Some gardening enthusiasts bring their cypress home with them from their Mediterranean vacation. Unfortunately, these plants die quickly because they cannot tolerate the climatic conditions in Germany. You can also grow cypress trees yourself. How to grow your own cypress trees.
How can you grow cypress trees yourself?
There are two methods of growing cypress trees yourself: cuttings and seeds. Cuttings are torn from a branch in winter, placed in potting soil and covered with a plastic bag. When breeding seeds, seeds are sown thinly on potting soil and covered with foil. Both methods require several years of patience and frost-free wintering.
Methods for propagating cypress trees
Cypresses can be grown in two ways: from cuttings and from seeds. Both methods take a long time and are quite complex.
Propagation via cuttings is easier and usually more successful.
Basically, it takes several years for a self-grown cypress to reach a height of one meter.
Pulling cypress trees from cuttings
- Tear off side shoots (do not cut)
- Remove leaves at the bottom
- shorten the remaining leaves to a third
- Cut the cutting down to a hand's width
- put in potting soil
- pour on
- cover with freezer bag
- place bright but frost-free
- ensure sufficient humidity
The cuttings are torn from the branch and not cut. A small piece of bark, the so-called flag, must remain on the cutting at the bottom. Cuttings are harvested on a frost-free day in winter.
The humidity is maintained by putting a plastic bag over it. However, this must be ventilated regularly so that the cutting does not rot or mold.
Growing cypress trees from seeds
Prepare a seed tray with potting soil. Sow the seeds as thinly as possible and cover them lightly with substrate.
The seeds must never dry out completely. Therefore, cover the bowl with foil and ventilate it from time to time. Place the container in a light place and not too cool. Temperatures around ten degrees are ideal.
Planting out your own cypress trees
Growing your own cypress trees takes a lot of time. During this time, the cuttings or young plants must be kept frost-free over the winter. Winter temperatures should be between five and ten degrees.
You can only plant the new cypress trees outdoors after several years.
Tip
Cypress trees form male and female cones on a tree. It can take two years for seeds to form in it. The cones only open when they are completely woody or are exposed to strong heat, for example from a fire.
