Coniferous trees usually grow in the forest or on "fir tree plantations", rarely in domestic gardens. There are also some types of spruce that grow shapely, are not particularly large and can definitely enhance your garden.
Spruces like sandy soil and space
Which spruces are suitable for the garden?
In principle, you can plant any type of spruce in your garden, provided you have enough space. Species that remain small, such as the sugar loaf spruce (bot. Picea glauca conica) or dwarf forms of the red spruce (bot. Picea abies), are particularly good, even for gardens that are not too large. You will also come across Serbian spruce (bot. Pinea omorika) quite frequently.
The right location and the best soil
Spruces generally prefer a sunny to semi-shady location and slightly moist soil. However, this should not be too heavy or clayey. Spruces do not tolerate drought particularly well; the Serbian spruce and the holly spruce are somewhat more tolerant than other species. The spruce does not mind whether the soil is slightly acidic or alkaline.
The planting
Spruces are flat-rooted, so their roots tend to grow wider than deep. Therefore, dig a sufficiently large planting hole and keep a sufficient distance to the neighboring plants. If necessary, loosen the soil with some sand or enrich it with compost.
Thoroughly water the spruce, which is as young as possible (about 20 cm large seedlings), before planting. After inserting the spruce, fill the planting hole with soil and carefully tread down the soil. Watering well over the next few days will help rooting.
The essentials in brief:
- for small gardens, choose species that tend to stay small
- Location: sunny to semi-shady, sheltered from the wind for tall spruce trees
- Soil:rather moist and not too heavy or clayey
- Planting time: any time if the ground is frost-free
- after planting, keep well moist until rooting
tips
If you plant a spruce that is a bit larger, then give it a support pole to prevent it from tipping over in the first storm.