A garden without apple trees, that the bridegroom without a bride - so our ancestors used to say and were right. To the tasty juicy honey-apple we have been getting used since childhood. About them is told both in the book of books of the Bible, and in folk tales. Of these, the most flavored jam is brewed, and how many apple varieties - and not count. Let's talk today about the rules for planting dwarf or colon-shaped apple trees , find out when they should be planted, at what distance and in what soil they should be placed.
Why is apple tree planting more preferable in spring than in autumn?
So, first, let's figure out the time of planting an apple tree. Experienced gardeners say that planting a new tree is better in the spring, and not in the fall. Why? The answer to the banality is simple: because a pit for a young apple tree should be cooked a few months before it is planted, so that the land will settle well and take the right position. In summer, due to the active growth of the grass, this effect does not work, but in winter it is much easier to achieve the desired effect. And besides in spring all life plants awake in all plants, and apple trees are no exception. So, the seedling will easily take root and manage to gain strength for the winter for the winter. About the magnitude and rules of arranging the landing pit, let's talk a little lower, and now consider how the distance between the apples should be when planting.
What should be the distance between the apples when planting?
First of all, it should be noted that the apple tree is a rather big tree, even for relatively short stature varieties. In addition, to get a good harvest this fruit tree requires a lot of sun, a rich light soil and a sufficient area of food. If you follow the apple tree planting scheme developed by specialists, then you should place the seedlings at a distance of 3 m, and the rows of saplings at a distance of 4 m from each other. Well, with the basic theoretical moments, we figured out, it's time to prepare a pit for the correct planting of apple trees in the spring.
How to prepare a planting site for colonial and other apple trees?
Of course, the soils in different garden plots can differ greatly from each other. In one area it will be sandy, and in the other - clayey. Somewhere the groundwater lies deep, and somewhere they approach the surface itself. All this must be taken into account when choosing a landing site and arranging a landing pit. Let's first consider the general rules, and then add them with nuances.
So, the approximate size of the pit for a standard seedling is 1-1.2 m in diameter and 40-60 cm in depth. On clay soils, the pits become wider and less deep, and on the sandy soil - a little bit deeper.
First, markup is done on the selected location. Measure the diameter and peg mark the alleged center of the future pit. Next carefully remove the turf and lay it aside. Then, using a shovel, a fertile layer is removed and stacked into a separate heap. As a rule, it is 15-20 cm, and with a grain of 20-25 cm. If there is sand under the fertile soil, it is removed, deepening the pit by another centimeter by 30, so that its total depth is 50-60 cm. If the fertile layer lay on clay, then the clay layer to be delivered will be approximately 15-20 cm. And the entire depth of the pit is no more than 40-45 cm. Otherwise, groundwater may stagnate there, which will adversely affect the basal neck of the apple tree, and on the whole plant in whole.
The next step is filling the pit with a nutrient mixture consisting of 1 bucket of horse rotted manure, 1 bucket of sheet compost, 0.5 buckets of wood ash and that fertile soil that was selected from the pit. All components are combined and thoroughly mixed. On the bottom with the wrong side up is laid the turf, and the mixture is poured onto it, and the pit is carefully compacted. So we can leave it until the spring, when we will plant our apple tree.
Before planting the apple trees in the spring, the pit is again dug and shaped like a mound, not forgetting to remove the topmost layer. If the root system of the tree is long, it is slightly trimmed. Next, the apple is placed in place, the roots are carefully straightened and covered with earth, which is removed from the surface of the pit, which is then well rammed. Experienced gardeners tamping process called the creation of a saucer for irrigation. By the way, watering the tree should be immediately after planting, even if it is cloudy and damp weather. And that the seedling is stronger "stood on his feet", he is tied to a small peg with a cotton ribbon. Everything, the process is over, now it remains only to rejoice at the work done and imagine how your apple tree, becoming an adult, will give you every year a shock crop.