Caring for fruit trees in the garden in spring, summer and autumn. Caring for seedlings after planting - details and nuances Caring for fruit tree seedlings

Fruit trees can be planted in spring and autumn while the plants are leafless and their buds have not yet begun to bloom.

Spring is the best time to plant fruit trees in the north and in the middle zone. In the southern regions it is better to plant in the fall. There is no threat of a harsh winter, and spring plantings cannot be affected by the spring drought that is common in areas of the southern zone.

In Siberia and the Urals, in areas with sufficient snow cover, fruit trees are planted in the fall, and in areas with little snow - in the spring. In central regions, with less severe winters and greater snow cover, trees can be planted in the fall, but no later than 20-25 days before the onset of the first stable frost.

It is more convenient to plant together. One person installs the seedling so that the roots extend evenly in all directions from the stem, and the other person covers the roots with prepared soil. It is necessary to ensure that the transition point of the roots into the trunk, called the root collar, is 5-7 cm above the soil surface. It is especially necessary to monitor the grafting site, which must be above the soil level.

When filling the roots, shake the seedling slightly so that the soil fills all the voids between the roots. The buried roots are lightly compacted with feet and, if necessary, more soil is added. A mound of any soil is poured around the trunk along the perimeter of the hole, forming a funnel for irrigation. After planting, watering is required, pouring two or three buckets onto one seedling. After watering, the soil is lightly covered with dry soil or peat to protect the soil from drying out and cracking. When planting a tree, the stake located in the center of the hole should almost touch the trunk of the seedling and cover the tree on the south side. This position of the stake will protect the tree bark from overheating by the sun's rays. The seedling is tied to the stake with twine using a figure of eight pattern.

In areas with a steep slope (10-12%), terraces are made, the width of which is determined by the projection of the crown of an adult tree and should be at least 2.5-3 m.

Pruning planted trees

Plants planted in the garden have a root system that was greatly shortened when dug up, but their above-ground part has been completely preserved. It is clear that shortened roots are not able to provide nutrition and water to the above-ground part of the plant. To reduce the load on the damaged root system, it is necessary to partially shorten the main branches of the crown, cutting them off by about one-third of the entire length.

When planting in spring, pruning is carried out immediately, and trees planted in autumn are left unpruned until spring. In spring, pruning is done as early as possible, before the plant buds have time to bloom. When pruning, the side branches are shortened by about one-third of their length, while the central shoot, growing straight up, is cut so that it is 20-25 cm higher than the other branches of the tree. The branches need to be trimmed with a sharply sharpened knife above the outer bud. Cherries and plums should not be pruned, as their wounds heal very slowly and often lead to disease.

Protecting plants from damage

When planting in autumn, after the first slight frost, the trunks of the planted trees should be covered with mounds of earth up to 40 cm high. This will protect the plants from freezing. In early spring, trees must be freed from mounds of earth and the soil under them must be loosened.

Autumn plantings for the winter are protected from mice, hares and other rodents by tying the stems along their entire length with spruce branches with the needles facing down. If spruce branches cannot be obtained, the trunks of planted plants can be tied with roofing felt (or other material) and tied with twine so that the roofing felt fits tightly to the tree trunk.

The future yields of fruit trees depend on how properly you care for the seedlings in the first years of their life. Therefore, it is very important to know the basics of caring for young trees and not to miss the main stages of their development. In today's article we will talk about how to care for young seedlings in the first two years of their life.

Formation of the trunk circle

After planting the seedling in the ground, you should form a so-called trunk circle, thanks to which it is much easier to fertilize and water the young tree, because everything you need will not spill throughout the garden, but will get to its destination, to the roots of the young tree. In the first year of life, the tree trunk circle of a seedling can be 30-40 centimeters, and later it expands.

The tree trunk circle should always be cleared of weeds and well loosened; these simple steps will help ensure better oxygen access to the root system.

Watering seedlings

The required amount of water depends on the soil on which the seedling is planted and the weather conditions. So, if the tree is planted on sandy soil, and the summer was hot and dry, then the young tree should be watered at least 6-7 times a year.

In one watering, 3-4 buckets of water are poured under the root, after which the soil in the tree trunk circle should be loosened.

If you have chosen good soil for planting and the tree does not feel an acute lack of moisture, then it will be enough to water the seedling three times, the first in early April, the second in May, and the third in June.

Necessary feeding

The required amount of fertilizer depends on how correctly the plant was fertilized during planting; if all the necessary procedures have been completed, then this will be enough for the young tree for a year, but if planting was done in a hurry, then a month after planting it should be applied in the tree trunk circle potassium chloride, superphosphate and ammonium nitrate.

As soon as your seedling is one year old, you should expand its tree trunk circle by about half a meter.

The second feeding is carried out at the beginning of the second year of your seedling’s life; depending on how well the tree has grown in the first year of life, the amount of necessary microelements depends. If it is necessary to accelerate the growth of a seedling, then add urea and a larger amount of ammonium nitrate, they contain nitrogen, so the tree will immediately gain the required height.

Pruning young trees

In the first years of life, pruning of young shoots plays an important role, since it is at this time that the crown of the tree is formed. One fourth of the shoots is cut off; this should be done with special pruning scissors. This procedure cannot be performed before the onset of frost, since the young plant may not survive the winter.

If the seedling, even before planting, turns out to be too large, then the first pruning should be done immediately after purchasing the young plant.

Mulching the tree trunk circle

Most often, peat, humus or compost are used for mulching; a thin layer of mulch allows you to accumulate and maintain the required level of moisture in the soil.
For fruit trees, it is better not to use sawdust from coniferous plants for mulching.

In winter, this layer will act as a “warming blanket” that will help the young plant survive the winter.

First winter

The first winter and frosts are quite a serious test for a young plant, so it should be helped to overwinter, for this you need to purchase special material for shelter, it will protect the tree from various rodents, warm it up during the cold period and save it from burns in early spring. It is best to wrap a tree together, in which case the likelihood that you will not break the branches is much higher. Proper support that will not damage the tree bark can protect you from strong winds.

How to plant and care for an apple tree seedling after planting worries every gardener who decides to plant an apple tree in order to get a healthy tree and a good harvest. Although an apple tree seedling is considered unpretentious, certain conditions and care are also important for its growth after planting, which we will consider below.

How to plant apple tree seedlings correctly

Apple tree seedlings can be planted twice a year: in the fall, a couple of months before the onset of frost, or in the spring, before the buds appear. If possible, it is advisable to prepare a hole for the seedling in advance - a month before autumn planting, in the fall - for spring planting. To do this, you need to dig a hole with a diameter of about a meter and a depth of up to 80 cm. Garden soil is mixed with fertilizers and peat; if the soil is acidic, lime should be added; in sandy soil, the bottom of the hole should be lined with a layer of clay 15 cm thick. When it is time for planting, the apple tree seedling should be placed in the hole so that the root collar is not covered with soil; as a result, it should rise above the ground by 2-4 cm. When burying a tree, you should lightly shake the trunk so that the soil adheres more tightly to the roots and there is no air left. After planting an apple tree seedling, the soil must be compacted and the seedling watered abundantly.

It should be remembered that the apple tree does not like high humidity. Soaked roots can rot, and those flooded before wintering can freeze.

How to care for an apple tree seedling after planting

In the first year after planting, the apple tree seedling does not require additional feeding, and in subsequent years it is recommended to add nitrogen fertilizers in the spring - 2/3 before bud break and 1/3 after flowering, and in the fall - organic matter, potassium and superphosphate.

If there is no drought, it is enough to water the apple tree seedling three times: at the beginning of summer, when the apples are full and before frost.

After heavy rains, you need to properly loosen the soil for better air flow to the roots of the young apple tree seedling.

In the first year, a young seedling should not be pruned, it is not yet strong enough, and in subsequent years, in addition to the usual autumn pruning, summer pruning should also be carried out - this will rejuvenate the tree and protect it from pests. Sick and dried branches, as well as those overgrown too thickly, are trimmed.

Pests dangerous to apple tree seedlings and methods of controlling them

The main pests of apple tree seedlings are aphids, mites, hawthorn, codling moth, apple moth, apple moth and sawfly. To prevent their appearance, in May, after flowering, the tree is treated with a one percent solution of Bordeaux mixture, or half percent copper oxychloride, and the soil is sprayed with a 0.3% solution of nitrafen. If the apple tree is sick, its branches must be treated with a tobacco-soap decoction, although a 3% solution of nitrafen or a 0.3% solution of karbofos will be more effective.

Preparing an apple tree seedling for winter is an integral part of caring for a young apple tree.

In order to properly prepare an apple tree seedling for winter, first of all, before the onset of frost, the apple tree should be cleared of pests and dried branches. Then you need to treat all the broken spots or cracks with a garden varnish, and whitewash the trunk. For young (less than five years old) trees, you can use a regular chalk solution; for older trees, a solution: 1 kg of clay and 3 kg of slaked lime per 10 liters of water. In addition, the trunks need to be tied with insulation: burlap or pine branches, which will protect both from frost and from rodents. Additionally, you should wrap the crown with polyamide film to protect it from the bright winter sun - the tree can get severely burned.

Increased attention to plants in the first two years after planting is not only crucial for their further development, but also allows you to correct the shortcomings caused by unsuccessful planting.

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 The root system of the plant develops within the planting hole, 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 are added to the tree trunk circle.

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 the planting year. Otherwise, the top of the above-ground part of the seedling will begin to gradually die off until normal moisture and nutrient medium are restored in the root layer.

Average for fruit crops on loamy and clayey soils, 3 waterings are sufficient: immediately after planting, in the 2nd half of May and in July - at least 3-4 buckets per tree. During hot, dry summers or late spring planting requires at least 4-5 waterings: 2 spring and 2-3 summer. On light sandy loam 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 a 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; then 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. Typically, fruit trees on vigorous rootstocks are 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 soil care 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 covered with soft material at the end of autumn. 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. Gives the best result 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.

The apple tree is a fruit crop whose fruits contain, in addition to vitamins, a lot of fiber and iron.

Caring for a young apple tree should be comprehensive, not forgetting about watering and fertilizing, pruning and whitewashing, digging and protection.

Neglecting or executing only part of the entire program can dramatically reduce both the quality and quantity of apples.

Irrigation and watering

Newly planted or transplanted apple trees, in addition to watering 3 buckets at planting, are watered three times. The apple trees are watered for the first time half a month after planting, the second a month later and the third at the time of leaf fall. The volume depends on the weather. Often this is 4-6 buckets per tree.

When caring for a young apple tree, watering is carried out taking into account the occasional rainfall and soil composition.

Timing of watering:

1. the first - a couple of days before flowering,
2. the second - at the moment of the fall of the excess ovary from the apple trees,
3. the third - at the moment of pouring apples,
4. and the last one in September or a field of leaf fall near apple trees.

Irrigation rate for medium-sized soils in terms of mechanical composition, 50-60 liters per apple tree, poured out in one watering. For clay soils and chernozems, 15% less water is needed, and for sandy loams and drained peatlands, 20% more of the specified volume

If the climate is hot and the air is dry, then water it more often, about twice, or even three times a month.

Important! That the current opinion on the Internet and paper publications about burns of apple tree leaves from sprinkling irrigation is a manifestation of amateurism and does not contain even 1% of the truth. On the contrary, if you don’t water the apple tree at all, it will be worse if you water it in the heat. It’s just that the water sprinkled in the crown by sprinklers will evaporate by 45% without ever getting into the root layer.

Fertilizers and fertilizers

Fertilizers allow the apple tree to accumulate a large vegetative mass, which in the future will allow it to grow many tasty fruits. To do this, in the first 2 years, fertilizing is done in early spring.

The first fertilizing is done with mullein infusion, and in May and June one foliar fertilizing is done with a complex fertilizer with microelements (“Zdraven-Turbo”, “Agrovita for fruit trees”, “Alliance for fruit trees”).

Watch the video about cow manure fertilizer:

For Root feeding of apple trees with nitrogen In the spring, you need to pour a bucket of compost or humus into the tree trunk circle and level it.

In the following years, before the apple trees begin to bear fruit, in addition to spring fertilizing with humus with simultaneous mulching of the trunk circle (12-18 kg per tree), in the fall they fertilize with phosphorus-potassium mineral salts, for digging or hoeing:

1. for southern gardens - potassium sulfate 25-35g, double superphosphate 25-35g; ashes from a fire or wood ash 150 grams;
2. for non-chernozem regions - double superphosphate 35-45g, potassium sulfate 35-50g, ash or ash 250g.

ADVICE: Do not overfeed trees with fertilizers, especially nitrogen. This has a bad effect on the overwintering of apple trees and the keeping quality of apples. It would be better to supplement the feeding of the subcortex “by leaf” with complex fertilizer (as indicated above) or the missing element.

It is also customary to feed apple trees that have just begun to bear fruit with urea, and in years with poor flowering this can be done later.

To do this, dissolve 35 grams of urea in 10 liters of water and treat the tree with a sprayer.

First treatment, as soon as the flower petals of the apple trees fell off, the second a month later, and the third when the fruits were filling. The last time the dose can be increased to 55 grams if the weather is cool and the summer is damp.

Mulching and sodding

Apple tree mulching, grown according to the system "black steam" or steam-green manure system:

• significantly smoothes out temperature fluctuations during hot periods in the layer inhabited by suction roots;
• promotes accumulation of vermicompost;
• reproduction and prosperity of beneficial soil biota;
• allows less water to evaporate
• do not form a dense crust on the soil after watering or rain.

Apple trees are mulched with rotted manure, garden compost, earthworm mixture, former mushroom blocks, seed husks, flax trimmings, and lowland peat.

IMPORTANT! The use of chaff, sawdust and shavings, straw and straw cuttings, high-moor peat, bark from stripping coniferous trunks or spruce branches is strictly prohibited!

Where apple trees grow, you can sow leaf mustard, oilseed radish, phacelia, peas, after they grow 25 cm, the plants are mowed and left in the garden, this is also a good type of mulch.

Sodding is sowing in the rows of the garden, such a mixture of grasses, which will give a perennial green carpet, is mowed twice per season, and the entire mowed mass is left in the area of ​​tree trunk circles.

The most suitable composition for most of the Russian Federation– this is perennial ryegrass 25%, sheep fescue 22%, running fescue 28%, meadow bluegrass 25%.

But this mixture is for southern gardens: red fescue 40%, meadow bluegrass 35%, perennial ryegrass 25%. But such sowing of herbs is permissible in the 9th year following the planting of apple tree seedlings.

Processing and whitewashing of trunks

In all types of young apple orchards, not only the trunks are whitened, but also the branches forming the base of the tree.

The most suitable period for whitewashing will be from February 21 to March 31. And the further south the garden is located, the earlier it is whitewashed. This will protect the young, non-coarsened bark of apple trees from “sunburn” and from frost damage caused by a sharp change in temperature.

For the whitewashing itself, you can use carbide, quicklime and fluff lime.

VERY IMPORTANT! In no case don't use bleach and compositions ready for work in damp rooms!!! This is dangerous for apple trees!

Whitewash recipe: In 8 liters of water poured into a 10 liter plastic bucket, dissolve 2 kg of fluff, 1 kg of fatty clay, 1 glass of skim milk, 10 grams of wood glue or 30 grams of office glue, or one cake of fresh mullein.

Having prepared whitewash without glue, you will need to whitewash the entire garden after the first serious rain!

In the video, watch the expert’s opinion - why whitewashing of apple trees is needed:

Late whitewashing of apple trees, before the holidays in May, it will only decorate the garden, not really helping the apple trees. As well as whitewashing very old bark, trees that are older than 20 years.

Whiten with poplar, trying to coat everything thoroughly. If there are a large number of apple trees, whitewashing is mechanized.

If for some reason whitewashing is not possible, then tying the branches and trunks of apple trees with old agrofibre, matting, sheaves of corn canes (corn shoots left in the field for the winter), or spruce branches will also help the apple trees “not get burned” in the sun.

Read more about whitewashing apple tree trunks here.

Treatment against diseases and pests

Chemical and biological protection from diseases and various harmful insects is one of the three important components in the question of how to care for a young apple tree.

Chemical protection of the garden should be carried out only as a destructive measure, and in no case should it be used “for the sake of prevention.”

Because “chemistry” is equally dangerous for both harmful and beneficial insects, but the harmful ones, having become accustomed to the poison, multiply to incredible volumes, while the beneficial insects recover much more slowly.

Annual protection plan

Time until leaves bloom:

• Collecting and burning dry apples from branches;
• treatment of bark with a solution of washing soda in case of an outbreak of bark beetles or treatment of twigs and branches with a solution of urea (25%) from fungal spores.

When young leaves appear:

• To prevent scab and rot, apple trees are treated with Bordeaux or HOM;
• When weevils fly, they are shaken off the branches onto bedding polyethylene in the evening or at dawn, followed by their extermination.

Flower appearance period:

• At affected by flower beetle more than half of the examined apple tree flowers are treated with Decis and Aktara according to the instructions;
• Diseases are treated either by using SKOR (according to the instructions) or by using Bordeaux mixture when spraying apple trees;
• Ticks are destroyed with the drug “Antiklesch” or “Aktelik”;
• Gnawing and sucking are destroyed by the drugs "Dendrobacillin", "Akarin (Agravertin)", "Entobacterin" - these are safer drugs.
• But if the outbreak of harmful insects is large, then the insecticides Imidacloprid (200 mg-600 mg), Thiamethoxam (200 mg) are used; Chlorantraniliprole (100 mg). But carefully, and only after the apple trees have bloomed! The solution is prepared strictly according to the instructions, using 2 liters per apple tree.

After flowering:

Placed on apple tree trunks hunting belts. In the south they are inspected every 8 days, and in the northern regions once a month. If there is a cluster of pests, they are burned.
15 days after flowering.

Hunting belts.

In damp summers, treat apple trees with Fitosporin and Alirin-B, or Gamair and Glyokladin, but if the disease progresses, then use Quadris, Maxim and Discor.

A month after flowering.

If necessary, spray the garden against codling moth caterpillars, moths with alpha-cypermethrin and pyrinex, but strictly according to the instructions!

18 days after the previous treatment.

If necessary, apple trees are sprayed a second time against codling moths, leaf rollers, itches, aphids and rots.

Repeat after 17 days, only when the third generation of the moth appears in the garden, and do not treat without its strong flight.

Early autumn time period before frost appears.

Treatment of the garden from wintering diseases and pests includes whitewashing with copper sulfate, treatment with urea and removal of rotten carrion.

Pruning branches of apple trees by season:

in spring

Young apple trees need shaping and pruning in the spring. Shoots that thicken the crown are cut off by 2/3, weak ones and those killed by frost are cut out completely, as are broken ones. Competitors, tops, and growths are also cut out.

If they are more than 56 cm, then half, less, then 1/3. In addition, intersecting branches and shoots with traces of disease are removed.

In spring, this is done either before the leaves unfold or before flowering begins.

Watch the video of the formation of apple tree seedlings:

in autumn

Apple trees are pruned at the end of leaf fall. And such pruning of young apple trees consists of slightly shortening new shoots that have grown over the summer. The trees undergo severe pruning and cleaning, cutting branches by a third of their length if the trees have not been pruned at all before.

If annual growth is weak, ½ of the shoots are cut off. If the growth is weak (less than 30 cm), then you should not remove large branches, this will weaken the tree even more.

In the fall, remove all dry, too weak, broken, shoots growing in the middle and shoots extending at an angle of 25 to 40 degrees from the stem of the apple tree. Read more about autumn pruning of apple trees here.

IMPORTANT! A day with fog and any type of precipitation is not suitable for pruning apple trees!

Digging and tillage

Digging or hoeing in the garden they do it only when the soil is completely ready (“ripe”). This is prohibited when the earth “smears” the shovel or spade when digging, and does not loosen, but sticks to the tool. The parched soil is dusty.

In the spring, as early as possible, scatter humus under the trees, like mulch on the soil near apple trees, in order to prevent the evaporation of moisture.

When digging up soil in the garden in the autumn, the depth of cultivation should be as small as possible so as not to damage the roots of apple trees.

In the near-trunk areas, the soil is cultivated to a depth of 6-8 cm near the trunk and 11-14 cm at the end of the near-trunk zone; between rows it can be loosened to a depth of a quarter meter.

A shovel, preferably an “American” one, stands with its edge to the trunk when digging, and loosening proceeds in a circle, like a snail, with increasing digging depth, so as not to damage the main roots.

Digging the soil around the apple tree.

ADVICE: In winter, it is better not to crush the soil when digging in the garden., and keeping it lumpy, with a hilly surface, will supply the soil with moisture, and the overwintering stages of pests will die over the winter. But in areas with high wind erosion, they dig up once every 5 years and only in the spring! The rest of the time they dig with forged forks, and in strong winds they dig with them, only loosening the soil layer without turning it over.

Caring for apple tree seedlings in the first year of planting

Caring for an apple tree in the first year of planting involves fertilizing, covering the trunk circle with organic matter, and creating the “correct” crown.

When starting to care for young apple tree seedlings, do not forget about treating diseases and controlling pests.

In the year of planting, the shoots on the apple tree are pruned so that the roots can “nourish” them; the more torn the roots are, the smaller the crown left.

Watering trees once a month in hot weather and no fertilizing!

Caring for young apple trees by season:

in spring

Caring for young apple trees in spring is:

• Pruning after winter
• fertilizing and mulching of tree trunk circles,
• protection of apple trees from frost,
• protection from diseases and harmful insects.

These are all activities for spring garden care.

In summer

Caring for young apple trees in the summer mainly means fighting emerging diseases and caterpillars on apple trees, mites and aphids.

When it’s hot, the garden is watered, and when there are obvious nutritional shortages, the trees are fed. They pull out weeds in the aisles and near-trunk circles of young apple trees. It would be good to loosen the soil after surface watering or rains, otherwise the apple trees will have difficulty with the soil crust.

in autumn

Caring for young apple trees in the fall consists of special whitewashing of the upper part of the tree, while the bottom is wrapped in roofing felt, spruce branches or geotextiles to prevent the gnawing of hares and mice.

When wondering how to care for a young apple tree in the first year of planting, know that it is quite simple. The apple tree does not need feeding in the fall; it only needs organic matter in the mulch and minerals in the planting hole.

Apple trees over 4 years old feed 25 grams of potassium and 35 grams of phosphorus per tree.

Here is a list of important tips and reminders for apple tree growers:

1. Before using each drug for the first time, you must try it on one of the branches of the apple tree. If after 42 hours the condition of the leaves has not deteriorated, then it can be consumed.
2. For greater effectiveness of “chemistry” in the war for the harvest, you need to alternate the active ingredients in the preparations in the garden.
3. Always read the manual and study the label and information about the drug on the Internet before using it.
4. Spray the garden taking all safety precautions.
5. Infusion and decoction of tobacco is toxic to humans!
6. For apple trees processing during flowering is dangerous!

Caring for young apple trees brings excellent results.

Conclusion

One has only to adapt to caring for a young apple tree - and the gardener will receive a stable harvest for many years to come from mature trees.

And the data indicated in the article and obtained experimentally will help beginners not to make irreparable mistakes and, with minimal loss of time and money, become full-fledged gardeners in their apple orchard. And their trees will remain healthy apple trees.

The future yields of fruit trees depend on how properly you care for the seedlings in the first years of their life. Therefore, it is very important to know the basics of caring for young trees and not to miss the main stages of their development. In today's article we will talk about how to care for young seedlings in the first two years of their life.

Formation of the trunk circle

After planting the seedling in the ground, you should form a so-called trunk circle, thanks to which it is much easier to fertilize and water the young tree, because everything you need will not spill throughout the garden, but will get to its destination, to the roots of the young tree. In the first year of life, the tree trunk circle of a seedling can be 30-40 centimeters, and later it expands.

The tree trunk circle should always be cleared of weeds and well loosened; these simple steps will help ensure better oxygen access to the root system.

Watering seedlings

The required amount of water depends on the soil on which the seedling is planted and the weather conditions. So, if the tree is planted on sandy soil, and the summer was hot and dry, then the young tree should be watered at least 6-7 times a year.

In one watering, 3-4 buckets of water are poured under the root, after which the soil in the tree trunk circle should be loosened.

If you have chosen good soil for planting and the tree does not feel an acute lack of moisture, then it will be enough to water the seedling three times, the first in early April, the second in May, and the third in June.

Necessary feeding

The required amount of fertilizer depends on how correctly the plant was fertilized during planting; if all the necessary procedures have been completed, then this will be enough for the young tree for a year, but if planting was done in a hurry, then a month after planting it should be applied in the tree trunk circle potassium chloride, superphosphate and ammonium nitrate.

As soon as your seedling is one year old, you should expand its tree trunk circle by about half a meter.

The second feeding is carried out at the beginning of the second year of your seedling’s life; depending on how well the tree has grown in the first year of life, the amount of necessary microelements depends. If it is necessary to accelerate the growth of a seedling, then add urea and a larger amount of ammonium nitrate, they contain nitrogen, so the tree will immediately gain the required height.

Pruning young trees

In the first years of life, pruning of young shoots plays an important role, since it is at this time that the crown of the tree is formed. One fourth of the shoots is cut off; this should be done with special pruning scissors. This procedure cannot be performed before the onset of frost, since the young plant may not survive the winter.

If the seedling, even before planting, turns out to be too large, then the first pruning should be done immediately after purchasing the young plant.

Mulching the tree trunk circle

Most often, peat, humus or compost are used for mulching; a thin layer of mulch allows you to accumulate and maintain the required level of moisture in the soil.
For fruit trees, it is better not to use sawdust from coniferous plants for mulching.

In winter, this layer will act as a “warming blanket” that will help the young plant survive the winter.

First winter

The first winter and frosts are quite a serious test for a young plant, so it should be helped to overwinter, for this you need to purchase special material for shelter, it will protect the tree from various rodents, warm it up during the cold period and save it from burns in early spring. It is best to wrap a tree together, in which case the likelihood that you will not break the branches is much higher. Proper support that will not damage the tree bark can protect you from strong winds.

It is not enough to plant a seedling; it is important to “nurture” it correctly. With him, it’s exactly the same as with children - the more effort you put in, the more predictable the result will be. Sometimes even one “pedagogical” mistake can turn into big problems

Fruit trees

Behind care of fruit tree seedlings is especially important in the first two years after planting. At first, the tree just takes root, and in the second year its normal growth begins. This is the period of formation of the “character” of the tree and its health - its future is being formed.

If a sufficient amount of organic and mineral fertilizers were added during planting, there is no need to feed the seedlings in the first two years.

If fertilizers were not added to the pit, then 2-3 weeks after planting the plants need to be fed with mullein or chicken droppings, as well as a solution of mineral fertilizers, especially nitrogen fertilizers. Subsequent feeding should be carried out according to agricultural technology.

Moist soil is important for a young seedling. Depending on weather conditions, plants are watered periodically and abundantly. You can use a preparation with water to stimulate root growth.

However, you need to know when to stop: you cannot water the plantings every day, this leads to waterlogging of the soil and often to the death of trees. Roots not only consume water, they need oxygen for normal functioning. Excess moisture displaces air from the soil, which leads to rotting of the roots.

After watering, it is advisable to mulch the soil around the seedling with peat, sawdust (cover with a layer of 5-8 cm) or black non-woven material. Mulch delays moisture evaporation and reduces the amount of watering.

If planting is carried out this spring, then the buds on the seedlings can awaken until mid-June - this is when the development of the above-ground part of the seedling begins. The buds sometimes open late. If the first leaves of growth are pale green in color, then you can do foliar feeding with one of the mineral complex fertilizers (Ideal, Fertika Universal, with the addition of growth stimulants, etc.).

At the same time, young leaves attract aphids, which retard growth, and the leaf roller generally damages the apical point of growth. Without waiting for the invasion of pests, when the shoots grow back, the trees are sprayed with one of the insecticides.

With intensive growth of plums, cherries, cherry plums and apricots, when growth reaches 40-50 cm, it is advisable to pinch them. This is done to obtain additional branching and create a compact crown.

In the fall, moisture-recharging watering of the tree trunk circle is carried out using 6-8 buckets of water. The trunks are painted with lime or garden paint.

At the same time, you need to ensure that the tree trunk circles are not overgrown with weeds. Under no circumstances should you plant a lawn in the tree trunk area for the first 3-4 years. Grass at this age depletes seedlings no less than pests.

Our gardens have run out of spring and berry bushes. But not all seedlings take root as we would like. And if a seedling dies, the gardener loses not only money, but also time: the gardener has to replant the plant, and this takes another year. The viability of a seedling is affected not only by healthy planting material, correct and timely planting, but also by the survival rate of the plant itself. After planting in a permanent place, a seedling is sick for quite a long time and restores its normal growth only after it has recovered from the illness that has befallen it.
A HEALTHY SEEDLING, planted at the optimal time, already a few days after planting, if there is enough heat, the buds begin to awaken, and soon leaves appear. Inexperienced gardeners consider such seedlings to have taken root, and this is a big, big mistake, often leading to rather sad consequences.
Not only the development of leaves, but also the initial growth of shoots occurs exclusively due to the reserve substances of the plant itself, since roots are not yet formed at this time. The growth of active roots in apple tree seedlings, even in conditions of sufficient soil moisture, begins 20-30 days after planting. And their leaf buds bloom much earlier.
The gardener should know that seedlings just planted in the garden first develop leaf buds and only after a relatively long period of time do roots begin to grow. In seedlings, the growth point of the root system may be damaged before planting, and there is still no normal contact with the soil environment after planting. In addition, more or less drying of fibrous roots quite often occurs, especially when transporting seedlings from the nursery to the garden. Therefore, it will take a long time to restore the roots. If the buds on the seedling remain intact, then with sufficient moisture and warmth they awaken very quickly and bloom very quickly. Even if the seedling is without roots, some of the soil moisture enters the plant mechanically through the bark and sections of skeletal roots. This moisture is enough to ensure the development of buds on the shoots. With late planting and insufficient air humidity, the buds do not bloom for a long time.
When planting in spring, if there is a sufficient amount of moisture in the soil, after 3-4 weeks the first suction roots begin to develop on the roots of the seedling. And only from this moment the seedling begins to take root and engages in active interaction with the environment.
In the first month after planting, the seedling lives solely on its own reserves of nutrients accumulated in the plant before it was dug up from the nursery. Only after the appearance of absorbent white roots does the seedling’s body begin to actively absorb nutrients from the soil. The plants take root completely 2 months after spring planting.
The greatest influence on the survival rate of seedlings is exerted by the state of the root system, its structure and developmental strength. You need to know that seedlings with a taproot system, as well as with a small number of lateral branches and fibrous roots, take root worse.
And seedlings with very short roots either do not take root at all, or they take root, but very poorly due to the slow formation of a suction zone on such roots. The age of the planting material also affects the survival rate of seedlings. As a rule, the older the seedlings, the more difficult it is for them to take root. The survival rate of three-year-olds is also reduced because the roots near the trunk are exposed, and the growing roots move to the periphery and break off when the seedling is dug up from the nursery. The survival rate of seedlings is affected by both the planting depth and the degree of contact of the soil with the roots. Plants planted too deeply have difficulty taking root due to the lack of air in the root zone, which is necessary for the growth of active suction roots. If the planting is too shallow, when the root collar with part of the skeletal roots comes out, the survival rate decreases due to drying of the roots. As for the degree of adhesion of the soil to the roots of the seedling, this is of great importance, since close contact of the roots with moist soil particles is the main condition for root formation.
The basic rule that should be followed first is to minimize contact of roots with open air. The roots of seedlings usually dry out due to poor transportation from the nursery to the garden plot. Drying of the roots leads to serious consequences: fibrous roots and thin semi-skeletal roots die. Therefore, seedlings with dried roots take a long time to take root, are stunted in growth, and the weakest of them may die. The process of seedling survival is especially disrupted when there is a lack of moisture in the soil. Therefore, during spring planting, the decisive factors in the survival rate of seedlings are watering, mulching and treatment of row spacing. The number of irrigations and the amount of irrigation norm should depend, first of all, on the natural moisture of the soil and the degree of evaporation of moisture from its surface. In the first two weeks after planting, a particularly high moisture content is required - up to 80% of the full moisture capacity, and subsequently -60%. Mulching the tree trunk circles and the loose state of the soil between the holes of the tree trunk circles allows you to preserve moisture in the soil.
The gardener can assess the condition of the planted plants himself. Very well established seedlings are those that already produce shoot growth in the year of planting. Satisfactorily established plants are those in which, at the end of the growing season, slight drying out of the ends of individual shoots is observed. And poorly established seedlings - if there is severe drying out of the branches and conductor, but the trunk and base of the skeletal branches are alive.
V. Ponomarenko
Academician Petrovskoy
Academy of Sciences