White birch, so dear, Russian, tender. Many want its branches rustling above their heads, bringing a pleasant coolness. So, often the idea arises to plant this tree yourself. To do this, you must adhere to some simple rules, and the white-stemmed beauty will soon please with rapid growth. Unlike conifers, you do not have to wait a decade. Very soon, the tree will become quite large to provide shade on a hot afternoon. And even cutting a few brooms for the winter, do not damage its luxurious crown. Initially, you will need birch seeds or young seedlings. Both of these options are not financially or temporally expensive.
We select a place
It must be remembered that birch is very fond of water. A tree can draw almost 20 buckets from the soil per day. She perfectly takes root in poor areas, solonetzes, chernozems, sand and loam. But it is best to choose areas on which mostly weakly acidic and loose earth, loamy and necessarily well moistened.
Therefore, choose a place, and if the soil is not too suitable, then you should prepare a landing pit, that is, add a mixture of sand, peat, humus and garden soil to it. In the spring you will need one glass of complex fertilizer. But before you plant, you need to take care to collect birch seeds. This can be done in early autumn.
Material for planting
All of you have seen that in spring birch releases tender earrings. Gradually, seeds ripen in them, they become brown, brown. By the fall, they are preparing for flight and finding a place to grow. The earring opens and the winged birch seeds fly around. If you want to check their maturity, then a simple experiment is enough to do this. Tear off the earring and rub it in your hand. If birch seeds are easily separated from one another, then they are completely ready.
Getting started collecting
Closer to autumn, it is necessary to periodically check the seed. Finished earrings are collected and bundled. Now they can be hung in a dark place, protected from the wind, for further ripening. About a week later, it will be possible to lay a clean cloth and gently shake the seeds over the sheet. They need to be sorted out from the branches and left for another week.
Disease protection
Birch from seeds at home grows quite easily, but care must be taken that the planting does not destroy the fungus or other disease. Therefore, before being placed in the soil, they must be etched. For this purpose, potassium permanganate or hydrogen peroxide is used. Seeds are placed in a one percent solution for 20 minutes. After that, they are washed and dried. There are special industrial preparations that help protect plantings from fungi and viruses, strengthen the immunity of future plants and give the sprout all the necessary nutrients.
Stratification
Before planting, seeds must be cold treated. To do this, you can stand them for 3-4 weeks in the refrigerator, and then dry at room temperature. It is recommended to sow them in the frozen soil at the beginning of winter or in the early spring. Seeds are placed directly on the surface, not buried, but only covered with a plaque. From above they can be pressed into small branches and watered. As soon as the first shoots appear, be sure to remove the coating. Spread of birch seeds occurs independently, so do not be surprised if a young sprout suddenly appears on your site in early summer. If it interferes, then in the fall you can carefully transplant to a more suitable place.
Spring care
In the first days after germination, birch is very vulnerable. A young sprout no larger than a match. At this point, you need to organize abundant watering using a spray gun. The frequency should be such as to prevent drying of the top of the soil. The roots are now only at a depth of 10 cm, and may die. Such watering must be maintained until mid-August. By the end of the season, they reach a size of 20-30 cm.
Autumn transplant
Birch seeds, photos of which are given in the article, can turn into young seedlings in just one season. Of course, while providing good conditions and care. In September – October, the largest seedlings need to be transferred to a permanent place. The rest for the winter move to the nursery, that is, specially prepared and fertilized places for further development. Now, even rows are formed from chaotic landings. Each of them should be at a distance of at least 10 cm from each other. By the fall of next year, the height of each of them will reach 80 cm. Now they can safely move to a permanent place of growth.
Weed control
When growing, you need to pay special attention to this. Of course, herbs are not an obstacle for an adult tree, but a young plant can be drowned out or become a source of disease. Among the abundance of weed grass, you can not notice the young tree and damage when weeding. For prevention, it will need to be treated with fungicides and insecticides at any stage of growth. Be sure to trim. To do this, starting from the second year, in early spring, you need to outline the shape of the crown and carefully adjust it.
What to look for?
Since it is not difficult to grow a birch from seeds, beginners can be carried away by this occupation. But you need to remember that birch has a depressing effect on most neighbors. These include trees, shrubs and other garden plantings. Firstly, white-trunked trees draw a lot of water and microelements from the ground. Secondly, substances contained in fallen birch leaves adversely affect most plants. Next to them, only spruce and rosehip live beautifully. Especially good grow birches in sunny areas.
Propagation by seedlings
If you do not have a long time left, and you want to plant a birch already this season, then you can change the tactics. In this case, you need to go to the forest, or rather, to the birch grove. A campaign for a young seedling is best organized in early spring, when the leaves have not yet had time to blossom. It is necessary to find a young, strong sprout, up to 100 cm in size. There should not be any twisted branches or traces of the disease on it. Such a plant will easily take root and quickly start to grow.