Cherry planting rules and care features

Have you decided to start a cherry orchard and delight yourself with fresh berries? In order for a tree to grow well, planting and caring for cherries in the first year of life should be carried out according to the rules that this article will tell you about. From it you will learn how to plant cherries correctly and how to care for them so that the tree does not disappear.

Cherry planting

Cherry orchards are spread over most of our country. Thanks to long-term selection work, frost-resistant varieties have been obtained that grow in cold climates. However, in each region, the timing of the breeding of cherries and the methods of caring for them will differ.

Boarding time

When to plant cherries Cherry varieties can be planted in spring and autumn. For the process to be successful, you should adhere to certain deadlines, and also proceed from the climatic region in which you live. In the Moscow region, the optimal time for this is mid-April, before the growing season.

Very different terms for rooting if you live in the northern regions or Siberia. There, the procedure begins in early May or even later. This is due to the fact that in the northern regions the temperature regime is much lower, the winter is protracted and the soil warms up only in the last month of spring. If you do not adhere to the deadlines, this will lead to the fact that the seedlings will not take root well or their root system will freeze.

Remember the weather conditions are the main guide for when to plant cherries. Therefore, as soon as winter is over, warm days will come and the earth will warm up - you can start. The whole process should take from 10 to 15 days, no more. Even in the fall, the acquired seedling for the winter is buried in and stored in a special shelter - spruce branches, until the arrival of spring. A seedling for planting should be at least 2.5 cm in diameter, and a stem - from 60 cm.

Scheme of dropping and planting cherry seedlings

The soil

After you have figured out when it is better to plant cherries, it is worth considering other important points. It is better to plant in loamy, sandy and loamy soils, the pH reaction of which is neutral. If clay soil prevails in the garden, then add 2 buckets of sand to the dug planting hole. It is desirable that underground waters flow no closer than one and a half meters from the earth's surface.

In order for a tree to successfully take root and give generous harvests in the future, it is necessary not only to choose the right time, but also to find the right place for planting cherries. It should be protected from the wind and well lit throughout the day. It is advisable that there are no buildings nearby, and if this cannot be avoided, place the trees on the south side. It is not recommended to plant in lowlands, where a damp and humid climate prevails.

In order to reduce the acidity of the soil, it is advisable to lime it. To do this, mix 400 g of lime with the same amount of compost or manure, scatter it on the soil surface and dig it up.

Planting pit preparation

Prepare the landing pit, its correct dimensions should be 60x60x60. Consider the factor that the worse and poorer the soil, the wider the hole should be. It should be dug out in the fall, while the top layer of the excavated earth must be preserved. Inspect the seedling rhizome. If you find damaged roots, they will need to be cut back to healthy roots.All rotten and broken parts of the root system are also subject to pruning. In the event that the roots of the tree are slightly dry, it is recommended to place them in water for 4-5 hours.

Video "Preparing the pit for planting"

This video will show you how to prepare a cherry planting pit.

It is necessary to drive a wooden peg into the hole so that it is possible to fasten (tie) a planted young tree to it. Then mix the deposited part of the topsoil with the same amount of humus and place on the bottom of the pit. Do not put nitrogen-containing fertilizers and lime into the pit, this can severely damage the root system.

Landing technique

Next, spread the roots of the seedling and place it vertically in the prepared hole so that the roots do not bend. Gently cover with earth so that the root collar is 3-4 cm higher than the ground level.When the tree is already planted, make holes for irrigation at a distance of 30 cm from the trunk and pour with warm water. One seedling will require 3 buckets of water. After watering, wait until the seedling settles with the soil.

At this time, it is possible to correct the position of the root collar if it has gone too deep into the soil. If this is not done, the young seedling may die. In the event that the root collar is too high - so that the roots are visible, then sprinkle them with soil, and if below the surface of the earth - carefully raise the tree trunk so that there is no more than 3 cm of soil above the surface roots. Soil around the seedling it is imperative to mulch with humus and sawdust. This will prevent premature evaporation of moisture, and also protect the earth from cracking as it dries.

Distance between trees

When planning a cherry orchard, consider the size of the crowns of future trees. Please note that seedlings of tree varieties (varieties Griot, Turgenevka) should not be closer to each other than 3 meters, and between the rows there should be at least 4 m.For bush varieties (Vladimirovsky, Schedra, Lyubskaya), 2 m between the seedlings and 2 , 5 m between the rows. This is done so that in the process of growth, the crowns do not interfere with the growth of each other, because, depending on the variety, the diameter of the green cone reaches an average of 3 m.

Now you know how to plant cherries correctly. Next, consider the issues of caring for young plants.

Care after landing

After planting, a young tree needs proper general care. It must be watered, fertilized, loosened, and fertilized in a timely manner. But it is also necessary to take into account that it blooms early, and frosts can return and destroy the flowers along with the future harvest. Therefore, it is necessary to think over measures that will save flowering from frost.

Frost control

You can protect against frost with smoke. This method is very simple and affordable. It is necessary to prepare heaps of dry manure or straw in different parts of the garden. Before the start of frost, it is advisable to set fire to these heaps in the morning hours, so that they smolder and give more smoke, which will warm the flowers.

Remember to loosen the soil around the tree trunk and remove weeds. It is advisable to carry out in the spring-summer period up to 3 loosening, not very deep.

Watering and feeding

Although cherries are considered drought tolerant, water both during the growing season and during the ripening period for high yields. The first watering is carried out immediately after flowering, the second - as soon as the berries begin to grow. For each tree during watering, it is necessary to pour from 3 to 6 buckets of water. The volume of water also directly depends on the amount of precipitation and soil moisture.

It is necessary to carry out top dressing on time. The first - during the flowering period, and the second - after 2 weeks after the first. To prepare top dressing in 10 liters of water, it is necessary to dilute 10 g of urea, 25 g of superphosphate, 15 g of potassium chloride.You can also use this option: 10 liters of mullein are diluted in 50 liters of water, 1 kg of ash is added and this mixture is infused for 5 days. Then you can use it for feeding. Pour half a bucket of the prepared solution under each trunk and immediately pour 2 buckets of water.

Pollination and pruning

If the weather is rainy and cold, the flowers will be poorly pollinated by bees. To fix this, prepare the following solution. Add 1 tbsp to a liter of boiled water. a spoonful of honey. Spray the flowers with the resulting solution. The bees will fly to the smell of honey and carry out the necessary pollination.

Pruning is carried out before young buds begin to bloom. Cut the side branches to a quarter of their length. If you did not have time to carry out the pruning and the buds began to wake up, you should not carry out the shortening.

Now you know when to plant cherries and what to do so that they take root and give a decent harvest. If planting and caring for cherries are not organized properly, they will grow poorly and not bear fruit. By doing everything right, you will be rewarded with a ripe and sweet harvest.

Cherry Pruning Video

This video will show you how to properly prune cherries.