White birch, so dear, Russian, tender. Many people want its branches to rustle over their heads, bringing a pleasant coolness. So, often the idea arises to plant this tree yourself. To do this, you should follow some simple rules, and the white-barreled beauty will soon please you with rapid growth. Unlike softwoods, you don't have to wait decades. Very soon the tree will grow large enough to provide shade on a hot afternoon. And even cutting off 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 expensive in financial or time terms.
Choosing a place
You need to remember that birch loves water very much. A tree can pull almost 20 buckets out of the soil per day. It takes root well in poor areas, solonetzes, chernozems, sands and loams. But it is best to choose areas where the soil is predominantly slightly acidic and loose, loamy and always well-moistened.
Therefore, choose a place, and if the soil is not too suitable, then you should prepare a landing hole, that is, add toher mixture of sand, peat, humus and garden soil. In the spring, you will need one glass of complex fertilizer. But before planting, you need to take care to collect birch seeds. This can be done in early autumn.
Material for planting
You've all seen that birch trees release delicate earrings in spring. Gradually, seeds ripen in them, they become brown, brown. By autumn, they are preparing to fly and search for a place to grow. The earring opens, and the winged birch seeds scatter around. If you want to check their maturity, then it is enough to conduct a simple experiment. Take off the earring and rub it in your hand. If the birch seeds are easily separated from one another, then they are completely ready.
Start collecting
Closer to autumn, it is necessary to periodically check the seed. Finished earrings are collected and tied in a bundle. Now they can be hung in a dark place protected from the wind for further maturation. After about a week, you can spread 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.
Protection against diseases
Birch grows quite easily from seeds at home, but care must be taken that the planting is not destroyed by a fungus or other disease. Therefore, before being placed in the soil, they must be treated. For this purpose, potassium permanganate or hydrogen peroxide is used. Seeds are placed in a one percentsolution 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 keep them for 3-4 weeks in the refrigerator, and then dry them at room temperature. It is recommended to sow them in frozen soil in early winter or early spring. Seeds are placed directly on the surface, not buried, but only covered with a plank. From above they can be pressed with small branches and watered. As soon as the first shoots appear, be sure to remove the cover. The distribution of birch seeds also occurs on its own, so do not be surprised if a young sprout suddenly appears on your site at the beginning of 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 with a spray bottle. The frequency should be such as to prevent the top of the soil from drying out. The roots are now only 10 cm deep and may die. Such watering is required to be maintained until mid-August. By the end of the season, they reach sizes 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 move to the nursery for the winter, that is, specially prepared and fertilized places for further development. Now even rows are formed from chaotic landings. Each of them must be at least 10 cm apart. By the autumn 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, for an adult tree, grasses are not a hindrance, but a young plant can drown out or become a source of disease. Among the abundance of weeds, you can not notice a young tree and damage it when weeding. For prevention, it will need to be treated with fungicides and insecticides at any stage of growth. Be sure to do pruning. To do this, starting from the second year, in early spring, you need to outline the shape of the crown and carefully correct it.
What to look out for?
Since growing birch from seed is not difficult at all, beginners can get carried away with this activity. But we must remember that birch has a depressing effect on most neighbors. These include trees, shrubs and other garden plantings. Firstly, white-barreled ones draw a lot of water and trace elements from the soil. Secondly, the substances contained in fallen birch leaves adversely affect most plants. Living next to them is great.only spruce and wild rose. Birches grow especially well in sunny areas.
Propagation by seedlings
If you do not have a long time left, but you want to plant a birch tree this season, then you can change tactics. In this case, you need to go to the forest, or rather, to the birch grove. It is best to organize a campaign for a young seedling in early spring, when the leaves have not yet had time to bloom. It is necessary to find a young, strong sprout, up to 100 cm in size. It should not have twisted branches or traces of the disease. Such a plant will easily take root and quickly start growing.
