Planting apple trees in autumn
When to plant apple( and pear)?Generally speaking, in the spring. In the Northwest, the best landing time is May. The apple tree is a sonol, it wakes up relatively late, the leaves unfold later, the root system starts working only when the soil in the zone of suction roots is heated to 8 degrees Celsius. In the Northwest, soils are poor in humus, so they are cold. Warm up slowly because of the cold from the lower layers of the earth, and the above-ground temperature is not high, that's why the upper layer also warms up slowly. In such conditions, a half asleep apple tree easily transfers transportation and transplantation in May.
Planting material
When buying an apple tree, carefully inspect the roots. If they are too dry and they do not have young roots, do not take a seedling. The sense of it will be small. Therefore, it is better not to buy seedlings at any exhibitions and fairs there, because the planting material is usually imported, and from the southern regions of the country. First, imported varieties are not zoned for other regions, grown in southern regions, with a warmer climate than where they have to live, so they will often freeze, and in the harsh winter may even die. In addition, the seedlings were carried for a long time, and therefore their root system can be in a deplorable state. It is best to go to a well-established local nursery and there, on the spot, buy a seedling. Still very good, if it is dug right in front of you. It will be great if you bring moss sphagnum with you, because the moss retains moisture and is also bactericidal, so the roots covered with such moss will easily transfer the transportation. But it is enough to wrap the roots in wet layers with several layers. Then it is necessary to wrap them in a polyethylene diaper, and then you can carry even 2-3 days. Before the transportation for long distances, the roots of the seedlings were dipped in clay mash with mullein. This is all done in order to preserve the small sucking roots. If they are alive, then the apple tree will quickly take root. Apple trees older than three years of planting does not make any sense. And in general, the younger the seedling, the easier it takes root in a new place. Therefore, I recommend buying one-year seedlings, they are also cheaper.
Now they often sell the planting material in containers. However, this does not always mean;that the seedling is really grown in a container. Most often you just dyurit head. Dig out the seedlings, stick them in plastic bags with earth and assure buyers that the seedling is grown in a container. This, of course, is better than driving them for sale with an open root system. However, it is impossible to keep such plants in containers for a long time. They should be planted as quickly as possible, because when digging out the sucking part of the root system was still broken. In addition, when buying a seedling in a container, you do not see its root system, and it may not be there at all, so, one stump instead of roots, that's all. Before buying a seedling, first make sure that it is really grown in this container. Turn the container over and look at its bottom. If young, growing roots are protruding from the drainage holes, it means that it is actually grown in a container and its sucking part of the root system intact and intact. But if there are thick stumps out of the holes or nothing sticks out at all, then you risk buying a cat in a sack. Better and do not buy. Because the planting material is now not cheap, the tree will grow 5-6 years( if it does not die during this time), after which you will find that you bought one, but it grew quite different. The apple tree is planted seriously and for a long time, therefore it is very reasonable and serious to purchase the planting material. Take the time to go to a good nursery.
If the seedling is really grown in a container, especially in your area, then this is the best planting material. First, it was first grown from a seed in the same region where it is to grow, and therefore the seedling immediately adapted to local weather conditions. Secondly, the vaccine was also given to him from the varieties cultivated in this locality. Thirdly, the seedling, which is grown in cramped conditions, quickly enters into fruiting( often already in the 2-3rd year of life blooms directly in the container).And with a transplant to the place this property is preserved. Fourthly, such a seedling can be transplanted at any time, from spring to autumn, since it does not take time to settle down in a new place, it simply continues to grow, as it grew. It goes without saying that when planting the seedling from the container is released. Buying seedlings in containers is very convenient if you do not have a ready seat. Just leave the tree to grow in a container, do not forget to water it only, and prepare a permanent place for it yourself.
If you bought a one-year-old seedling, not grown in a container, and a seat for it was not prepared, then plant it on any vegetable garden. Let while the first year grows up, and during this time you will prepare for him a permanent place and transplant him to the place next spring. It is possible to excavate a seedling in the spring and plant it again in the same place until next spring. Such a triple planting-transplantation causes the plant to survive stresses, and they contribute to the strengthening of the tree. He will have large, good quality apples. Sometimes even a wild plant, grown from the seeds of a ripe apple( necessarily a zoned variety), transplanted thrice, produces remarkably large, tasty fruits.
Cooking place for a permanent registration of apple trees should be without any hurry, because you plant the apple tree for many years. In principle, the apple tree can grow and bear fruit up to 100 years and even more. Known apple-longevity, living in this world for 300 years. But in the Northwest, apple trees begin to die, mainly because of the death of the cortex, at a young age - 20-25 years. But also this term is considerable, so try to prepare a good place for planting.
Landing place
First of all, you need to pick up on the site such a place that the trees were covered from the northern winds. It is better if there are other plants along the northern border, for example, spruce, maples( naturally, beyond the boundaries of your site), igra, red mountain ash, sea buckthorn. In the south, in front of the house, you can plant a couple of fruit trees, but the whole garden should not be planted, because in a decade or so before the house there will be a solid shadow in which only the grass will grow well. And we have small plots, and you should not squander the precious area under the sun.
Fruit trees can be located in 1 -2 rows along one of the boundaries of the site( not only from the south!), Leaving the border of the neighbor site, as expected, 3-4 m. To prevent these precious meters from disappearing, plant between trees and the borderberry bushes. For example, you can plant a raspberry( which is very friendly with the apple tree, can also bear fruit in the penumbra) or black currant( which can also bear fruit in the penumbra), leaving to the border 1 -1,5 m, so that 1 it was convenient to work with berry,without crossing the boundaries. The root system of raspberries and black currant is located in the surface layer of the soil, and the root system of the apple tree is located below, so there will be no competition for moisture and nutrition between these bush bushes and trees.
With regular site planning( and accordingly planting) and the tracks are arranged in rows. The area is used very rationally, and it is possible to place K quite a lot of plants on 6 ares.
Trees are planted at a distance of 4 m from each other, and shrubs - 1 - 1.5 m.
If you have more land, you can plant trees in one or two places, according to the scheme of 4 x 4 m. Then it is not necessary to make straight paths- make them d winding, flowing groups of landings. Visually, such a free composition of the garden with winding paths increases the space of the garden, but plants on the same floor as in the regular planning are much smaller.
Usually, as already mentioned above, fruit trees are planted in the spring. But the planting place for trees should be prepared from autumn. Here everything depends on what kind of soil you have and how deep the groundwater is. If there is clay or heavy loam on the site, you can not plant trees in pits. Clay does not pass water, during the autumn rains the landing pit is filled with water. In winter, it freezes through, which, of course, will cause the death of the root system. You can not put in pits and peat bogs, and also where groundwater lies close( less than 1 m).In all these cases, it is necessary to pour hills, about 60-80 cm high and not less than 1 m in diameter. In subsequent years, the hill should be expanded. For this purpose it is enough to pour a compost heap around it, and that the perimeter of the tree has a neat appearance, pour peat or sand every time over the refuse and weeded weeds. If you use peat, then remember that it acidifies the soil under the apple tree, and, it prefers the soil with a neutral reaction, so it is necessary to add ash to the peat at the rate of 1 half-liter pot per bucket of peat( or 1 glass of lime or dolomite).
Where can I get as much land for the bulk of the hill? And you just lay everything down on the ground under the future hill. From the beginning, lay a layer of stones, broken slate or red bricks, to prevent the roots from growing down where they are going to die. Cross all this with any land that you can heat on your site and near it. Then add up to this place torn, old books( this is, of course, barbarism, but you will agree that many of the books of this only are fateful and worthy), magazines, pieces of old boards, large twigs, shavings, pieces of cardboard,or wool( synthetics do not rot, but only clog the soil, so do not put it).And again all this is sandwiched by earth. Then make crumpled black and white newspapers( a small amount of colored material is acceptable, but the colored glossy illustrations are not, due to the presence of a large number of harmful dyes in them).In this layer it is necessary to add deoxidizers: ashes, dolomite, lime, what you have, at the rate of 1 glass of lime or dolomite for each bucket of land or 1 half-liter ash bank. Then all summer you can put a compost pile on this place, sprinkling weeded weeds and food scum, as well as feces from the toilet with earth, sand or peat. From time to time add a handful of superphosphate. If you want, you can pour a compost heap with a solution of Baikal Em-1, Renaissance or Compostina, or make a Shine. These drugs will accelerate the compost rot. By the next spring, the pile will settle on two thirds of the height, so in autumn its height should be at least 1.2 m. In the spring, before landing, you will pour a heap with a solution of potassium that does not contain chlorine, namely: 3 tbsp.spoons of sulphate or potassium carbonate( or even better potassium nitrate) per 10 liters of water. In autumn, potassium is useless to make, since during the autumn rains and winter thaws water will dissolve and wash it in the lower layers. From above add the usual earth, which you have, with a layer of about 40 cm.
With close groundwater, and also on peaty-marshy soil, the growth of the central root should not be allowed to go deep down. It is necessary to force it to branch, so that the root system is located in the horizontal upper layer of the soil. It happens on clay, but in other cases( except for planting on sandy soils), it is necessary to immediately make an obstacle to the growth of the roots inland. To do this, put a layer of stones, broken bricks, clay skulls, slate pieces on the bottom of the seat, and then apply the soil. This is especially true for the pear in the Northwest, as the pear root system and the central root extend to a depth of 4 m in the pear, and the pear does not tolerate soil wetting, especially stagnant or groundwater.
If you have ordinary soil( sandy loam or light loam, and even more so, arable land), then you can plant generally on a flat surface. You just need to remove the top layer of soil. Turn the turf and wrap it around the seat, creating a frame. Extract the roots and rhizomes of perennial weeds. Make a small depression( 15-20 cm), cast the removed land to the frame. Insert in the center of the hollow a mound of fertile, moistened soil and plant a seedling on this mound. Sprinkle with good soil on top with a frame.
But if you have sand, you'll have to dig a planting pit 80 x 80 x 80 cm in size. In the lower part of the pit, make the same trash that was recommended for building a hill above the ground. Then it is necessary to introduce sphagnum moss so that it retains moisture and nutrients. After that, fill the pit with fertile soil( or compost it all summer).The next spring, plant a seedling.
Most gardeners plant apple trees and pears, cherries or plums who are in the pit, who on the hill and end up on it their care of the trees. But this is not true! Roots grow in all directions, and gradually the pit or hill becomes small. In addition, a small hill easily freezes through. Therefore, at least once every two years, the planting area should be gradually expanded until it becomes 4x4 m. If the seedling is planted in a pit, it is necessary to dig a ditch along the perimeter of the tree crown onto the spade bayonet and gradually fill it up during the summerweeds, kitchen scum. By the next year, all this will turn into a half-compost. When planting on a hill annually, pour compost and soil on the perimeter of the crown, expanding the boundaries of the hill until you create the necessary feeding area for an adult apple tree measuring 4 x 4 m.
Planting seedlings
Almost all authors of books on agriculture recommend before dipping dip the roots of the seedling into a clay chatterbox. But it is well known that clay does not let moisture pass, so the roots do not dry out, but they can not take water from the soil either. On the contrary, before planting, any seedling should be put in water for 2-3 hours, so that the tree is saturated with moisture, and then immediately planted in place.
Do not keep seedlings in water before planting for more than 2-3 hours: they will lose a significant part of potassium, and this will have a bad effect on their survival and further growth.
Contrary to nomadic recommendations from the book in the book, do not trample down the soil with subtrees after planting. Tamped soil moist soil poorly passes air, and the roots will experience oxygen starvation. So that the soil filled with voids and stuck to the roots from all sides, one should not trample at all, but gradually pour the soil on top of the roots and immediately sprinkle water from the watering can, pour again, and water again.
Here's the water and it will wash the soil in the emptiness and cover the roots with moist soil, besides, it will leave free air access to the roots. So stop following the wrong advice in the books.
After planting, the seedling should be tied, otherwise in loose soil the wind will loosen up the root system, and the seedling will simply fall. But how to tie it? You, of course, paid attention to how to tie seedlings in the greening of the city? Here and tie - to the three stakes. This is the most reliable way. And if you are accustomed to tie to two, then drive the stakes not from the south and north from the seedling, as recommended in books( explanations in this regard are unintelligible), but drive the pegs in the direction of the prevailing winds in your area. In the Northwest, west winds prevail, which means that the stakes must be driven from the west and east of the seedling. Then the strapping will keep the seedling from swinging by the wind. If you plant a one-year-old twig or plant a plant grown in a container, then you do not need to tie it.
There is one more nuance. The plant develops correctly when there is a balance between its root system and the above-ground part. When the seedlings are planted, the root system is broken, the root sucking hairs are cut off, and the seedling does not supply moisture to the top. And the leaves with this moisture evaporate as if nothing had happened, so the dehydration of the trunk occurs. Sometimes after planting there is such a picture. Planted a tree or a bush, the plant dissolved the leaves and suddenly, for no reason at all, despite the abundant watering. To prevent this from happening, it is necessary to cut the above-ground part of the plant during planting, that is, to shorten the central conductor and all the branches by a quarter( and in dry times, even one-third) of their length. Then the balance between the weakened root system and the above-ground part too large for it will be restored and the seedling will get well. This, of course, does not apply to seedlings grown in a container.
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Big mistake - deep planting of the seedling. Usually this leads to a delay in the timing of the tree's entry into fruiting. In addition, a deep planting promotes the appearance of the root cane. Trees generally should stand on roots. Thick roots that stem from the trunk are "a conducting sewage and water supply system," if I may say so. Such roots do not suck anything, but only carry nutritious juices up and down. They are not afraid of frosts and have the same frost resistance as wood itself, but the tender suction part of the root system, young, thin roots, can freeze. They, as a rule, are located along the perimeter of the tree crown. That's about them and we need to take good care of them: to feed, water, cover for winter if you have snowless or too severe winters. The tree trunk can also freeze even with relatively low frost, but this will be discussed below. In the Northwest, tree roots extend far beyond the perimeter of the crown, as the roots do not go into the depths of cold and infertile soils, but prefer to spread out in a small arable layer of soil, only 40-50 cm thick, and therefore vulnerable to large sudden frost after thaw. Therefore, it is recommended not to rake leaves in autumn, but, on the contrary, to throw them around trees. Ostensibly hibernating on the leaves of pests and pathogens of disease, do not be afraid, they are no more and no less than in the spring and autumn digging of the near-barren circles. This, by the way, is also a delusion. The less you dig, the better the tree will bear fruit.
Planting time for perennial plants
We describe a number of features that should be taken into account when laying perennial plantations, because fruit crops are planted for 20-30 years, berry bushes - for 8-10 years. And the shortcomings and omissions made during the landing can be difficult to correct later.
General rules that should be followed when selecting the planting( or transplanting) period for fruit crop plants with an open root system( ie excavated from the soil): first, the seedlings should be in a state of relative rest without leaves, becauseThrough the leaves, moisture evaporates from the tissues. And so planting plants with leaves will cause the branches to dry out. The second indicator for normal plant survival is favorable soil and weather conditions for restoring the root system lost during digging.
Many years of experience shows that in the central zone of Russia apple and pear seedlings of highly winter resistant varieties, as well as berry bushes, should be planted in autumn. In the Moscow suburbs this period occurs at the end of September and the middle of October, in the more northern regions it is necessary to stop planting earlier so that the plants can take root, and in the southern regions the planting season can be extended. The rationale for this approach is that the roots do not have biological rest and are capable of growing all the year round( at a temperature not lower than 4 ° C).Therefore, to quickly restore the root system, it is better to transplant the seedlings as early as possible in the autumn.
Apricot, cherry, sea-buckthorn berries and winter-hardy varieties of apple, pear, cherry and plum must be planted in the spring. However, in the areas suffering from drought in the spring, autumn planting is preferable to the spring planting.
Therefore, spring planting, taking into account this circumstance and rapid budding of buds in warm weather, should be carried out as early as possible, without waiting for the drying of the soil( as they say, "in the mud"), but in the seats( pits or trenches prepared since autumn).
For seedlings with a closed root system( trees and bushes with a clod of earth), the period of planting in autumn and spring can be longer and here there is a greater maneuver for painless transfer of plants to a new location.
For planting fruit plants in the autumn to prepare pits preferably in advance - for several months. In extreme cases, digging holes and planting plants can be combined. Dimensions of pits for planting pome fruits - diameter 60 cm, depth 80 cm, for stone stones - diameter 40 cm, depth 60 cm. The dimensions of pits or trenches for planting berry bushes - width 40 cm, depth 40-60 cm. With the pit of planting holesand trenches, the topmost fertile soil layer( 15-25 cm) should be deposited in a separate heap, not mixing it with the soil of the underlying layers. And then fill the entire volume of the pit( cone in the middle) with the soil of the upper layer mixed with organic and mineral fertilizers. In this case, it is possible to expand the diameter of the pit due to the upper soil layer to 80-100 cm.