Spruce has long been associated with us with the New Year, the smell of tangerines, gifts and exciting expectations of a miracle.
Evergreen spruce, besides a decorative look, is useful for its oils, on the basis of needles they make medicinal decoctions, cosmetic means.
Norway spruce: description
Ate - long-lived, on average, trees live up to three hundred years, can live much longer. Consider what spruce looks like. Spruce - a tree of the pine family, growing to forty meters in height. Its branches grow either parallel to the ground, or with a slope down, slightly pressed to the trunk. In young specimens, smooth dark brown bark; in adults, the bark becomes rough, scaly, with a gray tint. The needles of the common spruce are stiff, the needles are short. In October, fir cones ripen, long, about 15 cm, brownish.
Coniferous plants have a positive effect on human respiratory organs: Caucasian fir, scaly juniper, cedar pine, conik spruce, myriac foxtail, cypress, cryptomeria, larch, cedar, western Brabant thuja, yew and hermes.
Spruce begins to dump seeds in the second half of winter, this self-seeding lasts until April. The seeds of the plant fly away from the spruce thanks to the wings on their protective sheath. Spruce is valued in the woodworking industry for its brilliant pinkish wood and in landscape design as an evergreen decoration of the garden plot. In this article, we consider in detail the common spruce and whether it is possible to grow it in the country.
Did you know? There are written memories of the journey of James Cook: in the long voyage, wine and needles helped him and his team to fight scurvy. The needles are rich in ascorbic acid and are excellent in supporting the body’s resistance to disease.
Choosing a place to plant spruce
When choosing a place to take into account the location of groundwater, spruce does not like excessive humidity. Groundwater can undermine the surface root system of common spruce, and the tree will simply fall, in addition, excess moisture carries fungi and other infections of the roots. Due to the structure of the roots, the spruce tree should not be planted in the vicinity of vegetable crops, it will draw all the nutrients from the soil. 
Lighting for spruce
Spruce grows slowly, but, growing, closes the light to its stunted neighbors. Consider this fact when choosing a place. Types of spruce with colored needles are best planted in a lighted place, so as not to lose decorativeness. Norway spruce feels great in the shade.
Windscreen
We ate a shallow root system, so a young gust can be uprooted by a strong gust of wind. For the tree you need to find a place sheltered from the winds.
Soil for planting spruce in the country
Norway spruce prefers soils with an acidic or slightly acidic reaction. It grows well on loams, sandy soils. Too loose soils, as well as too heavy soils, are not suitable for spruces. 
How to plant spruce
When planting spruce it is better to harvest the seeds yourself, spruce is quite common. Purchased seeds can lie for a long time with the seller and lose suitability for planting and germination.
Growing spruce from seeds
For planting spruce, ordinary seeds are harvested in the autumn, closer to November. Dry the collected buds on paper near heating devices, so it is easier to shake out the seeds.
Interesting! Oldest spruce lives in Sweden. The tree is 9550 years old, the fir tree has a name - Old Tikko. In principle, spruce live no more than 600 years, the tip begins to die off, but the root system throws out many viable children.
Seed preparation and planting
Planting material is treated with potassium permanganate solution. Calcify the sand and sow the seeds in a pot to a depth of two centimeters. In a natural environment, seeds germinate in the cold period: put the pot on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator. Seeds prepared in this way will have a higher germination rate. After three months (in March), remove the seeds and put them in a warmer place, on the windowsill. 
Seedlings care
Before planting the spruce seedlings in the ground, they need to be cared for close to the natural environment. In spring in the forests the soil is moistened with a large amount of thawed snow, therefore the soil of seedlings should not dry out. Pouring is also not necessary: watch the drying of the top layer of soil. Do not forget to carefully loosen the soil, try not to damage the seedlings.
Important! Before planting, it is advisable to treat the seedlings with insecticides to protect against infections. The solution should be weak, so as not to burn the tender shoots.
How to plant sapling spruce
Before planting the seedlings ate at the cottage, prepare the hole by pouring compost with the addition of mineral preparations that stimulate growth to the bottom. Landing can be carried out in May, when there is no threat of frost. Place the seedling in the prepared well, sprinkle with soil, tamp and pour. For the best adaptation in the conditions of an open ground cover a sapling with a plastic bottle.
Attention! Airing greenhouses for seedlings regularly, do not allow the accumulation of condensate.
A week to adapt to the plant is enough, after removing the cover, mulch the soil around the seedling.
Spruce care in the country
Common spruce has a characteristic of a plant that is resistant to cold, but it is advisable to cover young plants for the winter with special materials and to mulch the tree trunk.
How to water spruce
In the summer, spruce need plenty of water once a week - up to twelve liters of water per plant. In the heat and drought, needles are sprayed so that it does not turn yellow. Pristvolny circle need to loosen and mulch. 
Features feeding spruce
If fertilizer was applied to the soil for planting the spruce when planted, then the plant will not need additional fertilizing. You can spend in early spring feeding "Kemir Universal", spruce responds well to it.
How to trim a plant
To grow a spruce in the country a beautiful compact plant, it needs to be cut. The first procedure is carried out after transplantation so that the krone corresponds to the size of the root system. Besides, The first pruning will give the plant the shape you need. There are two types of procedure: formative and sanitary pruning.
How to cut spruce in the country? Sanitary pruning is carried out at any time, removing dry, damaged branches. Formative - in the spring, before the start of active development. Remove shoots growing inside the crown, too long shoots shorten, giving the plant a neat appearance. 
Important! It is extremely undesirable to do pruning in late autumn. In winter, damaged branches will not survive frost.
Diseases and pests ate
Planting spruce at the site is not recommended after solanaceous crops. These cultures are susceptible to fungal diseases, the infection remains in the soil and can attack spruce.
A good prevention will be handling seedlings before planting. The signs of the disease are the brown color of the young shoots and the drying of the branches. Fight against diseases with the help of fungicidal drugs.
If you want to grow a beautiful, tall and lush spruce, find out how to protect spruce from disease.
When caring for spruce trees in the country, inspect the trees for insects. The larvae of many pests love to eat young needles. Use insecticides to fight insects.
Spruce as an ornamental dacha plant has many advantages: the plant is not afraid of the sun and frost, at any time of the year while maintaining the decorative appearance, with the help of trees you can create a hedge from prying eyes, you can plant a zone by planting. Spruce, subject to the rules of planting and care, does not cause trouble with illnesses, and pine needles and cones can be used as raw materials for medicinal and cosmetic products of their own preparation.
