If you want to grow spruce at home, plant araucaria. You will need planting material, capacity, soil and theoretical knowledge from this article. It is quite possible to grow a spruce in a room if you plant araucaria. Its second name is "Norfolk Pine", since its homeland is Norfolk Island, which is located in the southwest of the Pacific Ocean. This must be taken into account when you want to buy seedlings or one and grow araucaria. You also need to be aware of the climate this lush, needle-like beauty is used to. Under natural conditions of its growth, when we have summer, there is winter, but rather warm, with a temperature of + 14– + 16 ° С. When winter comes here, there is summer with a temperature of + 19– + 23 ° С. Araucaria loves humid air, as it often rains on her home island.
Norfolk pine is long-lived and can grow for hundreds of years. In nature, it reaches 75 meters, at home - much less.
Araucaria species
There are 19 species in the Araucariaceae family. Here are some of them, this is Aurcaria:
- Cook;
- Chilean;
- narrow-leaved;
- variegated.
Araucaria columnaris - Cook's araucaria lives in the tropical and pine parts of the southern New Hebrides. It has very interesting branches that grow from the trunk almost perpendicular to it and gather in short whorls. The crown of this species expands not towards the bottom, but towards the top. The leaves of the tree are soft. This species is most often bred by residents of the subtropics and tropics.
Araucaria araucana - Chilean araucaria naturally occurs in western Argentina and Chile. It can grow up to 60 meters. The bark of the Chilean species is thick, resinous, covered with longitudinal cracks. In a middle-aged tree, the branches grow almost at an angle of 90 ° C, and in old ones they hang slightly. With age, the lower branches fall to the ground and fall off. The leaves are tough and thorny, dark green in color, grow very tightly to each other and are arranged spirally on the branches. Interestingly, the seeds of the Chilean araucaria are edible, besides, they are tasty and healthy. The wood of the tree is used in construction.
The natural place of growth of araucaria angustifolia - narrow-leaved araucaria - is the mountainous part of southern Brazil, therefore this species is also called araucaria brasiliana - Brazilian araucaria. In nature, it can grow up to 50, at home - up to 3 meters. The branches of this tree are thin hanging, leaves 5 cm long are bright green linear-lanceolate. The wood of araucaria angustifolia is used for the manufacture of furniture, in the production of musical instruments and paper, in construction.
Araucaria varifolia araucaria heterophylla is also called room spruce. It is she who grows on Norfolk Island, she was described at the very beginning of the article. But it can be added that she has a brownish bark and flakes. The tree has a beautiful pyramidal shape due to the fact that the branches grow perpendicular to the trunk. Leaves are acicular tetrahedral, 2 cm long, grow on branches in a spiral, slightly bend upward. It is this species that is most suitable for growing at home and is similar to the tall araucaria - araucaria excelsa.
Growing araucaria
One of the main problems in the cultivation of home pine is heating during the cold season. As mentioned above, she was not used to dry air. Therefore, you will have to buy a humidifier or periodically spray the plant yourself, and put wet towels on the battery.
Place your home tree in the coolest place in your apartment. In winter, the ambient temperature should be around + 14– + 16 ° С. In summer, the araucaria will feel good in a semi-shaded garden or on a balcony, protected from the bright sun by curtains made of tulle or loose fabric.
By the way, the plant does not tolerate not only the direct summer sun, but also the bright winter. But from late autumn to spring, you need to increase the daylight hours for the ephedra by lighting it up in the morning and evening hours. Rotate the plant pot occasionally to keep it even.
To increase the humidity of the air and soil, cover the pot with sphagnum moss and periodically moisten it. This will help keep the soil in which the tree is located moist. After all, drying out of the earth often leads to the death of the plant. You need to spray araucaria with soft water, since the hard water will leave a white coating of salts on the needles. Araucaria should be watered with settled water at room temperature, it should not stagnate in the pot, therefore it is necessary that excess liquid comes out through the drainage holes. In summer, watering should be more abundant than in winter.
In spring and summer, the tree needs to be fed 2 times a month. Fertilizer for conifers or mineral fertilizer is suitable. The fertilizer solution should be very weak - the concentration is 2 times less than what is written in the instructions. Every second (even) top dressing can consist of mullein infusion. That is, first fertilize the araucaria with a weak mineral, and after 2 weeks with a mullein solution.
If the araucaria branches droop, this can be corrected by placing a support under them or tying them up, you need to give them the position you need. It is better to do this as soon as they begin to sag.
If you see that your araucaria turns yellow, then this is a reaction to improper conditions of detention - dry air or soil, a high concentration of fertilizer, feeding on dry soil, damage to the roots during transplantation can lead to this. But the problem is that the plant can react with a delay to some negative factors. Therefore, in order to understand why it began to lose its decorative effect, you need to analyze what you did wrong for some long time.
Araucaria transplant
It requires caution. No need to expose the roots so as not to damage them. Knock on the pot, take out the plant with a lump of earth and transplant it by transferring it into a larger container. Araucaria should be transplanted at least once every 4–5 years. The soil for araucaria should be slightly acidic. A soil consisting of:
- turf land;
- peat;
- coniferous land;
- sand.
Drainage must be placed on the bottom of the container. Araucaria can be grown hydroponically. If resin flows down the plant, it means that somewhere the integrity of the bark was violated during transplantation. It is also important not to fall asleep when transferring the root collar, as this is dangerous for the tree.
Reproduction of araucaria
To do this, use 2 methods: propagation by seeds and cuttings. The seeds of this plant are not subject to long-term storage, as they lose their germination. Therefore, they must be sown immediately after harvest.
Seeds are planted in separate pots. The soil mixture consists of turf, peat and leafy soil, taken in equal parts. The second soil option is sand and a small amount of peat and crushed charcoal.
Water the soil, sow seeds, sprinkle with earth and put some sphagnum on top and put the pot where the temperature is + 20 ° C. Seed germination is different - some can germinate in two weeks, while others - only after a couple of months.
For grafting, you need to cut off the upper, half-lignified branches of the tree. In early or mid-spring, cut them 3–5 cm below the whorls and put them in a shady place for a day. Then, peel off the resin from the cut and powder the area with finely crushed charcoal or dip in a powdered root stimulant.
You need to plant cuttings in separate containers, which are filled with a mixture consisting of equal parts of peat and sand, or just in sand. The container is then covered with a glass jar or cut-bottom plastic bottle. Pots of cuttings should be periodically sprayed and ventilated.
The temperature should be around + 25 ° С. At this temperature, rooting will take place in 2 months, at a lower temperature, it may take 5 months.
Problems in growing araucaria and their solution
Araucaria does not grow after pruning. If the top of the tree is damaged, it may stop growing or begin to develop incorrectly. Therefore, you need to handle the tree carefully and, of course, do not cut it off.
The needles may fall off, and the shoots may turn yellow if the home conifer does not have enough light and / or moisture, and the branches droop due to too high air temperature or excessive watering. If there is too much calcium in the soil, then the ephedra will grow and develop more slowly. Young shoots will grow thin from lack of light and fertilizer.
Araucaria can be damaged by mealybugs, aphids by pests of conifers.
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