When Is It Better To Plant Seedlings Of Fruit Crops?

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When Is It Better To Plant Seedlings Of Fruit Crops?
When Is It Better To Plant Seedlings Of Fruit Crops?

Video: When Is It Better To Plant Seedlings Of Fruit Crops?

Video: When Is It Better To Plant Seedlings Of Fruit Crops?
Video: Grafted vs Seedling Fruit Trees - Which to choose? (1 of 2) 2024, March
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This question is asked by many gardeners, especially beginners. Usually, this is how it all happens: a family buys a house with a plot and immediately removes everything from there, and then begins to think what, where, and most importantly - when to plant. First, the eye falls on the seedlings of the fruit trees. There are a lot of them in the pictures: apple trees, pears, cherries, plums and so on, appetizing, large, juicy, tasty.

Apple tree seedlings
Apple tree seedlings

Content:

  • Where to buy seedlings?
  • Pros of planting seedlings in the fall
  • Dates of planting pome crops in autumn in different climatic zones
  • Spring planting of fruit seedlings in various regions

Where to buy seedlings?

Let's say you acquired a plot in the fall and want to plant on it a couple of apple trees, of different ripening periods, a couple of pears, cherries, a couple of cherries and a plum.

First, let's split this batch into pome and stone fruit. Pome fruits include an apple tree and a pear, everything else is stone fruit, that is, if you are not a resident of the south, but a happy inhabitant of the center of Russia or its more northern regions, then planting stone fruits must be postponed until spring, but pome fruits (apples and pears) can be planted already in the fall.

There is always a BUT. But sometimes it spoils everything, and sometimes it helps. A gardener always deals with a choice: what if in the spring the choice of seedlings will be so small, in terms of varietal terms, or the quality of the planting will be so unimportant that the gardener will simply not be satisfied? Reasonable, then you need to go to the nursery and take seedlings there.

Why a nursery? Because it was created in earnest and for a long time, it is not a seller that you may not see tomorrow. Most often, sellers sell their goods with leaves (usually very drooping, lethargic, which are already beginning to evaporate water from the shoots and even from the central trunk, especially large-leaved stone fruits, such as cherries).

They will sell you any variety on the market, if only they bought it, since its fruiting will begin years later. In fact, the seedlings need to be bought exclusively without leaves (and it is desirable that the roots be in a chatterbox, and not in dry sawdust).

Typically, leaf flaking (defoliation), which is carried out manually and does no harm to the seedlings, is carried out by specialized nursery staff towards the end of September, when the leaves themselves are ready to fall off. Therefore, it is not traumatic for seedlings, but rather useful. They get into the nursery already devoid of leaves, and if the roots are in a chatterbox, then they can even slowly absorb moisture without evaporating it.

Pros of planting seedlings in the fall

Only pome crops can have advantages of planting in the fall, while stone fruits are in deep dormancy, they may not have time to acquire new roots that would absorb moisture for the winter. The shoots will not be able to get enough of it and will freeze out in winter, or their banal desiccation will occur, when the sun is able to evaporate all the modest amount of moisture from the shoot, reflecting from the infusion, like from a mirror (that's why it is advisable to break it in the garden).

The sensitive root collar of plants (the place where the roots pass into the trunk) may also suffer. Pome crops acquire a suction root system (it is located at the tips of the roots, often light in color) very quickly. That is why when planting in the fall, they need to be watered abundantly, even with the help of the rain. Then you will fully enrich the soil with moisture, the shoots of the seedlings will be nourished with water and they will not be afraid of winter drying.

Damp soil will freeze more slowly, and once frozen, it will not react to provocative thaws, starting the processes of swelling in generative (flower) buds in the middle of winter.

And we will also help them - we will wrap the trunks with white lutrasil (because when whitewashing with lime, burns can still occur, and rain, even accidental and short-term, can reduce all whitewashing efforts to zero). We will also put a protection against rodents in the form of a grid (up to the first skeletal ramifications), cover the bite zone with dry leaves, and throw spruce branches on top (so that it retains the snow).

Plum tree saplings
Plum tree saplings

Dates of planting pome crops in autumn in different climatic zones

As for the timing, in the center of Russia, planting of seedlings can be carried out starting from the end of September, in the south - from mid-October or a little earlier, in the north - at the very beginning of September (and again, we are talking about seed crops).

If you plant a one-year-old in the fall, then do not crown it (you will cut off the top of the head in the spring, in mid-April and be sure to cover it with garden varnish later).

Benefits of planting seed crops in autumn:

  • a huge selection of both seedlings and varieties in a private nursery with a good reputation, where you can choose any varieties that are zoned in your region (this is very important, bearing in mind zoning); if these are pome fruits, then they should be planted, and if stone fruits, then dig behind the house, where there is more snow, covering the aboveground part, when the cold weather begins, completely with lutrasil;
  • there is a lot of moisture in the soil, well, and we will add, of course, although it happens that autumn is poor in rain, then you will have to pour more (5-6 buckets for a plant);
  • quite a lot of free time: the crop is harvested and laid for storage, and the planting itself does not take much time;
  • on the site, as a rule, it is cleaner, the soil digs without problems, does not stick to the shovel, and the planting process itself is fast;
  • in the fall, it is easier to disassemble the cardinal points relative to which the seedling grew (it should be planted this way); it is easy to understand this, since the crust is darker on the south side, and lighter on the north; however, if the seedling is too disproportionately developed, that is, the whole "left" to the south, then it is better to unfold it than to correct it later by pruning;
  • in the fall, there is no need for support pegs and the soil settles less, although if the garden has even a slight slope, then a support peg is needed in the fall.

Cons of planting in the fall:

  • a sharp arrival of cold weather is possible, which can kill seedlings, especially in the northern regions and among those gardeners who plant a garden on hills, due to the presence of a close standing of groundwater;
  • "Dishonest" nurseries sometimes put second-class planting material in the foreground in the fall, leaving the best for the spring, so you need to be careful about the proper quality of seedlings;
  • autumn is protracted and very dry, you have to carry out a large number of watering, literally pouring out the seedlings;
  • usually in the fall, seedlings are much more expensive, because in the spring the leftovers are sold, which are usually simply thrown away if not sold, and in the fall there are queues for the seedlings;
  • it is necessary to look for a place to dig in seedlings if you find high-quality ones;
  • be sure to planted seedlings to protect the trunks from hares and mice by wrapping them with a plastic net before the first branching.

But now spring has come, which can be completely different. Now it suddenly starts almost in February, then it pulls cold and frozen soil until May, so you can't get anything out of the dig, everything is frozen. But in spring there is usually a lot of moisture, first of all, it is moisture from melted snow. Therefore, there is no need to carry buckets and watering cans, no need to throw hoses into the strips of the trunk in order to save the plants from drying out.

Cherry tree seedlings
Cherry tree seedlings

Spring planting of fruit seedlings in various regions

In the southern regions, planting is sometimes carried out already at the end of March, in the center - this is April or the very beginning of May, in the north - mid-May, sometimes closer to the beginning of May.

In the spring, you can just plant stone fruit crops, those that we dug in a secluded corner, where there is a lot of snow and few rodents.

So, as soon as the soil begins to crumble well in your hand, you can start planting the plants. During this period, the soil is full of moisture, but if you dug a planting hole and the soil looks insufficiently moist, you can pour a bucket of water into it. The main thing is not to deepen the root collar when planting stone fruit crops.

Even after the soil subsides, it must be a couple of centimeters above the soil level, otherwise the plant will rot and die. In pome crops, the root collar also cannot be buried, but here its deepening will affect the timing of the entry into fruiting - you will wait five years longer for fruits.

Pros of spring planting

  • dishonest nurseries will delight you with first-class planting material, which they saved for the spring, because they know that in the spring the trade is not so intense and you cannot sell any nonsense; but you need to carefully inspect the seedlings: are they frozen, are they dry, because who knows where and how they were stored;
  • as a rule, there is a lot of moisture in the soil (this is moisture from melting snow), but you can always add it, the main thing is to have time to place the seedlings before bud break, so that the root system starts working faster in the soil and activates the growth of the aboveground mass of plants;
  • spring is a great time for planting stone fruit crops, they take root 100% if the seedlings are not damaged or sick;
  • in spring it is warm and pleasant to work in the garden, the icy wind does not penetrate, therefore, all planting work is carried out, as a rule, of a higher quality, and not “to plant it as quickly as possible and … in warmth”, as in autumn.

Cons of spring planting

  • "Honest" nurseries sold all high-quality material and the best varieties in the fall, and now there are leftovers, second grade and not a standard, even cheaper, but possibly with defects, so you need to be careful when choosing;
  • in addition, in the nursery, if stored incorrectly, the seedlings can be sold already with loose buds; such are not worth taking even with a large discount, the likelihood that they will not take root is high;
  • spring is an insanely fleeting time, it is imperative to have time to plant a seedling before bud break, otherwise it may not take root;
  • springs are different, sometimes rich in moisture, and sometimes the soil is like sand in the desert; then after planting watering is necessary, the plant should literally be cast until it starts to grow, until young shoots appear, but you need to be very careful with stone fruit crops: if water stagnates at the root collar, the neck may begin rot and the tree, quite possibly, will die;
  • often in spring the soil is not as dense as in autumn, therefore, it is imperative to provide for the installation of support pegs, otherwise a gust of wind or careless handling of the seedling can tilt it; and if this is not noticed in time, then it will grow crookedly;
  • in the spring, immediately after planting, it is advisable to place pheromone traps and preventive treatments with 3% Bordeaux liquid can be carried out.

These are, in principle, all the advantages and disadvantages of spring planting of seedlings of pome and stone fruit crops. Based on this, and make a decision: either now (when autumn) run to nurseries for seedlings or wait until spring.

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