How much and how fast do spruce grow?

More and more owners of private houses, summer cottages are planting on their territory not only fruit trees, but also conifers. The reasons may be different:

• to ennoble their possessions;
• grow a hedge;
• create a shaded place to relax;
• when landing under windows on the sunny side - protect the room from sunlight;
• improve air quality (conifers emit a large amount of phytoncides that are beneficial for the respiratory system);
• use the tree as a New Year's beauty, thus, do not buy a Christmas tree into the house;
• admire the green crown not only in summer, but also in winter for decades.

But if you hope that a teenage tree will grow from a small Christmas tree in a year, then these are vain hopes. But how to accelerate the growth of a green beauty or subsequently suspend it - our article will tell you.

First, you should pay attention to the fact that two seedlings purchased at the same time, but planted in different areas or even in opposite corners of the same area, will grow in different ways. It all depends on the growing conditions, which include many factors.

• The quality and conditions of growing planting material.
• The quality of the soil - the Christmas tree can grow even on soil depleted in microelements, but only without stagnant water. In especially rainy weather, you will have to make grooves - drainage systems so that the roots of the tree do not rot.
• Illumination - the myth that conifers are shade-loving plants remains a myth. On the sunny side, the needles will acquire bright shades. And in the absence of good lighting, blue spruces, for example, will turn into ordinary green ones. Lack of light will also affect the shape - the tree will stretch upward, losing its decorative effect.
• Watering. Despite the fact that the seedling does not relate well to overflow, the plant should be dosed regularly.
• Winds blowing constantly in the same direction (for example, from the sea) can significantly affect the development of a spruce - bare one side of the tree, bend its branches.
• Lack of top dressing will affect the growth rate, the shape of the plant and the color of the needles. The stores sell special soils and fertilizers for conifers.
• Antifungal (fungicidal) and insecticidal treatment in the form of spraying and pollination.
• A protective barrier in the form of a metal mesh, a wooden cone, a natural covering material (canvas, burlap) will help protect the tree from animal encroachments, and in winter it will save young fragile twigs from excess snow.

Landscape designers love spruce for its decorative effect. This also applies to spruce, Canadian or Serbian. Species and varieties differ not only in color (rich green, blue spruce, black), but also in growth. Moreover, it can be either a hybrid or varietal variant - the dwarf form of an ordinary spruce, or the result of the designer's work on the formation of the crown. Thanks to selection, there are slow-growing and fast-growing varieties.

But they all go through similar growth stages. Up to 10 years old, the tree grows very slowly. At the age of 5, the Christmas tree grows to only 50 cm with a crown diameter of 30 cm.And only at the age of 10, the tree begins an active annual growth - 30-50 cm per year. The table below shows the course of growth of spruce versus pine.

It is clear that the growth rate under different conditions will differ, therefore, the data in different sources will be different.

But the older the tree, the more it tends upward: an adult fast-growing spruce can add up to 1 m in height in a year. The average life span of Norway spruce is 250-300 years. During this time, a small Christmas tree will turn into a 50-meter hulk. This is comparable to a 16-storey building.

These sizes are not suitable for every site. Therefore, many choose dwarf varieties that do not grow so quickly (3-5 cm per year), but are very decorative.

But there are also those who would like to see an adult spruce on their site as quickly as possible. In this case, it is worth choosing varieties of fast-growing trees. These include seedlings that grow actively in the first years after planting, and then growth slows down.

There are rules to help trees grow faster.

• Large seedlings are not worth buying. The larger the seedling (2.5-3 m), the longer it will get used to new conditions, that is, it will hurt. As a result, a one-meter-long Christmas tree planted next to it can overtake its overgrown neighbor.

• Conifers are planted in spring. The landing site must be sunny. But the needles are afraid of the active spring sun, so it is recommended to cover young seedlings with natural light fabrics from spring until the heat recession in order to protect the tree from burns. Or use a preparation for sunburn needles "Ekoberin". In the spring, as soon as it is possible to approach the tree, it is sprayed with a solution, which consists of 2 grains of the drug, carefully dissolved in 100 ml of water. After dissolution, the concentrate is brought to 1 liter of water and applied to the needles.

• During the period of active growth, Christmas trees need regular weekly watering. But, in order to avoid an excess of moisture, it is recommended to check the moisture content of the soil before each watering, slightly stirring up the soil.

• The tree absorbs moisture and nutrients not through large roots, but through root hairs, which are very abundant in spruces. On the one hand, for the accelerated entry of top dressing into the root system, the earth must be loose. On the other hand, 80% of seedling growth problems are due to the fact that root hairs are accidentally chopped off during digging. Naturally, in this case, the growth of the plant slows down. The tree really needs loosening, but it must be done very carefully.

• To rid the seedling of competitors in moisture consumption and feeding, as well as to free the root system from unwanted interference, it is necessary to regularly remove weeds around the trunk at a distance of about 1 m. In the forest, fallen leaves and needles help to avoid unwanted competitors. In the garden, this role can be played by mulch: it will protect against excess evaporation, weeds, and temperature changes. It will also provide you with organic nutrients. You can mulch with straw, chopped leaves, wood chips, bark, needles, ready-made compost. But there must be a distance of several centimeters between the layer of mulch and the trunk in order to reduce unnecessary moisture in the bark.

• Any damage to the bark will cause the tree to waste energy fighting the wound. This means - slower to grow. If rodents, dogs, rabbits, roe deer feel at ease on the site, then the trunk must be protected (with a net, roofing material, plastic, burlap). This is especially important in winter, when hungry animals are looking for food. But during the formation of the crown, branches are also damaged. Any cut or wound must be treated with garden varnish. If signs of decay are noticed, then such branches must be cut off.

• Already in the nursery, the seedlings will receive the first portion of growth accelerators.Such stimulants will help the plant better adapt in a new place, and will launch its active vegetation. For better rooting use, for example, "Kornevin". The next feeding is carried out no earlier than a month after transplantation. And then, until August, every two weeks, foliar dressing is performed (watering the plant from above) with chelated fertilizer complexes. It is enough to apply other types of complex fertilizers once a season, for example, Bona Forte "Khvoinoe". Autumn feeding is carried out with means marked "autumn".

Having grown a tree to a certain height, home or professional designers often wonder how to limit the growth of a spruce while maintaining its decorative effect.

When using the "sawing" option to stop growing in height, a mature tree will look ugly. Instead of one crown, several will grow, which will be crooked paths trying to take a dominant position.

Cutting the side branches will lead to exposing the branches, since the closer to the trunk, the less needles on the branches. New buds don't grow here.

To give the plant the desired shape and limit growth, you need to closely monitor new shoots. In the spring, they actively start growing. They do not need to be cut off, but carefully torn off, twisting them out of the bosom. This method is called pinching. In spring, young twigs are very soft, and it will be easy to remove them without a tool. The same method is used when forming a crown in the bonsai style. Tools will not work here - only manual work with each branch.

Using the second method - cutting with a hand or electric pruner, you can create living spruce figures: a ball, a cone or a square. To use this method, you need to get a good tool so as not to crush the branches, namely: cut them off. The usual sanitary haircut in order to maintain the existing height is carried out at the end of summer, before the onset of a state of rest. In this case, the slices will have time to tighten before the onset of frost.

If there is a need for spring pruning, then this should be done in early spring before the time for bud growth. Subject to all the recommendations, the Christmas tree will have the height and shape that is desirable for you. And please you with its beauty all year round. And in winter, decorated with New Year's lights and balls, it will create the best mood for the time of wish fulfillment.

See below for the growth of conifers.