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Caring for chokeberry in the fall prepares the shrub for wintering and lays the foundation for next year’s fruiting. Cheerful, vigorous aronia refers to crops with guaranteed yields. She is able to consistently set berries without care, but the lack of attention to chokeberry sooner or later affects the health of the bush. The berries become smaller, pests appear, useless thickets form at the planting site.
How to care for chokeberry in autumn
A set of activities carried out in the garden in the fall is aimed at a successful wintering of plants. For chokeberry, the main needs are light and moisture, the absence of harmful insects and diseases. With the rest of the tasks, a resilient culture is able to cope on its own.
Basic care for chokeberry in the fall:
- Pruning.
- Winter watering.
- Prevention of infections.
- Application of fertilizers.
Blackberry berries ripen late. Depending on the climate, they are harvested from the beginning of autumn, until the very frost. Care work begins immediately after picking the berries. In areas where chokeberry is already harvested from under the snow, all activities have to be carried out before harvesting.
Chokeberry does not require specific methods for autumn care. All of them are known to gardeners from other fruit crops. However, each of the stages has its own characteristics and should be considered in more detail.
How to prune chokeberry in autumn
The main work on the formation and rejuvenation of the bush is carried out in the spring, when it is possible to assess the condition of the plant after wintering. Pruning chokeberry in the fall is guided by other goals.
The strength of the growth of the chokeberry causes the stems and side shoots to appear throughout the growing season. The middle of the bush thickens by autumn, stretches up in search of light. Such chokeberry is susceptible to disease, the fruits on it are tied only on lateral shoots.
You can thin out the plant throughout the season. In summer, if possible, remove thin and thickening processes that take away strength from the plant. In the fall, other chokeberry problems may be detected that require intervention:
- the appearance of leaves affected by infections;
- broken branches, dried shoots;
- areas of broken bark on adult trunks;
- an abundance of basal growth, thickening the bush;
- accumulations of insects seeking to overwinter in the soil.
Leave a bush of chokeberry to spend the winter peeled and thinned. In all of these cases, pruning is mandatory.
Detailed instructions for planting, caring for, pruning chokeberry in autumn and spring in a video from an experienced gardener.
When to prune chokeberry: in autumn or spring
Spring is rightly considered the main time for pruning in the garden. Before the start of sap flow, chokeberry should be carefully examined, all dead branches removed. Frozen areas are shortened to live, green wood. It is also convenient to form bushes in the spring, before the start of the rapid growth of chokeberry.
At the end of the season, you can not do without an audit of landings. Bushes of chokeberry grow strongly by autumn. Thickening and breeding insects can harm the plant in winter, which will stop the development of the bush when it gets warm. Fungal infections from branches not harvested in time, having overwintered, attack healthy chokeberry stems in the spring.
Sanitary pruning is appropriate at any time. Thickening or diseased branches of chokeberry should be cut out immediately after a problem is detected: in spring, summer or autumn, excluding only the period with sub-zero temperatures.
Pruning chokeberry in autumn for beginners
It is important to prune chokeberry long before frost. Cuts, wounds on branches and trunks should heal or dry out, which will prevent them from freezing. Pruning times vary from region to region. You should focus on the average annual temperatures in a particular area, approximate time: September – October.
The formation of the bush is carried out in the spring. When planting chokeberry in the fall, it is also not recommended to shorten young shoots, this increases their vulnerability to frost and disease. It is better to form overwintered shoots after the snow melts.
Sanitary pruning in the fall consists in removing thin, thickening shoots growing inside the bush. The branches of chokeberry, affected by diseases, are cut out completely. It is desirable to make cuts below the soil level. Stumps left above the ground often become a haven for insects and a breeding ground for infections.
If there is a need to rejuvenate chokeberry in the fall, no more than half of the skeletal branches are cut out. The rest can be shortened. Radical rejuvenation by completely cutting the entire bush, experienced gardeners recommend in the spring.
Treatment of chokeberry in the fall from pests and diseases
Most chokeberry diseases are fungal in nature. They can be treated and prevented with copper-containing compounds. The most common, proven spray preparation in the fall is Bordeaux mixture at 1% concentration or copper oxychloride.
Before processing, you should carefully inspect the plant, if necessary, remove diseased shoots, dispose of them. A solution of copper sulfate also helps to prevent the appearance of chokeberry pests. Such spraying in the fall can be called universal.
The exception is brown mites that parasitize black chokeberry. If they are found, spraying with special acaricidal agents will be required: Karbofos, Kleschevit, Apollo, Tedion.
Cherry sawfly, mountain ash moth, other beetles, butterflies, which lived all summer in the crown and on fruits, fall to the ground with fallen leaves in autumn. The larvae overwinter in a layer of plant residues or move into the ground. To prevent the transfer of pests into the next season, you can only collect all the fallen leaves and remove them from the site. The chokeberry is then sprayed and the soil is mulched with uncontaminated material.
How to plant chokeberry in autumn
Autumn is the most convenient time for planting chokeberry. You can have time to prepare planting pits, slowly choose seedlings and not worry that unpredictable frosts will destroy the sprouts.
Seedlings ripened during the summer are less susceptible to freezing than fresh shoots during spring planting. In autumn, the root system takes root better. Its active development stops only at -4 °C.
To adapt the roots of chokeberry planted in autumn, 20 days are enough before the onset of stable cold weather. In the spring, such a plant wakes up faster, begins to rapidly build up the aerial part. At this time, seedlings of spring planting are just coming to life.
Where is it better to plant chokeberry in the fall
Chokeberry grows well on any soil, except for highly saline ones. Its root system tolerates high standing groundwater, spring floods. Therefore, any area where there is enough sun is suitable for planting in the fall.
Blackcurrant is very demanding on lighting. In shaded areas, chokeberry can only be grown as an ornamental crop. A lot of light is required for flowering and fruit set.
Planted along the border of the site, from the side of the prevailing winds, chokeberry can serve as a draft protection for the entire garden or vegetable garden.
Terms of planting
The time chosen for work must meet two requirements: not be too warm and not be preceded by frost. By planting chokeberry too early in the fall, when the temperature still rises above +15 ° C, you can get a developing aerial part, not roots.
Later, when the air temperature drops more strongly, the chokeberry is not inclined to grow branches, but builds up the root system. This is especially pronounced if plantings are mulched in autumn.
Planting dates vary from September to November, vary greatly by region and are selected depending on the climate.
How to plant chokeberry in autumn
To properly plant chokeberry in the fall, you should select and prepare a place in the garden in advance. Landing pits (50 * 50 cm) are dug in advance to shrink the soil.
The excavated land is enriched with the addition of humus, wood ash, superphosphate. Drainage is laid at the bottom of the landing pits: pebbles, crushed stone, broken bricks.
The process of planting chokeberry in the fall:
- Water is poured into the prepared pits up to ½ volume and wait until it completely goes into the soil.
- In the center, a mound is poured from a fertile substrate, a seedling is placed on it.
- Having straightened the roots, carefully sprinkle them with soil, preventing the appearance of voids.
- Having spilled the seat with water, control the subsidence of the soil, sprinkle the substrate to the edge of the pit.
- The surface can be immediately mulched to retain moisture.
The layout of the chokeberry in the fall can be arbitrary. The culture tolerates single plantings well. For increased fruiting, they maintain a distance of up to 3 m between the bushes. As a hedge, chokeberry requires thickening up to 1,5 m and is planted in trenches.
The nuances of landing in the Moscow region and Siberia
Aronia grows well throughout Central Our Country. The Moscow region is one of the most favorable regions for growing crops. Nevertheless, one of the main gardening rules should not be forgotten: choose zoned varieties.
In order not to be mistaken, it is enough to purchase chokeberry in local nurseries. Seedlings grown in similar conditions take root more easily. The most popular varieties of chokeberry in the region near Moscow: Chernookaya, Viking, Nero, Hugin.
Chokeberry is extremely winter-hardy and can be cultivated up to the Far North. Varieties zoned for the Urals and Siberia tolerate temperatures down to -20 ° C in autumn and -35 ° C in winter. The roots withstand frosts below -10 ° C.
At the foot of the Altai Mountains and in Siberia, chokeberry seedlings after planting in the fall must be mulched, laid on the ground, covered with earth. It is important to carry out these works at positive temperatures, otherwise the branches become brittle. In the Moscow region and the central regions of the country, it is enough to sprinkle the roots with a layer of mulch. It is not necessary to cover the aerial part in autumn.
Aronia transplant in autumn
Aronia easily survives the transfer to another place, even if the bushes are old enough. If the transplant is carried out correctly and quickly, the bush may not even wither, but immediately begin to develop a new space. In autumn, this procedure is carried out in September – October, while the temperature is stable, above 10 ° C.
When to transplant chokeberry: in spring or autumn
Transplanting a chokeberry to a new place in the fall is a little easier than in the spring. A bush that has grown stronger over the summer is easier to recover in new conditions. To speed up adaptation, you can cut the shoots to half their length, thin out the leaves, which will reduce the load on the roots.
In spring, all the forces of chokeberry are directed to the growth of green mass. The roots may not be able to cope with the double load, the plant will slow down in growth. Blackberry transplantation in the fall is considered less traumatic for the bush.
How to transplant a chokeberry in the fall to a new place
For a successful transplant, you will need to cut out as large a clod of earth as possible along with the roots. To do this, chokeberry is dug around the perimeter of the crown to a depth of about 500 cm. Then the soil is cut with shovels so as to separate the lump from the ground and carefully lift it up.
It is better to transport the plant to the planting site by dragging it on burlap in order to preserve the fragment of earth with roots as much as possible. The new hole should slightly exceed the size of the coma.
A few tips for transplanting chokeberry in the fall:
- When transplanting, you can simultaneously feed the bush by adding superphosphate and potash fertilizer (for example, ash) to the pit.
- It is desirable to observe the same height of the root neck, only a slight deepening (by 1-2 cm) is permissible.
- Chokeberry will get used to a new place more easily if you follow the direction of the bush to the cardinal points, as before transplanting.
A strong, well-developed bush can be divided in autumn and several plants can be planted in a new place. Chokeberry is easily propagated by dividing the bush. The survival rate of “delenok” in the fall is high.
How to feed a chokeberry in the fall
After fruiting, the culture needs rest and replenishment of forces. Top dressing of chokeberry in the fall allows you to influence the harvest of the next season.
After harvesting, it is useful to charge the soil under each chokeberry bush by adding 500 g of wood ash and about 200 g of superphosphate. It is good to carry out foliar top dressing with a solution of urea (7%). Spraying the branches with a nitrogen composition is not contraindicated in the fall and is a prevention against infections.
During this period, it is important not to abuse nitrogen fertilizers applied to the soil. Such top dressing in the second half of summer stimulates the growth of the aerial part, the shoots “get fat”, the bark does not ripen on them. In autumn, it is not worth fertilizing chokeberry with nitrogen.
You can mulch the soil for the winter with peat or humus, which will be additional support for the root system.
Preparation for winter
Chokeberry is a cold-resistant crop, in most regions it endures winter without special shelters. Additional measures of agricultural technology are designed to help chokeberry get out of winter dormancy strong, quickly grow, and in the fall give a high yield of useful berries.
Pre-winter care for chokeberry:
- Hydration. If the autumn is dry, chokeberry will need only one, but plentiful watering. Under an adult plant, from 20 to 40 liters of water are introduced, within the projection of the crown.
- Loosening and mulching retain moisture, provide normal breathing to the roots. A covering layer of 5-10 cm will protect them from freezing in changeable weather.
- Spruce branches, used as a shelter, or pine needle mulch repel rodents.
In severe winters, even adult chokeberry bushes need shelter. For a frost-resistant culture, it is enough to bend down to the ground with an arc of up to 20 cm. For this, wooden shields and heavy tree branches are used. The fallen snow reliably keeps the chokeberry from freezing. If there is little precipitation, cover the plants with earth or leaves.
How to propagate chokeberry in autumn
Aronia can be propagated in several ways:
- seeds;
- layering or offspring;
- cuttings (green or mature);
- division of the bush;
- vaccination.
Not all of them are applicable in the fall. Sowing seeds in open ground is often practiced. Sprouts that appear in the spring should be grown for several years.
Propagation of chokeberry by cuttings in the fall is a way to quickly get good planting material. For rooting in September, cuttings are cut from mature 2-year-old branches, about 15 cm long. The cut stems are planted obliquely in a cold greenhouse, leaving a few buds above the ground. Rooted cuttings will be ready for planting in a year, in the fall.
Horizontal layers are called branches of chokeberry, bent and pinned to the ground, without separation from the mother plant. After carrying out the procedure in the fall, in the spring you can get a good vertical shoot, which is separated from the bush when it reaches 20 cm.
Conclusion
Caring for chokeberry in the fall does not differ in special techniques and is available even to beginners. A sustainable culture responds gratefully to minimal care, the main thing is to carry out the work competently and on time. Compliance with simple rules allows you to grow a magnificent plant, pleasing with its appearance and an abundance of useful fruits.
