To plant a cherry is easy, but in order tothe tree grew strong, healthy and yielded a rich harvest, it is necessary to properly care for it. The care of cherries in the spring is very important, and it consists of several stages that will ensure the correct development of the tree and obtaining an excellent harvest.
Planting a cherry
First you need to decide ona place where the tree will grow. Cherry is demanding of sunlight, so you need to choose a well-lit area on an elevation, protected from the cold wind. The tree does not tolerate the transplant, so it is necessary to approach the choice of a place for it with all the responsibility.
Planted cherry in April, until they bloomthe kidneys. Light loamy or medium loamy soil is preferred. To begin with, a planting pit is prepared, the optimum depth of which is 40-45 cm, diameter - 50-60 cm. A peg is placed in the middle on which the tree will rest. In the center an elevation is made of the soil mixed with fertilizers (humus, superphosphate - 30-40 g, potassium chloride - 20-30 g and 1 kg of ash). The seedling is set strictly vertically in a pit, sprinkled with earth and compacted. Around the tree you need to make a hole for watering and pour into it two or three buckets of heated water. The land around the seedling is mulched with humus or sawdust.
If there is still a need to transplant the tree, then cherry transplanting in the spring will be the most successful option, since over the summer the seedling will have time to get used to a new place and get well acclimatized.
Additional fertilizing
Many gardeners are interested in the question of how to feed the cherry in the spring to add strength to the tree and get a good harvest?
The first dressing produced before flowering.Effective use of ammonium nitrate or urea, which must be applied to the soil in liquid form. Spraying does not bring much benefit, since it turns out that the branches are processed, and not the leaves through which the trace elements are absorbed.
During the flowering period, top dressing is given root.method using nitrogen-containing compounds. You can also use green manure or chicken manure. In order not to harm the root system, you must try not to exaggerate the dose of chicken manure.
After the cherry blossoms, fertilizing is done with organic matter: manure, compost or special organic mixtures. This ensures high-quality harvest.
Pest Control
Caring for cherry in the spring includes the fight againstpests and diseases that are activated at this time of year. Serious damage to your tree can cause cherry aphid, cherry moth, weevil, slimy sawfly.
The first cherry processing in spring is made inend of March or early April, until sap flow begins. Thus, all pests that survived the cold in the ground or in the tree are destroyed. In the shops you can find a lot of effective and safe means to combat pests, the main thing is to follow the instructions in order not to cause harm to the tree.
Treatment of cherries in the spring for the prevention of fungal diseases is performed using copper sulfate or Bordeaux. Means are safe for people and fruits.
Whitewashing the trunk
In the spring, dry grass and garbage are harvested around the trees, and the soil is carefully dug up so as not to damage the cherry roots.
Caring for cherries in the spring is not without whitewash.This procedure is necessary to protect the tree trunk from parasites, rodents and excessive exposure to sunlight. In addition, whitewashing prevents cracking of the bark during temperature changes, creating a protective film on the surface. It should be remembered that young plants that have smooth bark should not be whitened, since gas exchange is disturbed in the pores filled with whitewash, which hinders the normal development of the plant.
Spring whitewashing is done before the arrival of heat andthe appearance of pests. It is best to do this in mid-March or early April. You can not whiten the trees in cloudy or rainy weather. Before whitewashing, it is necessary to examine the trunk of the cherry tree, clean off the old bark and moss from it. You can not use knives and brushes for this, so as not to damage the bark of the tree. Existing damage is smeared with garden pitch, after which the barrel is whitened using a spray gun or a wide brush.
Cherry pruning
This spring cherry care is necessary forthe correct formation of the tree, increase yields, improve the taste of berries. In addition, pruning is an additional protection of the cherry from pests and prevents the spread of disease. Cuts all dried and damaged branches or pests or diseases. For ease of harvesting, branches that grow too high are pruned. In addition, the dried bark is also removed.
Cherry pruning rules
- Pruning cherries should be done the next year after planting, this ensures the correct formation of the crown and prevents its thickening.
- It is necessary to cut off all the branches that grow inward.
- The young shoots appearing on the trunk must be broken off in the summer or cut off in the spring of next year.
- The pruning procedure is done before the kidneys swell. Removed dry and damaged shoots. After this, it is necessary to cover every wound with garden pitch.
- Bush varieties need pruning for branches longer than 50 cm.
- To form the correct form of the crown, as the tree grows, side shoots are left on the main trunk. An adult tree should have about 15 branches.
- When pruning old cherries, do not remove too many branches at a time.
Pruning a young tree
Scheme pruning cherry in the following spring:It is necessary to leave 4-5 developed branches, removing the remaining growths and smearing the wounds. The branches that remain should be located at a distance of ten centimeters from each other and look in different directions. In the future, it is necessary to monitor the correct formation of the crown. Shoots that go inside must be removed. It is necessary to carefully trim the sapling to avoid yields in the future.
Pruning adult tree
The pruning of an adult bushy cherry is made forto rejuvenate a tree and increase its productivity. This procedure is performed when fruiting is reduced. The scheme of pruning a cherry in the spring is as follows: they reduce the number of branches and shorten them by a third or half the length of the shoot. In addition, it is necessary to remove skeletal and semi-skeletal branches, but not in one year for the tree to bear fruit. It is not necessary to make the removal of annual increments.
In the old tree cherry need slightlyshorten annual shoots. Such rejuvenation is necessary when the skeletal branches become bare at the base and the growth of shoots slows down (less than 15 cm per year).
When pruning old trees, it is necessary to remember that it is not recommended to immediately get rid of a large number of branches, rejuvenation should be carried out in stages, over several years.
Cherry is not a capricious plant. But to get a good harvest, you need proper care for cherries in the spring, as well as throughout the year.
