Content
- 1 Is it possible to plant cherries in the fall?
- 2 Do I need to prune cherries when planting in the fall?
- 3 When to plant cherries in the fall: in what month
- 4 How to choose a cherry seedling for planting in the fall
- 5 How to prepare the soil for planting cherries in the fall
- 6 How to prepare a hole for planting cherries in the fall
- 7 How to plant cherries in the fall
- 8 Caring for cherry seedlings after planting in autumn
- 9 Advice from experienced gardeners
- 10 Conclusion
Planting cherries in the fall is a permitted and in some cases even recommended procedure. Autumn planting has its advantages, the main thing is to do everything right and provide the tree with the proper conditions.
Is it possible to plant cherries in the fall?
Most cherry varieties have good cold resistance. Therefore, they can be planted on the site not only in the spring, but also in the autumn months, before the onset of frost. Moreover, autumn planting has significant advantages:
- In the fall, cherry seedlings in the ground take root faster than in the spring, and recover better from the stress that they inevitably experience during planting. With the onset of spring, a young cherry tree planted in the fall will be able to immediately increase its green mass without wasting time on root development.
- In the fall, after planting, the garden plant requires minimal care.The seedling will not need to be loosened, watered, or fed; fertilizers will be placed in the soil during planting, and the autumn rains will handle the watering. When planting in the spring, the gardener usually has much more trouble; throughout the warm period, the cherries need to be closely monitored.
Autumn planting has many advantages over spring planting.
Of course, when planting in autumn, there is always a risk of the young tree freezing. But if you choose the right timing and take care of reliable shelter for the winter, then the cherry will endure the winter cold calmly.
Do I need to prune cherries when planting in the fall?
Immediately after planting in the fall, it is recommended to prune the seedling of a garden plant. The fact is that with a minimum number of shoots, the cherry will direct all its efforts to grow strong roots. Accordingly, it will be able to take root in the ground faster in the fall, and wintering will be more successful.
When pruning, the lower shoots of the seedling are removed; about half a meter of space should remain between the soil and the first branch. In total, you need to leave 6 strong shoots on the seedling, directed towards the trunk at an acute angle, and cut them by about 7 cm. All other branches are removed, and the cut areas are covered with garden varnish.
When to plant cherries in the fall: in what month
Autumn planting of fruit trees is recommended in October, until about the 15th. During this period, the seedling has already entered a dormant state, but is still active enough for the rooting process.
The best time to plant seedlings is the first half of October
The exact timing of planting cherries in the fall is determined by several factors. First of all, you need to consider the growing region:
- In the southern regions of Russia, you can plant a tree throughout October and even in November.Since winter in the south is warm and comes late, the seedling will have time to take root in the soil and will not suffer from the cold.
- In the middle zone, it is best to plant from the end of September to mid-October. It is important not only to have time to plant a fruit tree before frost, but also to give it about 20 days to take root before the soil freezes.
- In the Urals and Siberia, autumn planting for cherries is rarely practiced. It can be carried out only until the end of September, but it is better to abandon the autumn planting altogether and postpone the procedure until spring.
In general, tree planting should be done at low but stable positive temperatures, several weeks before the onset of night frosts. As such, lowering the temperature for a few hours at night will not cause irreparable damage to the cherry. However, if the soil freezes and thaws every day, the seedling will not have time to take root.
How to choose a cherry seedling for planting in the fall
The success of planting in autumn directly depends on the quality of planting material. When choosing a cherry seedling, you need to evaluate its varietal characteristics, actual condition, dimensions and age:
- It is best to choose young plants no older than 2 years for planting. The height of the tree should be 0.7-1.3 m. If the seedling is larger in size, then, most likely, it was generously fed with nitrogen in the nursery, and resistance to cold with such feeding decreases.
- Only a completely healthy seedling can take root without problems during autumn planting. It is necessary to ensure that there is no damage to its trunk and shoots, and that the roots are strong, developed, without breaks, about 25 cm in length.
- In nurseries you can find both grafted seedlings and plants grown from cuttings without grafting, the so-called own-rooted ones. Although grafted trees begin to bear fruit earlier, rooted cherries are more resistant to cold weather.
Only a strong and healthy seedling can take root in the soil in the fall.
The gardener needs to remember that most cherries set fruit only in the presence of pollinators. Therefore, it is better to plant several seedlings of different varieties on a plot in the fall, so that the trees develop simultaneously and act as pollinators for each other.
How to prepare the soil for planting cherries in the fall
Cherries take root faster and better in nutritious and balanced soil. The site for it must first be prepared and fertilized with minerals and organic matter.
Cherry trees feel best on small hills near buildings or high fences - the latter protect the cherry from the wind. The soil for the plant is sandy or loamy, with a pH level of about 6-7. Acidic soil is not suitable for cherries; it will need to be removed by 20 cm and replaced with fertile soil.
The area for planting is prepared as follows:
- 3 weeks before planting the crop, the ground is dug up and loosened, removing all weeds and plant debris;
- When digging, fertilizers, a bucket of manure or compost and a little superphosphate and potassium salt are added to the soil.
To plant a crop in the fall, you need to immediately prepare a permanent place.Cherries do not like replanting, so it is necessary to take into account that the tree will remain in the selected area of the garden for 18-25 years.
How to prepare a hole for planting cherries in the fall
After digging, loosening and fertilizing the soil, it is necessary to dig a planting hole for the seedling. The shallow hole is filled halfway with the prepared soil mixture:
- mix compost and ordinary garden soil in equal parts, 1 bucket each;
- add 2 tablespoons of potassium sulfate;
- add 12 tablespoons of superphosphate.
Fertilizers must not only be placed in the planting hole, but also added to the soil when loosening the area
If the soil on the site is too wet, then river sand is mixed into the soil - in a ratio of 1 to 1.
A layer of expanded clay or pebbles is poured into the bottom of the prepared hole, and then the hole is filled halfway with the soil mixture. Even if there is a drainage layer, it is desirable that groundwater pass no closer than 1.5 m from the surface.
How to plant cherries in the fall
The step-by-step instructions on how to plant cherries in the fall look completely standard:
- A few hours before the procedure, the seedling is immersed with its roots in clean water. You can add drugs to it that promote root growth; in the fall, such stimulation will be useful.
- In a half-filled planting hole, a support about 2 m high is installed on the north side of the hole. A seedling is lowered next to the support and its roots are straightened so that they do not break or intertwine with each other.
- Holding the seedling, the hole is filled to the top with the remains of the soil mixture, and the seedling is then tied to the support. The root collar of the plant must remain 4 cm above the soil surface.
Planting cherries with a closed root system in the fall is very beneficial.In this case, the roots of the plant are not damaged at all. The algorithm looks almost the same, but the seedling is lowered into the prepared hole along with the existing earthen lump.
After planting, the soil near the cherry trunk needs to be compacted, and then water the seedling with 30 liters of water and mulch it in a circle.
At what depth to plant cherries in the fall?
The depth of the planting hole for a seedling usually does not exceed 50 cm. If a round hole is dug, then the width is about 60 cm, if rectangular, then also 50 cm.
Seedlings with closed roots require a deeper hole.
The root system of young cherries usually reaches 20-25 cm in length, so a shallow hole is enough for reliable and comfortable rooting. When planting a seedling with closed roots, the dimensions of the hole can be slightly increased and a hole can be dug 70 cm in depth and width.
At what temperature should you plant cherries in the fall?
To properly plant cherries in the fall at your dacha, you need to focus not only on the calendar, but also on weather conditions. The air temperature should be 13-15 °C, and there should still be no frost at night.
Distance between cherry seedlings when planting in autumn
Usually in the fall several cherry trees are planted in a garden plot at once. Most of the crop varieties are self-fertile and require pollinators. And rooting several plants at one time is much more convenient than planting them in the garden at large intervals.
When planting, it is necessary to maintain a certain space between young plants so that the roots and crowns of the trees do not begin to interfere with each other as they grow.The distance depends on the variety of cherry plant. It is recommended to leave 2.5 m between bush varieties, and up to 4 m of free space between tree cherries.
Several trees cannot be planted close to each other.
Caring for cherry seedlings after planting in autumn
The big advantage of autumn planting is that there is practically no need to care for cherries before the onset of winter. However, some measures must be taken even when rooting in the fall, otherwise the seedling will not have time to gain strength by the frost:
- If the autumn turns out to be rainy, then it is enough to water the young plant only once when planting - the rest will be done by the rains. But if the weather is dry throughout October, then before the onset of cold weather the cherries should be watered again. In order for moisture to be better absorbed into the soil, a small roller of soil should be built along the diameter of the tree trunk circle; it will not allow the moisture to spread.
- In the fall, before the cold weather arrives, the tree trunk circle of the seedling must be densely mulched with peat or sawdust in a layer of at least 12 cm. It is recommended to spud the plant trunk - form an earthen mound about 30 cm high around it.
- Even frost-resistant varieties of cherries should be covered for the winter at a young age. If the cherry tree is planted as a bush, then its shoots can be bent to the ground and tied to pegs, and then the plant can be covered on top with insulating material and spruce branches. If we are talking about a tree cherry, then it is recommended to wrap it around the trunk with roofing felt or corrugated cardboard.
The shelter will protect the seedling not only from cold and wind, but also from pests. Garden rodents often damage cherries in winter; this is especially dangerous for young trees.
Advice from experienced gardeners
When planting in the fall, experienced summer residents recommend choosing a permanent place for cherries and not planting them in temporary areas with the prospect of subsequent transfer. Transplants traumatize the cherry tree, which has already taken root in the ground, so it is better to plant the tree where it will spend the next 15-20 years of its life.
The hole for autumn planting should be prepared not at the last moment, but in advance. If you dig a hole and immediately lower a seedling into it, then soon the soil will naturally settle, and with it the tree. When preparing the hole 2-3 weeks before planting the cherries, the soil has time to sink, so you don’t have to deal with troubles after planting.
In autumn, when planting in a hole, do not add nitrogen fertilizers.
It is necessary to fertilize cherries in the fall - fertilized soil helps the plant to take root faster. But at the same time, only potassium and phosphorus fertilizers need to be poured into the soil. Nitrogen fertilizers and organic matter with a high nitrogen content should be postponed until spring. Otherwise, it will be more difficult for the plant to leave for the winter on time, nitrogen will provoke late sap flow, and with the onset of frost the tree will suffer.
For autumn planting, it is recommended to purchase high-quality and healthy seedlings from trusted producers, especially since prices for planting material usually fall in the fall. Too cheap plants of unknown origin may not have the necessary cold resistance characteristics and will simply die from frost.
Conclusion
Planting cherries in the fall is a simple procedure with many benefits. The gardener is only required to follow the recommended deadlines and pay attention to basic cherry care. A properly planted tree will develop more actively in the spring and will delight you with good health.
