So that cherry cherry seedlings probably take root, in regions with a temperate climate they are planted mainly in the spring. Spring planting in cold winters and extremely low temperatures is much more reliable than autumn.
What time do spring planting take place?
Until recently, it was believed that cherries are exclusively southern trees, as they are not able to withstand frosts characteristic of the middle zone. Thanks to selection work, varieties suitable for cultivation in various regions of Russia appeared.
Recommended dates for planting cherries depending on the region:
- Southern regions. Here cherries are planted mainly in autumn, as soon as leaf fall begins. In autumn, the seedling is well rooted, and by spring it becomes a fully grown plant.
- Central regions, Siberia, Far East. Because of the cold winters, autumn planting of seedlings is contraindicated here. Cherries are planted here mainly in the spring. Seedlings are usually planted in the month of April - the buds have not yet swollen. Wells for spring planting are prepared in the fall.
Varieties of cherries recommended for cultivation in some regions of Russia
Region | Recommended and cultivated cherries |
Volgograd | Dayber black, Early pink, Rossoshanskaya, Valeria, Homestead |
Leningrad region | Leningrad Black, Revna, Fatezh |
Ural and Siberia | Cherry is grown on a dwarf rootstock VSP-2 in stanza and standard form |
Advantages and disadvantages of spring planting cherries
Spring and autumn planting have their pros and cons, which largely depend on climatic conditions. To determine the timing, it is important to evaluate and compare the features of autumn and spring planting.
Why it is beneficial to plant a seedling in spring:
- If a seedling is planted in April, then it has at least six months to root and gain strength. By growing shoots before winter, the seedling will safely survive it.
- A spring planting over an autumn one has an important advantage - gardeners can observe the development of a plant in the summer, taking measures, if necessary, to eliminate negative factors - drought, waterlogging, pests, and diseases.
- A seedling is planted in a pit prepared in the fall. During the winter, it settles, so it is easier to plant a seedling correctly - so that the root neck is not buried more than necessary.
Cons of spring planting:
- If you plant a seedling in the spring, then in March or April it will suffer from the windbreak and the invasion of pests.
- In spring, a seedling, spending energy on rooting, also spends energy on vegetation - the formation of shoots, leaves.
Seedling Selection
There are a number of features that it is important to pay attention to when buying cherry seedlings:
- Graft. Inoculation should be visible on the seedling - this is a guarantee of the grade of planting material. The quality of such a seedling is much higher than that grown from seed.
- Zoning. Select varieties zoned in a particular region - those that are better than others in the given climatic zone.
- External characteristics of the seedling. The tree should have a strong conductor that prevails over the side branches. Forked specimens are not suitable - they may break in the future under the weight of berries. The seedling must have a developed root system. Broken and damaged roots should not be. The seedling selected for planting should remain at a dormant stage.
- Age. Do not buy seedlings older than three years.
We recommend reading an article that will help you choose the most common varieties of cherries.
Seedlings are bought in nurseries or in specialized outlets with permits. It is advisable that the seedling have a varietal passport, which usually indicates how to plant the seedling, and how to care for it.
What trees can I plant cherries with?
Sweet cherry only bears fruit in a favorable neighborhood. Moreover, if trees with which the cherry is in conflict are planted nearby, there may not be a crop at all.
Sweet cherry is a tree with cross-pollination; in this regard, two or more seedlings are planted at once.
Favorable neighbors for cherries:
- cherry;
- Apple tree;
- plum.
Sweet cherry is undesirable to grow near:
- pears
- peach;
- walnut;
- blackcurrant;
- mountain ash.
Preparation for landing
Planting sweet cherry seedlings is a responsible matter that should not be rushed. One mistake is enough for the tree to die or not to produce a crop. The gardener must consider everything from the neighborhood of fruit trees to the composition of the soil. Before deepening the planting material into the soil, you have to choose a place, prepare it and the seedling for planting.
Seat selection
Landing site requirements:
- Good light. The site is chosen on the south or southeast slope - so that it is well warmed up by the sun.
- Protection from the north winds.
- Low water table. If the water lies at a level of 1.5 m above ground level, the tree dies due to gum detection.
Cherries are never planted in lowlands.
Soil preparation
In arid areas, cherries grow best on fertile loams. In regions with a fairly high humidity - on sandy loam. Clay, peat and sandy soils are not suitable for cherries. Suitable acidity is pH 6.7-7.1. If a seedling is planted in chernozem rich in humus, then a pH of 8.0 is permissible.
The soil for planting a seedling should be:
- airtight;
- moderately moist;
- weakly acidic.
During spring planting, the land is prepared in the fall - it is dug up and fertilizers are applied. In autumn, most gardeners also prepare planting pits.
If the soil does not meet the requirements for planting cherries, they improve it by adding sand to clay soils, and clay to sandy soils.
To provide cherries with nutrients, a mixture of soil and fertilizers is introduced into the planting pit, it is prepared from:
- topsoil - 2 parts;
- humus - 1 part;
- peat - 1 part;
- potassium sulphide - 50 g;
- superphosphate - 100 g.
The components are mixed, and 10 days before the seedling is planted, 1/3 is filled in the pit with the mixture.
Nitrogen fertilizers when planting seedlings of cherry do not contribute - they can burn the roots.
What should be the pit?
When the landing place is chosen, they begin to dig a hole. In this case, the fertile layer is laid separately from the extracted soil. If you have a spring planting, you need to prepare a pit for planting in 2 weeks, no less. Recommended pit sizes:
- depth - 70 cm;
- width - 80-100 cm.
A dug pit should not have a narrowing of the walls. When planting several seedlings, a gap of 2 m or more is left between adjacent pits.
Seedling
The further development of a seedling for planting depends on the correctness. Preparation Procedure:
- 24 hours before planting, the seedling is immersed in a bucket of water - so that the root system is activated.
- Before planting, damaged roots are trimmed - if any.
- Trim long roots - so that the root system fits completely in the landing pit.
- All leaves are removed - so that the seedling does not lose moisture.
Step-by-step instructions for landing
The order of planting cherry seedlings:
- In the center of the pit, drive in a support to which the seedling will be tied.
- After mixing fertile soil with compost and adding complex fertilizer, place the mixture on the bottom of the pit.
- Put the seedling in the center of the hill from the soil mixture, and sprinkle so much soil so that the root collar is 3 cm above the soil level. To remove voids, the soil is rammed.
- Around the seedling form an earthen roller.
- Pour 20 liters of water under the root of the seedling.
- Pour peat into the barrel circle to prevent evaporation of water.
- Tie the seedling to the support, carefully, without pulling the trunk.
Experienced gardeners are advised to occupy the gap between the cherry seedlings with the berry.
See how to plant sweet cherry seedlings in the video below:
Basics of Further Care
Activities for the care of young seedlings:
- Having planted a seedling, they immediately cut off the central conductor - shorten it to 1 m.
- A seedling planted in the spring is watered every 10 days. Watering rate - from 2 buckets. Since mid-July, the tree can not be watered.
- In the first year of life, it is not necessary to feed the tree - all the necessary substances are laid in the planting pit.
- Throughout the season, gardeners must monitor the health of trees, timely spraying them with drugs from diseases and pests.
- In the second year, several (3-4) skeletal branches are left on the tree, pruning them by a third. Gradually, cutting off the central conductor annually, and cutting out the extra branches, form three tiers. The last tier consists of 1-2 branches.
- Cherry does not like weeds, therefore, near the trunk - in the trunk circle they should not be. The soil is regularly loosened, at the same time harvesting weeds.
- For a successful wintering, a young seedling needs autumn top dressing. In September, granular superphosphate is added under the root - 40-60 g per 1 sq. m
Common mistakes in spring planting
The consequence of any mistake made by the gardener is a decrease in yield, up to its complete absence. The maximum damage is the death of a tree.
Common mistakes when planting sweet cherry seedlings
Mistake | Consequences of errors |
Root neck deepening | The kidneys do not bloom in a timely manner |
Variety not suitable for a specific region selected | Freezing tree |
Yellowed and crimson leaves after planting | Watering with cold water |
Oppression of the root system and death of the seedling | Fertilizer overdose when planting |
Long adaptation | Planting a seedling older than 2 years |
Frequently asked Questions
Gardeners often have questions related to the planting of sweet cherry seedlings. They are interested in how it is best to plant this tree, and whether it can be transplanted.
How to plant grafted sweet cherries?
Grafted cherries are planted in the same way as root crops. But if the vaccine is located below normal, it is important to ensure that this place is not buried in the ground. It is advisable that the vaccine is 6-7 cm away from the soil level. If the region is snowy, seedlings with a vaccination located at a height of 50-100 cm are needed.
How to plant sweet cherry with a bone?
If you grow sweet cherry from the seed, you will not be able to get the original plant. From a bone taken from the most delicious and largest cherry, an ordinary wild game grows - small and sour. A tree grown from seed is frost-resistant, resistant to diseases and pests. Why is it? It can be used as a stock for grafting sweet cherry or for landscaping.
How to plant sweet cherry with a bone:
- Bones are taken from completely ripe fruits. removed from the pulp, washed and dried.
- Place the bones in a paper bag and keep until December. Storage temperature - room.
- When December comes, the bones are soaked for several days. Water is changed every day.
- Bones are placed in a container with moistened sand, sawdust.
- Put the container in a cold place (you can in the refrigerator) for 3 months.
- They take it out in March and dig it in with snow.
- Sprouted bones are placed in separate pots. Depth - 1.5-2 cm.
- Shoots grown to 10-15 cm dive into larger pots.
- By autumn, seedlings grow to 30 cm.
- A month before the frosts, they are planted in the ground, covered with plastic bottles.
Is it possible to plant cherry cuttings in spring?
The propagation method by cuttings allows one to obtain all varietal characters from a new tree. But such a breeding option is not suitable for all varieties. Rooted roots are usually not more than 10% of the cuttings. And only a few varieties, this figure reaches 50%.
It is possible to plant sweet cherry in the spring, this is done in the same way as when planting ordinary seedlings. But the cuttings must first be rooted. It is not difficult, but takes time. In the middle zone of Russia, the terms for harvesting cuttings are June 10-30.
How to transplant a tree in spring?
If a young tree is decided to transplant from place to place, they dig it out in the fall, and plant it in the spring. Procedure:
- The day before digging, the soil is moistened.
- Carefully remove the tree by first digging a groove around the circumference - according to the diameter of the root system.
- Without destroying the soil lump, they dig up a tree on the street - for winter storage.
- In the fall, they prepare a landing pit.
- When the early spring comes, they take out a buried tree. It is planted just like an ordinary seedling.
- So that the plant does not lose strength on the growth of shoots, its skeletal branches are cut by 30%. All flowers are also removed - in order to prevent fruiting in the first year of transplantation.
It happens that you have to transplant adult cherries. Such an event does not benefit the tree, but if necessary it is quite feasible. Transplant procedure:
- In September, a circle is drawn around a tree with a diameter corresponding to the root system. Try to cover maximum roots.
- Using a shovel, cut the roots in 1/2 circumference, and dig a trench along this half. The depth of the trench is 1 bayonet shovel.
- In the trench, the roots are again cut by one bayonet.
- Having fallen asleep in a trench, water it with water - the tree eats at the expense of half of the roots left untouched. New roots will appear on the cropped part.
- After a month, the procedure is repeated for the second half of the circle and watered for two weeks.
- When spring comes, they dig a tree, and together with a lump of earth they move it to a new place.
Spring planting cherries - ideal for central Russia. Seedlings planted in the spring are more likely to take root safely and grow into a strong high-yielding tree.
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