In the autumn, when the last leaves are flown from the cherries and the tree is preparing for winter rest, the gardener should forget about peace. After all, this is precisely the time when a tree requires a lot of care, tillage, pruning branches and protection from the approaching winter frost.
Below are specific guidelines for the care of cherries in the autumn period, guided by which you can easily and quickly put your garden in order.
Soil Care Tips
The soil is the main environment, on the state and fertility of which depends the growth and development of the tree, the formation of fruits. Therefore, the digging and fertilization of the soil around the stem of the cherry must occur at regular intervals, but regularly. Many people think that since in winter the tree does not bloom and does not bear fruit, there is no need to take care of the soil.
In fact, even in winter, the root system of a tree must have enough air and water. After all, a tree is a living organism, which, although it falls into a conditional "winter hibernation", but still to maintain vital activity, it must have sources of nutrition with the necessary substances.
Proper soil fertilization in autumn
In most cases, gardeners believe that it is necessary to fertilize sweet cherries in the spring. After all, in the spring, it needs a lot of nutrients that will favorably influence the growth of the tree and its other vegetative processes.
All this is correct, but one very important nuance is not taken into account - fertilizers applied in spring will only decompose in the soil and only slowly and gradually reach the roots, when the tree has already bloomed and the berries have started to grow on it. That the tree had a good dressing during the flowering - fertilize in the fall.
However, here it is also important not to miscalculate with the appropriate period of time when you need to make additional feeding. After all, if fertilizers are applied too early and they, due to the good moisture content of the autumn soil, begin to decompose, stimulation of the growth of sweet cherry shoots can occur, which is very dangerous for the tree (winter is ahead with severe frosts). Therefore, you need to make fertilizer just before the frost.
If you live in the Seven region, then it may be October or the second half of it. If in a more central part of the country - the beginning of November. In the South, if the territory of this region did not get cold, you can fertilize the sweet cherry even in winter.
Feeding cherries in autumn can be carried out using both mineral fertilizers and organic fertilizers. Best of all is the combination of both.
Organic fertilizers, which in particular are humus and compost, it is best to drip underground. At the same time, the layer of soil that should cover them should be not less than 20 centimeters. This is necessary so that even in the absence of snow, fertilizers are not dug up by animals or they are not blown by the winds.
Also, at such a depth, they will begin to decompose more quickly and most likely fall to the roots of the sweet cherry tree. If you do not have the above fertilizers, peat can be a good substitute. After all, it is also a natural substance, consisting of accumulated semi-decomposed plant residues, combined with mineral impurities.
Among mineral fertilizers in the fall it is best to add superphosphates and urea to the soil around cherrieswhich is a carrier of nitrogen. Very often using dry mineral fertilizers, gardeners simply sprinkle them on the dug up soil. However, in dry areas of natural soil moisture may not be enough to dissolve fertilizer crystals.
Therefore, it is better not to risk and dissolve the fertilizer in water, and then pour the sweet cherry over it. It is categorically impossible to use too much mineral fertilizers, because as chemical compounds they can burn the root system. Their amount will depend on the fertility of the soil, but it is not recommended to apply more than 200 grams of each fertilizer per 1m2.
Wherein, need to water on okolostvolnom circle, that is, where is the greatest number of roots capable of absorbing the resulting fertilizer.
A very important piece of advice is that in no case should fertilizer be applied directly under the stem of a sweet cherry tree.
After all, immediately below the bole are large roots, which only carry nutrients to the tree, but are not able to absorb them. Therefore, it is better to apply both organic fertilizers and mineral fertilizers around the periphery of the near-barrel circle, at a distance of 0.7-1 meters from the tree trunk.
Soil loosening - benefits and basic guidelines
The main task pursued by gardeners, digging up the soil around the sweet cherry in the fall, is to saturate it with the necessary air for the root system. Also, thanks to the digging, the soil can more efficiently pass water through itself, and will not condense too much over the period of winter under the influence of the severity of snow.
Soil processing can be carried out both around the perimeter of the near-stem circle, and contain all the soil in the area under the black steam. In the first variant, the diameter of the near-stem circle in the second year after planting should be at least 1 meter. Every year inplace with the growth of sweet cherry, this circle should be increasedstretching it another 0.5 meter. Along the edges of the near-barrel wheel, it is necessary to make a depth of approximately 5 centimeters in order to use it for irrigation and mineral fertilizers.
When digging, dig a shovel into the soil at a depth of about 6-8 centimeters. But in the event that your site is dominated by heavier soils, you need to dig up the soil by 8-11 centimeters. After that, it is very important to mulch all the dug up soil. Due to this, the soil will stay hydrated much longer.
Near-stem soil can always be kept under black steam. However, this method has its advantages and disadvantages.
The whole point of it is that soil loosening around cherries is carried out throughout its vegetative period, except for loosening, the soil is thoroughly cleaned from all weeds. Due to this, the moisture in the soil will persist much longer. Thus, it will be possible to water the sweet cherry much less often. In addition, this method allows you to constantly maintain the required amount of air in the soil and a positive effect on the activity of microorganisms.
But still, using the black vapor method, it is also important to take into account the shortcomings that it can cause. The constant content in this state of the soil around the cherries can cause a consolidation of the arable horizon. After the constant removal of weeds, changes in the water-physical characteristics of the soil can occur, as well as a decrease in its fertility.
In order to prevent this, it is recommended to give it up at intervals of 2-3 years and sowing near-barrel soil with green manure crops and allow weeds to grow on it. Leguminous crops can be used as sideral crops, since they saturate the soil with a large amount of nitrogen (it will replace about 4 kilograms of humus or manure). Good effect on the soil cultivation of mustard, spring rape, oats.
Rules and terms of autumn watering cherries
If autumn passes into its second decade and is not at all happy with the rains, the soil in the garden may dry up. However, we have already indicated above how negatively this may affect the sweet cherry.
Therefore, podzimny watering in this case should be required. After all, as gardeners and agronomists point out, if the soil is thoroughly moistened to a depth of 1.5-2 meters, then its freezing in winter is virtually eliminated, which will keep the roots of the tree intact. Thus, even despite the abundance of precipitation, you can simply check how deep the soil is moistened and correct the situation on your own.
If you have not had the opportunity or the soil did not need regular watering in the summer, then in the autumn, up to 100 liters of water should be used for 1m2 of the circle of cherries; (i.e., up to 10 buckets).
If after the summer the soil has dried only to a depth of 0.6-0.7 meters, then much less water will be needed. At the same time, during the winter period, the sweet cherry will not be able to use all the moisture introduced into the soil, so spring will not even be possible to irrigate - the tree will have enough water to effectively enter the vegetative period.
Watering the cherry before the onset of winter is possible only on certain types of soil.. Such a watering will benefit the tree if the cherry grows on forest, sandy or podzolic soils. If the soil contains a lot of clay, and even is located in the lowlands - it is better to refuse this part of the care of cherries.
It is very important that this type of irrigation is carried out together with the feeding of sweet cherries. If, after applying fertilizer, you water the soil, then the nutrients can get directly to the root system of the tree much faster. Also, do not forget to mulch the soil. This should not be done immediately, but 2-4 days after watering.
It is also interesting to read about the varieties of cherries for the middle band
Autumn cherry tree pruning
At various Internet forums of gardeners and in special publications devoted to the peculiarities of the cultivation and care of cherries, very different opinions are expressed on whether it is possible or impossible to prune this tree in autumn.
Opponents claim that such a late pruning before the onset of frost can only damage the sweet cherries. After all, this tree is not able to quickly tighten its wounds, and in the absence of the necessary conditions it will hurt.
In particular, wood tissue can freeze, which in turn will cause cracking of the bark, and later - fruit rot. Even if the robots to remove the branches and held, then the cut sections should definitely be cleaned with a garden knife, and then treated with a garden pitch.
On the other hand, exactly in the fall, you can effectively remove all damaged and diseased branches, reducing, thus, the probability of spreading the disease throughout the tree. After pruning, in this case, all remote branches should be burned together with fallen leaves.
Formation of the crown of a young tree
On their own cherries can form poorly. This is especially true of the main conductor. It is especially important that it is 20 centimeters ahead of the rest of the branches. Therefore, it is very important to constantly control its length, as well as adjust the length of the remaining branches. The longest should be the lower branches, and the shortest - the topmost (of course, all but the conductor).
It is with the aim of correcting the crown is recommended pruning in winterwhen the tree is at rest. Thus, when thawing in the spring, it will be able to perfectly tighten the damaged areas.
How to protect cherries from diseases and rodents in the fall
In the autumn it is especially important to take up the fight against various pests and diseases that the tree suffers from. Thus, you will not damage or affect the growth of the fruit of the tree, and you will not interfere with the natural vegetative period of the sweet cherry tree.
In addition, at this time various rodents are beginning to become active, which are capable of inflicting a great deal of damage on the cherry orchard. If there are other trees in the garden that have been affected by diseases, it is very important to carry out similar procedures with them, as these diseases can spread to sweet cherries.
We protect the cherry from sunburn
In order for the bark of the cherries not to be damaged by sunlight during the winter period, when the internal processes of the tree are practically stopped and occur very slowly, certain measures must be taken. If we are talking about a small sapling of a sweet cherry - its the trunk can be covered with various thin boards. Like a large, and small tree whitewashed with the help of whitewash, diluted with water. With this, the tree will not only be protected from the sun, but also from various pests.
Autumn frosts - how to save the sweet cherry?
Autumn frosts are especially terrible for young trees that were only planted in the spring. Therefore, in the fall, immediately after the leaves fall, it is recommended to tie up such a burlap wood. The trunk of the tree is very important to mulch that will not only hold water in the soil, but will also keep it from freezing.
If you have time to pour the cherry in time, this will also help a life-resistant tree in its own way, since it will be more resistant to such adverse weather conditions.
Seedlings will damage the tree less if the place for planting was chosen correctly. In particular, in the absence of cold winds, if the tree is in a cozy and not blown place, the probability of damage by frost is automatically reduced.
Cherry protection from pests and diseases
To protect the sweet cherry from pests in the spring, it is first and foremost important remove all damaged branches and branchesthat have been damaged by diseases or pests. If they are burned - the further spread of disease will be stopped.
But the greatest danger to cherries during this period are mice and other rodents, who gladly seek to eat its delicious bark. Therefore, as immediately after harvesting from the whole garden, that is, in the autumn, it is recommended to examine the entire territory of the garden well in order to find the mink of these pests.
To mink laid poisons that can destroy them. In particular, lures such as Clean House and Storm are used most often in gardens.
Cooking sweet cherry for winter
In fact, all of the above measures and procedures are carried out not only with the aim of improving the growth of sweet cherry and its vital activity, but also to prepare the tree for winter. After all, most varieties of sweet cherries have a relatively low resistance to frost, and can suffer greatly from them.
Therefore, before the onset of winter, the tree should be well watered, the soil loosened and carefully mulched. It is important to tie a sapling to a stake specially dug near it.. Due to this, it will be possible not to worry that the tree will break from the frosty winter wind, or under the influence of heavy snow in the spring.
After snow falls on the ground, it is very important to wrap a tree trunk with it and screw it as much as possible on the tree trunk. This will prevent the soil from freezing even at very low temperatures.
