The air has turned colder, leaves are hanging in the balance and crisp, cold mornings may be the excuse to finally turn on the heating. What can this mean? Autumn is upon on us!
With the festive season in our sights, here are our top 5 tips on how to grow the perfect Christmas tree.
The Christmas tree in our range is a blue spruce (picea pungens glauca) and we have picked this because it is hardy and beautiful.
- Soak the seeds. All the seeds we include in the pack are fresh and of the highest quality. As they have been professionally treated, they require moisture to awaken the seed. By allowing the seeds to soak for 24 hours, they will be given that early morning wake up call they need to get growing! By missing this step out, it can cause erratic germination.
- Chill the seeds. These seeds need to be tricked into thinking it’s winter – if it’s between October and January then plant outside as they will naturally germinate. However, if it’s Spring/Summer, some time in the fridge will definitely help speed up the winter process.
- Separate the seedlings. As you have most like have planted all the seeds, you may have more than you expected! Once the seedlings are about 1 inch tall they will need to be separated. Begin by splitting the soil plug in half and gently prise the saplings away from each other. Some of the roots may have twisted round the mesh – this fine, but gently remove what you can. Pick the strongest one/s and plant in a separate pot.
- Grow in moist but well-drained acidic soil. Shelter from cold drying winds. This tree does prefer full sun to grow in, but will grow well in partial shade, too.
- Be patient! A full-size Christmas tree (7 foot) will take a few years to grow to full height and is fine to live in a pot. During this time, you can still use it but as this is an exterior plant, leave it outside and only bring in for Christmas. Water as needed when inside, and don’t leave it to dry out. Definitely avoid placing near a radiator!