If you want a healthy, well-fruitful cherry growing in the garden, planting and caring for it should be done according to the rules. Under favorable conditions such a tree fructifies up to 15 years. Aromatic sweet and sour fruit is popular for compotes, juices, jams and pies, actively consumed and fresh.
Cherry - planting and care in the open ground
The cherry tree grows to a height of 10 m., Has round juicy fruits up to 2 cm in diameter. Cherry blossoms in April with white or pink coronals and turns into one of the most picturesque plants of the garden. The tree likes to grow on illuminated sites with a drained, sandy or loamy substrate. Do not plant it near groundwater or in lowlands with stagnant moisture. To obtain a quality rich harvest from cherries care and cultivation must be done competently. The tree is planted in spring or autumn, in each case there are recommendations for rooting.
Spring planting of cherries
If the cherry takes root in the spring, the seedlings have a time to get stronger and go into growth. Work is carried out if the ground has already heated up, and the kidneys have not yet swelled. Favorable planting time for cherries in spring is mid-April. When buying, pick two-year-old trees measuring 60 cm. Cherry - spring planting and care:
- roots of the plant for three hours stand in water to fill them with moisture;
- The fossa is digested with a diameter of 80 cm, 60 cm in depth;
- a peg 1 m high is hammered into its center;
- At the bottom, soil mixture with top dressing is applied, a seedling is planted so that the stem origin remains 2-3 cm above the ground line;
- the roots of the plant are straightened, the prepared soil is added to the pit and gently tamped;
- after landing around the trunk a hole is formed at a distance of 30 cm, a bucket of water is poured into it;
- then the truncated circle is poured with peat, sawdust, the seedling is fixed to the peg;
- when planning a garden, the density of the trees is important - they must receive from the soil all the required elements. Saplings are placed from each other in intervals of 2.5-3 m.
Cherry planting in autumn
Garden cherries after planting in the autumn is unlikely to have time to grow stronger until the cold. It can suffer greatly from frosts or completely die. Therefore, it is better to prepare and prick cherry seedlings, and planting and care in the open ground to produce in the spring. How to keep the bought tree:
- in a shady piece of the garden, where the snow lasts the longest in spring, pull out an oblong hole 40 cm deep at a 45-degree angle;
- In the trench lay a seedling - the roots and the third part of the trunk, covered with earth and abundantly watered;
- The tree is covered with pine branches along the entire length. After the snow falls, a snowdrift with a height of 50 cm is thrown over the seedling;
- so in the winter, the cherry bought in the autumn is planted, planting and caring for it are produced in the spring. Get the seedling right before rooting into a stationary pit.
If the decision is taken to root the tree to a permanent place of growth in autumn, then the work is carried out in October. At this time, the seedling is already in a state of rest, and it takes 3-4 weeks before the frost begins. Start the planting by dipping the roots into a clay of mud and manure, then the tree can be rooted in a pit. Seedling is attached to the peg, after watering the barrel circle must necessarily be covered up - abundantly fall asleep with sawdust.
Fertilizer when planting cherries
For garden cherries, care and cultivation begins with planting in a nutrient-rich substrate. The soil for its rooting is prepared from autumn - dolomite flour or lime in the amount of 400 grams per square meter is sprayed on the plot and the substrate is pierced to the depth of the spade bayonet. A week later, it adds ripe manure in the proportion of 15 kg. on sq.m. In spring, when planting a fertile layer of soil from above is removed, combined with humus in the same concentration, and 1 kg. ash, 30-40 g of superphosphate , 25 g of potassium chloride . This mixture is optimal for planting a plant in a pit.
Cherry - pruning and shaping the crown
Garden cherry, planting and care for which were carried out correctly, gives a rapid growth of shoots. From this, its crown thickens and many small branches develop. If it is weeded out, the fruits will be larger, the foliage will be healthier, and the fruit-bearing branches will live longer. The tree needs pruning if the shoots increase more than 50 cm. The rules of pruning the cherry:
- the first procedure takes place in March in the spring, until the kidneys swell;
- if the sap flow has already gone, the pruning must be postponed, otherwise the branches will dry up;
- at the end of the vegetation, autumn pruning is expedient;
- The sanitary procedure for the removal of sick branches is useful, which can be carried out all year round.
Spring pruning of cherries
The most important is the spring formation of the tree, sometimes it is enough for the proper development of the crown. It is carried out three weeks before the buds swelling. Correct pruning of cherries in spring:
- if annual shoots are formed not more than 35 cm, they are not touched, then only thicken the crown and competing branches;
- The trunk of the tree is shortened, but it must remain above the skeletal branches by 20 cm;
- sections are immediately irrigated with copper sulfate.
Autumn pruning of cherries
In autumn, the tree is cut less often - they are afraid to damage the future harvest, because the wound applied before frost makes the plant more sensitive. If nevertheless it is decided to hold it, then choose the moment between the end of vegetation and the first colds. In autumn, the sick and broken shoots are removed, which the trunk should not feed until the spring to the detriment of healthy branches.
Pruning of cherries during planting is made for the construction of a comfortable crown. All branches on the trunk below 40 cm are removed. Above this level, 6 strong shoots are left as skeletal. They should be placed evenly. The bottom layer - three branches, the second - two, above - one more. Branches that protrude into the crown are cut. Annual plant in autumn does not need pruning. Still stably removes the root cane, it is advisable to use it for reproduction.
Care for cherries in the country
After planting cherries you need to follow the recommendations for caring for the tree. Main activities:
- Loosening the soil. Such care for cherries begins in the early spring and continues the entire period of vegetation. This allows the earth to be saturated with oxygen, to retain moisture longer. Simultaneously, the basal circle is freed from weeds.
- Watering. The first time the tree is moistened after flowering immediately. The second is the beginning of the increase in the size of the fruit. Measure - 3-6 buckets for one root. The last podzimny watering is done in early October after the fall of the fall.
- Fertilizer. The procedure increases the yield, positively affects the growth of the plant. It is held all year round, the feeding schemes differ in spring and autumn.
Spring cherry care
Spring is important when caring for trees, during this period, a number of permanent operations must be carried out to ensure the proper development of the plant and abundant harvest. In addition to pruning patients, withered branches and shaping the crown, the following measures are taken in the spring:
- Trimming of the trunk. Lime destroys all fungi and pests under the bark. Sections and wounds are irrigated with copper sulfate and covered with paint.
- Around the tree is removed garbage, dry grass, the soil is dug.
- Top dressing is performed for the first time during flowering. For this, a bucket of manure + kilogram of ash is used, diluted in 10 liters of water. The second similar top dressing is done a couple of weeks after the primary.
- Care for cherry spring involves spraying. It is aimed at combating pests that are activated after the winter. For this, azophos and Bordeaux mixture are suitable. These drugs should be alternated. For the first time (after the kidneys are opened in late March - early April), the tree is sprayed with azofos. After two weeks, you need to re-spray, this time using the Bordeaux mixture.
Care for the cherry autumn
After harvesting, the tree also needs to be taken care of so that it can well survive the winter. Cherry - autumn care and rearing:
- Cut sick, dry and damaged branches;
- All wounds are coated with copper sulfate, wrapped around with rags;
- The trunk circle is dug to a depth of 15 cm;
- The tree must be fed, the optimal formulations:
- organic: sawdust, manure, diluted bird droppings;
- At the stage of digging, potash and phosphorus make-up are introduced;
- The near-bar circle is irrigated with a 5% urea solution on the onset of the first frosts, this will help get rid of most parasites.