How and when you can plant a pine: planting and caring for seedlings on the site

Pine is considered a symbol of health and longevity: in a pine forest, the air is saturated with phytoncides - biologically active substances that have a beneficial effect on the human body. For this reason, many are trying to plant a pine seedling near the home in order to constantly use a natural inhaler and create a unique, healthy microclimate in the place of residence. It is necessary to clearly understand where and how to plant a pine at a summer cottage, what care should be taken in the future, so that the plant develops correctly and serves as a good addition to the landscape.

Is it possible to plant a pine tree near the house

Scots pine is an evergreen tree with a spreading dense crown. It grows rapidly on poor sandy soils and reaches a height of 30 meters. This is worth considering if you decide to plant a pine tree in the yard of the house. The peculiarity of the tree is that it dries up the soil. With a lack of moisture, its roots can go deep, but much depends on the quality and nature of the soil. A tall pine tree serves as a target for lightning in a thunderstorm, therefore, it can become a source of fire and danger to others.

Experts advise against planting a tree close to home. In adulthood, it has a strong root system that can damage or even destroy the foundation. The distance from the pine planted in the garden to the house must be at least 5 meters.

Coniferous crops are attacked by pests (bark beetles, worms) or suffer from specific species diseases. The fight comes down to the use of insecticides. In the event that the drugs do not help, the infected tree is removed entirely.

It is necessary to carefully determine the planting sites, select varieties that meet the needs, and regularly carry out the necessary agrotechnical measures with the trees.

What pine tree to plant on the site

You should not give up the idea of planting a pine tree in the country or near the house because of the height that it reaches in adulthood. There are undersized varieties that have the same cleansing, bactericidal, medicinal properties as their tall relatives:

Scotch pine varieties Fastigiata has a pyramidal shape, reaching a maximum height of 15 meters. It is very compact, will easily fit into any garden, so it is ideal for planting in small areas;
Vatereri variety has an ovoid crown, its height averages 4 meters. The tree grows slowly, loves sunny areas, tolerates wintering well;
Mountain pine - a small branchy bush, harmoniously combined in design with larch, birch. The plant is undemanding to soil, resistant to diseases and pests, winters well after planting;
Compact variety small, up to 5 meters, with a variety of ground cover dwarf forms creeping along the ground. Annual growth after planting is only 10 cm;
Dwarf cedar - has widely spread branches. The maximum plant height is 4 m.The needles are very beautiful, collected in bunches of five pieces. Trees look more spectacular in group plantings;

The listed varieties can successfully grow throughout the territory of the Russian Federation, easily tolerating heat, frost, snowfalls, and drought. Pine trees in the Moscow region, Novosibirsk, Krasnodar look great and feel good.

Where to plant a pine on the site

Pines are unpretentious trees that can grow on poor soils. The best soils for planting are sandy and sandy loam. On organically rich land, peat bogs, limestones, conifers, surprisingly, grow poorly. Mediterranean and American varieties thrive on rich soils, but their shoots do not have time to ripen, so there is a high probability of freezing without shelter. Alpine species prefer planting in alkaline soils with a high lime content.

Pine is a light-loving plant, for which any place is suitable, if it is located in an illuminated area. Then the tree grows sprawling, with a dense crown. In the shade, the plant stretches upward, its lower branches dry up and die off.

The best place to land is on the south side of your home or garage.

Pine planting dates

Ideal for planting pines in the fall will be the dates of late September-early October, in spring - late April - early May. There is a technology for replanting in winter, but this requires special equipment.

In the summer, during the period of active growth, such manipulations are not recommended because of the need for a large amount of water for the roots of the plant, as well as its formation that has not yet ended and the lignification of the shoots.

Planting a pine tree in the spring will be the best option, because in this case, the plant will have time to take root and get ready for winter before autumn.

In autumn, all processes slow down in the trees, engraftment is painless.

In winter, planting a pine is possible only if the seedling is further covered with spruce branches or special material.

How to plant a pine tree on the site

The process of planting pine from a nursery includes a number of activities:

choice of location;
determination of the type and acidity of the soil;
mixing of the constituents of the substrate;
preparing a pit for planting a tree;
selection of a seedling;
landing;
top dressing;
watering;
mulching;
shading;
garter - if necessary.

Preparing the soil for planting pine

The substrate should be prepared according to the preferences of the conifers. They love breathable, moisture-absorbing, acidic soil. During planting, it is worth mixing high peat, fallen needles with the soil (in a ratio of 1: 2: 1). Then add 100 g of fresh sawdust and 8 g of garden sulfur to the substrate.

In the future, it is necessary to monitor the acidity and keep it at the level of 4 units. For this purpose, every spring it is recommended to mulch the soil with sawdust, feed with acidic fertilizers, water with acidified water (1 tsp citric acid per 3 l of water). These activities, after planting the pine in the ground, create optimal conditions for its growth.

Planting pine seedlings

When landing, you need to make a hole, in the form of a cone or an inverted pyramid. For a seedling no more than 70 cm tall, a hole of 60 by 60 cm is sufficient.If the soil on the site is dense, clayey, the hole needs to be deepened by 30 cm - to create drainage at the bottom of expanded clay, sand, broken brick, pebbles. It is necessary to apply a universal fertilizer into the pit - 100 g per seedling, spill the planting site with water (6 liters into the pit). The root collar of the seedling must be above ground level, otherwise the plant may die. The correct location of the neck is easier to achieve if the seedling has a clod of earth on the roots. The tree should be strictly vertical. Add soil if necessary. Watering the pine after planting is required. Thanks to the water supply, the roots and soil contact better, the seedling recovers faster. To retain moisture, the soil must be mulched with any available material.The frame or support will be useful to the plant during strong winds, bad weather.

At what distance to plant pines

Compliance with the distance between the pines when planting is a prerequisite for proper agricultural technology. If tall varieties are planted, then the minimum distance between trees should be 4 - 5 meters, for low-growing varieties, a gap of 1.5 meters is sufficient.

It should be borne in mind that the planting of tall trees is allowed no closer than 4 meters to the border with neighbors, no closer than 1 m to the carriageway of common roads, 5 m from residential buildings of the site.Pine trees cannot be located under power lines if their crowns interfere with the supply of energy ... The minimum distance from gas and water pipelines must be maintained at a distance of at least 2 m.

What can be planted under a pine tree in the country

Coniferous litter increases the acidity of the soil under the trees, so plants that love this type of soil can be planted next to them.

Shade-tolerant rhododendrons harmoniously fit into the design. Stalked hydrangea and maiden grapes feel good under the pines: for these vines, the tree is a support. Ground cover recumbent grows well on acidic soil. At the base of the pines, various host species look good and develop. Planting under coniferous species of snowberry, bergenia, fern, lilies of the valley looks original.

Is it possible to plant a felled pine tree

Recently, on New Year's holidays, many people use pines instead of traditional trees. It is possible to give a chance for further life to a felled tree, but the process of rooting and planting will be rather difficult, painstaking, and in most cases the result is not guaranteed. To hold such an event, you must:

Choose a short tree (1.5 m) with green needles and flexible branches.
Saw off a couple of centimeters from the trunk at the base.
Soak the saw cut in a solution of a root growth stimulator.
Tie it with a damp cloth, leave the pine tree on the balcony until the New Year.
Place the tree in a container of wet river sand.
Spray the branches with a growth stimulant.
Place the tree away from heating appliances.
Roots and new shoots should appear in two weeks.
Water with growth stimulants.
If the tree is green in April, it gives growth, it can be planted.

Features of planting pine trees from the forest

In order for a pine selected in the forest to take root after planting, its height should be from 60 to 120 cm, and its age should be about 4 years, the trunk should be even, the branches should be alternate. After choosing a tree, you should dig it around the trunk at a distance of 50 cm to such a depth that the largest lump of earth is extracted with the roots.

Planting is best done in early spring, but the survival rate of the plant will depend on the climate and care. Fertilizers must be applied to a hole corresponding to the size of the coma, then the plant must be placed there, the prepared soil must be added and it is watered abundantly. At the same time, it is necessary to maintain soil moisture.

How to care for a pine tree

Due to the developed root system of pine, as well as its unpretentiousness to the soil, it can grow in any conditions, including rocky and mountainous areas. Planting a pine tree and caring for it is not difficult and consists in the following:

top dressing - during planting and in the next 3 years;
watering - the first 2 years until complete rooting;
loosening - during weeding;
mulching - after planting;
pruning - to slow down growth and crown formation;
fight against diseases, pests - carried out by timely treatment with appropriate insecticides;
preparation for winter - protection of young seedlings from frost.

How to properly water a pine tree

In an adult state, pines easily tolerate the lack of watering, especially since fallen needles mulch the soil and retain moisture in it. The exception is the Rumeli pine, which is a moisture-loving plant, requiring repeated watering per season (20 liters per plant).

Watering pine trees in the fall is necessary for seedlings, which were planted quite recently. If the soil is moist, the plant freezes less, its needles do not burn in spring, since the roots nourish the whole tree with moisture.

How often to water a pine

The need for watering depends on the age of the tree. Immediately after planting, young seedlings require weekly watering. The roots will not suffocate in the water if the drainage is done well.

It is enough to moisten the rooted tree three times a season. In summer, it will be useful to water the pine trees by sprinkling at sunset, when there is no active evaporation. This procedure makes it easier for them to tolerate the sultry dry air.

How to water a pine tree

After planting, up to three buckets of warm settled water are poured under young trees at a time. Mature plants require 5 to 10 buckets per watering.

With a decrease in the acidity of the soil, it is worth carrying out periodic watering with a solution of citric acid or vinegar.

Do not neglect periodic liquid fertilizing of plants, contributing to their rapid development.

Top dressing

Top dressing of an adult pine is optional. But if it was carried out, then the tree looks more well-groomed, grows more actively. The ideal fertilizer would be compost - decomposed organic waste. It is similar in composition to soil. For its introduction, it is necessary to loosen the near-trunk circle, add the composition, mix it with the soil.

Attention! It must be remembered that the roots of the plant are close to the surface, so loosening must be done with caution.

Fertilizing with mineral fertilizers is carried out once a year, according to the instructions. They are scattered over the entire near-trunk circle, after which they are plentifully watered with water. Fertilization in the fall is not recommended, so as not to provoke the growth of new shoots that fail to mature by the winter cold.

Loosening and mulching

While the pine is at the stage of a young, weak plant, its near-stem circle must be kept clean. For this, it is necessary to carry out regular inspections, weeding. On weeds pests that carry diseases can live. Weeding is accompanied by shallow loosening so as not to hurt the roots of the young tree. Loosening should be combined with mulching with peat, bark, leaves. With this care, the soil does not dry out for a long time, and the number of weeds is significantly reduced.

Formation of pines

The shape of the pine can be adjusted. With an asymmetric or not entirely harmonious development of the tree branches, you can carry out its aesthetic pruning.

For the density of the crown in May-June, it is worth pinching the tips of young shoots. Due to this, the juices of the plant are redirected to the formation of lateral shoots, and the growth of the central ones will stop.

In the spring, sanitary pruning is carried out, dry or damaged branches are removed.

The pruning shears used in this operation must be sharp and disinfected. Sections must be treated with copper sulfate or garden varnish. One pruning should not remove more than a third of the green mass of the crown.

Protection against diseases and pests

The onset of the disease or the presence of pests is indicated by damage to the bark, needles, and a change in their color. With the onset of spring, it is worth inspecting the tree in order to detect these signs. Among the most common pests are observed:

hermes - its colonies resemble cotton wool, while the needles turn yellow;
sawfly - shoots turn red, branches lose their needles;
bark beetle - a beetle eating passages in wood is capable of destroying a tree in a month.

Pest control is carried out with insecticides. If the drugs are ineffective, the trees are destroyed.

Pine diseases include:

shute - when brown spots appear, needles crumble;
rust - characterized by orange spots, swelling on the needles.

To prevent diseases for prophylactic purposes, conifers can be treated in the fall with Bordeaux liquid.

Preparing for winter

A young plant with a weak root system requires its protection after planting. To this end, before frost, the trunk circle must be covered with a thick (up to 10 cm) layer of peat. This maintains a comfortable temperature and moisture.

You can protect seedlings from frost in the northern regions of the country by covering them with spruce branches. In the spring, conifers often suffer from bright sun, which burns them. For protection, a special non-woven covering material or mesh is also used. This creates shade and prevents the pine tree from being hit.

How to keep pine seedlings until spring

Unlike deciduous seedlings, coniferous species are not stored in the cellar until spring planting. It is enough to dig them in the garden right in the containers. The place should be protected from the sun, wind, the roots of the seedlings - be in moist soil, which must be covered from above with peat or earth. Next, they should be covered with polyethylene to avoid getting wet, and the crown should be covered with non-woven covering material.

If the soil is frozen and the seedlings cannot be buried, they can be placed in a box, covered with sawdust or peat, and placed in a cold room. In this case, the crowns do not need to be covered, and the box itself should be insulated from above and below with a cloth, felt or rags. The soil in the containers must be moist.

Reproduction

The most commonly used method of propagating pines by seeds. It provides for two methods - with an open (sowing directly into the ground) and a closed (in a personal container) root system. The second method is safer, since the plant is not injured when planting.

The vegetative method of reproduction consists in the rooting of pine shoots. But the process is very unreliable: cuttings do not give roots well.

The division method is suitable for pine varieties with multiple trunks.

Reproduction by vaccination is possible. Four-year-old seedlings are used as a stock. In this case, the plant retains the properties of the pine from which the graft was taken for the scion.

Growing pine trees as a business

Growing pine trees for sale is considered a profitable business with minimal financial and labor costs. The first profit is possible within two years after planting. This business is suitable for both gardeners and businessmen. The job is simple, profitable, but seasonal. To begin with, you will need a plot of at least 2 hectares, fertile land and a greenhouse. The choice of varieties for planting is of great importance. They must meet the criteria:

adaptation to the local climate;
disease resistance;
unpretentious content;
rapid growth.

Both planting purchased seedlings and growing pine trees from seeds with the right business organization is a profitable business.

Conclusion

Before planting a pine seedling on the site, it is worth deciding on the variety, location and further design development, taking into account the new plant on it. Planting a pine tree in the summer will be a risky undertaking, since there is no guarantee of its further survival. It is better to do this at a more comfortable time - in autumn or spring, while observing the agrotechnology of growing conifers.

How to plant a pine seedling