump. They carefully examine it, sniff it. If the smell is fresh, the roots have braided the substrate well, but the pot is not completely filled, the Canadian spruce is simply returned to the pot.
If signs of root decay are found that were not noticed when buying, Konik needs to be rescued. It is unlikely that this will work, but it's worth trying:
- The root is freed from the substrate, washed under running water, and all rotten processes are cut off.
- For 30 minutes, they are soaked in a solution of foundationol, the sections are powdered with crushed activated carbon.
- Prepare a larger container with drainage holes and special soil for conifers. It is recommended to add charcoal to it, you can break it for these purposes into 2-4 parts of an activated tablet.
- Konika is planted to the same depth, having previously filled ¼ of the pot with expanded clay. In this case, the substrate is compacted, gently touching it with your fingers.
- Watered with a solution of root or heteroauxin.
If everything is in order with the root, but it has filled the entire volume of the container, transshipment is done. It practically does not injure the Canadian spruce, and will allow it to hold out until spring - in a pot, almost devoid of substrate, Konik can be easily poured or overdried.
To do this, take a container of a larger volume, pour drainage on the bottom, and on top - a thin layer of substrate for conifers. Canadian spruce is taken out of the old pot so as not to destroy the earthen lump, installed in a new container, and the voids are filled with soil, carefully compacting it.
Planting depth of Koniki should be the same as in the previous container.
Temperature and lighting
In order for Konika to feel good in winter, she needs a freezing temperature. When caring for Canadian spruce at home, this cannot be ensured. It should be placed at least in the coolest place.
Konika can be placed on a bright balcony, loggia or, if possible, between window frames. But the branches should not touch the glass - it quickly heats up and cools down, and the temperature difference will negatively affect the tree, which is already experiencing discomfort.
Adequate lighting must be provided for Canadian spruce. Any window will do, but on the southern Koniku it should be shaded on a sunny afternoon. If necessary, the tree is illuminated for at least 6 hours a day, and it is better to use a phytolamp.
Watering mode
It is impossible to allow the earthen coma grown in Konika's room to dry out, otherwise she will die. Overflows are also undesirable - the root can rot. Between wetting, the top layer of the substrate should dry out a little.
To check the need for watering, the index finger is immersed in the soil away from the root. It should dry out from above, but no more than to the depth of the first phalanx.
The pot must be placed on a pallet, where excess water will drain. It is drained 15 minutes after watering Koniki so that the liquid does not stagnate.
Air humidity
Canadian spruce should be sprayed with a household spray bottle several times a day. Overdrying the needles can lead to the death of Koniki. It is useful to place pebbles or sphagnum moss in the pallet, and moisten them periodically.
To facilitate care, the Canadian spruce is placed in a voluminous pots, and the space between its walls and the pot is filled with wet sphagnum or sour peat. Their fibrous structure retains moisture well.
Top dressing of home spruce Konik
In winter, Canadian spruce is not fed. Untimely fertilization can cause the Konica to leave the dormant period prematurely. In the best case, this will cause the tree to weaken, and it will take root less well after transplanting, in the worst case, it will die.
Protection against diseases and pests
If a healthy Canadian spruce is brought into the house, and the rest of the plants are not affected by diseases or pests, problems should not arise. Otherwise, it will be difficult to fix the situation - Konika is already suffering in the room, she does not need extra stress.
At home, Canadian spruce is treated against pests with Aktelik, for diseases - with a fungicide that does not contain metal oxides. The konik is taken out to a non-residential premises, sprayed, put in a large bag together with the pot, tied it up, and removed after 30-40 minutes. Canadian spruce is returned to the house, and quarantined, with lighting reduced for at least a week.
Experienced gardening tips
It is impossible to put Konika next to heating devices, but what if there is a battery under each window? You can protect the Canadian spruce at least a little by putting foil on the radiator.
The glass gets very cold at night and heats up at noon. Putting a newspaper between him and Konica will help protect the plant from temperature changes.
To increase the humidity, you can place saucers of water next to the Canadian spruce.
Spraying every 10-14 days with epin will have a beneficial effect not only on Konik, but will be useful for all indoor plants.
Conclusion
Taking care of Konik spruce in a pot is a thankless task. Even if you do not make a single mistake, the tree can still die, it is simply not intended for growing in the house.
