It would seem that planting apple and pear seedlings on personal plot- one of the simplest agricultural activities, because these trees are not capricious, unpretentious, and they require ascetic, that is, minimal care. All this is partly true - but already at the stage of full growth. And when you are just going to plant an orchard or simply want to plant a lonely fruit tree in the garden, you need to carefully prepare and not just “stick” the seedling into the ground, but do it according to all the rules of agricultural technology. Only then will the young tree begin to grow and in a few years will delight you with its first, albeit not abundant, but independently grown fruits.
It is impossible to overestimate the importance of the place where the garden is located. Ideal conditions are rare. Most often these are cold lowlands or depleted collective farm fields, or swamps, or bare sand, or steep slopes. Even within the same gardening partnership, plots differ in their microclimate. But any land can give birth if it is refined and suitable crops are selected.
Deciding on a site for fruit trees, you need to pay attention to the presence of other plants outside it. Their role is to protect the delicate crop from the northern winds.
This article tells you how to plant apple and pear trees correctly and how to avoid possible errors when laying out a garden.
Preparing holes for planting apple and pear trees on the site (with photo)
It is impossible to improve the entire area. The solution lies in local cultivation of the soil, for which they dig planting holes for planting apple and pear trees, which can have any shape (preferably cylindrical), so that after filling them with soil and watering, the soil settles together with the root system of the seedling evenly.
The poorer the soil, the larger the holes should be. To get even rows, before digging holes in the area, you need to mark the planting sites by placing stakes on them. To plant apple and pear seedlings, you must have a planting board 1.5 m long and 8-10 cm wide with three notches: one in the middle part and two at the ends. Planting holes are prepared in advance; for spring planting, they are dug in the fall. During the process of weathering the bottom and walls of the pit, oxide compounds harmful to plant roots turn into oxides. The roots of seedlings penetrate beyond the pit more freely.
In preparation for planting apple and pear trees, a board is laid on the ground before digging, aligning the middle notch with the base of the stake located at the planting point. Control pegs are driven in near the end recesses. When the hole is ready, the recesses of the landing board are again combined with the control pegs and the stake is driven back into the bottom opposite the middle recess.
Of course, if the landing holes turn out to be larger size, there will be no harm. On the contrary, the roots of the tree will be more at ease, and its life expectancy will increase. It’s even better to deepen the bottom of the hole and make drainage from broken bricks before filling it with plant soil.
The preparation of holes for planting apple and pear trees in areas with poor sandy soils should be more thorough: they are dug with an increased diameter to create favorable conditions for root growth. So, for apple and pear trees, the width in such conditions is increased to 1.5 m or more.
Before planting apple and pear trees on heavy clay soils, it is more advisable to dig holes wider and less deep, since water can stagnate at the bottom of deep ones and have a detrimental effect on the roots. It is not recommended to install sand cushions in pits with heavy clay soil and clay layers in pits on sandy soils.
In addition, it is better to bring plant soil to heavy clay soils and plant seedlings on a mound 0.5-1 m high and 3 m in diameter. In close-lying conditions groundwater or possible accumulation of melted material, the bottom of the planting pit is concreted so that the main vertical roots take a horizontal position.
In order to plant apple and pear trees as required by correct agricultural technology, it is recommended to use humus, peat with added lime, and half-rotted manure for soil cultivation. Regardless of the soil, phosphorus (usually superphosphate) and potassium mineral fertilizers are added to each planting hole. The best potassium fertilizer for planting apple and pear trees is wood ash, the application of which does not require lime, except perhaps a small amount. For each planting hole under an apple tree, add up to 1 kg of superphosphate and 1 kg of ash or 100 g of potassium chloride. Immediately after acquiring the seedlings, all leaves are removed from them, and the roots are dipped in water for a short time, wrapped in a damp cloth and synthetic film.
These photos of planting apple and pear trees show how it is done preliminary preparation pits for seedlings:
Photo gallery
How to plant apple and pear seedlings in the garden (with video)
Before planting apple or pear trees, if the roots have been dried, then the seedlings are kept in water for 1-1.5 days before planting. To develop faster and better root system, you need to soak it in solutions of growth stimulants (honey, heteroauxin).
Fruit crops can be planted in spring (April - early May) and autumn (late September - early October), but practice shows that most plants develop better when planted in spring (before buds open), since when planted in autumn during harsh winters they can freeze.
For proper planting of apple and pear trees garden plot seedlings are immediately buried regardless of when they are planted: in autumn or spring. For spring planting, they are buried in a dry, non-flooded and wind-protected place in a ditch in an inclined position (at an angle of 30-45°) with the crowns facing south, sprinkled with soil on 1/2 of the trunk and covered with spruce branches to protect against rodents. The digging depth is 30-50 cm.
The technology for planting apple and pear trees requires the mandatory removal of damaged parts of the roots before placing the seedlings in planting holes. The ends of larger roots are trimmed with a garden knife, but so that the entire root system is no shorter than 30 cm. The more roots, the longer and more branched they are, the better the seedlings take root and grow faster.
Before properly planting pears or apple trees, you need to pour a small conical mound of fertile soil into the bottom of the hole. It is more convenient for two people to plant: one person places the seedling on the north side of the stake, so that at midday the shade protects it from drying out. In this case, it is advisable to position the tree so that its southern side faces south, and its northern side faces north. The cardinal directions of a tree are determined simply. Grafting usually occurs on the north side of the rootstock (near the roots of the neck). The wound left by cutting the stem part of the game is located on the south side. You can also determine the southern and northern sides of the seedling by the color of the bark on the trunk: darker, brown - on the south side, light, greenish - on the north.
When planting pear and apple trees, remember that the root collar of the seedlings should be 3-4 cm above ground level.
The root system is dipped in clay mash. The roots are carefully spread over the surface of the mound. The second planter at this time throws wet soil onto the roots, making sure that it evenly covers them without leaving voids (when filling the roots, the seedling is shaken several times). Having filled the hole about 3/4 full, the earth is trampled down, starting from the edges.
If the seedling sank, it is slightly lifted up to the desired height. After this, add soil until the hole is completely filled and compact again; first along the edges, and then near the trunk. For proper planting of apple and pear seedlings on a dwarf rootstock with high budding, the trees are grounded so that the grafting site is only slightly above the soil level, and a significant part of the rootstock is buried in order to increase the stability of the future tree due to additional tiers of roots. It is important not to bury the grafting site, otherwise the graft may spread to its own roots.
In order to plant pears and apple trees as correct agricultural technology suggests, immediately after planting the seedling in any way soft material tied with a figure-of-eight loop to the stake: first, loosely (so that the seedling can settle along with the soil), and then more rigidly. Make a cushion around the planting hole and water the plant with 2-3 buckets of water. If after watering the seedling settles along with the soil, it is carefully pulled out until the root collar reaches the soil level.
As soon as the soil absorbs water, it must be mulched with humus or peat; during autumn planting you can sprinkle sawdust to insulate the root system. The stake is cut so that the lower branch is 5-8 cm higher than it.
Many owners of garden plots dig planting holes immediately before planting and in the absence of humus, peat and half-rotted manure. In this case, the holes need to be filled with fertile soil from the top layer, removed during digging, and the missing part of the soil must be added from the row spacing.
To better understand how apple and pear trees are planted, watch the video below:
Caring for apple and pear trees after planting: pruning rules
Regardless of when the seedlings were planted (in spring or autumn), they must be pruned to bring the above-ground part of the plant into line with the root system, which was severely damaged and shrunk when dug up in the nursery.
Shaping pruning of seedlings when caring for apple and pear trees after planting should be done in early spring, before the buds open. Autumn pruning may contribute to damage to seedlings in winter.
After planting on the central conductor, a well-developed bud is selected from the lower cut for a continuation shoot at a distance of approximately 40-50 cm from the base of the upper skeletal branch. Above this bud, a spine 5-6 cm long is left for gartering the continuation shoot, and the rest of the central conductor is cut off. All the buds on the seedling stem are broken out.
As a result of pruning, many shoots from awakened buds will grow on the branches. For summer period they will need to be removed or shortened several times, leaving several pieces on each skeletal branch. Only the continuation shoot is shortened during strong growth next spring. The upper side branch of apple trees is cut no shorter than 30-35 cm (about half its length), so that the top of the cut branch is 20-30 cm below the shortened conductor. Then the remaining branches are aligned approximately to the level of the cut of the upper branch. In this case, weak branches are shortened less (or not cut at all). Intermediate branches of the crown are not removed, but are shortened by half their length in order to gradually turn them into temporary semi-skeletal and overgrowing branches.
The pear grows weakly in the year of planting and hardly needs pruning in the spring. In the future, the seedlings must be cared for so that the apple trees annually produce an increase of annual shoots of 30-35 cm. But excessive growth should not be allowed: the trees will be pampered, which will affect their winter hardiness. To do this, during the period of active growth, the shoots are pinched (pinched). Pinching the top stops growth, and the process of lignification of the entire annual shoot begins. Regardless of the growth rate, competing shoots and those that need to be converted from growth into fruit are also pinched. If the top bud on the shoot or those adjacent to it awaken to new growth, then 2-4 leaves should be allowed to form and the tops should be pinched again.
In the first month after planting apple and pear trees, according to the rules for cultivating fruit trees, seedlings are watered every 6-7 days, in the second and third months - every 15-20 days.
You need to loosen the ground under the trees with a garden fork or shovel. It is usually recommended to place the blade of the shovel along the direction of root growth, and not across, so as not to cut the roots. In fact, you feel better the contact of the shovel with the root when directed transversely.
Watch the video correct pruning apple and pear trees after planting in the garden:
Incorrect distance between apple and pear trees and other planting errors
Some novice gardeners neglect the rules for planting apple and pear trees, making a number of mistakes.
First mistake. Gardeners bring seedlings (or rather, semi-formed trees) 2-3 m high to their plots for planting in mid-May or August, hoping that adult plants will produce a harvest this or next year. And, as a rule, they are cruelly mistaken. Literally a month later, these plants stand withered, since the weak root system is not able to ensure the vital activity of the powerful above-ground part.
Gardeners make the second mistake when they try to small area land to plant as many plants as possible. As the plants grow, they shade each other and elongated crowns form. As a result, the yield decreases and more diseases and pests appear. Meanwhile, the distance between pear and apple trees when planting should be significant. Of course, it is psychologically difficult to force yourself to plant small seedlings of apple and pear trees at a distance of 5-6 m from each other, leaving a large area free. If trees have little space, their immunity will decrease. Weak seedlings will not resist diseases and will most likely be subject to active pest invasion. However, for the first 3-4 years it can be used for planting early tomatoes, eggplants, peppers, zucchini, carrots, radishes, beets, radishes, potatoes, onions, lettuce, spinach, peas, beans, and flower plants.
The distance from pear and apple trees when planting compaction crops in a garden that is not yet three years old should be about 0.5-1 m from the trunk. After the fourth year, they retreat from the standard by 1.5-2 m. And also keep in mind that fruit seedlings must be at a distance of at least 3 m from cables, gas pipelines, pipes and underground communications. Cannot be grown in a young garden tall plants(sunflower, corn), heavily shading fruit trees. It is not recommended to grow berry bushes and strawberries between rows.
The third mistake occurs when planting seedlings. Typically, gardeners prepare planting holes in advance, and make them directly when purchasing seedlings. The loosened soil gradually becomes compacted, and the plants become buried. Do not forget that according to the rules for planting pears and apple trees, holes must be prepared in advance.
The fourth mistake gardeners make is planting trees on the border with their neighbors. This does not take into account that the root system will go to the neighbors, and the crown will hang over their area.
The fifth mistake is the incorrect formation of the crown of fruit trees, on which extra branches are left, as well as skeletal branches under acute angle detachment from the trunk, which leads to the tree breaking during fruiting.
Look at the photo of how pear and apple trees are planted in a garden plot:
Everyone knows the poverty of soils. These are either loams, when the fertile layer is barely fifteen to twenty centimeters, or sands with gravel (in the northern regions), or, at best, peat bogs. Although peat bogs have acidic soil, the layer of this soil is deep.
In our gardening, you dig with a shovel and then clay. These are not the fertile soils of Ukraine.
Two meters of black soil - and this is not the limit! Whatever you throw into such soil, everything will sprout and grow, as long as the rain saturates the soil with moisture from time to time.
And here, in the zone of risky farming, we still have to work hard,
to grow this apple. But we need to raise them if we love and take care of our family, children, grandchildren.
Advice:
It is important not only to purchase a seedling from a safe place, but also to plant it correctly.
Recently I came across an article about scientists from a pomological garden who visited one of the Western countries and became familiar with the cultivation of apple trees. The gardens are very beautiful: even rows of elegant apple trees with red-yellow fruits, apparently of the Idared variety, the rows between the rows are neatly mowed, the tree trunks are processed. Garden of Eden, and nothing more!
When we run out of our apples, I buy this particular variety, Idared. It seems to me that their peel is not processed for long-term storage, there are also no traces of wax or paraffin visible, they are closer to the natural size of apples.
But it turned out that apple trees and the soil under them are treated with chemicals up to 32 times during the season against diseases and pests. Somehow I didn’t even want to eat these apples
But let's return to our native land. Purchasing seedlings 
I feel sorry for novice gardeners who purchase southern seedlings that have obviously been fertilized with mineral fertilizers, or three- and four-year-old seedlings with their roots cut off and laboriously packaged in plastic bags.
Of course, seedlings of the same age grown in huge,
non-lifting containers. These will take root and begin to bear fruit early, but they are expensive and beyond the means of a simple gardener.
Advice:
Fluff lime or dolomite flour should be added to acidic soil, and in the spring it is better to replace them with ash. Liter jar there will be ash
enough to plant one seedling.
Let's speculate. The root system of a fruit tree (Fig. 1) consists of skeletal and suction roots, the latter are located at the ends of the skeletal roots, they are delicate and light in color.
Only suction roots are extracted nutrients from the soil.
Open root system.
First, I’ll tell you about planting an annual seedling with an open root system. If the seedling is carefully dug up, without damaging the suction roots, stored in a humid environment, and its roots do not dry out, then if planted correctly, the seedling will take root.
But a two-year-old or more seedling with an open root system is more difficult to dig out of the ground; its root system is more branched and often goes deep into the ground. When digging, part of the roots breaks off and remains in the ground. The probability of rooting for such a seedling is reduced.
Pome crops, which include apple and pear, are planted in spring and autumn.
In spring, the seedling should have unopened buds, that is, the plant should be without leaves. The root system is not yet in the ground, the roots have not taken root and there is nowhere for food to come from for the leaves.
In autumn, seedlings with an open root system are best planted in September - early October, when the tree enters a dormant period and does not require nutrients.
Closed root system.
I prefer annual seedlings with a closed root system. It doesn’t hurt your head that your seedling’s roots are torn off, that you urgently need to put everything aside and prepare a planting hole, that your seedling will dry out during transportation and storage. Brought it, put it in partial shade or in the sun - and live in peace, not forgetting to water and feed. You can plant at any time of the day or night in spring, summer and autumn.
One important, but simple condition: the lump of earth should not be destroyed during planting. And this is understandable: the roots are not damaged or torn off during planting, the conditions are improving, new soil has appeared where the roots can grow, and not a single leaf will wither on the tree.
I remember I was delayed in planting an apple tree of the Renet Kichunov variety. It’s October outside, the apple tree is still in the container, I don’t want to send it to the pit for the winter. I planted it in the second half of October - and nothing happened, it overwintered well, and this year, the third year after planting, it was all in bloom. It bloomed for the first time last year, and the first apples ripened on it, greenish-yellow with a characteristic rustiness at the petiole.
Planting seedlings. 
First, I’ll tell you how we plant fruit trees in the conditions of our Babino on loamy soils. Experience came over the years, we suffered for a long time to make something work. Now we have developed planting rules for ourselves, and they are producing results. The first and unforgettable rule is not to dig a hole in clay.
“A hole in clay is a grave for a seedling” - long ago, during lectures, I heard this truth from Yu.M. Chuguev, a scientist from Smolensk. Previously, reading literature on gardening and not analyzing what we read in relation to our conditions, we dug holes in clay. What is a hole in clay? This is a vessel in which water accumulates and stands all the time. The roots of the plant rot and it dies.
Now we plant by digging only down to the clay, or even without digging at all. We choose a place on the site, taking into account that there must still be a pollinating seedling nearby to obtain a full harvest. We mark a circle with a diameter of 1 m 20 cm.
Advice:
Sandy soils do not retain moisture and are poor in composition. We add humus, rotted manure, peat and dried crumbling clay to such soil. We add humus, rotted manure, river sand to peat soils and be sure to deoxidize them.
We dig up the earth, choosing weeds, and improve it by adding peat, river sand, humus or rotted manure. Sometimes we put rotted sawdust, hay or mown grass on the clay, sprinkling rotted manure on top, as if we were doing warm bed. Then we fill the hole with refined soil and compact it. On the center of the circle we place a sheet of inverted turf measuring 30×30 or 40×40 cm. The thickness of the turf is from 15 to 20 cm. We place the bag with the seedling on this turf.
To backfill we need fertile soil, prepared according to
the previous recipe. When planting a seedling in the spring, you can add fertilizer
“Kemira spring” (100-120g), and in the fall - “Kemira autumn”.
When the trees begin to bloom and bear fruit, we no longer use mineral fertilizers, but only humus, rotted manure and green manure. But while the trees are growing, you can add mineral fertilizers when planting.
After filling the planting hole in this way, you don’t have to fertilize it next year.
Let's return to the seedling, which stands on the turf, and the fertile soil is prepared for filling.
Carefully razor knife We cut the bag on both sides and remove it, trying not to destroy the lump of earth in which the seedling grew.
Quickly fill up the prepared soil with the seedling
fertile mixture, compact it, make a low edge around the perimeter and water it with two buckets of water.
We carefully inspect the grafting site and do not fill it up when planting. Some gardeners mistake the upper end of the cutting (scion) for grafting, where there was a bud from which the shoot grew, while the grafting is located at the lower end of this cutting. It is clearly visible on one-year and two-year-old seedlings.
An annual seedling is usually a shoot from 0.7 to 1.2 m, without lateral branches. To make lateral branches appear, pinch the top of the seedling.
Before installing a seedling with a lump of earth on the turf on the south side of the center, we drive a stake, or better yet, a board with a pointed end, so that in the first year the tender bark of the seedling is in the shade.
When planting in peat or sandy soils you need to add the missing components.
It's not all that complicated, but it's exciting and interesting.
Spring is the time to plant fruit trees; this is the “hottest” season for summer residents. Most common horticultural crops V middle lane- These are apple trees, pears, cherries and plums. As in any business, it is necessary to follow the rules of planting fruit trees - only in this case, after a certain period, they will be able to please you a bountiful harvest and will bear fruit regularly.
The organization of any garden begins with trees. Spring planting of fruit trees and shrubs is the most best option, although this can be done in both summer and autumn. One of the main advantages of planting fruit tree seedlings in spring is that over the summer it manages to develop a root system and bark, which makes it better able to withstand the first wintering. After planting the seedlings, it is necessary to fertilize them with substances that stimulate the growth and development of plants.
The main goal of a gardener is to grow healthy and beautiful trees that produce good harvest and pleasing to the eye. In order to plant a tree, you need to dig a planting hole. Its depth and diameter depend on the type, variety and age of the seedling. When planting fruit tree seedlings in the spring, the excavated soil of the upper fertile layer is placed separately from the underlying soil. 10-12 kg of humus is added to the soil of the top layer, mixed thoroughly, after which part of the mixture is poured onto the bottom of the hole in a heap. You can add mineral fertilizers for fruit trees in the amount specified in the instructions. In order to secure a seedling after planting fruit trees on a site, a peg is inserted into the hole in the center, which must rise above ground level to a height of at least 1 m.
Having lowered the seedling into the hole, you need to carefully spread its roots over the pile of earth. The rest of the fertile layer (with compost and fertilizer) should be poured on top of the roots. After this, the seedling is well watered (1-2 buckets of water) and the soil of the lower layer is poured on top. The earth around the tree is carefully compacted, and the seedling is tied to a peg. Do not forget to maintain the optimal distance when planting fruit trees so that they are not crowded later.
The principle of planting seedlings fruit bushes similar, but the pit needs to be made smaller. It is recommended to pour a mound of earth around the trunk to prevent the roots that have not yet taken root from freezing.
Planting and caring for fruit tree seedlings is not as complicated as it might seem at first glance. It is recommended to plant fruit trees under the protection of other, more frost-resistant ones, such as rowan or spruce. A number of protective plantings are positioned to protect the garden from cold winds in winter. Buildings can also act as such protection.
How to properly plant apple and pear trees on a plot of land
Apple trees and pears are the most common garden crops. Apple and pear trees can be grown in almost all regions of the European part of our country, except for the northernmost ones. The apple tree is a fairly frost-resistant tree. It prefers neutral, light soils rich in humus and microelements; it does not tolerate marshy soils and soil with high level groundwater (less than 1m).
Pears have higher frost resistance, especially in zoned varieties, but pears get wet faster than apple trees, so fruit trees on waterlogged soils should be planted not in a planting hole, but on a hill that is poured in advance. When planting apple and pear trees, you can use any soil that is found on the site, compost, peat, sand as the starting material for such a hill. The foundation in wetlands is often broken red brick, slate fragments and ceramic tiles, small stones. Next, you can lay chopped large branches, trimmings and fragments of boards, branches, and shavings on them.
The next layer is dried grass, food waste, torn and crumpled newsprint (no color illustrations). All layers are covered with earth and sand. The last, top layer is filled with fertile garden soil with a height of at least 0.5 m, possibly mixed with peat. The hill must stand for at least one season for the earth to settle. Since trees are planted in the spring, the hill should be ready in the fall.
After planting a tree, it is necessary to add soil to the hill every season, not only under the trunk, but also around the perimeter of the crown.
Distance between apple and pear trees when planting
Before properly planting apple and pear trees, take care of the quality of the seedlings - it is better to purchase seedlings from nurseries, choosing released varieties grown in containers, no older than 2-3 years. Such seedlings withstand transportation and transplanting better, and purchasing them from a nursery guarantees that the tree matches the desired variety.
If groundwater is very close, the hill is filled in the same way as in the previous case, but the top layer of soil is first removed, and pieces of slate or similar material are placed at the bottom of the resulting hole to prevent the tree roots from growing deeper.
This technique is especially justified when planting pears. In this tree, the root grows predominantly vertically downwards, and with this method the main roots spread over the surface and do not get wet. When planting, the distance between apple and pear trees should be at least 4 m from each other, as well as from other trees or buildings.
Fruit trees are planted for 20-25 years. Basically, after planting, apple and pear seedlings begin to bear fruit at the age of 5, so the issue of choosing planting material and the location for planting the tree should be approached extremely seriously.
Rules for planting cherry seedlings
When placing plantings, cherries give preference to gentle slopes of a small area on the southwestern, southern or western side. According to the rules for planting cherries, there should be good aeration, since the soil in such places warms up better, which has a beneficial effect on the plants. However, it is not recommended to plant cherries at higher elevations, since winter time the root system of the plant may freeze due to the snow being blown off the hill by the wind.
If cherry seedlings are planted along a fence, they should be placed on a well-lit side. To avoid shading of the cherry tree by other trees (for example, apple trees), plantings are placed on the south side. If you plant a cherry tree on the north side, the tree will stretch out and will practically not bear fruit at all. Dwarf and semi-dwarf trees also require sufficient lighting and warmth.
Cherries grow well in soils various types, however, to obtain high yield and sustainable fruiting, it is planted on fertile land with high physical indicators, sufficiently humidified, into which a lot of air enters. Chernozem, light loamy and forest soils have such properties.
Cherry does not tolerate heavy clay soils, as well as acidic ones. Lowland areas and valleys are not suitable for planting this crop, because cool air and moisture are concentrated in these places. The most favorable conditions for the full growth and development of cherries are on soils that have a slightly acidic or close to neutral reaction.
Distance between cherry seedlings when planting
The best planting material For setting up a cherry orchard, both in the southern part of Russia and in the middle zone, annual seedlings with a well-developed crown are used. However, in the northern regions it is preferable to plant two-year-old seedlings.
Before planting seedlings, it is necessary to check the depth of groundwater. They should be located at a distance of about 2 m from the ground surface. Seedlings are prepared for planting in the following way: after removing them from winter digging, they are carefully inspected, damaged roots are cut off, as well as excess branches of the crown.
Planting is done early, since buried seedlings can quickly take root and begin to grow. If planting is late, the seedlings may not take root (even with satisfactory care for them).
Plowing the soil with the laying of mineral and organic fertilizers, as well as lime, if necessary, is produced a maximum of 1.5-2 years before the trees are planted, and no later than September of the previous year.
If the soils have average fertility, manure, compost or humus are used as fertilizer, which are usually applied at 5-6 kg per 1 m2. If the soil is depleted, the rate of such fertilizers is 8-9 kg per 1 m2. Mineral fertilizers are applied in quantities 2 times less than organic fertilizers.
The distance between cherry seedlings depends on the variety. Trees with a wide crown, such cherry varieties as "Yubileinaya", "Vladimirskaya" and "Shubinka", are planted at a distance of 3.5 m from each other. The distance when planting semi-dwarf cherries is on average 2.5 m.
When planting cherries, you can adhere to a scheme that involves a compacted arrangement of trees. Usually this has no effect on taste qualities fruits
Planting fruit trees: distance between plum seedlings
Plum seedlings purchased in the fall are buried for the winter in a pre-dug elongated hole up to 45 cm deep. They are placed in a trench at an angle, after which they are covered with earth to cover half the stem. Then the soil around is compacted. In winter, the seedlings are covered with snow - this way they will be better protected from frost. High elevations and light loamy soils are suitable for growing plums. Trees are planted in the spring. The distance when planting plums is at least 3 m from each other.
In order to plant a seedling, dig a hole 60 cm deep and 90 cm wide. The top fertile layer of soil is placed on one side, and the bottom on the other. Then a planting stake is installed in the center of the hole and filled two-thirds with topsoil. Organic and mineral fertilizers are first added to it: 12 kg of compost or rotted manure, 1 kg of superphosphate, 0.5 cups of potassium chloride or 5 cups of wood ash.
Planting plum seedlings is convenient for two people. The seedling must be installed on the north side, the roots are spread on the surface of the mound, and then fertile soil is poured into the hole. When planting is done correctly, the root collar of the seedling is located at a distance of 4-5 cm from the soil surface. After landing around young tree They dig a hole, after which the seedling is watered. The plum is tied to the stake using twine or film. If the groundwater level in the garden plot is above 1.5 m, the soil is raised by 0.5 m before planting the plums.
The apple tree is the most popular fruit tree not only in central lane Russia, but now in Siberia.
Thanks to selection, several frost-resistant varieties, but the question is still relevant for the gardener, What time of year is it best to plant this crop?.
The climatic features of the country's regions can limit not only the choice of apple tree variety, but also oblige the gardener to adhere to a strict planting schedule.
So, for those living in the southern and central regions of the country, the time for planting any variety is usually autumn.
Eastern Siberia and Primorye was not the most favorable place for apple tree growth, but thanks to new varieties, it takes root quite well in the spring, closer to mid-May.
In addition to the climate and taking into account the season, you should pay attention to the variety and age of the tree.
There are several frost-resistant varieties. These are seedlings of young trees Antonovka, Lungwort, Enchantress, Gift of Autumn, Young Naturalist, Bessemyanka Michurinskaya and Silver Hoof.
Planting in autumn and its features
Depending on the region, the cold can be felt in different periods. The fact of the onset of frost is the starting point for planting an apple tree.
The best way to determine the moment, when to plant an apple tree - focus on leaf fall, all work with tree planting is best done only after it is completed.
As a rule, for rooting the tree will need from 15 to 25 days depending on the variety, in the period from September 20 to October 20.
That is, you have almost a month to plant even apple orchard, but now we’ll talk about the features of autumn planting.
If we consider mainly harsh landing areas, there will be one small drawback in terms of additional work.
Young seedlings are more vulnerable to frost than old trees, so after planting their roots should be covered with wide spruce branches, or chopped grass clippings should be used.
However the autumn option has undeniable benefits:
- Properly planted seedlings take root well during the cold period and grow stronger, and with the arrival of spring they begin to grow sharply;
- later in the spring, the roots of the tree will always benefit more from moist soil with rotted compost;
- Autumn planting helps to develop immunity to frost in the apple tree.
How to plant a tree in spring
If for some objective reason you were unable to plant an apple tree in the fall, there is always a backup option. Of course, he will make you hurry up a little, since you will have significantly less time to disembark than in the fall.
This period usually lasts less than a month, you should hurry finish work by mid-May. And again we point out the positive and negative aspects of landing.
Let's start with the good in the spring there is no longer any need to worry about the tree roots freezing. However, a number of problems await you when choosing spring planting:
- During the winter, moisture goes into the ground, and the new tree will have to be watered systematically and abundantly;
- planting material is always more expensive and it is more difficult to find high-quality material even in nurseries.
The soil dries out quickly in spring, which will negatively affect the spring planting of apple trees if it does not maintain humidity at the same level.
By placing the roots of the tree in cool water a day in advance, you will thoroughly saturate them before planting them in the ground.
Chopped dry grass or humus will help to consolidate the result., which will need to be placed at the base of the apple tree trunk. This way you will avoid the top layer drying out and the rapid growth of weeds.
Basic mistakes
What can be called a serious mistake in planting an apple tree? Gardeners commit most of the violations when planting, and only some when caring for the tree. The most important points are listed here
Upon disembarkation
Planting an apple tree too deep in a hole The grossest, and perhaps the most important mistake of novice gardeners.
The tree will grow very slowly, since the planting boundary relative to the root collar (the section of the trunk from the root to the crown) is not correctly defined.
Beginners, buying a bush from a nursery, which may additionally have a graft above the root collar, up to about 8 cm, often confuse them, planting a tree before it.
The norm for planting is to place the root collar at ground level or a couple of centimeters higher.
Where is the root collar located on the trunk?? This is not difficult to determine by running a wet cloth over it. So where will the color change from green to brown, there is that very border.
When leaving
Watering a tree, including during planting, with plenty of mineral fertilizers will destroy the microflora, in which positive bacteria are no longer able to survive.
Follow the proportions according to the instructions given by the fertilizer manufacturer on each package; do not use urea and ammonium nitrate in the first year of the tree’s life.
The same can be said organic feeding tree. No way Do not use fresh or poorly rotted manure.
By introducing such bait, you will doom the apple trees to death, since ammonia and hydrogen sulfide released by fresh manure displace oxygen from the soil under the roots.
How to choose the right seedlings
The main purpose of selection is to correctly determine the condition of the seedling, that is, its suitability for growth and effective fruiting.
Misunderstanding of the main signs good wood will lead to fruit tree It will either take too long to develop or dry out.
Size and number of apple tree roots have a tremendous impact on its engraftment. Chasing a huge perennial bush-sapling, in the hope of growing a powerful apple tree, can lead to dire consequences.
Please note the condition and quantity them in the root system. A large seedling, of course, has a lot of them, and for the most part they are damaged, since they were grown in nurseries and dug up mechanically (with a plow).
Having planted such a bush, you will need to urgently trim all the branches of the tree’s crown, otherwise the branches will dry out or become painful due to broken roots.
The annual root is small and always whole. Well, besides, there’s no need to rush to buy an apple tree with an open root system ahead of schedule planting, which is equally true for any planting season. The bush simply will not take root, but it will be difficult to save it.
There is one way out: put it in the basement before landing, where the temperature is maintained from 0 to -40 C.
Preparing the site
First we choose a suitable place and dig a hole. Preparation for planting may vary depending on the nature of the land cultivation and its composition.
By general rule, you can plant a tree in a hole only 10-12 years after preparing the place. The hole should be such that the root can easily fit into it without bending.
During this time, the soil will warm up and settle, and the root will no longer fall below the root collar. The exception is autumn planting, so you need to wait 3-4 weeks.
It is advisable to divide the selected soil into two parts: top and root. Then all the land must be cleared of weeds. At the time of planting, the top soil is usually poured under the root.
Prepare at least 800 grams of ash and fertilizer for each bush. If it is humus, then no more than one bucket. Dose mineral fertilizers very small, usually no more than 1 kg.
And once again about the types of soil, since the preparation method will depend on this:
- at fertile soil and careful loosening, the hole measures 35 cm in depth and 45 in width;
- with heavy soil 70 in depth and a meter in width;
- if this is land that contains crushed stone and coated clay, then try to dig a hole 90 cm deep and make its width a little more than 120 cm.
The prepared soil is poured into the hole and loosened again. Then leave a hole for the root and wait for the planting date.
Tree planting technique
All dried shoots are cut off from a young tree. It is usually rational to leave no more than five. After that, a wooden peg is knocked out 2/3 of its length into the root hole, and then the tree root itself is lowered.
Then the earth is gradually poured into the hole and compacted layer by layer. This should be done almost to the very edge of the hole, leaving a pit to hold water.
To avoid breaking the tree trunk, tie it with twine to a peg. Only after this procedure can you water generously at the root, up to about 5 buckets of water, depending on the time of planting.
The remaining pit should be mulched with sawdust or humus.
Seedling care
Pruning dry branches and systematic timely watering are components of successful apple growing and tree resistance to frost.
Constantly loosen the soil under the bush and prevent weeds from growing.
If flowers appear in the second year, they are usually removed, since it is a barren flower. After receiving the fruit for the first time, trim the branches, removing dry ones.
Until midsummer it is important to do at least five nitrogen fertilizations, based on mineral and biological fertilizers.
Parting words for a beginning gardener
We hope that these simple tips will help you not only plant an apple tree correctly, but also regularly get a good harvest of fruit.
To do this, monitor the condition of the tree every year, cut off diseased branches and do not forget to water on time.