How to grow cedar at home? Tips for growing cedar seedlings at home from seed How to plant a pine nut

Today we will tell you exactly 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.

Cedar cones

It is best to plant cedars in the fall - this is natural for them, because... In the cold winter, they need to undergo 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 sprinkling 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 took pine nuts, 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 to the top, 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 sprout (or even immediately after planting), be sure to cover them with branches, otherwise they will be pecked by their feathered friends.

Here is another proven and proven planting method.

You need to find or make yourself a wooden box with a sides 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 such an environment, so don’t worry, there’s enough for them 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 out substances from the nuts that prevent their germination. Place pine nuts in a bucket or basin and fill with 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.

A certain amount of resin and substances that interfere with germination will pass into the water. How black it will become - you have to see it!

We wash the pine nuts, fill them with warm water again and leave them for a couple of hours. Then wash the nuts and change the water again. Thus, soak the cedar seeds for about a day. By this time, most of the mature nuts will sink to the bottom of the bucket.

Well, we have done the preliminary preparation of cedar seeds.

Wet, saturated cedar seeds are placed in 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’s best to take a screw-on can. After wrapping the lid, we make holes in it, using a knife or a nail, to allow air to enter.

Packed in this way, cedar seeds 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 remains around 0°C. You can also stratify pine nuts in the refrigerator. But the effect will be worse.

In the first years, cedar grows very slowly - the growth is only a few centimeters.

If pine nuts are stratified 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. Cedar seeds tolerate freezing, even severe freezing, well - with gradual thawing.

Don't forget that pine nuts are a favorite treat for mice. They won’t get the nuts through a metal lid... But mice can easily gnaw through a 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.

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).

To drain and improve soil aeration, 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. Mulch prevents drying out of the soil, prevents abundant grass growth, creates a local microclimate, creates conditions for the development of worms 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. Nutrients and simply information from herbs play a role here.

And further. Very important. Cedars really need mycorrhiza for survival and growth, i.e. mycelium. A mycelium that maintains symbiosis with a tree and increases the area for collecting water and nutrients by 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 birch trees there are boletus, porcini mushrooms, russula, and milk mushrooms.

Since white mushrooms and milk mushrooms form mycorrhiza with both coniferous and deciduous trees, it means that old milk mushrooms and white mushrooms collected in birch groves should also be used to form mycorrhiza in places 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 there is already a 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 a good mood, a smile and joy, and then there will be more of this on earth.

The most mysterious and important tree on Earth

Cedar forests are the beauty and pride of Siberia.

Cedar is a majestic and very decorative tree, long-lived among local tree species. It is believed that cedar begins to bear fruit very late, after 50 years of life, but in cultivated plantations tended by humans, this period is often reduced several times.

How to grow cedar from a nut. Pollination occurs with the help of the wind, so cedars are planted in groups on the site. To ensure that cedars grown from seeds are well pollinated in the future and produce full-fledged seeds, it is recommended to take cones for sowing from different trees, or even better, from different places.

The cones ripen for a year and a half, ripen in September, after which they are easily knocked down by the wind. In order for cedar seeds to germinate well, you need to collect only mature cones, no earlier than September. Industrial harvesting with the help of “beater” logs often begins long before the final ripeness of the nut, and they often shell it after “bathing” in boilers with hot water, so that the resin does not interfere. What kind of germination is there...

Freshly harvested seeds can be immediately sown in a garden bed, where they will sprout together in the spring, and then grow for 2-3 years. Planting depth is about 2 cm, the distance between grooves is about 20 cm, between seeds is 2-3 cm. The bed must be mulched - with pine litter or pine nut shells, as in my version in the photo. It is this kind of sowing that gives the best results and excellent germination, adaptation of pine trees to the soil, climate and local conditions.

There are two important conditions for the successful growth and development of seedlings, which are especially relevant in regions with hot and active sun and dry winds. Firstly, crops in open areas need to be slightly shaded. Usually, it is enough not to weed out all the grass, leaving “curtains” between the ridges and some herbaceous plants on the ridge (but do not overdo it - it’s bad if you don’t see the cedars themselves in your “shading”). Secondly, cedar is a rather moisture-loving tree, sensitive to a lack of both soil and air moisture. Therefore, think about how to provide the seedlings with sufficient moisture - you can sow them in the partial shade of other plantings or buildings, or turn on a sprinkler system for them during drought. Plantings should overwinter under snow. In places where snow blows, provide snow retention.

How to grow cedar from a nut In the first years, cedar grows very slowly - the growth is only a few centimeters. In the third year of life in the spring, you need to place your pets in pots with a volume of at least 0.5 liters with a clod of earth, place them or dig them in the shade and make sure that the soil in the pots does not dry out.

Next spring, plant the cedars in a permanent location. If the soil is poor and dry, you need to add leaf humus, sawdust, forest litter, and peat. Water the planted cedar with infusions of mature mushrooms and forest litter. As you know, most trees grow much better in symbiosis with mycelium, and cedar is no exception. The four-year-old seedling reaches a height of 15 cm.

Until about 10 years old, cedars need attention, communication and supervision, then their growth accelerates sharply, and they begin to give back, to “thank” the person who raised them.

Let's all give beautiful cedar gardens to our descendants!

This mighty tree of the Pine-conifer family has been known since time immemorial. Cedar is the oldest seed plant on earth. It is easy to recognize by its green with blue or silver needles. And the fragrant aroma of cedar is familiar to everyone.

General description of cedar, history and legend

Cedars reach a height of 50 meters, which is why our ancestors called it the World Tree, whose crown rests on Space, and whose roots go deep underground, feeding on the waters of the underground world. and elongated cones. Among the scales of the cones are seeds - pine nuts, triangular in shape and with a specific taste. The crown has the shape of a cone.

The so-called Siberian cedar is not actually a cedar; it belongs to pine trees, although it is a relative of cedar.

Since ancient times, cedar has been attributed with various magical properties. In the ancient Sumerian kingdom, cedars were given names because they believed that this tree was a symbol of immortality and power. It is an accumulator of cosmic energy and divine power. Egyptian pharaohs used cedar in the construction of the pyramids, and cedar resin was part of the balms used in mummification. Even then, the Egyptians knew about the incredible durability of cedar wood. The sarcophagi found during excavations have been preserved along with wooden elements and even exude a slight smell of cedar thousands of years later.

Some scientists are of the opinion that cedar actually has a soul. Cedars have their own biorhythms, similar to human ones. Unlike other trees, which are active only at certain times, cedars are able to adapt to their environment. For example, in cloudy weather cedars “sleep” longer than in sunny weather.

In winter, the life cycles of the tree do not stop, it’s just that the cedar spends a little more time “sleeping.”

Among the many legends about cedar, there is one that attributes divine origin to it. According to legend, cedars grew only in Eden. God created these mighty trees for the joy of the first people - Adam and Eve. But Adam's first son managed to get three cedar seeds. When his father died, his son put seeds in his mouth and buried him. This is how the first cedar appeared on earth.

Those who want to learn how to grow cedar from seeds will not encounter much difficulty. This is not the most difficult, but somewhat painstaking procedure.

There are several rules for caring for planted seeds and sprouted seedlings. Following these rules will help you ultimately grow a mighty cedar that future generations will be proud of. You planted the seeds in moist soil, so do not rush to water the soil immediately after planting. Excess moisture can cause irreparable damage.

Make sure that the seeds are not completely covered with soil. In this case, the stem will begin to grow under the soil. It may turn black and rot. The root begins to grow first, so do not be alarmed that the seed itself does not open for a long time. It will not open right away. The stem will grow first.

Do not remove the shell of the nut itself, even if you have already noticed that it has opened and shown the first needles.

At first, the seedling receives nutrients from this shell. Until the growth point is noticeable, it is not recommended to remove it. Better yet, forget about the nut itself. It will crumble when the time comes.

Before the husks fall off, spray the seedlings with clean water. This will moisten the soil, maintaining its looseness, and soften the seed shell. Cedars love light. But young seedlings do not need bright sunlight. The light should be diffused at first, and closer to planting, accustom the trees to direct sunlight.

Make sure that no signs of rot appear. If the stem begins to turn black, it means you are over-moistening the soil.

At first, the flexible stems of cedars may bend and even fall. There is no need to be afraid of this. It’s just that the stems don’t start to become woody right away. If you planted cedars densely, they will cling to each other, preventing them from falling. Before planting, harden the seedlings and take them out into the fresh air in the spring. This way you will allow the tree to get used to both the sun and the air. But don't overdo it. There is no need to leave seedlings on an open balcony if there are frosts at night. Start hardening on cloudy days so that the sun does not immediately scorch the cedar.

These are the basic rules for caring for seedlings before planting. Young seedlings begin to smell fragrant almost immediately after the seeds hatch. This aroma will fill your home.

Hardened, grown seedlings can be safely planted in the ground when the snow has already melted and severe frosts have passed. Choose a well-lit place with nutritious soil. Then the young trees will grow faster.

You can plant cedars in the shade, but if there is insufficient lighting, they stretch out and the trees do not grow as lush.

In a very dark place, you can only grow a thin trunk with a small bunch of needles. A giant with a lush crown is grown exclusively in the sun. When you have already chosen a place, check the soil in the garden bed. Inspect it for roots. There should not be a large number of weeds in the soil. If you notice that the bed is clogged, dig it up and remove foreign roots.

Tips for growing cedar::

1. It is advisable to plant cedars in open ground in cloudy weather or in the late afternoon, so that the sun does not scorch the still weakened seedlings. Make sure that the roots are not damaged, act carefully.
2. Take the tree along with the lump of earth that has formed around the rhizome. Shake lightly and very gently to remove excess soil. Plant the cedar in the hole, cover it with soil, and add a little more dry soil on top.
3. If you are planting a whole alley, the distance between holes should be at least 10 cm, and between rows - at least 20 cm.
4. If the spring turns out to be dry, the seedlings will have to be watered often, but not too much. The roots have not yet had time to grow deep into the ground. In wet weather, watering can be reduced.
5. When the moisture is absorbed into the soil, it needs to be loosened a little so that during the next watering the water is well absorbed and a crust does not form on the top layer of soil, preventing the penetration of air and moisture. To avoid loosening every time, you can add sawdust to the soil. They will serve as drainage. Air and moisture will flow to the roots in sufficient quantities.
6. Protect seedlings from weeds. Fast-growing grass can completely overwhelm the weak root system of young trees. If the weed is too big, do not rush to pull it out by the roots. This may damage the root of the young cedar. It is better to cut off an overgrown weed at the root.

Use of cedar:

• The bark, resin and nuts of cedar are used in various ways: eaten, and also used in medicine and cosmetology. It is also known that walks through cedar groves are incredibly beneficial. They have very clean air, as cedars emit huge amounts of oxygen.
• Pine nuts . Cedar nuts are priceless for our body. They contain a large amount of vitamins and microelements that cannot be replaced. Pine nuts contain vitamins B, E, A, as well as iron, iodine, zinc, magnesium, and calcium. Eating pine nuts is very healthy, but it is worth remembering that they are quite high in calories. Various tinctures and medicines for the treatment of stomach diseases, atherosclerosis, anemia, and diseases of the duodenum are made from pine nuts. Don't forget to check the quality of the nuts. If they are rotten or rancid, they can cause harm to health.
• Cedar oil. Pine nut oil is rich in antioxidants and vitamins, it has healing and bactericidal properties. It is used as a medicine for eczema, psoriasis, and diathesis.
• Resin for wounds and burns. Cedar resin contains gum turpentine. It’s not for nothing that they call it sap. Since ancient times, cedar resin has been used as a medicine for cut wounds and burns. Purulent inflammations on the skin were also treated with cedar resin. During the war, cedar resin ointment was used to stop the growth of gangrene.
• Cedar wood. The wood is mainly used to make furniture. It has bactericidal properties. Cedar cabinets will never harbor moths. In addition, cedar decorative elements emit a pleasant aroma.
• Preparations based on cedar. Cedar oil is often added to various medicines. Such drugs have expectorant, bactericidal, hemostatic, and anti-inflammatory effects. Cedar oils and decoctions are added to mouthwash to relieve inflammation and bleeding gums.

Cedar is a valuable tree species, which is credited with not only healing, but also magical properties. It’s not difficult to grow cedar on your own, but all your hard work will receive a worthy reward: this is true for any plot.

More information can be found in the video.

• Soak the seeds in warm water for about four to six days, changing the water every two days.
• Mix the seeds with washed river sand or peat crumbs and keep at a not too high temperature.
• This mixture needs to be stirred from time to time and well moistened. If you stratify the seeds in this way, then within fifty days they will hatch.
• Next, you need to take the seeds out into the cold and store them at a temperature of about zero degrees.

This is a more scientific way of stratification. Here are some tips from experienced people:

• Saturate the pine nuts with moisture. This will also help wash out from the seeds all the substances that prevent them from germinating. Place the nuts in a bowl and fill with hot water. After an hour, the nuts will be soaked and can be washed. Just rub them together.
• After the seeds are washed, pour warm water over them and leave for two hours. Then wash the nuts and change the water again. This procedure must be repeated throughout the day.
• Next, the wet seeds need to be placed in glass jars. It is better to fill the jars only halfway. Be sure to make a hole in the lid to allow air to flow to the seeds. Then find a place where the temperature does not drop below zero, for example, a cellar is perfect. If you put jars of nuts in the refrigerator, the effect will be worse.

Planting nuts

If you want to sow in spring, do it in early May. Sow no more than three hundred grams of seeds per square meter. Plant the seeds to a depth of three centimeters. Be sure to cover the seeds with plastic; if you don’t do this, the birds will eat all the nuts. The film can be removed only after the shells fall off the seedlings. So, after planting, the seeds will sprout.

If the seedlings are too thick, then you need them. The sprouts will look like an arc. Once they appear, dig them up, trim the roots and plant them under a stake. The planting depth should be the same at which they grew before. You can pick seedlings in the second year after they sprout. If you follow all the agrotechnical details, then after picking the seedlings will take root with a 95 percent probability. After two or three years, excellent material will be obtained and the sprouts can be transplanted to a new location.

Seedlings must be planted immediately in a permanent place.

It should be sufficiently lit. Cedars need to be planted at a distance of five meters from each other. You can plant any berry or fruit bushes between the conifers. You can sow lupine next to cedars - it will serve as a natural fertilizer and will help the better development of the plant. It’s great if you water the ground around the tree, adding at the same time as watering. In the spring they need to be replaced with organic ones.

Tips for planting cedar seedlings:

• Grown plants should be planted in loose, non-turfed sandy loam or loamy soil.
• The planting hole should be approximately one third larger than the roots of the seedling.
• The soil that you removed from the hole must be mixed with either peat, wood ash, manure, or humus.
• It would also be a good idea to add three handfuls of pine forest litter. The litter will help better develop the interaction between fungal hyphae from the forest and root endings, which ensures good nutrition for the cedar.
• Pour this mixture into the bottom of the hole and plant the seedling.
• Fill the hole with loose soil, compact and water.
• Planting sites should be placed in groups at a distance of at least three meters or linearly.
• You can place seedlings according to a 5x5 meter or 4x5 meter pattern. Such planting methods will provide sufficient lighting for the growth and development of trees, and the cedars will not touch each other with their paws, that is, the crowns will be well formed, and the harvest of cones will be large in the future.

Cedar can begin to produce cones from the age of eighteen. When a white coating appears on young shoots (usually it appears when there is excess moisture in the air), be sure to treat the plants with a solution of laundry soap. Dilute the soap in warm water, whip up the foam, then wash the diseased shoots with a sponge or soft cloth.

If you do not carry out this procedure, whiteness will actively develop and the plants will die. The tree will not die, but will lose its annual growth. Be sure to add mineral (in autumn) and organic (in spring) to the soil. This will help the tree develop better.

Be sure to start taking care of the shape of the crown immediately after transplanting. It is best to form "garden forms". The plant will be multi-vertexed, spreading and low pubescent. In the first ten to fifteen years of the plant’s life, it is necessary to trim the lower branches to a height of up to two meters.

Apply garden varnish to the cut areas to prevent infection with spores of wood-destroying fungi.

There is no need to prune the tree if the lateral buds on the main shoot are broken off during the first three years after planting a two-year-old seedling. In this case, all the substances that nourish the tree will flow into the main bud. In this case, the growth of this shoot will double in six months, and there will be no need to trim the cedar branches. It is better to break out the buds in autumn or winter.

If the needles are dark green, this means that the cedar has taken root well. An increase of at least five centimeters per year will also be a positive signal.

If you liked some form of cedar, for example, this particular plant turned out to be the fastest growing, most beautiful, and gave the largest harvest, you can clone it. It is for this purpose that a form such as propagation by grafting cedar cuttings onto a pine tree is used. A mature plant will develop from the scion, and after five years cones will appear on such a tree.

Cedar cuttings should be rooted in a special greenhouse in the same way as, for example, spruce cuttings are rooted.

This process is quite difficult. It is quite difficult to propagate cedar vegetatively, and it will not be easy for a non-specialist to cope with such a procedure. Cedar can produce seeds, and this is a wonderful advantage of this plant. Cedar cones begin to form after about nineteen years if the tree is grown from a nut.

Cedar is a monoecious plant. In the most illuminated places of the crown there are female buds, and below are male buds. The tree begins to “bloom” at the beginning of summer. The “female” cones are crimson and seem to be hidden in the needles near the upper bud. The male “flowers” ​​are raspberry-orange in color and are collected near the base of the shoot. After about four days, the flowers turn brown and fall off. Pollen is carried by the wind.

After pollination, the female cones close and become green-brown in color.

The seeds are fertilized and formed in early autumn. It is because of wind pollination that it is best to have several cedars on the site. To know that the plant will definitely produce a harvest, you can pollinate it yourself: shake the pollen from the male “flowers” ​​onto a sheet of paper, pour it into some container and put the container in the refrigerator. When you see that the female “flowers” ​​have begun to open, blow the pollen onto them or apply it to the “flowers” ​​with a soft brush.

If you don’t want to bother with seeds, you can try to find ready-made seedlings. Yes, they will cost more, but there is less hassle with them. Try contacting the nearest forestry department, where you can buy two-year-old seedlings. Sometimes, if forestry workers allow it, you can dig up cedar seedlings yourself. You need to dig it out carefully and then wet the seedlings. Plant the plants on the same day. At least bury the seedlings if it is impossible to plant them.

The most common errors:

• Breaking off the main roots
• Gross damage
• Drying roots during prolonged exposure to air

One of the mistakes gardeners often make is planting plants individually. Coniferous trees are pollinated by the wind, their pollen is transferred from one plant to another. Pollination can also occur inside, but then the seeds may either not set at all or ripen very small. Know that cedar can grow and bear fruit for several centuries. For example, there are known cases when cedars grew for four centuries.

Cedar grows quite quickly. In a year, with proper care, it can grow up to forty centimeters in height. If cedar is grown, that is, in a summer cottage, and also provided with suitable conditions, then it will bear fruit every four years, whereas in the wild, due to lack of sunlight, it will bear fruit once every seven years.

Peak fruiting occurs when the tree is a century old.

From a developed plant you can collect up to fifteen kilograms of nuts. Cultivated species have larger nuts than wild cedars.

More information can be found in the video.

True cedar is a coniferous tree of the genus Cedrus. In our country, Siberian cedar pine is called cedar ( Pinus sibirica) and love her nuts very much. Many people dream of growing this beautiful tree in their garden, thousands of kilometers from its natural habitat. You can try to grow a tree from nuts that are sold in the store. Their germination rate is often low, and sometimes none. The buds are often heated to make shelling easier, but the embryo in the seed may die. 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.

How to grow cedar from seeds yourself

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 through 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.

You can simply sow pine 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.

Growing cedar at home

It is better to start home sowing no earlier than March: earlier, when 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 is a very important procedure, since the main enemy of home coniferous crops is blackleg.

Caring for cedar seedlings

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 the instructions). As soon as the threat of frost has passed, we take the seedlings 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 winter well. Any shelter will only provoke damping off. My cedar crops overwinter in pots that are placed in boxes and not buried.

In pots it is convenient to monitor and care for them for the next 3-4 years, transferring them into larger containers as they grow. In the second year, the seedlings will grow to 5-7 centimeters, by four years - to 20-30. This is where you can think about landing for freedom. Cedar shoots are poorly replanted if they have reached a size of more than a meter, so the planting site must be immediately chosen so that the groundwater level is no higher than 3 m and so that waterlogging is prevented.

Cedar pines 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!

How to grow cedar - "Homestead farming" N6, 1988.

"Cedar is a tree for children and grandchildren"
M. Ignatenko, Candidate of Biological Sciences, Honored Forester of the RSFSR, Leningrad

Siberian cedar (the correct botanical name is Siberian cedar pine)- an evergreen coniferous tree. This truly amazing plant seems to have absorbed all imaginable useful qualities: decorativeness and healing properties, winter hardiness and durability. The main wealth of Siberian cedar is its nuts. Collected near Leningrad, they contained 61% fat, 20% proteins, 12% carbohydrates. Please note that these are nuts grown in the northwest of the country, where the weather is capricious. Nuts are very tasty, nutritious and healing. Academician P.S. Pallas wrote 200 years ago: “in Switzerland they use pine nuts in pharmacies; milk is made from them, which is prescribed for chest diseases... they claim that they were used beneficially by consumptive people.”

Pine nuts contain vitamin A (growth vitamin), B vitamins (anti-neurotic), which improve cardiac activity and are generally necessary for the normal functioning of the nervous system. They are especially rich in vitamin E (tocopherol, which in Greek means “bearing offspring”). It is not without reason that in years of good cedar harvests the fertility of sable and squirrels increases significantly. Doctors claim that pine nuts contain substances that help improve blood composition, prevent tuberculosis, and anemia.

Cedar resin - resin- has embalming properties. For a long time, residents of Siberia and the Urals used it to treat purulent wounds, cuts, and burns. During the Great Patriotic War, cedar resin was successfully used in hospitals to treat wounded soldiers. It protected wounds from infection and stopped gangrenous processes.

The needles are rich in vitamin C and carotene. It contains a lot of calcium, potassium, phosphorus, manganese, iron, copper, cobalt.

Cedar wood is also valuable. Since it has bactericidal properties, cabinets made from cedar wood are not susceptible to moths. Wood is used to make about 10 thousand different products (pencil sticks, battery veneer, furniture, musical instruments).

The tree is beautiful with its green attire at any time of the year. The antimicrobial properties of cedar trees are also high. The air in its plantings is practically sterile.

Siberian cedar has been bred in our country for a long time. Cedars planted in the Moscow region, near Leningrad, Yaroslavl grow successfully; the age of some of them exceeds 100 - 200 years, they successfully bloom, bear fruit and produce mature seeds even in the Arctic. Many cedars are planted by amateur gardeners in their personal plots and in collective gardens. When breeding Siberian cedar, it is necessary to take into account that it cannot grow in dry sandy places, but prefers sandy loam or loamy damp fertile soils.

Cedar propagation vegetatively, by grafting cuttings onto Scots pine, but mainly by seeds. When tender, still immature shoots just emerge from the soil, birds (mostly crows) immediately peck them off. Therefore, plants have to be grown under plastic film.

Good results are obtained when sowing seeds in autumn. To do this, at the end of September - beginning of October, that is, a month before the soil freezes, the seeds are sown in prepared ridges and covered with spruce branches to protect them from mouse-like rodents. And in the spring of next year, the seeds sprout vigorously.

When sowing seeds in spring Siberian cedar require mandatory stratification. To do this, they are soaked in warm water (25 - 300) for 4-6 days. The water is changed every 1-2 days. Then the seeds are mixed with well-washed river sand or peat chips and kept at room temperature. The mixture is periodically stirred and moistened. With this stratification, the seeds hatch in 50-60 days. The sprouted seeds are taken out into the cold and stored until sowing at a temperature close to zero. In spring, sowing is carried out in late April - early May (depending on weather conditions). For 1 sq.m. you can sow from 50 to 300 g of seeds. The depth of their planting is 3 - 4 cm. The plastic film that protects seeds and shoots from birds is removed only after the shells have fallen off the emerging shoots.

When the crops are thickened, the seedlings dive. As soon as the sprouts appear in the form of a bent knee, they are dug up, sorted, the roots are trimmed and planted under a peg on the ridges at the same depth at which they were. The planting pattern is 20x20 cm or 20x10 cm. You can also plant seedlings in the second year after germination. If agricultural practices are followed, the survival rate of cedar seedlings after picking can be very high - up to 95%. 2-3 years after picking, good planting material with a developed root system is obtained, which contributes to better survival of seedlings after transplantation to a new location.

Plant Siberian cedar! He deserves to be bred both in the central regions of the European part of the RSFSR and in the north-west.

A. Klebanov.
Candidate of agricultural sciences Sciences, Ural Forestry Engineering Institute, Sverdlovsk

Many rural residents of Altai, Siberia, and the Urals plant cedar in their garden plots, on the streets and in public gardens. Cedar is the beauty and pride of the taiga. True, trees do not always take root, but sometimes they grow up to 25 m, their trunk diameter reaches 2 m. How similar is cedar to Scots pine. At first glance, you can't tell them apart from each other. But pay attention to the needles. In cedars it is surprisingly soft, long, triangular, collected in whorls of 5-6 pieces, and in Scots pine there are 2 and very rarely 3 needles. Cedar is famous for its longevity - it even lives up to 800 years. It is difficult, of course, to wait for the harvest. In forest plantations, it begins to bear fruit at 40-70 years, sometimes later, and in gardens, where timely care and feeding with fertilizers is carried out, at 15-20 years. But it continues to produce a harvest of seeds for about 250 years. Residents of taiga regions call cedar “breadfruit”.

Of course, the question comes up again and again: where to buy planting material?

In areas where cedar grows in the forest, in spring or autumn you can contact the nearest forestry or forestry enterprise and buy seedlings 2-5 years old. Sometimes, only with the permission of forestry workers, you can dig up cedar seedlings at skidding roads, loading areas, logging sites, oil pipeline routes, etc. Under no circumstances should you dig up cedar from under the forest canopy, in forest plantations, or in burnt areas. This is regarded as poaching and is punishable by a fine. But if you are allowed to prepare cedar planting material, dig it out carefully, preserving the roots as much as possible. Be sure to wet the soil properly and plant it on the same day. If this is not possible, then the seedling must be buried immediately. Significant damage, fragmentation of tap roots or their “drying out” in the air are the most common mistakes when planting cedar.

Another common mistake is planting single trees. It is known that all coniferous trees are wind-pollinated; pollen from one tree is carried by the wind to another, promoting cross-pollination. If it occurs inside the crown of a tree, and there is no other plant of the same species in the neighborhood, then its seeds either do not set at all, or in the fall of next year (the seed development cycle of cedar lasts up to 18 months!) they ripen small and non-germinating. Therefore, cedar planting material must be obtained from different places to prevent inbreeding. It is advisable to plant seedlings on the site immediately in a permanent place, sufficiently lit, preferably in groups of 3-4 trees, at a distance of 5-8 meters from each other. You can plant low-growing fruit trees and berry bushes between cedar seedlings. It is very good to sow lupine - this “biological fertilizer” for several years will contribute to better growth and development of cedar seedlings and will bring the beginning of its fruiting closer. It is advisable to systematically water the soil around the perimeter of the tree crown, simultaneously introducing mineral and, in the spring, organic fertilizers.

From the very first days after planting, it is necessary to take care of the shape of the crown. The most effective formation of the so-called “garden forms” is a low-pubescent, spreading crown, it is good if it has a multi-peaked crown, since female flower buds are laid along its periphery, mainly in the upper part. You can remove lower branches up to a height of 2-2.5 meters in the first 10-15 years of the tree’s life, spreading the pruning time over the years. Use pruning shears to remove branches flush with the tree trunk. In this case, wounds heal faster. To prevent infection by spores of wood-decaying fungi, cover the cut areas with garden varnish.

You can avoid pruning if you break off the lateral buds on the axial shoot in the first 3-5 years after planting a 2-3-year-old seedling. In this case, all nutrients and growth substances enter one central bud of the axial shoot. The growth of this shoot per season increases by 2-2.5 times, and the need to trim the side shoots subsequently disappears. It is advisable to break out side buds or trim side shoots in the autumn-winter period, before the start of the growing season.

An indicator of good survival and growth of cedar seedlings is dark green needles, a spreading crown with needles 4-5 years old, the growth of the axial shoot in the first years is at least 5-10 cm per year.

And also keep in mind one feature of Siberian cedar. This tree species is very sensitive to air pollution. That's why planting cedar is undesirable near large industrial enterprises with increased gas or dust levels in the air. In addition, large seedlings require careful care and feeding with mineral and organic fertilizers. But in gratitude you will receive delicious, high-calorie pine nuts. And your grandchildren and great-grandchildren will remember for more than 200 years the Man who planted and grew this majestic tree.

Professor of Moscow State University of Linguistics, Doctor of Agricultural Sciences. Sciences I.I. Drozdov

Any natural talent is fully revealed only in certain favorable conditions, with appropriate upbringing. Yes and Siberian cedar- only with appropriate attention and targeted care does it fully realize its rich natural capabilities.

In wild cedar forests, trees are not productive enough. Here they are formed under conditions of biogenosis - a unique plant complex with high environmental properties, opportunities for secondary use of forests and the production of valuable wood in mature forest stands. In the village cedar forests, unique cedar gardens formed and cared for by humans, trees are presented in all their splendor. Trees with lush, evergreen crowns perfectly decorate village landscapes, ennobling them with their colorful appearance. Phytoncides improve the health of the atmosphere; nut yields in the pine trees near the village are almost every year 5-6 times higher than the yield of forest plantations.

However, despite all the attractiveness of cedar, growing it is more difficult compared to other conifers (Scots pine, larch, spruce). Foresters call the culture of Siberian cedar the school of patience. Its seeds are distinguished by deep dormancy and they germinate only after a winter stay in the cold for at least 3-4 months. Cedar crops require protection from rodents and birds. The first ten years the cedar grows slowly, reaching a height of 1.5 m. However, in the future this breed is able to thank for attention to it. Cedar gets along well in individual areas, near buildings. At 30 years old, it reaches a height of 9 meters, forms a lush crown reaching 3 meters in diameter. By this time, there is little space for spruce, Scots pine and larch, they are cramped on the site, and problems arise with their felling.

Siberian cedar propagated mainly by seed, less often - vegetatively (grafting, rooting cuttings).

It is preferable to import cedar seeds from the plains and low-mountain regions of Western Siberia. When propagating this breed in the European part of Russia, it is better to focus on the spring sowing period (late April, first half of May). To do this, the seeds are first prepared and stratified for at least 3 months in the cold, following the following procedure.

The seeds are soaked for 3 days, changing the water daily. During this period, benign seeds swell and sink to the bottom of the vessel. Empty and poor quality seeds remain on the surface and are removed. Benign seeds are pickled in an aqueous solution of potassium permanganate. Then their seeds are mixed with a damp (50%) substrate (sand, peat, sawdust, conifers, etc.) in a 1:2 ratio and placed in the cold (under the snow, in the refrigerator, etc.). If the number of seeds is small, they can be placed in bags made of several layers of loose fabric. It is important that the seeds are moist throughout the entire period in the cold. They retain moisture well under snow; they need to be moistened periodically in the refrigerator. Seeds in bags can be placed in plastic bags without closing them tightly.

Before sowing, the seeds are separated from the substrate, again pickled in a strong solution of potassium permanganate (up to 24 hours) and dried for sowing.

It is better to plant them in a greenhouse, hotbed, etc. on a loose peat-soil substrate. Here the crops are reliably protected from damage by birds. In comfortable conditions, seed germination increases, seedlings grow 1.5-2 times faster than in open ground. Before sowing, it is advisable to add 1 g of superphosphate, 0.5 g of potassium fertilizer or 2 g of wood ash mixed with 20 g of peat to the bottom of the sowing furrows before sowing, per 1 meter. The distance between the sowing lines is 15-20 cm. The seeding rate is 30 g (125-150 seeds) per 1 meter. The depth of planting seeds into the soil is 3 cm. The surface of the crops is covered with a 0.5-1 cm layer of loose mulch (peat, sawdust or other covering material). During the season it is necessary to weed and loosen the soil 3-4 times. Before mass shoots appear (10 - 12 days), watering is required. Subsequently, the seedlings develop a fairly deep root system.

To protect crops from infectious damage to seedlings caused by the Fusarium fungus, in addition to preventive treatment of seeds, it will be necessary to water the seed furrows with the seeds sown in them with a 0.4% solution of potassium permanganate. When lesions appear, the stems of the seedlings turn red, a constriction forms, they fall and dry out. Control measures: during the first 2 weeks, seedlings are treated with a 0.4% solution of potassium permanganate 1 - 3 times with a solution consumption of up to 10 liters per 1 m2.

After 3 years, before their growth begins, the seedlings are dug up and transplanted into a tree school with a placement of 0.4 x 0.4 m, where they are grown for 3-5 years to obtain larger seedlings. Seedlings dug up before the start of the growing season can be stored in the cold for 2 weeks. Bunches of seedlings (50 - 100 pieces) are packed in damp burlap, then in plastic wrap and placed in a basement or in a snow pile, previously prepared under a layer of sawdust.

You can grow seedlings with closed roots, i.e. in peat, plastic or other containers prepared for seedlings with a height of at least 8 cm and a volume of 200 - 300 cm. The containers are filled with a substrate from a mixture of peat and loam (1:1) with the addition of granulated superphosphate - 50 g per bucket of the mixture (10 l), potassium salt - 25 g, dolomite lime 250 g.

The containers are filled with substrate in mid-April and placed on the ground in the greenhouse. After stratification, cedar seeds are washed, pickled for 24 hours in a 0.4% solution of potassium permanganate and germinated 7-10 days before sowing on damp sand or damp burlap.

Sprouted seeds are sown 1 in each container, covered with peat, sand or sawdust in a 1 cm layer and watered with a 0.5% solution of potassium permanganate (5 liters per 1 m of container surface). Care consists of timely watering, loosening the surface of the substrate two or three times, and removing weeds. If foci of seedling damage (fusarium blight) are detected, they are watered with a 0.5% solution of potassium permanganate. If several seedlings have died, empty spaces are supplemented with sprouted seeds or seedlings from additional crops.

Growing period is 2-3 years. In the first case, seedlings are grown for 2 years under a film covering, in the second - the first year in closed ground, the next 2 years in open ground with mandatory regular watering. The slightest overdrying of a small volume of substrate has a detrimental effect on plant growth. Grown seedlings are removed from containers or transplanted directly in peat pots into large containers (paper-plastic milk bags, ceramic flower pots, plastic bags, etc.) or planted in the soil of a tree school (0.4x0.4 m) for germinating them and obtaining 6-8 year old seedlings.

Saplings 6-8 years old are more reliable than seedlings when transplanting cedar to a permanent place. In the tree school, they are dug up with a lump of soil (0.2x0.2x0.2 m) and transferred to the planting site, having previously wrapped the lump with film or a damp cloth. Seedlings with a closed root system are freed from containers before planting.

Planting of seedlings is carried out in areas with previously loosened (dug up) not turfed loamy or sandy loam soil. The planting hole is dug 30% larger than the volume of the root systems of the seedlings. The removed soil is mixed with fertilizers (peat, humus, rotted manure, wood ash), it is advisable to add 3-4 handfuls of forest litter from under the coniferous forest. The latter contributes to better development of mycorrhiza on root systems (symbiosis of root endings and hyphae of forest fungi), which provides good mineral nutrition to forest woody plants. The prepared substrate is poured into the bottom of the hole and the root system of the seedling is placed in its center so that its root collar (the boundary between the stem and the root system) is at the ground level of the site. Next, the hole is filled with prepared loose soil, compacted by trampling and watered (0.5 buckets).

Seedlings for seedlings are placed linearly or in groups with a distance between them of at least 3 m. When planting garden-type plantings, seedlings are placed 4x5 m or 5x5 m. This provides a fairly complete light supply to the trees, promotes the development of the crown and the formation of a good harvest of cones in the future. With sparse trees standing, cedar begins to produce crops at the age of 18.

Caring for cedar seedlings

When a white coating appears on young shoots (more often seen in humid weather), it is imperative to treat them with a solution of laundry soap. It is diluted in warm water, the foam is whipped, and then the affected shoots are thoroughly washed 2-3 times with a sponge or soft cloth swab. Otherwise, with the active development of whiteness, the shoots may die. In this case, the tree does not die, but its annual growth is lost.

Vegetative propagation of cedar, most often by grafting cedar cuttings onto cedar or cedar onto Scots pine, is carried out to clone valuable selected forms (in terms of growth intensity, decorativeness, productivity), to accelerate the appearance of the first cones. From a cutting - a scion - taken from an adult tree from the upper female tier of the cedar crown, a sexually mature plant develops. After 4-5 years, cones may appear on such a grafted tree.

Cedar cuttings can be rooted in special greenhouses, like blue spruce cuttings. But the technology of this process is quite labor-intensive. In general, vegetative propagation of cedar is a rather complicated matter, and it is better to leave it to specialists.

Cedar seed production is one of the main attractive qualities of this tree. In a free state, cedar grown from seed begins to form cones at the age of 18-20.

Siberian cedar is a monoecious tree; in the upper, most illuminated part of the crown there are female ovules, below - male strobili. The cedar “blooms” in June. The female “bumps” of raspberry-violet color are hidden in the needles near the apical bud of the shoot. Male “flowers”, orange-crimson in color, are collected in large “inflorescences” at the base of the shoots. After 3-5 days they turn brown and fall off. Pollen is carried by the wind. After pollination, the female cones close, become green-brown, grow to 2-3 cm and are called “winter cones” until the spring of next year. Fertilization and seed formation occurs from the end of August and throughout September. To ensure cross-pollination, it is advisable to have a group of cedars (3 or more). To increase the reliability of pollination of female “flowers” ​​in young cedars, you can carry out artificial post-pollination: shake off the pollen of male “flowers” ​​onto paper, place it in a jar and store it in the refrigerator for several days. As the female “flowers” ​​open, apply pollen to them with a soft brush or gently blow them off a sheet of paper.

Cedar grows and bears fruit for several centuries. Near Yaroslavl, in the Tolga Monastery, about 50 cedars from the monastery garden, founded four centuries ago, have been preserved. Individual centuries-old fruit-bearing cedars are often found in the Yaroslavl region. Near Suzdal, an alley of 150-year-old cedar trees is successfully bearing fruit. In the Ivanovo region, in the Ples tract near the town of Furmanov, a 120-year-old cedar grove (about 1 hectare) bears fruit and produces natural cedar regeneration. In the Moscow region, near the town of Dolgoprudny, in the Klyazminsky park forestry enterprise, there is a century-old grove of two hundred cedars. Near the town of Zaraisk in the Novinkovsky forestry of the Lukhovitsky forestry enterprise, a 25-year-old cedar plantation on an area of ​​3.2 hectares (about a thousand cedars) bears fruit abundantly. In the Dmitrovsky district near Yakhroma M.V. Tvelenev conducts observations in a half-century-old grove with an area of ​​more than 3 hectares. It is possible to establish new cedar groves not only in Siberia, but also in the European region of Russia. This is not only possible, but also necessary to do.

More detailed information about the biology of Siberian pine, methods of its propagation and cultivation can be gleaned from the books:

1. Bekh L.I., Taran I.V. Siberian miracle tree. Novosibirsk: "Science", 1979. - 126 p.
2. Drozdov I.I. Introduced conifers in forest crops. M.: MGUL. 1998. - 135 p.
3. Ignatenko M.M. Siberian cedar. M.: "Science", 1988. - 160 p.
4. Krylov G.V., Talantsev N.K.; Kozakova A.F. Cedar. M.: Timber industry. 1983. - 216 p.
5. Parfenov V.F. Complex in a cedar forest. M.: Timber Industry, 1979. - 240 p.
6. Rodin A.R. Drozdov I.I. Methodological recommendations for growing Siberian cedar seedlings. M.: VASKHNIL, 1978. - 30 p.
7. Tvelenev M.V. Growing Siberian cedar outside its natural habitat. M.: TsBNTUleskhoz 1974. - 16 p.

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