Immediately after planting the tree the tree trunk circle is loosened. This helps retain moisture in the soil and prevents weeds from growing. For support in inclement weather plants are tied to supports. At the same time, regularly check that the garter material does not cut into the bark, and also prevent friction against the support, since damage to the bark can lead to the death of the plant. To protect fabrics from drying out in spring, in dry, windy weather the stems are wrapped with a damp cloth or moss. If there is a pronounced imbalance between the volume of the root system and the above-ground part of the plant, post-planting pruning. Usually the shoots are shortened by a quarter.

Fresh leaves of young plants are a delicacy for leaf-eating caterpillars and green aphids. Pests are collected manually. If this does not work, biological or chemical remedies must be used.

Top dressing

In the 1st year of growth root system plants develop within landing pit using fertilizers added during planting. During this period, fertilizers are not applied, but if fertilizing has not been fully applied and the seedlings are not growing intensively, 10 kg of rotted manure, 120 g of superphosphate, 40 g of potassium chloride, 60 g of ammonium nitrate.

For the 2nd year(if the plants gave insufficient growth in the 1st year), the same amount of fertilizer should be added to the trunk circle, which should be expanded in diameter by 50 cm. Since young trees in the spring urgently feel the need for nitrogen fertilizers, you can increase the dose of ammonium nitrate to 80-90 g, and also add urea.

If the soils are poor, fertilizers can be applied in parts, superficially, then covered with a rake, watered and mulched with peat or compost.

Watering

It is recommended to combine fertilizer with watering, which must be carried out throughout landing year. Otherwise, the top of the above-ground part of the seedling will begin to gradually die off until it is restored in the root layer. normal humidity and nutrient medium.

Average For fruit crops on loamy and clay soils 3 waterings are enough: immediately after planting, in the 2nd half of May and in July - at least 3-4 buckets under the tree. During hot, dry summers or belated spring planting you need at least 4-5 waterings: 2 spring and 2-3 summer. On light su sandy soils At least 5-6 waterings are required.

Stop watering in August and early September, allowing young plant growths to woody well and prepare for future frosts. At the end of September - October, abundant watering (double the norm) promotes root growth even under snow. Pre-winter watering strengthen the winter hardiness of the seedling.

Mulching

The accumulation and preservation of moisture in the soil is facilitated by mulching - covering tree trunk circles with humus, compost, straw manure, peat, mulching paper, plastic film, cut straw and weeded weeds. It is not recommended to use sawdust for mulching, especially from coniferous trees.

The mulch is laid out layer 3-5 cm around the entire trunk circle, with the exception of small area around the trunk in a radius of approximately 10-15 cm. This work must be carried out immediately after the first loosening. Late mulching, especially with dry peat, when the soil has already dried out, does not give a positive result, and in dry years it can even reduce the yield. During the summer, as the soil compacts, the soil under the mulch is loosened, moving the mulching material to the side. After loosening, it is again distributed around the tree trunk circle. In the fall, mulch is incorporated into the soil to fertilize.

Autumn digging

Proper tillage not only improves the nutritional conditions of plants, but also contributes to the accumulation and further retention of moisture in the soil, which increases the overall immunity of trees. Basic tillage with fertilizer application produced in late autumn, when fruit trees finish growing and leaf fall ends. The soil is dug up with shovels, turning over the layer, without crushing the soil clods. When digging the soil in tree trunk circles, care must be taken: the shovel should not be too deep to avoid damaging the roots. In this case, the shovel should be facing the stem with its edge. Near the young trunk, it is advisable to use rippers or cultivators to a depth of no more than 6-7 cm; further from the trunk you can cultivate deeper, at 14-15 cm.

At digging with formation turnover turn out onto the day surface and kill pests overwintering in the upper soil layers. In addition, a blocky soil surface retains moisture better. Please note that before digging the soil, you need to remove weeds and burn fallen leaves.

Spring tillage

In the spring, loosening is carried out without turning the layer and leveling the soil surface. First loosening tree trunk circles In order to preserve the supply of moisture, carry out the process until the snow melts and the soil dries out a little. Subsequently, during the spring, summer, and autumn, the tree trunk circles are loosened at least 3-4 times, while carefully removing the weeds.

The need for loosening is determined by the degree of soil compaction, clogging, and crust formation after rains. The size of the trunk circles depends on the age and development of the plants. They should be slightly larger than the width of the crown. In the first two years after planting, it is enough to cultivate a circle 1-1.5 m wide for apple, cherry, pear, and sea buckthorn trees.

Trimming

In the 2nd year of growth carry out pruning. This makes it possible to bring the rapidly developing above-ground part of the plant into line with the root system and lay the foundations for the formation of the crown. Usually fruit trees are vigorous rootstocks formed according to a sparse-tiered scheme, in which the tree has 5-7 skeletal branches of the 1st tier and 4-5 of the 2nd. To do this, in the 2nd year, the lateral branches are cut by a third for a shoot length of 70 cm and by half for a shoot 100 cm long. If the expected future skeletal branches are identical in development, then the lower shoots are cut less lightly than the upper ones. To obtain the 2nd tier of the crown, the central conductor is also shortened, leaving it 45-50 cm long. Please note that proper care the soil should ensure shoot growth in one season by 60-70 cm for pome crops and 80-100 cm for stone fruit crops.

First winter

To avoid damage to plants from snow, the branches of future crowns are pulled together at the end of autumn soft material . This operation is carried out by two people on frost-free days to avoid breakdowns. In addition, at the end of February - beginning of March, when there is no stable temperature, damage to plants by sunburn is possible. Whitewashing, used as a means of protection, is not always effective for young trees. Best result gives tying the trunk with special fabrics, which at the same time protects it from rodents. Please note that it is recommended to free the tree from the fabric binding on cloudy, preferably rainy days, in the late afternoon.

Fruit trees after winter damage

Apple tree “changes skin”

Spring is just around the corner. It brings a lot of joy to amateur gardeners. The plants also hid in anticipation, anticipating clear sunny days...

Unfortunately, spring brings not only joy to our gardens, but also problems. One of the most troublesome and painful - winter damage trees. How to heal our green friends? The answer to this question can be found in almost all gardening books. But many of the recommendations are quite complex and are not accessible to the average summer resident.

I decided to describe several proven techniques from my practice. The methods I suggest are quite effective. Even novice gardeners can use them.

Bridges and rings

One of the most destructive is ring damage to the bark of young trees. It usually occurs due to the fault of hungry and toothy mice.

Classic repair method- bridge grafting. But she can only for an experienced gardener. And even that does not always bring success.

Textbooks are usually full of pictures. The bridges on them stretch upward- Therefore, the mice gnawed the bark at a decent height. But in my area, everything happened exactly the opposite. The tree's bark was damaged at the bottom, right at the root collar. There was practically no space to install cutting bridges. But I still tried. The bridges did not take root, and the tree died.

This incident taught me a lot, prompting me to look for other ways. I began to treat ring damage by applying bark from a healthy branch of another tree. Did it in early spring, at the beginning of intense sap flow. The result is excellent, and the first time.

Donor and patient

This is how I act. First I prepare a piece of branch, preferably- without ramifications, and necessarily- with healthy bark. This is a donor.

I clean the damaged area of ​​the “patient tree” down to healthy wood and treat it with a weak solution of iron sulfate. I outline the height of the insert, retreating 0.5-1 cm up and down from the most distant places of damage. I cut out a rectangular sheet from any dense material, the width of which is equal to the height of the insert. The length must be no less than the diameter of the trunk of the tree being repaired.

This sheet serves as a template for determining the size of the bark insert to be transplanted. Having wrapped the donor branch with this template, I make circular cuts along the ends to the wood. I remove it and make a longitudinal cut. Having wrapped the wound with a template, I make circular cuts and remove the remaining bark along the edges of the damaged area, exposing the cambium.

I apply the bark from the branch prepared for transplantation to the site of damage. If necessary, add another piece of bark until the surface is completely covered. I tightly tie the “patch” with a strip of film (it is better to use polyethylene, then it will be easier for you to check the accuracy of the bark fit). To protect against sun rays I cover the harness with white film or paper.

Unilateral, non-circular cortical lesions are usually easier to treat. The wounds are cleaned and covered with garden varnish. And they calmly wait for them to heal. But keep in mind that when large area damage, a hollow may appear in their place. Such wounds are best treated in the manner I have described. Only the figured template for cutting out the bark will be of a different size and configuration.

Look at the photo at the top of the page. on her- young apple tree. The picture was taken in the spring of next year after repairs were made with a ring insert of two pieces of bark (under the branch) and shield bark (at the root collar). Groove on the front side of the shield- not a flaw at all, but the result of a discrepancy between the bark throughout its entire thickness. Below, the surface of the damage is completely covered with new bark.

Now imagine what a tree with bridge cuttings would look like. Awkward, right? And after the method I use, in a year or two there won’t even be any traces left on the tree. So choose what you like best! Two years after this repair, the mice completely gnawed the tree bark above the insert. They may ask- What kind of gardener is this who leaves his pets to be torn to pieces by rodents? But what do you want me to do? The site is far from the house; in winter it is abandoned, as they say, to chance. One way or another, I had to, reluctantly, cut down the tree. And what do you think? Longitudinal and transverse sections of the bark turned out to be completely clean, without any damage. By the way, in this way you can not only treat the tree, but also reduce its growth. There is evidence from experts that a change in the polarity of the trunk bark in an area 10-20 cm high helps to reduce the height of the plant. We cut out the bark of the required size with a ring and make an insert “feet up”, that is, aligning the upper edge of the ring with the lower edge of the cutout.

Tree without a trunk

I am often asked: what to do if the trunk of a tree needs to be removed? The need for such an operation is most often associated with freezing or sunburn of the bark of a young seedling. Such incidents are not uncommon, especially in winters with frequent thaws. The bark can also freeze due to the gardener’s excessive care.- when the tree is overfed and does not have time to prepare for winter.

The sun can dry out the young stem of a seedling. Considering this, it is better to play it safe: when forming skeletal branches, leave one at the bottom, in reserve. In winter it will be covered with snow and will remain in any case. And you can remove it after the tree begins to bear fruit.

Usually the trunk is damaged above this branch. In this case, it will be the basis for the formation of the crown.

We cut off the trunk with a well-sharpened garden hacksaw. You should not use pruners, even if the tree is very “skinny”- it wrinkles the bark. By the way, to avoid this incident, you can also wrap the bark with adhesive tape, which will protect it from delamination. Now, stepping back a little, we cut the trunk into a ring.

At a short distance from the standard, we drive a stake into the ground. It should be opposite the branch we left. We install a spacer bar between the stake and the tree. To prevent the branch from breaking off when straightening it, we firmly tie the tree to the stake: by the bottom of the branch, placing a piece of dense material so that the bark does not wrinkle. Carefully bending the branch upward, bring the bottom to a vertical position and secure it to the stake with a garter. The upper part of the branch will also bend towards the stake.

Behind the branch, at a short distance from it, we drive in a second stake. Straightening the branch, we tie it to a new support, slightly higher than the previous garter. Now we carry out the garter one by one- first to one stake, then to another, completely straightening the branch. And we fix its thin upper end in vertical position between two supports, tying it with a twist of twine.

This method can straighten the branch not only in the vertical, but also in the horizontal plane. In this case, the lateral branches are evenly straightened into different sides using stakes and twine. In this way we form the skeletal branches of the tree.

If it was not possible to straighten the branch at the base in one season, you should periodically, at intervals of 2-3 weeks, retighten lower harnesses. The branch will gradually straighten.

When will the kidney wake up?

Let's consider other cases. If there are no branches below the damage site, the trunk should be cut to a well-developed bud. Do not forget to tie the shoot developing from it to a stake in a timely manner.- this will protect it from breaking.

If there are no branches or buds below the damaged area, the trunk must be cut arbitrarily down to clean wood and covered with garden varnish. And then wait for the dormant bud to awaken (the process can last until mid-summer). It is important not to miss the moment of her awakening. Usually the dormant bud is thick and grassy. It is loosely attached to the trunk, held as if on the tip of a needle. Therefore, at the green cone stage, it needs to be wrapped in a funnel-shaped film (under the bud - tightly, above- free). Then the shoot will be well preserved and will not move away from the trunk. And when he grows up, he should be tied to a stake. Next season it will be possible to begin forming the tree crown.

In winter and early spring it is already possible in stores. And imported flowering plants, which can also be grown in the garden, are sold all year round.

Gardeners are faced with the task: before planting in open ground, because the start of the gardening season is still very far away. But once in a warm place, planting material garden plants immediately begin to grow.

It is pointless to warn gardeners to refrain from such early purchases of garden plants long before they are planted in the garden. Sometimes I myself can’t resist buying planting material in winter and early spring. Therefore, you need to know what to do next correctly with purchased garden plants so that they can be planted in a permanent place.

I’ll tell you how I save early purchased seedlings of various garden plants in my apartment until they are planted in a permanent place.

The importance of keeping planting material cool

We will consider in detail questions about rose seedlings purchased early and the conditions for them. successful landing and good survival in the future.

It is advisable to buy seedlings that go on sale in winter and early spring immediately after delivery to the store and store them in a cool place. It is important that garden plants lay in a warm place for a minimum of time - otherwise the planting material will begin to grow.

For example, when in a warm and dark place divisions of rhizomatous perennials in bags of peat grow thin white sprouts. Rose shoots covered with wax quickly sprout buds, while roots wrapped in plastic suffocate. Therefore, when maintaining planting material for garden plants in such unfavorable conditions, after even a short time, sometimes there is nothing to hope for.

Rose seedlings

Let's consider the situation with planting material purchased in winter or early spring, packaged in colorful carton boxes(including those brought from Poland, Hungary, etc.). Their price is very attractive, so it is difficult to resist purchasing such seedlings of the desired varieties of roses.

If the buds on the purchased rose seedling have not yet begun to swell, then this good sign- it means that with a high probability this rose will take root. But before planting a purchased rose in the garden, it must be preserved.
When kept warm, rose seedlings develop long shoots. I don’t take such roses at all - after all, the thin sprouts will dry out, and the roots of the seedling are not yet working, and such a greatly weakened plant may die.

A purchased rose seedling will soon begin to grow, even if it is kept in the refrigerator for the first time.
At first, you can store the rose in the refrigerator in the packaging in which it was purchased, but no more than a week. The chances of survival of a rose seedling decrease every day, because its packed roots are pinched and covered with peat or sawdust, which can dry out. Therefore, after short storage in a cold place, the rose has to be planted in a pot.

In the photo: an unpacked rose seedling before planting in a pot

Rose seedlings purchased in cardboard packaging must be unpacked and the roots inspected. They are trimmed to a minimum without any regret. And sometimes the roots are bent two or three times, so a large container for planting such a rose seedling may be needed.
Since I can’t resist such early purchases of new roses every year, I have two large 22 cm high pots for planting them (the smaller the diameter of the container, the less land will be needed). Therefore, in winter or early spring, I buy no more than two rose seedlings at the very beginning of bringing them to the store, while the plants have not yet begun to grow.

In the fall, I make and prepare earthen mixtures for growing seedlings with a high sand content. A purchased peat substrate is only suitable as an additive to a self-composed soil mixture to make it more loose and moisture-holding.

I plant the unpacked rose in a pot, straightening the roots, in the prepared soil (the volume of the soil should be slightly larger than the bulk of the roots). If the roots are large, then you can bend them a little at the very bottom, so that when planting, a lump of earth is preserved in the center. And along the perimeter, the protruding roots can then be straightened and trimmed a little.
Gradually I fill the roots of the rose with an earthen mixture, watering it and at the same time slightly compacting it near the roots.

I add a layer of dry earth or sand into the pot on top as mulch. For now, I leave the root collar of the rose seedling on the surface of the ground - I will bury it when transplanting the rose from a pot into open ground to a permanent place.

It would be nice to store pots of roses in a cold, frost-free place at a constant temperature, but I don’t have such a large free refrigerator. I take the planted rose out to glass balcony and monitor the air temperature. It is undesirable for it to drop below zero, since the young buds and sprouts of the rose seedling may freeze, and this will have a bad effect on its survival in the future. If the frosts are mild, the rose shoots can be covered with something ( non-woven material, film) for better preservation. When severe frosts are expected at night, I bring pots of roses from the balcony into the apartment and put them in the coolest place until the cold passes.

It will be possible to plant purchased rose bushes in the garden in the spring as soon as the soil allows - usually this happens in mid-April or a little earlier. I take roses in pots to the dacha. I plant them carefully, without disturbing the earth and deepening the root collar as expected - about 2 cm.

Be sure to take care of covering (with any non-woven material or film) the roses planted in the garden from excess sun and wind for the first time. Return frosts will also probably still occur, which is usual for the middle zone; but if there is not much greenery and it freezes, it’s okay. It is better not to remove the temporary shelter from planted roses for as long as possible for their maximum adaptation in the garden, especially in difficult weather conditions.

In the photo: rose seedlings are planted in pots; first bloom of a young rose after a few months

Similar to rose seedlings, I save all other garden plant seedlings purchased in winter or early spring until planting in the garden; but it’s usually easier with them. They do not need such bulky pots (except perhaps hydrangeas) - it is enough that their roots just fit in the pot.

If the rose was bought in a flowering pot, then you can wait a little until all the opened flowers have faded (provided that the rose is kept in a cool place, and).
The pot with the purchased blooming rose contains only shipping peat, which quickly dries out in apartment conditions, so you have to water it often.
It is pointless to expect other flowers from such a plant, so you need to pinch off the remaining buds, shake off the peat from the roots and replant it in soil suitable for the rose.
I have roses under the usual shelter at my dacha, bought in flowering pots in February-March. But it is still better to buy blooming roses closer to the beginning of the gardening season or at the beginning of autumn, so that they can be purchased immediately.

Gerberas, chrysanthemums, hydrangea

Exactly the same as with blooming roses in pots, I do this with flowering ones purchased in early spring. Then these gerberas bloom all summer at my dacha, in the open ground.

Flowering in pots, which are also sold in abundance at the end of winter and beginning of spring, then grow beautifully in the countryside.
Bought in pots flowering bushes chrysanthemums will then also need to be transplanted from peat into a suitable substrate in which they will grow before being planted in open ground.
Potted chrysanthemums, once in the garden, grow into huge bushes by autumn. Because these plants for growing in pots are treated with growth-inhibiting hormones, but in the wild nothing prevents these chrysanthemums from growing. They bloom again in the garden in the fall, and sometimes chrysanthemums in the open ground have a completely different color of flowers than when buying them blooming in a store.
Heat-loving chrysanthemums must be dug up in the fall and kept cool until spring. But cold-resistant ones need to be covered for the winter; they simply won’t survive the winter without shelter.

Just like the roses and chrysanthemums that bloomed in pots in winter and early spring, I also grew a seedling from a plant blooming in a pot for my garden. Is it true, blue flowers My hydrangea was only at the very beginning, but at the dacha it turned from blue to pink. I have not yet tried to water a hydrangea bush with alum to get blue flowers, because I like it even pink.

Let me clarify once again that those purchased in pots should not be replanted into the ready-made peat substrate that is sold in the store, but rather into the ground.
For such home plantings, I always have humus from the dacha prepared in advance. I mix it with sand, with a purchased substrate (I try to take bags " Living Earth"). I make sure to steam the earthen mixture.

When planting in pots, the roots of seedlings should be only slightly sprinkled with soil on top.

Clematis and woody plants

With clematis seedlings that were purchased in winter or early spring long before planting in the garden, do the same as with blooming roses. For them, the main thing is not to overwater the plants in the pot. Young clematis seedlings also have the most weakness– the root collar (the place where the plant’s roots begin to grow), which can rot due to waterlogging. Therefore, when planting clematis in a pot, it is better not to cover the root collar with soil at all; and if you fill it up a little, then only with sand.
As soon as possible, you need to take the pot with the planted clematis to a glazed balcony or loggia (make sure that there are no sub-zero temperatures there).
After planting clematis in the ground, you first need to cover the seedling from the sun and wind.

With purchased garden seedlings, do the same as with rose and clematis seedlings.

Seedlings of some types of garden plants are sold with an open root system. If the roots have already withered, then the dry ends of the roots must be trimmed before planting (by about 0.5 cm, to healthy tissue), and then soaked in water for 3-4 hours (I use root). And then plant the plant in a pot.

Bulbous and corm plants

Planting material for gladioli is planted in the garden in the spring, when the earth warms up. In our middle lane The planting period for these plants is usually late April and early May. Otherwise, in the cold ground, tubers and bulbs heat-loving plants may rot, and then the plant will be sick for a long time and grow slowly.

After purchase, the planting material of these plants must be kept in a cool, dark place; in this case, the refrigerator comes to the rescue.
It is not advisable to keep perennial rhizomes and bulbs in the same bag in the refrigerator for a long time after purchase. The peat, which contains rhizomes, root tubers and bulbs, may dry out; or, conversely, they will rot from excess moisture.
Even the unpretentious ones began to rot after a week of storage in the refrigerator in the packaging in which the bulbs were purchased. It's good that I noticed it in time. I cut off the blackened areas, coated them with brilliant green, dried the sections and... As long as no sprouts have appeared in the pots with lilies, and the bulb is in the ground and protected from the cold, the plants are not afraid of mild and short frosts on the glazed balcony.

When the sprouts of high-quality lily bulbs stored in the refrigerator reach a length of more than 10 cm, and there is still a long wait before planting the plants in the garden, they also need to be planted in the ground and the pots exposed to light.
At the lilies important For growth, they have formed supra-bulb roots, so when planting bulbs in a pot, this must be taken into account. The layer of soil above the lily bulb should be at least 5-7 cm.

Corms have a peculiarity: if you break the already grown roots at the bottom of the bulb, then new ones will no longer grow, and this will weaken flowering.

When planting them in the garden, you must add under gladioli and dahlias.
are demanding of varying soil acidity, so when planting their bulbs, you must carefully add wood ash(look at). Remember that some groups of lilies prefer slightly acidic soil (for example, Oriental Hybrids), and ash creates an alkaline environment.

When planting plants from pots into the garden, they need to be carefully knocked out of the pot with a lump of earth, then they will get sick less after transfer.

Dahlias

Heat-loving plants are afraid of frost, and it will be possible to plant them with sprouts in the garden only when the weather warms up at the end of April or beginning of May - under cover with protection from return frosts.

I store the purchased dahlia root tubers in a bag with holes - I keep them in the refrigerator until the buds on the neck begin to swell. And then, too, selected according to the size of each tuber. I moisten the soil and keep the dahlias at home in the coolest place.
I have such a place in my apartment - a cabinet in the kitchen under the window. At the beginning of February, I just take out the wintered ones from there after a period of winter dormancy. And then I again fill the cabinet shelves with pots with rhizomes and bulbs planted in winter and early spring, which remain there until mid-March.

Purchased dahlias once began to bloom in my garden very early - at the same time as the end of May. I must say that there is no beauty in this - the blooming dahlias are “lost” against the background of the riotous flowering of peonies and other flowers of this spring period. After all, we are accustomed to perceive dahlias as summer and autumn flowers of August and September, since dahlias bloom magnificently before the onset of frost. And it is in autumn that the beauty of their inflorescences catches your eye, because flowering plants there are fewer and fewer in the garden. And dahlias seem to us like exotic flowers against the background of yellowing foliage of woody plants.

Caring for potted garden plants

After planting garden plants in pots, you need to water them well and put the pots in the coolest place in the apartment. Try to water the plants as rarely as possible - it is better to let the soil dry out a little than to overwater.

If the condition of the seedling allows it, and the plant has just begun to grow, it is better to keep it longer in the cold and dark before planting.
And if there are already leaves on it, then you need to choose a cool and bright place to keep the sprouted plant.

When keeping roses and other plants in an apartment, they often develop malicious pest(especially if the rose is in a warm place) -.
As soon as the leaves of the rose bush begin to turn yellow, you need to carefully monitor the rose, wash its stem and leaves with cool water, and carry out preventive treatments against spider mites. Since the mite is very small, when you can already see its web on the plant, it is sometimes too late - it is not always possible to save the affected rose.

Spraying pest-infected plants in an apartment with chemicals is problematic. When it is not very cold outside and there is a glazed balcony or loggia, you can spray the plants there during the day and bring them into the apartment in the evening. Rose holds up well low temperatures(the main thing is that it is not lower than +3...+5 degrees on the balcony).
Spider mite in an apartment can harm not only roses, but also all the plants located there.

Advantages of planting home-grown plants in the garden

When a plant purchased in winter or early spring was at home in a pot of soil before being planted in the garden, its root system had already developed sufficiently and adapted to the soil. Therefore, when transferring a plant from a pot to open ground, the plant only needs to be slightly deepened, and also covered for the first time from the wind and from the hot sun.
In the garden, such seedlings do not get sick after transplantation, they begin to grow and get stronger almost immediately, and soon they bloom.

Garden plants, after being planted in the ground, have time to prepare well for winter during the gardening season.

So, buying garden plants in stores in winter and early spring only makes sense if you are sure that you can save the seedlings until planting in the garden. If there are conditions for maintaining these plants, and, most importantly, if there is a desire to care for and grow them. The question is where

Before the onset of spring trunks fruit trees rub with lime milk. Besides everything, White color reflects the sun's rays, which allows you to avoid overheating during intense sunlight and a sharp drop in temperature at night, especially below zero.

In the spring, the moisture-protective bowl around the tree is filled with dry soil, compost, peat or plant debris, this prevents the rapid evaporation of moisture.

During the growing season, especially during dry periods, fruit trees are watered thoroughly and abundantly. Watering often, but little by little, is useless. Moisture does not reach the roots, lingering in surface layer soil, on which a crust then forms. To retain moisture around the tree even before it begins to bloom, it is useful to lay peat, straw manure or grass in a layer of 5-10 cm.

If a tree does not bloom in the spring, it must be dug out of the ground, the roots must be shortened, and for several days (preferably in the cellar), the roots should be immersed in water or covered with damp soil. Only after it turns green can it be planted in the ground again.

During the growing season, especially after rain (before the formation of a dried earthen crust), the soil around the tree must be finely loosened several times. It is necessary to loosen in May-July, when shoots and fruits are mainly formed. In August and September, the soil is not disturbed, which ensures better ripening and coloring of the fruits.

In the fall, the earth is dug up around the tree to a depth of no more than 10 cm, and in row spacing - up to 15 cm. Digging around the tree is carried out only with a fork-shovel, which does not damage the roots as much. Even better than loosening is a shallow trench. In summer, loosening the soil is generally not recommended. After the soil dries out in the spring, it is treated with the back of the rake (also in order to reduce moisture loss from evaporation).

To enrich the soil with humus, you can grow under fruit trees various plants. The most suitable for this purpose are field peas, fodder vetch, white mustard, buckwheat, phacelia, white clover, multi-flowered ryegrass, annual ryegrass, etc., and on sandy soils - lupine.

Seed material is introduced from the beginning of July to the beginning of August during wet soil. Plants are planted only in spring. In winter, this planting material protects the soil from severe freezing and helps to better retain snow. It is not recommended to grow green manure plants in areas with precipitation levels below 500 mm, as well as in young fruit plantings.

Vegetables can be grown between newly planted trees, and between dwarf plantings in the case when they have not reached 3 years, and among taller seedlings - up to 8 years. The most suitable vegetables for this purpose are bush beans, peas, lettuce, early cauliflower, kohlrabi, cucumbers, celery, tomatoes, carrots and early potatoes. However, you cannot plant vegetables directly under fruit trees.

Fertilizer

The basis for fertilizing fruit trees is organic fertilizers. Typically, well compacted or composted manure is used; in the fall it is introduced into the soil to a depth of 10-15 cm or over the entire cultivation area under the trees, sometimes along the diameter of the crowns under each tree. Lighter soils are fertilized annually or every other year, heavy ones - once every 3-4 years. Large doses of fertilizer are applied to weakly growing trees. Instead of manure applied in the fall, you can often use compost in the spring. Dry bird droppings are also used (100-200 g per 1 m2).

At the same time with organic fertilizers Mineral and chemical fertilizers should also be added to the soil. If green manure plants are also grown under trees, the dose of manure or compost can be reduced by half.

One tree at the age of 2-3 years requires 12-15 kg of fertilizers; every year the dose of fertilizer increases, i.e. for an eight-year-old tree, 40-50 kg of fertilizer is required, and older trees with a crown diameter of 6 m consume 120-160 kg of fertilizer.

Mineral fertilizers are used taking into account the reaction of the soil, the age and fruitfulness of the tree. In the fall, when plowing the soil, phosphorus and potassium fertilizers are usually applied so that these substances are already absorbed during the growing season. With the onset of spring, nitrogen fertilizers are applied. You can also use combined fertilizers in autumn and spring, which gives a noticeable effect. During the growing season, nitrogenous fertilizers are applied additionally, and they are applied shallowly into the soil.

In the year when the soil is fertilized with a full volume of compost or manure, the dose mineral fertilizers is reduced by half. If the trees grow too wildly and the shoots ripen poorly, the amount of nitrogen fertilizers applied is reduced, and more phosphorus and sulfur fertilizers are added. If predecessor crops are grown under trees, the amount of fertilizer applied should be increased according to their needs.

To feed weakly growing trees, it is also possible to use liquid fertilizers during the growing season. For example, fermented bird or rabbit droppings diluted in 10 parts of water are useful. You can also use a solution of complete fertilizers that dissolve well in water. These liquid fertilizers are poured into grooves 10-15 cm deep around the circumference of the crown. After the liquid is absorbed into the soil, the grooves are leveled.

Lime is added to the soil in accordance with its reaction. It is especially necessary for stone fruits; berry crops less demanding in this regard. It should not be overlooked that calcium fertilizers and manure, as well as superphosphate and chemical nitrogen fertilizers, cannot be introduced at the same time.

In case of acute deficiency nutrients, when their supply from the soil is limited in some way (waterlogged soil, damaged roots), it can be recommended to spray the leaves with a nutrient solution. 400 g of ammonium nitrate with limestone or 500-600 g of urea, 500-600 g of potassium bisulfate and an extract of 3-4 kg of superphosphate are dissolved in 10 liters of water. The most favorable period for such spraying is the period after flowering. If there is a clear lack of nutrients, spraying is repeated one or two more times after 10-14 days. If necessary, such spraying is combined with spraying against diseases and pests of trees.

Protection from diseases and pests

The best defense is prevention. If fruit plants create good conditions and care for them accordingly, they will not cause much trouble to the gardener.

And if you also provide everything to attract birds as your helpers, then your worries will be completely reduced. To do this, it is enough to install bird feeders in the garden for the winter, replenish the feeders with food, and for some useful birds put up titmice and birdhouses so that the birds hatch their chicks directly on the site. The birds will repay their owners with good - they will take care of useful work: pest control.

If any controversial issues arise, you should try to find out the reason and, after consulting with a specialist, make the appropriate adjustments to care for the garden and combat pests. Chemicals used only as a last resort.

Spring work Apple tree care should not be delayed until warmer days arrive. Many procedures must be carried out before the snow melts.

Whitewashing and treatment of apple tree trunk in spring

Whitewashing tree trunks is necessary to protect the bark from sunlight. It is carried out from February to mid-March, until the snow melts. In more late dates painting the trunks will not bring any benefit to the tree, but will only decorate the garden.

Of the wide variety of whitewashes, I prefer garden acrylic paint. Its protective effect remains for a long time- it does not collapse or crack, and also - it is not washed off by rain. I use it only for apple trees over 7 years old. To enhance the effect I add to the paint copper sulfate. Such a composition will not only protect the apple tree from sunburn, but will also help fight pests overwintering in the bark.

For young apple trees with immature bark, I prepare a whitewash mixture from lime, manure and clay in a ratio of 3:1:1. I mix all the ingredients well and dilute with water to the consistency of thick sour cream. The solution protects against burns and disinfects the bark, but needs to be renewed periodically.

After winter, apple tree trunks are often damaged by rodents. I cover small wounds with garden varnish immediately after the snow melts in March. In areas that have been chewed down to wood, I graft, trying to use as many cuttings as possible winter-hardy varieties.

I remove the exfoliated bark during frost damage, and carefully cover the cuts with varnish. Over time, the wounds heal completely. In large areas of frost damage, I graft with a bridge.

Pruning apple trees in spring

Deadlines spring pruning May vary depending on available time. You can start it at a temperature not lower than minus 10 degrees Celsius, and continue until the first buds appear on the branches.

Sanitary pruning I spend it until the sap begins to flow. I cut out all the branches damaged in winter. For these purposes I use hand pruners and a sharpened garden saw.

In spring, I form the crown of young apple trees. I cut out shading and growing under small acute angle to the trunk of the branch. I leave a distance of 40-70 cm between the skeletal branches. Of the branches of the second order, I leave those growing to the sides, and cut out the rest.

Optimal height apple trees are the ones that are convenient to care for and harvest. I determine the required height as follows. I put a stepladder near the tree, stand on the top step and stretch my arm up. If the tree is taller than my hand, I lower the crown. To do this, I shorten the top of the conductor and the upper branches to the level I need. I treat the cuts with garden varnish.

Prevention of apple trees from diseases and pests in spring

Many pests and diseases easily survive the winter and begin to actively develop with the arrival of spring.

To combat crawling pests, in particular the flower beetle weevil, I successfully use catching belts. I install them with the appearance of the first thawed patches in tree trunk circle so that they fit as tightly as possible to the trunk.

I do the second treatment after the apple trees bloom, when the first ovary appears. During this period I use more gentle drugs - Fitoverm, Akarin, Lepidocid. I spray in dry, windless weather in the morning. The first results of the drugs can be seen 5-6 hours after treatment.

Apple tree grafting in spring

Best time for apple tree grafting - May, when active sap flow begins. I use cuttings of promising varieties harvested in winter. The survival rate of such grafting is very high - up to 90% of cuttings.

Fertilizing apple trees in spring

If, when planting an apple tree in fertile soil a sufficient amount of fertilizer has been applied; there is no need to additionally feed the tree for five years. An exception to this rule is growing apple trees on poor soils - sandstones and drained swamps.

I feed trees older than five years at the beginning of April. I use urea, rotted manure, and wood ash. In the soil at the crown projection area, I make 20-25 cm indentations with a pitchfork or a crowbar. I pour a handful of fertilizer into each hole and cover it with soil on top. For one tree I use about half a kilo of urea or 5-6 buckets of manure, so that the feeding is enough for two to three years.

I never scatter fertilizers on the surface of the soil. They will not bring any benefit to the apple tree, but the grass will grow by leaps and bounds. Also, do not spread manure on top of the snow. Such actions will only slow down the snowmelt, and the weeds will get food.

Additionally, during the growing season, I apply fertilizer only when the tree signals a lack of nutrients. The first signs of trouble are visible before flowering begins - during this period I fertilize. I prepare a solution in a hundred-liter barrel of water, to which I add a bucket of mullein, a kilogram of superphosphate, and 300 g of potassium sulfate. The solution is infused for a week. I water the apple trees with this mixture, 4-5 buckets per tree.

I re-fertilize after flowering. I change the composition of the solution - I don’t add manure, but I double the amount of superphosphate and potassium sulfate. These components have a beneficial effect on the formation of the ovary and future harvest apple trees

Watering apple trees in spring

Before the leaves bloom, the need for watering of apple trees is compensated by the moisture accumulated in the ground after the snow melts. Next, the trees need to be watered, especially if the yard is dry. warm weather. I water young trees every five days, older trees less often, but more abundantly.

After watering, harrow the soil under the apple tree so that a crust does not form. I mulch the tree trunk area thin layer straw or peat to retain moisture longer. Sawdust is not suitable as mulch - it will make the soil acidic. A thick mulch layer is also unsafe - rodents, pathogenic bacteria grow in it, and fungal pores multiply.

Protecting the apple tree from return frosts

Spring frosts will not harm apple trees if the buds on them have not yet blossomed. To protect deciduous trees from frost, I use sprinkling. To do this, in the late evening I generously irrigate the entire crown with water from a hose through a fine sprayer. Drops freezing at night give off their heat to young leaves. This method can only be used in calm weather, otherwise the effect will be exactly the opposite.

When there is a threat of frost during flowering, to protect the apple trees, I resort to the old proven method - smoke. In the garden I lay out heaps of straw, peat, leaves, and dry grass. I drive a stake into the center and pour a little earth on top of the pile. In the evening I pull out the stake - the hole will serve as a chimney, and set the pile on fire.

Transplanting an apple tree in spring

Before the leaves bloom, apple trees can be replanted if the planting site was initially chosen poorly. It is not difficult to dig up young trees (up to three years old) and plant them in a new location. It is necessary to water the soil well in the tree trunk area before digging up the tree, and after planting, carry out short pruning of the branches. This way the apple tree will quickly recover after transplantation and begin to grow.

Things are more complicated with transplanting apple trees at the age of 4-5 years. You need to dig a groove along the perimeter of the crown and gradually deepen it to 50 cm. Any roots that come across are cut off. When the depth of the ditch is sufficient, the earthen ball is dug up and the central root rod is trimmed. Replant the tree with a lump of earth. After planting, it is watered and the branches are radically pruned, leaving only the central conductor and a few skeletal and secondary branches.

If for some reason the apple tree had to be uprooted, a new seedling can be planted in its place the same year - the diseases of the old tree will not be transmitted.

Selecting a seedling for planting

You can plant young apple tree seedlings in early spring, as soon as the soil allows you to stick a shovel into it. During this period, enough moisture is retained in the soil for the tree to take root.

Before purchasing, seedlings with bare roots should be carefully examined for rotting roots, signs of disease and pest activity, and damage to the bark and branches. If the planting of seedlings has to be postponed, their roots should be wrapped in a damp cloth and the trees should be stored in the basement in this form for no more than 3-4 days.

in spring Apple orchard needs special attention. It is necessary not to miss time and carry out a number of activities on time - trim the crown, heal wounds, vaccinate, feed the trees. It is in the spring that disease and pest prevention is most effective. Having done everything correctly and on time, you will definitely receive good harvest bulk apples.