Friends, we are expanding the flora of our ecological space and launching a new idea – the cultivation of cedars

Our first goal is to germinate 1000 cedars, then to transplant them across the territory of “FluRArium,” in Snidavka, and its surroundings. And here the keyword is – GROW, not just to buy ready seedlings. During the project’s life, we planted enough trees, and “collected enough cones” not everything we planted took root! And the problem, in our view, lies in the extreme conditions; not all species survive or grow fully. Since the seedlings are sprouted in a greenhouse environment with good soil, warmth, watering, care…, and when they are transplanted to a mountainous, aggressive habitat, they simply do not survive. The plant’s genetics do not encompass complex climatic conditions such as temperature fluctuations, humidity changes, competition with other plants, etc. Therefore, the decision to germinate seeds in the conditions that exist here in FluRArium and nearby, that is, precisely in the place where the cedars will live further …was based on our trials and errors of the past years. It is a long and complicated path, much easier to buy a seedling and plant it. But we are not looking for easy ways and do not count on instant results))

In our Carpathians, the European cedar pine, growing in the mountains of Central Europe: from the Maritime Alps to Lower Austria, has become widespread. In the Ukrainian Carpathians is the most eastern part of the range of the “European cedar pine,” about 10 of its large communities are known here. Most of them are located in the Gorgan and Chornohora regions. The European cedar pine is a rare relict of the Carpathians that once dominated here in ancient times. Now in the Carpathians, you can find trees about 400 years old.

But a bit of information and properties of the Cedars themselves: The cedar absorbs energy emanating from the Cosmos from people, stores it, and gives it back when necessary. But we will not delve into the metaphysical properties and stick to the facts! Everything about this tree is beneficial – from needles to bark. Cedar calms and relaxes the nervous system: saves from insomnia, improves brain function, relieves fatigue, calms during stress. The healing qualities of cedar extend to the nervous system, the cardiovascular system, and the respiratory organs. From the needles, a vitamin drink is prepared, resin is used to treat wounds, and from cedar nuts, the most valuable vegetable oil is obtained, which, in addition to nutritional, has a number of healing qualities. Cedar oil, made by a special method, has unmatched medicinal and strengthening properties. Such oil is capable of rejuvenating the human body and influencing the soul of a person, their emotional plane. “Cedar lean milk” prepared from the nuts’ kernels was used to treat pulmonary tuberculosis, kidney diseases, nervous disorders. In cedar forests, the air, saturated with a resinous aroma, phytoncides, is practically sterile; it protects a person from any infectious diseases

We decided to launch our idea by germinating the nuts of European cedar pine cones, which were collected in the Ivano-Frankivsk region. We require species of Cedars which have the maximum survivability in their genetics for these climatic conditions. Within the territory of the FluRArium eco-center, according to the requirements for the growth of coniferous plants, specifically the level of moisture and light, several locations were selected for seed germination. Cedars, and conifers in general, prefer moist places in the shade with acidic soil. Two pyramids, set up according to the sides of the world and modeled on Egyptian ones, underwent some modification for preparing the soil for the saplings. Soil was removed from the pyramids and mixed with a blend more suitable for coniferous plants, based on soil from beech forests with a mixture of compost. To this substrate, peat and pine litter were added.

The seeds underwent a stratification stage, stored in the refrigerator at a temperature of +4 degrees Celsius in sand for 3-4 months. And of course, the planting and beginning of germination of the seeds were timed to the lunar cycles, choosing the phase of the growing moon.

Thus began our new project on growing Cedars.