Cherry is a frequent visitor to garden plots. This plant is very popular among summer residents, and for good reason.
Firstly, it is quite easy to care for. Secondly, the cherry tree produces a good harvest.
But there are rules that, if followed, will allow a person to plant, grow and make a cherry tree bear fruit without any difficulty, says Anastasia Kovrizhnykh .
Correct planting of cherry trees
An important step when choosing a place to plant cherries is the correct planting itself. To avoid mistakes, it is recommended to familiarize yourself with the following rules before planting:
• Plant trees at a distance from each other. The minimum distance should be about 3 meters. This will play a role when the trees grow - their root systems will not interfere with each other if they are far enough away. And it will be much easier to walk around the site in this case;
• It is necessary to observe the dimensions. The size of the planting hole for the cherry should be as follows - 50 centimeters in depth, and the same in diameter, that is, 25 centimeters in radius). This is also necessary so that the roots of the plant feel good and unconstrained;
• When planting the plant, the hole needs to be filled with fertilizers. Both organic and mineral fertilizers are suitable, it is better to combine them. You can use compost, manure (11-14 kg), superphosphate (300 grams), wood ash (500 grams). If you give the seedling this amount of fertilizers when planting, then you can not worry about feeding - it should be done only after 2-3 years.
Cherry Tree Care
Cherry, like other fruit trees, requires constant care. Among the methods of care are the following:
- Watering;
- Top dressing;
- Pruning branches;
- Attracting pollinating insects;
- Preparing for the winter season.
Watering a Cherry Tree
Cherry itself is a fairly drought-resistant crop and can survive without moisture for a long time. However, you can’t completely stop watering – the tree will start to dry out and die without moisture.
The time when a tree needs watering can be determined by the dryness of its branches and leaves. The drier the leaves, the more the plant needs watering.
Watering the cherry tree follows the rule - better less often, but more. That is, the tree will benefit from rare but capacious watering than frequent but small portions.
When watering a cherry tree directly, the water must reach its roots, which is half a meter deep – this is the only way the cherry tree will benefit significantly from the watering procedure.
Cherry tree fertilizing
Cherry tree fertilization is carried out four times a year. The first usually occurs in the spring. The main goal of spring fertilization is to awaken the plant after winter hibernation and help it continue active growth.
For the same purpose, cherries are fed with fertilizers containing a high nitrogen content.
The second feeding is carried out at the beginning of June. At this time, the cherry tree receives complex mineral fertilizer, which includes phosphorus, nitrogen and potassium.
If there is a shortage of other substances, they can be added separately, with another top dressing. The main goal of summer top dressing is to strengthen the plant, to improve its health.
Autumn fertilizing is carried out in the first month of autumn and often coincides with the time of pruning the plant. Thanks to it, the tree gains strength and more easily endures the winter period. In autumn, cherry plantings require a lot of phosphorus and potassium, so if desired, you can add them using additional fertilizing.
Cherry Tree Pruning
Pruning is an annual mandatory process that allows you to strengthen the health of the cherry tree and protect it from certain diseases transmitted through infected branches. Pruning the tree allows you to:
• Maintain the health of the tree. By removing infected and broken branches during pruning, a person will protect the cherry tree from infection;
• Maintain the average height of the cherry tree. It is desirable that the tree does not grow higher than 2.5 meters. Then it will be much more convenient to care for the growing fruits and harvest;
• Do not allow the crown to thicken. It is necessary to periodically trim the foliage of the cherry tree, thereby improving ventilation. This will also help to avoid fungal diseases, because moisture often accumulates in thickened branches, due to the abundance of which pathogenic bacteria appear and develop on the branches;
• Increase the harvest. Pruning the cherry tree stimulates the tree to grow stronger and increase the yield, and also activates the formation of flower buds.
Attracting pollinating insects
If the cherry variety is self-sterile, then it is necessary to take care of attracting pollinators. For this purpose, you can use the following methods:
1. Dissolve 1 liter of water in a liter of honey. Then spray your trees with the resulting solution (one tree requires about 100 ml of solution). The smell of sweet honey will definitely attract pollinating insects to your garden.
2. Instead of spraying, you can place ready-made honey baits on tree branches. You can make cups out of plastic bottles, fill them with honey and hang them on tree branches. This will definitely attract bees and wasps, which do an excellent job of pollinating plants.
Preparing a Cherry Tree for Winter
Cherry is a cold-resistant tree, so it does not need to be covered in winter. The only thing that needs to be done is to whitewash the branches and trunk.
Whitewashing will prevent the tree from getting burnt by the bright and warm sun during the change of two seasons. It is recommended to apply whitewash to the tree and branches at the end of autumn, before the onset of frost.
Previously we talked about how to grow petunia seedlings.
Expert: Anastasia Kovrizhnykh
