Although cherries are very convenient to grow in Our Country because they are famous for their frost resistance, winterizing cherries can significantly improve the condition of the tree until next spring. Preparation is very important. If you do not pay enough attention to cherries in the fall, then next year you can be completely without a harvest. If the winter is harsh, with little snow, the buds on the bushes may suffer, and if frosts and thaws constantly alternate during the winter period, then the root system of the cherry may also suffer. A temperature of -10 degrees is enough for the bush to dry completely under a strong wind.
You should not count on the natural stability of a tree before frost, because climatic conditions and weather can play a cruel joke, and even frost-resistant cherries will not withstand such a temperature drop. Therefore, in order to protect the tree and protect it, to be sure that in the spring you will enjoy the sprouts and flowering of the tree, you can make jam and compote, it is best to prepare cherries for winter in autumn, approaching this issue with all responsibility . Thus, you will protect the tree and get a good harvest in the spring.
Autumn preparatory procedures
When exactly should you start preparing cherries for winter? Such training is not considered mandatory for every region. In mild climates and snowy winters, it is not at all necessary to cover and hide shrubs from snow and frost. You can simply sprinkle the soil with fertilizer, thereby allowing the tree to bear fruit much better next season, and also carry out the final watering, which will charge the soil with moisture. 
If the winter is harsh, then the autumn care should include various mandatory procedures. They include sanitary pruning, processing the circle around the trunk and watering it, pest control and prevention, mulching and whitewashing the trunk. Autumn work can begin in September, or rather, from its beginning. You can cover the cherry for the winter by the end of October. You can do this even when the first snow appears. Depending on the weather, the timing of the shelter may vary.
Preparation depends on where the tree grows, on weather conditions and on the climate. Based on these factors, you can choose ways to shelter the trunk and protect the root system from frost. If the frosts in the area you are protecting are not very strong, then the soil can simply be moistened and fed using any type of fertilizer. If winter promises to be stronger, then taking care of protecting the tree is more serious, giving the cherry bush more time and attention. As a result, in the spring you will get a good harvest and flowering.
Cherry pruning in autumn
The first stage of preparation is considered to be cutting off excess and old branches. Dry branches are removed using sharp garden shears. Sick branches are very important to remove in a timely manner. Thus, you protect healthy shoots from disease.
The most common way to protect a tree for the winter is to warm it with ordinary snow cover. Maximum protection of branches and buds can be provided by evenly covering them with snow. So the shoots are collected in a bunch in a circle or fan. How exactly to collect them depends on the type of tree. The best protection for the winter can be achieved by covering the branches with straw or haulm. If the branches do not want to fit snugly to the ground, then a layer of sand or earth falls on them. An original and alternative option for sheltering branches can be called the use of a bag or any other heat-insulating material.
Even during the winter, the garden can be looked after. What do they do for this? Sometimes an excess amount of snow is raked to the cherry. Thus, the root system can be protected from hypothermia. All available ways to protect and shelter the trunk, roots and ground above them, as well as the deflection of branches, will be described later in the article.
Shelter from the cold
Where to start sheltering a tree, what you need to know before proceeding with this procedure? The first step is to bend the branches. Eight-year-old and older branches are cut out. Up to five young branches are left for replacement, as well as the main branches and fruiting ones. Pressed branches are covered with tops or straw. Shrub cherry is covered in a slightly different way – in the spring the slope is preserved, so the branches bend more easily. 
They bend in a circle. Steppe cherry is not very tall. It bends in a circle, as well as in a fan. An ordinary cherry bends in a circle. Sand cherry bends like a fan, and when the first frosts come, the branches gather into a bunch. In order to protect the roots of the tree, the soil under the bush is covered with a thick layer of snow. Sometimes it is necessary to rake up the snow, from this a volumetric snowdrift is formed.
The tree trunk can be hidden under a burlap cover or wrapped with paper. In the spring, such a shelter is removed very easily and as a result, the cherry will not suffer from the accumulation of moisture.
It is very important to protect young cherry seedlings for the winter, and for the first year, the trunk circle is mulched. To do this, use peat or sawdust, in extreme cases – the usual earthen layer. Sprinkling the trunk with a good layer of earth, the earliest snow falls from above. Experienced gardeners mulch snowdrifts with sawdust or straw – on top of the snow, such a coating leaves the ground frozen a little longer than without it. Early flowering begins ten days later than usual.
Very early flowering is undesirable as spring frosts can cause the flowers to freeze. If they freeze, then abundant flowering after a while, as well as a good harvest, will not work. A large role in the question of how well a tree will overwinter is played by the land that was chosen for planting a tree. The chances of a good winter run increase if the tree is well protected from winds and snow. It is best not to plant cherries near the fence, otherwise there is a danger that the shrubs will be swept with snow under the very top of the crown.
In preparation for winter, autumn watering is a must. Such moisture-charging watering is very important, and it should be done after the leaves fall off. Before watering, you can dig around the trunk circle, and up to fifteen liters of water are taken for each adult tree for irrigation. For young trees, eight liters is enough. Abundant watering will help the bushes to winter well, and the root system of the tree to feel more confident.
The most dangerous months for a tree are considered to be January and May. In January, the tree is at rest, and a little frost is not terrible for him. However, cold temperatures of 20-25 degrees are very difficult to endure even for sleepy trees. While other horticultural crops such as apples, pears or cherry plums can handle the cold, peach crops can be hit hard. The kidneys are the first to suffer in January, as they are rather weakly protected.
Video “Preparing cherries for winter”
The recording shows how to prepare young trees and seedlings of fruit crops for winter.
