Contents
Cherries in winter: how to cover
Sweet cherries in winter require special attention, especially young seedlings. It must be protected from rodents, and if the variety is not winter-hardy, and the winter is harsh, then from frost. Before this, it is necessary to carry out preparatory measures that will help the trees to winter successfully. They consist in feeding, cleaning and processing the bark.
Preparing cherries for wintering
Sweet cherry is a thermophilic plant, and sudden temperature changes have a negative effect on it. Recently transplanted and young trees up to four years old are especially affected.
If you cover cherries well in winter, they will give a high yield in spring.
In order to get a cherry harvest in the spring, a number of activities must be carried out in the garden:
- Feed the plants with potassium and phosphorus by spraying the entire plant and applying these fertilizers to the root zone.
- Clean dry branches, they contain pathogens. Treat the saw cut with water-based emulsion or lime.
- Examine the plant for dead bark and lichen. All this must be removed and their locations whitewashed.
- Whitewash the trunk with lime.
- Wrap the barrel with whatever material is available to protect it from rodents. Plants without bark are more sensitive to frost.
- Insulate the root system. To do this, sprinkle insulating material around the tree in the form of peat, straw or sawdust.
- Cover the crown with burlap.
If there is snow cover in winter during severe frosts, it is advisable to pour more snow under the tree. It will keep you warm, and in the spring the tree will have more moisture. All these measures will save cherries from freezing.
How to cover cherries in winter?
There are many ways to hide cherries. It all depends on the age of the plant and the capabilities of the gardener. For this, the following measures are applied:
- Young seedlings are bent to the ground and covered with a frame made of film or roofing material. From above it is necessary to pour leaves, sawdust, snow.
- If the tree can no longer be bent to the ground, branches are tied to it for compactness and tightly wrapped with polyethylene, roofing felt or plywood sheet.
- In adult cherries, the roots and trunk are insulated. This area must be insulated, and a frame must be built around the trunk. An important condition for a successful shelter is the creation of an air cushion.
Trees are insulated for the cold period. As soon as the sun begins to warm up, all insulation must be removed, otherwise the cherries can support and get sick. This will significantly reduce the yield.
It is not necessary to cover winter-hardy varieties, as many of them withstand harsh conditions. But if the cherry is tender, it must be protected from winter frosts.