How to plant cherries in autumn: step by step instructions and video

Planting cherries in the fall is a permitted and in some cases even a recommended procedure. There are benefits to planting in the fall, as long as you do it right and provide the tree with the right conditions.

Is it possible to plant cherries in autumn

Most varieties of cherries have good cold resistance. Therefore, you can plant them on the site not only in the spring, but also in the autumn months, before the onset of frost. Moreover, autumn planting has significant advantages:

1. In autumn, cherry seedlings in the ground take root faster than in spring, and recover better from the stress that they inevitably experience when planting. With the onset of spring, a young cherry tree planted in autumn will be able to immediately build up green mass without wasting time on root development.
2. In autumn, after planting, the garden plant requires minimal care. The seedling does not need to be loosened, watered, or fed, fertilizers will be laid in the ground during planting, and autumn rains will cope with irrigation. When planting in the spring, the gardener is usually much more troublesome; throughout the entire warm period, cherries must be closely monitored.

Fall planting outperforms spring planting in many ways.

Of course, during autumn planting, there is always a risk of freezing of a young tree. But if you choose the right timing and take care of a reliable shelter for the winter, then the cherry will endure the winter cold calmly.

Do I need to prune cherries when planting in the fall

Immediately after planting in the fall, a seedling of a garden plant is recommended to be cut. The fact is that with a minimum number of shoots, the cherry will direct all efforts to grow strong roots. Accordingly, it will be able to take root in the ground in the fall faster, and wintering will be more successful.

When pruning, the lower shoots are removed from the seedling; about half a meter of space should remain between the soil and the first branch. In total, 6 strong shoots should be left on the seedling, directed towards the trunk at an acute angle, and cut by about 7 cm. All other branches are removed, and the cuts are covered with garden pitch.

When to plant cherries in the fall: in what month

Autumn planting of a fruit tree is recommended in October, until about the 15th. During this period, the seedling is already in a dormant state, but is still active enough for the rooting process.

The best time for planting seedlings is the first half of October

The exact timing of planting cherries in the fall is determined by several factors. First of all, you need to consider the region of cultivation:

1. In the southern regions of Our Country, you can plant a tree throughout October and even in November. Since the winter in the south is warm and comes late, the seedling will have time to take root in the ground and will not suffer from the cold.
2. In the middle lane, landing is best done from late September to mid-October. It is important not only to have time to plant a fruit tree before frost, but also to leave it for about 20 days to take root before the ground freezes.
3. In the Urals and Siberia, planting in autumn for cherries is rarely practiced. It can be carried out only until the end of September, but it is better to abandon the autumn landing altogether and postpone the procedure until spring.

In general, planting a tree should be carried out at low, but stable positive temperatures, a few weeks before the onset of night frosts. As such, lowering the temperature for a few hours at night will not cause irreparable damage to the cherry. However, if the soil freezes and thaws every day, the seedling will not have time to take root.

How to choose a cherry seedling for planting in the fall

The success of planting in the fall directly depends on the quality of the planting material. When choosing a cherry seedling, you need to evaluate its varietal characteristics, actual condition, dimensions and age:

1. It is best to choose young plants no older than 2 years for planting. In this case, the height of the tree should be 0,7-1,3 m. If the size of the seedling is larger, then, most likely, it was abundantly fed with nitrogen in the nursery, and resistance to cold with such feeding is reduced.
2. Only a perfectly healthy seedling can take root during autumn planting without problems. It is necessary to control that there are no damages on its trunk and shoots, and the roots are strong, developed, without breaking, about 25 cm in length.
3. In nurseries, you can find both grafted seedlings and plants grown from cuttings without grafting, the so-called own-rooted. Although grafted trees begin to bear fruit earlier, native-rooted cherries are more resistant to cold.

Only a strong and healthy seedling can take root in the ground in autumn.

The gardener needs to remember that most cherries set fruit only when pollinators are present. Therefore, it is better to plant several seedlings of different varieties on the site in autumn at once, so that the trees develop simultaneously and act as pollinators for each other.

How to prepare the soil for planting cherries in the fall

Cherry takes root faster and better in a nutritious and balanced soil. The site for it must first be prepared and fertilized with minerals and organic matter.

Cherry trees thrive best on small hills near buildings or high fences – the latter protect the cherry from the wind. The soil for the plant is suitable sandy or loamy, with a pH level of about 6-7. Acidic soil for cherries is not suitable, it will need to be removed by 20 cm and replaced with fertile soil.

The site for planting the plant is prepared as follows:

• 3 weeks before planting the crop, the earth is dug up and loosened, removing all weeds and plant debris;
• when digging, fertilizers, a bucket of manure or compost and a little superphosphate and potassium salt are introduced into the soil.

For planting a crop in the fall, you need to immediately prepare a permanent place. Cherry does not like transplants, so it must be borne in mind that the tree will remain in the selected area of ​​u18bu25bthe garden for XNUMX-XNUMX years.

How to prepare a hole for planting cherries in the fall

After digging, loosening and fertilizing the soil, it is necessary to dig a planting hole for the seedling. A shallow hole is half filled with prepared soil mixture:

• mix in equal proportions of 1 bucket of compost and ordinary garden soil;
• add 2 tablespoons of potassium sulfate;
• make 12 tablespoons of superphosphate.

Fertilizers must not only be laid in the planting pit, but also added to the soil when loosening the site

If the soil on the site is too wet, then river sand is mixed into the soil – in a ratio of 1 to 1.

A layer of expanded clay or pebbles is covered at the bottom of the prepared pit, and then the hole is filled up to half with soil mixture. Even in the presence of a drainage layer, it is desirable that groundwater pass no closer than 1,5 m from the surface.

How to plant cherries in autumn

The step-by-step instructions on how to plant cherries in the fall look completely standard:

1. A few hours before the procedure, the seedling is immersed with its roots in clean water. You can add drugs to it that promote root growth, in the fall such stimulation will be useful.
2. In a half-filled planting hole, a support about 2 m high is installed on the north side of the hole. A seedling is lowered next to the support and its roots are straightened so that they do not break and do not intertwine with each other.
3. While holding the seedling, the hole is filled to the top with the remnants of the soil mixture, and the seedling is then tied to the support. The root neck of the plant must remain 4 cm above the soil surface.

Planting cherries with a closed root system is very beneficial in the fall. The roots of the plant in this case are not injured at all. The algorithm looks almost the same, but the seedling is lowered into the prepared hole along with the existing earthen clod.

After planting, the ground near the cherry trunk must be tamped, and then water the seedling with 30 liters of water and mulch it in a circle.

How deep to plant cherries in autumn

The depth of the planting hole for a seedling usually does not exceed 50 cm. If the hole is dug round, then the width is about 60 cm, if rectangular, then also 50 cm.

Seedlings with closed roots need a deeper hole

The root system of a young cherry usually reaches 20-25 cm in length, so a shallow hole is enough for reliable and comfortable rooting. When planting a seedling with closed roots, the dimensions of the hole can be slightly increased and a hole 70 cm deep and wide can be dug.

At what temperature to plant cherries in the fall

To properly plant cherries in the fall in the country, you need to focus not only on the calendar, but also on weather conditions. The air temperature should be 13-15 ° C, and at night there should still be no frost.

Distance between cherry seedlings when planting in autumn

Usually in the fall, several cherry trees are planted in the garden at once. Cultivars are mostly self-fertile and require pollinators. And rooting several plants at the same time is much more convenient than planting them in the garden at large intervals.

When planting, it is necessary to observe a certain space between young plants so that the roots and crowns of trees do not begin to interfere with each other as they grow. The distance depends on the type of cherry plant. It is recommended to leave 2,5 m between bush varieties, and up to 4 m of free space between tree-like cherries.

Several trees should not be planted close to each other.

Cherry seedling care after planting in autumn

The big advantage of autumn planting is that it is practically not necessary to take care of cherries before the onset of winter. However, some measures must be taken even when rooting in the fall, otherwise the seedling will not have time to gain strength by frost:

1. If the autumn turned out to be rainy, then it is enough to water the young plant only once when planting – the rest will be done by rains. But if the weather is dry throughout October, then before the onset of cold weather, the cherry should be watered again. In order for moisture to be better absorbed into the soil, a small roller of soil should be built along the diameter of the near-stem circle, it will not allow moisture to spread.
2. In autumn, before the arrival of cold weather, the near-stem circle of the seedling must be tightly mulched with peat or sawdust with a layer of at least 12 cm.
3. Even frost-resistant varieties of cherries at a young age should be covered for the winter. If the cherry is planted bushy, then its shoots can be bent to the ground and tied to pegs, and then cover the plant from above with insulating material and spruce branches. If we are talking about a tree-like cherry, then it is recommended to wrap it around the trunk with roofing felt or corrugated cardboard.

Shelter will protect the seedling not only from cold and wind, but also from pests. Garden rodents often damage cherries in winter; this is especially dangerous for young trees.

Tips from experienced gardeners

When planting in the fall, experienced summer residents recommend choosing a permanent place for cherries and not planting them in temporary areas with the prospect of subsequent transfer. Transplants injure cherries that have already taken root in the ground, so it is better to plant a tree where it will spend the next 15-20 years of life.

A pit for autumn planting should not be prepared at the last moment, but in advance. If you dig a hole and immediately lower a seedling into it, then soon the soil will naturally settle, and with it the tree. When preparing the pit 2-3 weeks before planting cherries, the soil has time to sink, so there is no need to run into trouble after planting.

In autumn, when planting in a pit, fertilizers with nitrogen cannot be laid.

Fertilizing for cherries in the fall is a must – fertilized soil helps the plant take root faster. But at the same time, only potash and phosphorus fertilizers should be poured into the soil. Nitrogen top dressings and organic matter with a high nitrogen content should be postponed until spring. Otherwise, it will be more difficult for the plant to leave for the winter in time, nitrogen will provoke late sap flow, and with the onset of frost, the tree will suffer.

For autumn planting, it is recommended to purchase high-quality and healthy seedlings from trusted manufacturers, especially since planting material prices usually fall in autumn. Too cheap plants of unknown origin may not have the necessary characteristics of cold resistance and simply die from frost.

Conclusion

Planting cherries in the fall is a simple procedure with many benefits. The gardener is only required to comply with the recommended deadlines and pay attention to the elementary care of cherries. A well-planted tree in the spring will develop more actively and will please you with good health.