Autumn planting fruit

Planting fruit trees in autumn is less traumatic for trees than a traditional spring transplant. Many gardeners may disagree with this statement based on their own experience. But often this experience is associated with too early or too late planting. And, perhaps, with the wrong landing. It is difficult to get to the truth here, much is also connected with the soil in which the tree will be planted. Therefore, the dispute will be eternal, and each gardener will have to decide it for himself.

When to plant fruit trees: in autumn or spring

In spring, all the flora begins to grow, and it seems that spring is the right time to plant plants. If we are talking about seeds, then yes. Although there are some nuances here. But young trees are best planted in the fall. The advantage of planting fruit trees in the fall is that the plant wakes up in a new place. The roots begin to grow in the soil undisturbed by anyone. If one season is lost when planting in spring, then when planting in autumn, the tree will have time to settle into the soil and will quickly grow in spring.

The main argument of opponents of planting in the fall: the seedling will freeze in winter. This can indeed happen if;

• the landing was made incorrectly;
• the southern variety of the tree was planted before winter in the northern region;
• the tree was planted before the dormant period;
• in the open root system, the roots are frozen or dry.

But similar arguments can be made against planting in the spring. Planting time this season is very short: you need to catch the moment between the thawing of the soil and the start of sap flow. And it is unlikely that the plant will have time to recover from the change of residence before the start of the active vegetative period.

During spring planting, plants often have dry roots, but few gardeners pay attention to this. And against winter freezing, supporters of planting in the fall have little tricks.

Planting dates for fruit trees in the fall

If in the spring you need to catch the interval between thawing the soil and the beginning of sap flow, then when planting in the fall, you will need to choose the length of time between falling asleep the seedling and the onset of frost. The timing of planting seedlings of fruit trees in autumn depends on the region and the long-term weather forecast. In autumn, the interval between the fall of the plant into hibernation and frost is somewhat longer than in spring. It is necessary to plant a tree in such a way that there are still 2-3 weeks left before stable frosts. These days will allow the plant to get used to the new place a little.

Dates of autumn planting of fruit trees in different regions

Considering that planting dates in autumn are tied to frost, they vary greatly in different regions. In Central Our Country and the Moscow region, this is the middle or end of October. And sometimes later. In the Urals or in Siberia – September. However, with today’s weather disasters, it is impossible to predict where the frosts will come first. Therefore, you will have to rely on the weather forecast. At the same time, it must be remembered that planting a tree too early in the fall will also affect it very negatively.

The main mistake of summer residents is the desire to buy a seedling in early autumn, while there is a choice and there are warm days. But buying and planting a tree before it falls into a dormant state just leads to the fact that the plant dies in winter.

In the northern regions in winter, it is not recommended to plant heat-loving varieties of fruit crops. If a tree requires complete wrapping in warming materials in winter, it is really better to wait until spring with its planting. But all of the above applies only to seedlings with an open root system, which will endure any transplant very hard.

How to plant fruit trees on the site: a diagram

The schemes of spring and autumn plantings do not differ from each other, since trees have been growing in this place for many years. But when planting one-, two-year-old “twigs” gardeners have a desire to save space and plant fruit trees closer to each other. In this case, we must remember that small seedlings will very quickly turn into large fruit trees, grow and begin to compete for a place in the sun.

To prevent this from happening, several factors are taken into account when planting trees:

• what rootstock was vaccinated on: vigorous or undersized;
• what height each of the species of fruit trees grows;
• whether the trees in the garden will be planted in lines, in a checkerboard pattern, or where there is space.

The distance between fruit trees during planting is determined based on the tallness of the rootstocks:

An idea of ​​how small, medium and tall trees look like can be obtained from the picture below.

If fruit trees are planted in a private garden for themselves, then the area occupied by the root system of an adult plant is taken into account:

• apple trees – 72 m²;
• pears – 45 m²;
• plums – 30 m²;
• cherries – 24 m²;
• sweet cherries – 20 m².

In real life, the roots of plants are intertwined, and the areas of root systems are superimposed on each other. Therefore, fruit trees will take up less space. But when planting, one must take into account not only the size of the root system, but also the compatibility of fruit trees with each other. The table below shows the degrees of tree compatibility.

How to plant fruit trees in autumn

When planting fruit trees, not only their compatibility and distances are taken into account, but also the shade and moisture-loving nature of each type of tree. When growing southern species in the northern regions, one must also focus on the thermophilicity of the plant.

Site selection and preparation of soil

The landing site is chosen so that in the future the overgrown trees do not interfere with each other. It is desirable that the site be flat, but if it is located on a slope, you will also have to take into account the height of the trees. In the direction of the sun, fruit trees are recommended to be planted so that tall varieties do not obscure the undersized ones. When there is nothing special to choose from, they are guided by the shadow of a tall object and calculate how to plant trees so that later they do not obscure each other.

At the selected site, the height of groundwater is assessed so that in autumn or spring the roots of the seedling do not end up in ice water. If the water is high, drain the site. Drainage ditches must be at least a meter deep.

Pit preparation

A pit for seedlings begins to be prepared 2 months before planting. The size of the pit is 60-70 cm, the diameter is about 1,5 m. When digging a pit, the soil must be removed in layers, laying the fertile part of the soil in one direction, everything else in the other. Stones from the ground must be selected.

This is usually a fairly thin layer of soil, under which lies sand or clay.

3 buckets of humus are poured into the bottom of the dug hole, leaving them to lie in a mound and compress under the influence of external factors.

The roots of the tree are distributed over this mound. The technology of planting a plant with closed roots is different and about it below.

Regarding the addition of fresh manure, opinions are diametrically opposed. From “it’s impossible in any case” to “in winter, decaying manure will warm the roots of the tree and protect it from freezing.”

In the spring, fresh manure is really categorically contraindicated. When planting in the fall, one should be guided by the experience of gardeners in the region. Only one thing can be said for sure: only cow or horse manure can be used fresh, and in no case pig or bird manure. The latter are “cold” and very caustic. They do not emit heat during overheating and can even poison the plant.

Soil Preparation

When the pit is ready, shortly before the autumn planting, they begin to mix the soil with fertilizers. The fertile layer taken out of the pit is mixed. They try to use the lower soil as little as possible. If the soil in the area is sandy, it is recommended to add clay to it. And vice versa: sand to clay soil. The land prepared for planting is mixed with fertilizers. There are 2 equivalent options here:

1. Bucket of ash (½ bucket for stone fruits) + 1-2 buckets of humus + 2-3 buckets of compost;
2. 1,5 st. l. superphosphate and 1 tbsp. l. potassium salt instead of a bucket of ash, the rest is similar to the first option.

Superphosphate and salt are mixed with a small amount of soil and poured onto the bottom of the pit.

For a tree with ACS, humus with compost is not needed, they already lie in a pit with a mound.

Plant pit with ZKS

The bottom of the pit is loosened to a depth of 20-30 cm, a peg is driven in and the pit is filled to the brim with ready-made soil mixture. Watered with 2 buckets of water. After the soil settles, the earth is filled up until the edges of the pit are compared. Leave to wait for the tree.

Selection and preparation of seedlings

What to look for when buying a seedling:

• Having a vaccination. Unscrupulous sellers sometimes sell “wild animals”. You can determine the wildcat by a straight trunk without a stump and a bend at the grafting site.
• The age of the tree should be no more than 2 years. This is especially true for apple trees that develop a powerful root system by the age of 3. When digging up a 3-year-old apple tree, you will have to cut the roots, which will worsen the survival rate of the fruit tree.
• In a seedling with ZKS, the roots should tightly hold the clod of earth, but not braid it.
• The seedling should not be easily removed from the pot (this is evidence that the tree was put into the pot just before the sale and its root system is open).
• You can not take a seedling with ACS if a significant part of its roots is damaged, frozen / dried up or rotted.
• Shoots should be well-developed buds and lignified along the entire length.
• The bark should be smooth, without cracks or other damage.

If the roots of a seedling with ACS have dried up, it can be put in water for a day. Before planting, all damaged parts are removed.

Algorithm for planting fruit trees

The trees are ready, the pit too. You can start landing. Planting a plant with ZKS in the fall is the most sparing of all. Often a tree does not even notice that it has been transplanted to another place.

In the finished hole, they dig a recess the size of an earthen coma. A tree is placed there so that the root collar is at ground level. And the vaccination site is much higher. Trample and tie to a peg.

Two important points:

• if the fruit tree already has a branch, the height of the peg should not reach it and damage it in the future;
• the garter of the plant to the peg is made with an 8-shaped loop and the center of the figure eight should be between the tree and the peg.

After that, the pit is watered with water and the plant is left alone.

A tree with ACS must be planted as soon as possible. The roots of the tree are straightened along the same prepared mound. If the hole is too deep, soil is added to it. A tree is planted according to the same rules as a plant with ZKS.

Experienced gardeners do not recommend leaving a traditional “bowl” for water around the trunk. The soil in the pit will sag, the “bowl” will deepen. As a result, water will accumulate in the pit. Especially in the spring after the snow melts. Not only the root neck will suffer from water, but also the grafting site. Therefore, it is better to make a hole flush with the ground. So that the water is well absorbed, it is enough to mulch the root circle with peat or compost.

If there is clay under the fertile layer, the hole is dug so that the tree can grow roots in the fertile layer. Otherwise, it will die because of the water accumulated in the clay pit.

Care of seedlings after planting

When planting in the fall, pruning of the tree is usually not done. But not in all cases. If the tree is older than 2 years, it may already need corrective pruning to further form the crown. But even this procedure is better to postpone until the spring.

To protect a new tree from frost, in November it is covered with insulating material. At 1-2 years old, fruit trees are still small enough to be completely covered with branches.

Conclusion

Planting fruit trees in the fall not only contributes to the good survival of young plants, but also allows you not to limit yourself in your choice. In autumn, significantly more seedlings go on sale than in spring. And yes, the prices are lower.