Powerful and big cedar tree! Landing and caring for it, despite its parameters, are not at all complicated. The main thing is to find a place for this beauty. Nowadays, the cedar tree has become very popular due to the benefits it brings to people. There is an answer to the question of how to grow cedar, for example, in a summer cottage: breeders have developed dwarf varieties of this tree. Ordinary cedars can reach a height of 30 meters or more, while dwarf cedars barely grow to 1 meter. They look beautiful in single landings, and in group. Himalayan cedar has proven itself in the form of a hedge, it tolerates a haircut that allows you to give free rein to imagination and create a variety of green forms. Besides the fact that this tree gives beauty, it still brings health benefits.
From ancient times it is believed that cedar is an elixir of youth, it is a symbol of power. Its action is especially important for men's health and power. It is also established that this plant is a source of healing energy. If every day for an hour rest near the evergreen miracle of nature, then you can completely get rid of many diseases. So cedar, planting and caring for which does not cause you much trouble, can take its rightful place on your site. This article will help you learn how to grow a beautiful and healthy
conifer at home.
Description of Cedar
Cedar in the country looks great. This evergreen tree will delight you with its beautiful view all year round. It belongs to the pine family and can live up to 800-1000 years. This centenarian as he grows acquires several peaks and a dense crown.
Old cedars are characterized by brown, with a grayish tint, cracked bark in the form of rough scales. Young shoots of dark brown color with a huge number of long red hairs. The needles are dark green soft, grows in bundles of 5 needles, trihedral with small notches, in length reaches from 5 to 15 cm.
Cedar is a monoecious plant; on it cones grow both female and male. The female pine cone is at the end of the shoot, and the male one is at the base. Thanks to the wind, pollination occurs. Conical kidneys up to 10 mm long. The ripe cone reaches 15 cm in length and 5-10 cm in width. They are diamond-shaped, have a brown tint. Young cones are egg-shaped and have a purple hue. Full maturation occurs within 15-16 months. The cedar begins to bear fruit, the planting and care of which are carried out according to all the rules, at the age of fifty.
The seeds of the handsome evergreen are large, dark brown ovoid. In one cone, 50 to 150 seeds can ripen.
Species of Cedar Trees
Before you learn how to plant cedar, you need to familiarize yourself with what species exist in nature and how each of them is characterized so that you can choose the best option for yourself. In total, the genus of cedar trees includes 4 tall species:
- Lebanese - characterized by the power and sprawling branches that grow horizontally. Lebanese cedar looks very unusual, planting and care of this species are very simple, since it is completely unpretentious to the growing conditions. This tree is slow-growing and barely reaches 2 meters by 10 years of life.
- Atlas - this species will require a lot of space for growth, as it is extremely powerful. By 10 years, reaches 3 m in height. After planting, the seedling needs a garter. The branches of the plant are raised up.
- Himalayan - by the age of 10 it grows up to 3 m. The branches are descending drooping type, the tip sticking out.
- Cypriot - originally from the island of Cyprus. The crown at the beginning of growth is conical, then grows into wide-spread, in old age it becomes umbrella-shaped. In adulthood reaches a height of 40 m.
Landing place
Growing cedar begins with the selection of a suitable place for the plant. Planting a tree is recommended where the soil is not too dry and saturated with nutrients. The plants in the neighborhood should be lower than the cedar, as it requires a high level of light as it grows. Trees that have reached the age of 7-8 years can already normally develop further in partial shade.
How to plant a cedar
The very first thing you need to know about is that cedar seedlings should be at a distance of 7-8 m from each other. Marking the territory during planting is a very important stage of work. It is necessary to ensure that the distance from the tree to the house and nearby buildings is at least 3 m. These distances must be observed so that the powerful root system of the plant does not destroy the foundations of structures over time.
When you have finished marking up, you can start landing, this is not a complicated process at all. Cedar is not too picky about the soil, and it does not require additional bedding. In hard soil it is recommended to fill up the drainage layer (15-20 cm), consisting of coarse sand or broken brick.
Watering and spraying
When grown in the garden, cedars usually do not need watering. Unless young trees and cedar seedlings are an exception, they need to be watered in dry and hot summers. Watering is required moderate so that moisture congestion does not form.
Evergreens also relate to dry air calmly. But at the same time, young cedars need to be sprayed periodically on summer days. In this way, you will need rich color needles.
Cedar Care
How to grow a cedar so that it is strong, beautiful and healthy? The answer to this question is simple - you need to properly care for it. While the plant is still young, it grows very slowly, yielding superiority in growth to other conifers and deciduous species. Therefore, it is necessary to ensure that small and still weak cedar seedlings do not disappear in the shade and thickets of their faster neighbors. It is necessary to remove self-seeding of foreign plants in time.
Top dressing
Best of all, the tree will develop in the area exposed to the sun. Evergreen handsome man does not tolerate an excess of nitrogen, this can lead to a poor development of the root system. At the same time, he needs potassium.
Saplings need mulching, it will keep the roots in the winter from frostbite in severe frosts. Each year, it is advised to increase the layer of mulch, this will contribute to the formation of adventitious roots.
In spring and autumn, the soil circle around the trunk can be mulched with organic matter. In the summer, twice a month, it is recommended to feed cedar with a complex organo-mineral fertilizer.
Propagation by seedlings
Very carefully you need to choose cedar seedlings. It is better to purchase those that are sold in containers or with a large lump of land on the roots. This condition increases the chances that the plant will tolerate the transplant well. It is recommended to buy 2-3 year old seedlings. If open roots and yellow withered needles are visible on the planting material, then it is better to refuse such a purchase.
Having picked up the seedlings, you can start planting, adhering to the following recommendations:
- Dig soil within a radius of 3 meters around the landing pit.
- The landing pit should be 40 percent more than the earthen lump of the seedling.
- Before planting, dip the roots of the seedling in a creamy clay solution.
- First fix the peg in the hole, only after that you can put a seedling there. Dip it all together.
- Tie a sapling with a twine to the support.
- Water the plant gently. If there is no rain for 14 days, then you need to continue watering every 2 days.
How to grow a cedar from a nut
To grow cedar from a nut, you must first select the right seeds. Make sure the planting material is odorless and moldy. Now that the material is selected, you can start sowing.
Before sowing, so that the seedlings do not suffer from the fungus, the seeds must be pickled in a weak solution of manganese for two hours.
The seeds do not germinate immediately, at first they undergo a long preparation, which lasts about 5 months. The first step in the preparation is soaking the seeds in water for 3 days, daily you need to change the water. After that, the nuts are mixed with sand, moistened and folded into a fabric bag. Now you need to place them in a wooden box with holes on the sides and put in the refrigerator. Periodically, planting material must be checked and moistened as necessary. If mold is noticed on the nut, it is urgently thrown away, and the sand is changed.
After six months, the nuts are thoroughly washed and planted in pots to a depth of 1 cm. Sandy land is used for this. At room temperature after 30 days the seeds will germinate. Now the seedlings can be placed in a bright place, but not in direct sunlight.
With the onset of summer, pots can be taken outside so that plants get used to the air and the sun a little. After some time, small seedlings can be transplanted into loose soil.
How to grow cedar in the country
When the coniferous forests are far from housing, I really want to plant a plant that will envelop the compound with a heady and healing coniferous aroma. Cedar is the best suited for this purpose. Due to its large size, it is often used for landscaping large parks and squares. In a suburban area, a tall handsome man will also look great, especially when paired with a birch, but what if you have a small cottage and the site does not differ in vast expanses? You can find a way out by planting a dwarf cedar in the country.
Here are some varieties of dwarf cedar:
- Lebanese cedar Nana;
- Atlas cedar Aurea;
- Lebanese cedar Sargentii;
- Himalayan cedar Golden Horizon.
The benefits of cedar to humans
What benefit does cedar bring to mankind, why, especially recently, has interest in this evergreen plant so increased? This is explained by the fact that the tree has extraordinary properties:
- Throughout the year, cedar looks very decorative, especially in winter, when green needles are combined with white sparkling snow.
- Useful and tasty pine nuts are widely used in cosmetology, medicine and cooking.
- Gum resin, due to its unique healing properties, is one of the best means for healing wounds.
- Cedar needles are also useful, for centuries it has been successfully used to treat many diseases.
- Your site will be filled with an amazing coniferous aroma inherent in cedar, as a result of which the air will be filled with nutrients and freshness.
- Cedarwood is greatly appreciated in the construction and manufacture of furniture. In this case, Canadian cedar is simply invaluable . Products from this tree have the highest price, as they are extremely durable, easily tolerate extremes of high and low temperatures, environmentally friendly and have antiseptic properties. So the Canadian cedar can be considered a leader among the trees used by builders and craftsmen-furniture makers.