Preparing cherries for winter: care after harvest, processing, how to insulate, how to prepare in Siberia, in the Moscow region

Preparing cherries for winter is the most important stage in growing a fruit crop. Its yield next year depends on how well the cherry survives the winter, so you need to approach the issues of processing and insulation very carefully.

How to care for cherries after harvest

Preparation for winter for cherries begins at the end of summer, after the harvest is harvested. The fruit tree that has given up its berries gradually begins to go into a dormant state. During this period, the gardener is required to take all measures to prepare for winter, namely:

watering before the onset of cold weather to store moisture;
fertilizing to strengthen the vitality of the tree;
sanitary and formative pruning;
loosening the soil before winter;
warming the plant before cold weather.

Important! If you neglect at least one of the autumn cherry care measures, the plant will weaken significantly over the winter. This will affect his health and next year's harvest.

Autumn fruit tree care begins in August

Caring for felt cherries after harvest

Preparing felt cherries for winter in general is almost no different from standard autumn care. After harvesting you must:

properly clean the ground in the tree trunk circle - remove all rotten fruits and fallen leaves and small branches from the ground;
remove the garbage from the site and burn it; pests and fungal spores can overwinter in plant debris, so it is imperative to destroy the garbage;
thin out the crown of the plant, remove shoots and lower branches, as well as shoots that make the crown too thick;
properly loosen and mulch the soil near the trunk.

Caring for cherries after harvest also requires abundant watering, feeding with minerals and insulating the fruit plant for the winter.

Features of caring for cherries in autumn depending on the age of the trees

The general rules for caring for cherries in the fall and preparing for winter are the same for all plants, regardless of age. However, old and young trees have their own characteristics that need to be taken into account during autumn care:

Young plants under 3 years of age do not need to be fed with minerals before the onset of winter. Since a recently planted plant does not yet bear fruit, it consumes less nutrients; for up to 3 years, it is quite sufficient for the minerals put into the soil during planting.
Old cherries are fed annually.An adult plant takes a lot of energy to bear fruit, so during the warm season it manages to exhaust its supply of nutrients.
Autumn pruning of young trees should be done with great care. Since they are still quite small in size, cutting them too hard can lead to their death.

Old trees are more resistant to cold

Caring for young cherries in the fall includes more thorough covering; young trees are more susceptible to freezing. Usually they are not only mulched generously, but also the branches are tied up and covered with insulating material. Old trees tolerate cold better, and for them, in preparation for winter, the most important thing is to insulate the roots and cover the trunk with spruce branches.

How to care for cherries in the fall for a good harvest

It is necessary to take care of next year's harvest in the fall. To strengthen and improve the health of trees, a number of procedures are carried out, each of which is worth considering more carefully.

Watering and loosening the soil

Caring for cherries in August and September involves abundant watering. Dry soil freezes stronger and deeper than wet soil, so watering additionally protects the roots of the cherry from frost.

In preparation for winter, it is necessary to shed soil under the plant to a depth of 1-1.5 m. The frequency of watering is determined based on weather conditions - if autumn is rainy, it is enough to water the tree 1-2 times; if there is little rain in September, the number of waterings needs to be increased .

A one-time watering volume is 5-6 buckets of water for an adult tree. You can also dig a small groove around the trunk and put a hose in it for half an hour; when using this method, the soil will also be well saturated with moisture.

To determine how much the plant needs feeding, you can dig a hole about 60 cm deep near it. If the soil at the bottom of this hole is wet, then minimal watering is required; if the soil is dry and crumbling, the soil needs to be moistened more abundantly.

Autumn watering for a cherry tree is required

After the final watering, the soil must be densely mulched - this will retain moisture and at the same time provide additional insulation for the roots.

In preparation for winter, the soil under the trunk must be dug up. Digging is carried out to a depth of about 15 cm so as not to damage the roots of the tree. Before carrying out the procedure, thoroughly clean the area, remove fallen leaves and fruits, rake and burn plant debris.

Digging the soil not only provides good access of air and moisture to the root system. Pests and spores of fungal diseases often overwinter in the ground; when the soil is loosened, they appear on the surface and quickly die with the onset of frost.

Advice! Digging is best done simultaneously with fertilizing and shortly before the final watering. The loosening diameter should be equal to the crown diameter.

Top dressing

Autumn feeding before winter is carried out at the end of September or early October. Fertilizers applied in preparation for wintering ensure crop strength and good growth next spring:

Autumn fertilizing is usually carried out using the root method - fertilizers are applied to the soil during digging and watering, rather than sprayed over the crown.
You can use both mineral and organic fertilizers in the fall. Compost, humus and bird droppings are usually used from organic matter; phosphorus, calcium and potassium are used from minerals.
Organic fertilizers can simultaneously serve as a mulch layer and insulation. For mature trees, about 50 kg of humus or compost is scattered in the tree trunk circle; for young cherries, about 30 kg is taken.

Attention! When preparing for winter, you should not use fertilizers with a high nitrogen content. This substance stimulates vegetative processes and crop growth, while in the fall it is important to help the cherry go into a dormant state.

For the winter, both organic and mineral fertilizers are added to the soil.

Prevention against diseases and pests

Caring for cherries after fruiting requires prevention from pests and diseases. Processing includes:

inspecting the tree and removing all diseased branches and shoots;
disinfection and covering of wounds and cracks in the bark;
thorough cleaning of the trunk circle from debris;
spraying the tree with a 5% urea solution with the onset of the first frost.

The main goal of fall pest control is to reduce the population of larvae and fungal spores that overwinter in the soil and bark cracks.

Trimming

Processing cherries in the fall before winter includes pruning, which is carried out for sanitary purposes and to facilitate the wintering of the plant. Do it like this:

remove all dry and broken branches from the tree;
cut off diseased shoots;
if necessary, remove branches growing deep into the crown and at the wrong angle.

Formative pruning is usually done not in the fall, but in the spring, since after heavy pruning the tree may not have enough time to recover before winter. After autumn pruning, all removed branches and shoots must be burned, and fresh cuts are treated with garden varnish.

Important! Pruning in preparation for winter should be done after the leaves have fallen, but before the first frost.

Whitewash

Before the onset of winter, it is customary to whiten the trunk of the cherry tree. Whitewashing closes cracks and wounds in the bark and thereby prevents pests from overwintering and breeding. In addition, a layer of whitewash protects the cherry from rodents in winter.

For whitewashing, lime mortar with the addition of iron sulfate is traditionally used. Mature cherry trees are whitened to a height of about 1.5 m, and young plants - to the branching of the main trunk.

It is necessary to whiten the trunk from pests and to protect against cold weather.

Preparing cherries for winter in autumn

After all the basic procedures have been completed, the time comes to insulate the cherry. It must be carried out before the arrival of frost; usually the tree is covered for the winter at the end of October or mid-November.

What kind of frost can cherries withstand?

Cherry is considered a fairly winter-hardy fruit crop. The indicator of its frost resistance depends on the variety, but on average the tree can easily tolerate frosts down to -20-25 °C. Some varieties of cherries survive at temperatures as low as -35 °C, which makes it possible to grow the crop even in Siberia.

How to insulate cherries for the winter

The algorithm for insulating cherry depends mainly on its age. Young trees are usually protected from frost more thoroughly, while mature plants require minimal shelter.

young

Preparing young cherries for winter consists of several stages:

Before the onset of cold weather, the tree trunk circle of the plant is mulched with compost or humus. The mulch layer should be about 10 cm; it will not only serve as fertilizer for the cherry tree, but will also protect its roots from freezing.
In the photo of cherries in winter you can see that young plants are tied with cardboard or light non-woven material for the winter. This protects the trunk from frost and also prevents pests from damaging the tree.

After the first snowfalls, it will also be possible to insulate the tree trunk circle with a dense layer of snow. It will need to be raked up to the cherry trunk, and sprinkled with straw or sawdust on top.

Young plants are additionally wrapped around the trunk for the winter

old

Old tree cherries are more resistant to cold weather. Therefore, the tree trunk is usually not tied and is limited to mulching the tree trunk circle. In this case, you need to make sure that the layer of mulch does not touch the trunk of the fruit tree, otherwise the bark may prop up and rot. In cold winter conditions, the trunk of a fruit tree can be additionally covered with spruce branches.

Felt, columnar, bush

Certain varieties of cherries require a special approach to covering before winter:

young felt cherry, like the tree-like tree, it is customary to wrap it in white propylene bags, white paper in several layers or other light-colored covering material for the winter, and also mulch the soil under the trunk generously;
columnar cherry for the winter, cover the top with non-woven light material, first tying up the shoots if necessary, and secure the shelter to the ground;
bush cherry in the winter they tie it up so that heavy snow does not break its branches, and also cover it with light-colored insulating material and mulch the tree trunk circle.

In general, measures to protect cherries from frost remain the same - it is necessary to protect, first of all, the root system.The trunk of the tree is insulated, if possible; for cherries with thin shoots, the integrity of the branches is monitored.

How to prepare cherries for winter in the regions

Preparing a fruit tree for winter largely depends on the growing area. The climate in the Moscow region, the Urals and Siberia varies quite a lot, so the nuances of caring for the plant also differ.

Preparing cherries for winter in the Moscow region

Winter near Moscow is characterized by its unpredictability; severe frosts can be replaced by sudden thaws. Despite the fact that the winter hardiness of most cherry varieties allows you to leave the tree without winter shelter, it is still recommended to insulate the crop for the winter.

Shortly before the onset of winter, the tree trunk circle is mulched with a layer of at least 10 cm, and the plant trunk is covered with spruce branches. In this case, the mulch must be placed so that it does not touch the trunk, otherwise during the thaw the bark will prop up and rot.

The mulch layer for the winter should be at least 10 cm

Preparing cherries for winter in Siberia

Severe Siberian frosts pose a certain danger even for cold-resistant varieties. Before winter, it is important to properly cover the plant. First of all, the cherry tree is mulched under the trunk with a dense layer of compost or humus to prevent the roots from freezing. Caring for cherries in autumn in Siberia also includes insulating the trunk. In mature trees, it is covered with spruce branches, and young plants, columnar and bush cherries, if possible, are tied with insulating material.

Advice! It is recommended to prepare cherries for winter in Siberia in the early stages, in September and early October. Winter comes early in the region, and if you are late with pruning, watering and fertilizing, the health of the cherries may suffer.

In the Middle Zone and the Urals

The Urals and central Russia are characterized by rather harsh and snowy winters with strong winds. Therefore, shelter also plays a big role; the cherry tree must not only be mulched under the trunk with a layer of 10 cm, but also cover the trunk and branches, if the size and structure of the tree allows this.

Since wind and bright winter sun pose a particular danger to cherries in the Urals, it is initially better to plant the crop under the cover of buildings. In this case, autumn-winter cherry care will become easier.

It is necessary to cover the plant most thoroughly before cold weather in Siberia and the Urals

Conclusion

Preparing cherries for winter includes several mandatory measures to preserve the health of the tree and its ability to bear abundant fruit. It is necessary to start caring for cherries at the beginning of autumn; before the onset of cold weather, you need to have time to feed, trim and insulate the plant.

Preparing cherries for winter: care in autumn, August, September, after fruiting