The fir tree is widely known in much of the world as the quintessential Christmas tree. Currently it is very common to opt for artificial trees as Christmas fir for many reasons, but there are still many people who do not conceive these holidays without having an authentic natural fir.
This need not be a problem if the right conditions are met. Caring for a fir tree so that it lives not only throughout Christmas, but for many years to come, is perfectly possible. If you want to learn what are the spruce tree care In order to keep it healthier, stronger and more beautiful every year, join us in this EcologíaVerde article.
Fir Characteristics
The common fir receives the scientific name abys albaalthough in reality we can find a large number of varieties and species of trees that are marketed as fir or Christmas treesmost of them of the genus Abies.
In all cases, they are trees of the Pinaceae family, which are trees with pineapples originating in the mountains of europe. They can reach great heights, sometimes up to 50 or 60 meters, although the fir trees that we find as Christmas trees are, logically, much smaller. They are pyramidal trees, with a columnar trunk with whitish bark that darkens with age.
The leaves are linear in the shape of a needle although they do not prick and they are perennial, hence its success as a Christmas tree. Fir flowers in spring, usually around April in the northern hemisphere, with cones ready for the following fall.
How to choose a fir for Christmas
When looking for a natural fir to celebrate the Holidays, we always want the tree to survive Christmas so that it can be with us for many years to come. This is not possible indoors, but transplanting it to the garden or taking it to a large enough pot and outside, it is perfectly possible to enjoy a fir for as long as we want.
However, there is a very important point to achieve this: choose the tree that is purchased well. Many dealers tend to sell Christmas trees that have been carelessly rooted out, making it impossible to make them last past the Holidays. To avoid this cruel practice it is important to ensure that always buy fir trees with their roots properly extracted, that conserve a root ball that allows them to be replanted without problems. In addition, many already sell them planted in a pot more or less big.
Climate and location for the spruce
This tree comes from mountainous and moderately cold climates, so it is not difficult to understand why the heat inside our homes does not suit you at all. In addition, the tree tends to undergo a drastic change when it is acquired at Christmas, passing in an instant from the low temperatures of the street to the 20 ºC environment that most homes maintain.
The fir needs a temperature as cool as possiblein a well-lit area, preferably with direct sunlight near a window. It is especially important to keep it away from heat sources, such as air conditioning or heating radiators, which quickly dry out the fir.
It is also an important detail, in this sense, to highlight that if Christmas lights are used on the tree, they must always be LED lights so they don’t produce heat. Even traditional small bulbs radiate heat, and this will be especially stressful and damaging to natural fir.
Finally, if after the Holidays it is transplanted to a larger pot, outdoors, a container with many drainage holes and a good depth should be used, since the roots of the fir tree develop considerably downwards. Another option, and the best if we really have it, is plant the spruce in the ground of the garden or land, where it will grow a lot.
spruce irrigation
The spruce needs a constant amount of moisture, so watering should be very frequent but not too abundant. The ideal is to maintain a certain level of humidity in the substrate, always avoiding puddles and accumulations of water that would damage the roots.
water it every day if you have it inside, without flooding it and making sure to remove the excess water from the plate ten minutes after watering it. Outdoors, with a cooler and more suitable temperature and environment, it will need much less watering, although in summer it will be necessary to increase the frequency again.
It is also advisable to spray water on its leaves once or twice a day to combat the dryness that home heating causes in winter, even if the tree is far from heat sources.
soil for spruce
These trees need well drained soils that protect them from waterlogging that their high need for moisture could cause, in addition to a good amount of nutrients. The ideal is to prepare a mixture with coconut fiber, peat and earthworm humus in equal parts, to which you can add perlite and vermiculite.
In the garden, all you have to do is find an area with good drainage and add worm castings, vermiculite and perlite to the soil, in order to enrich it sufficiently. As well as in a pot, it will suffice to add worm castings to the surface layer in spring and summer to renew its supply of nutrients.
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