We have seen from our own experience how important it is to properly water the trees in the garden! When and how to water fruit trees: not often, but wisely. During the season they require only 3 - 4 waterings, but very abundant. They are most important for young seedlings. Let's look at how to water correctly and how often. And also, when to do it correctly and how much water trees of different ages need.
Let's start with young seedlings.
How to water fruit tree seedlings
In the first year after planting, seedlings are watered 4-5 times per season, using 2-3 buckets of water for apple and pear trees, and 1-2 buckets of water for plum and cherry trees. In the next 2-3 years, the number of waterings can be slightly reduced, but the amount of water poured under each tree can be increased by one and a half to two times.
Watering an adult garden
Mature fruit trees are watered depending on weather conditions several times a season. Spring and autumn watering is required, and in summer - in case of dry weather. Apple and plum trees are the most moisture-loving; they need more frequent and deep soil moisture. So an apple tree under the age of 7 years needs 5-6 buckets of water, and an older one - up to 15. How to calculate how much water a tree needs: calculate how many square meters. meters is the projection of its crown on the ground and multiply this number by 3. This will be the number of buckets of water that need to be poured into the tree trunk circle. In general, it is better to overwater the garden than to underwater it, since plants cannot absorb more water than they need.
When to water trees
The first and very important time that should not be missed is in the spring. When to water trees in the spring - during flowering and ovary growth. If there is a lack of moisture at this time, the trees shed their ovaries.
Autumn watering is also very important. It prepares the garden for winter; a sufficient amount of moisture in the soil helps increase the winter hardiness of trees and prevents their roots from freezing. It is also necessary for the formation of fruit buds, and therefore good harvest next year. Autumn watering is carried out at the end of September - mid-October, after harvesting.
In the summer, only young seedlings are watered, and an adult garden is watered only in case of severe drought.
How to properly water fruit trees
Two main methods are used:
- Several buckets of water slowly wiggle into the tree trunk circle, and after it is all absorbed, a few more.
- A hose is placed in the tree trunk circle, the water is turned on under low pressure, so that it is slowly sucked into the ground. The hose is left for half an hour, allowing the required amount of water to flow out.
It is very important that water is evenly distributed throughout the entire near-trunk part of the soil, but it should not be poured directly onto the root collar of the trees. To prevent water from spilling, small curbs or grooves can be made around the trunk. The diameter of such a fence should be slightly smaller than the size of the crown, because it is in this perimeter that the roots with suction roots are located.
If the ground in the garden is covered with a lawn, make punctures with a wooden or iron stake along the perimeter of the crown; through these punctures, moisture will flow to the roots.
It is necessary that moisture penetrate deep into the ground - up to a meter for an apple tree, up to 70 cm for cherries and plums.
If after watering the roots are exposed, they must be covered - mulched with earth, peat or humus. In general, after each watering the tree trunk circle is better, especially for young seedlings.
- The amount of water applied depends not only on age, but also on the composition of the soil and its moisture.
Garden on sandy soils watered more often, but with less water, and on clay - less often, but more abundantly.
Before adding water, take a little soil and squeeze it: if the soil is moist and does not crumble in your fist, reduce the volume of water.
Let's talk about how to properly water fruit trees.
Many of us have our own garden, albeit a small one, where we happily spend our free time caring for plants, or simply relax and gain strength, contemplating the beauty flowering trees and inhaling the aroma of flowers, and someone may still only dream about it. But I think this article will be interesting and useful to everyone, since in it I want to talk about how to correctly water the fruit trees.
Thoroughly water the fruit trees recommended 3-4 times a year. This must be done during the following periods:
1) in the spring, before the buds open (April-May);
2) 2-3 weeks after the end of flowering;
3) 2-3 weeks before the start of harvesting;
By and large, there is no need to water fruit trees too often, but with each watering you need to add enough water to moisten the soil to the depth of the bulk of the roots.
To determine how much water a particular tree requires, the calculation is made based on the fact that for each year of the tree’s life it is necessary to add 2-3 buckets of water: for trees under 5 years old, it will be enough to pour out 6-10 buckets per watering, from 5 to 10 years - 12-18, over 10 years - 20 - 25 buckets of water.
If you will water the fruit trees more often but little by little, wetting only the top layer of soil, in addition to the fact that you will bring little benefit, it may also lead to negative consequences, since a waterlogged surface layer of soil makes air exchange difficult.
The frequency of watering is directly dependent on the characteristics of the soil in which your garden grows. So on heavy ones clay soils Plants need to be watered less frequently, but more abundantly. On sandy soils - more often, but with less water.
There are several ways watering fruit trees:
1) The simplest of them and the most labor-intensive, working on the principle of scoop more, carry more, is watering from a bucket. To better retain water, it is recommended to make grooves around the perimeter of the crown projection, and when the water is absorbed into the soil, they are filled in.
For this purpose, you can also drill wells about half a meter deep, at the rate of 1 well per 1 m 2 of the area of the trunk circle. Wells are drilled with a drill with a diameter of 10-12 cm and filled with sand. They can also be used for applying liquid fertilizers.
2) You can also water the trees with a hose, placing it in the trunk circle of first one tree, then the next, etc. But with this method of watering trees, it will be quite difficult to control water consumption.
3) The most acceptable method, in our opinion, should be considered to be watering trees through special dispensers, spray nozzles, which are attached to water hoses. This is the so-called sprinkling.
After watering, as after heavy rain, the soil around the tree must be loosened, otherwise the resulting crust will prevent air from penetrating into the soil.
Can be ordered. Now is the time to organize your gardening tools and purchase new ones as needed. Many various items gardening tools produces industry to help gardeners. One of these important and constantly necessary items is a garden hose for watering,
An insufficient amount of moisture in the soil negatively affects the condition of any plant, this also applies to large fruit trees. They age quickly, sharply lose their productivity, their fruit production decreases, and the threat of freezing in winter becomes more real for them. But excessive moisture should not be considered a favorable circumstance either: moisture displaces oxygen from the soil and promotes the accumulation of carbon dioxide, which can lead to the death of roots or inhibition of the root system.
When should you water fruit trees?
To maintain health and fertility, you should know when to water fruit trees. Plants need special care in the first few years after transplantation: during this the period is running active formation of the crown and development of the root system, but the existing roots of the tree are not yet powerful enough to provide all the needs of the plant. If the summer is dry, then the seedlings will need to be watered 5-8 times per season, if it is moderately humid, then 3-4 times. For a young tree, 2-4 buckets of water will be enough, for a seven to eight year old tree - from 10 to 15.
It is recommended to time watering to certain stages of plant development: spring watering is carried out early spring before buds open. The next time the tree will require an increased amount of water two weeks after the end of flowering. Moisten the soil a couple of weeks before the predicted harvest. Abundant moisture-recharging watering before the tree goes into winter is of particular importance.
Carry out winter watering fruit trees This is especially important if the autumn is dry. If the plant does not store enough moisture in October, drying out of the wood can lead to freezing of the tree in winter; well-moistened soil freezes to a lesser extent.
The rate of water application for late autumn irrigation is about 5-6 buckets per square meter. meter of area. Water should be added into grooves made in a circle around the trunk; the opinion that it is useful to water trees in funnels near the trunk is not correct. The area in which the peripheral roots are located, which work more actively, needs more moisture. In principle, increased moistening of the soil adjacent to the vertical root is not required; moreover, modern agronomy is of the opinion that it is harmful to the plant.
Watering rules
To water trees correctly, you should have an idea of how the root system works. It is generally accepted that the depth of the root zone, and therefore the zone where the roots can actively absorb water, is as follows:
- for non-bearing young trees, pears and apple trees - from 0.5 to 0.7 m
- bearing fruit on dwarf rootstocks, in fruit-bearing stone fruit trees it is from 0.5 to 0.7 m
- for adult currant bushes - up to 0.7 m, for young ones - up to 0.4 m
- gooseberries - from 0.25 in young plants to 0.6 in adult plants.
More abundant and frequent watering will be required for plants on weak-growing rootstocks that have weak root system. Full-grown gardens can be watered less frequently. To ensure the preservation of moisture, mulch the soil around the tree trunk. Last watering of apple trees autumn-winter varieties produced no later than 2-3 weeks before harvesting.
Different watering methods
It is considered economical and quite simple to install drip irrigation of trees. With this method, water flows slowly, directly into the root zone, spreading in two directions: vertical and horizontal. If the tree is large, then it is better to install two droppers on opposite sides of the trunk; for small seedlings, one system will be enough.
Depending on how much water you need to add, you will need to turn on watering for a period of 1 to 3 days. The duration of watering is also affected by the rate at which water flows out of the system. Drip irrigation can be used both on flat areas and on slopes; it is effective on different types of soil.
Today industry produces systems drip irrigation different types. It should be noted that the main disadvantage of drippers is their tendency to accumulate salts and solid impurities, and as a result, become clogged.
Watering trees using the method gives good results sprinkling. Water supplied by sprinklers is absorbed by the soil evenly and does not lead to erosion and silting. Sprinkler systems are also used for watering berry crops.
Recently, the method has become popular well irrigation. They are built 1 by 1.5 -2 square meters. meters., in the tree trunk circle. The diameter of the well should be from 0.1 to 0.12 m, the depth - up to 0.5 m. The well is filled with sand, broken bricks, and gravel. In the fall, these wells will need to be insulated to prevent the possibility of soil freezing. Through wells you can bring in not only water, but also nutrient solutions.
How to determine the amount of water when watering with a hose
Sometimes you have to combine watering trees with a hose with other work in the garden. The hose is placed in the prepared hole and left for some time. It can be impossible to determine exactly, and sometimes even approximately, how much water got under the tree. To prevent the situation, you should note how long it takes to fill a full bucket from the hose, then, in accordance with the watering rate, calculate the amount of time it takes for the hose to be under each of the trees.
- It is not the frequency of watering that matters, but its usefulness - for an adult tree, four, but abundant, waterings will be enough. If the harvest is not high, then only two waterings are carried out.
- Frequent watering with small amounts of water will not be beneficial, but harmful.
- Clay soil requires infrequent watering with a large amount of water, while sandy soil requires more frequent watering with less consumption.
- Trees are not watered during flowering - it is organized during the period when the ovary begins to grow.
- You need to pour water not on the root collar of the tree, but evenly on the entire near-trunk part of the soil.
- You should not allow the roots to become exposed when the soil is moistened; if this happens, you should immediately cover them with soil.
- If the garden is landscaped with turf, then more water should be used when watering.
- It is impossible to say for sure how often to water trees - watering is planned depending on the weather, the plants’ need for watering, and the quality of the soil in which they grow.
- It is not recommended to additionally moisten the soil during the ripening period - this can cause cracking and falling of the fruit.
- The final watering of the season is carried out during the period of active leaf fall.
- Requires more watering early varieties pears and apple trees.
- Pome-bearing species should be watered more often than stone fruits.
- The more ovaries on a tree, the more abundant watering it needs.
If the autumn turns out to be dry, then you will have to do deep additional watering. fruit and berry trees on the site. Or in other words, recharge the garden before wintering. It has been established that dry soil is colder, and insufficiently moistened soil contributes to freezing of tree roots. And if the winter is frosty and snowless, the trees may even die. And don’t rely on autumn rains - they are completely unable to solve this problem. Rain wets only the top layer of soil, which is not always enough for a deep-growing root system.
1. Pre-winter watering is used in gardens where there is no regular watering.
If by the beginning of autumn it turns out that there is not enough moisture left in the soil, then there is a danger of the roots and crown freezing during winter frosts. Severely dry soil is only superficially moistened by drizzling autumn rain. With the arrival low temperatures this layer freezes instantly, which leads to damage much more serious than with dry soil. If you wet the soil in the garden by one and a half to two meters, then in winter it will not freeze. Even if there were many rainy days in your area at the end of the year, they still wet the ground by no more than thirty centimeters. This may be enough for shrubs, but for trees it will definitely not be enough. Therefore, do not be lazy and additionally water the fruit trees.
2. When carrying out winter watering, adhere to the golden rule
: water until the dry layer is wetted until it meets the remaining summer moisture. Usually, in places where there is no constant watering, you need to spend at least 80 - 100 liters for every square meter of the apple tree's trunk circle. If at a depth of 60 - 70 centimeters the soil is still wet, then the amount of water can be reduced by about half. 
3. It is not recommended to use winter irrigation on heavy clay soils.
and in areas located in lowlands. But if the soil in the garden is forest, sandy loam or podzolic, then winter watering will be beneficial.
4. If you carry out pre-winter watering in the fall, then by the time the garden awakens in spring, the soil will be moistened to a depth of about 2 meters. In this case, the water will not be used by the trees immediately, but will have a beneficial effect next year - at the beginning of the growing season.
5. Carry out pre-winter watering in late October or early November
, then there is no chance of plant growth resumption. Only then will you get a positive result when wintering fruit trees and their subsequent development after the spring awakening. 
6. Spend autumn, pre-winter and winter watering, as well as spring watering, in moderation. After watering is complete, be sure to check the depth to which the soil has been soaked. If there is too much moisture, then the water and air permeability of the soil will sharply deteriorate, and the root system, and therefore the tree as a whole, may suffer. If the site is located in a place with loved ones groundwater or on soil with poor drainage, then it is not worth engaging in autumn and winter irrigation. In the southern regions, where the climate is mild, the soil should not be saturated with water even in winter, since there the roots do not stop their vital activity during this period.
7. Combine winter watering with fertilizing. Dig ditches and place rotted manure there, add ash, mineral fertilizers. Then nutrients, along with water, will penetrate directly to the roots.
8. After watering, a few days later, mulch the tree trunk circles.
Hill up the trunk circles with soil and garden compost, mixing sawdust and straw into it. Mulch prepared in this way will perfectly protect the root system from frost and wind, and will retain moisture in the tree trunk circle. 