Preparing cherries for winter: leaving in the fall, in August, September, after fruiting

Preparing cherries for winter is the most important stage in growing a fruit crop. How well the cherry survives the winter depends on its yield next year, so you need to approach the issues of processing and warming very carefully.

How to care for cherries after harvest

Preparation for winter for cherries begins at the end of summer, after the harvest is completed. A fruit tree that has given up berries gradually begins to go into a dormant state. During this period, the gardener is required to take all measures to prepare for winter, namely:

• watering before the onset of cold weather to store moisture;
• top dressing to strengthen the vitality of the tree;
• sanitary and forming pruning;
• loosening the soil before winter;
• warming the plant before the cold.

Autumn care for the fruit tree begins in August

Felt Cherry Care After Harvest

Preparing felt cherries for the winter as a whole is almost the same as the standard autumn care. After harvesting, you must:

• how to clean the ground in the near-trunk circle – remove all rotten fruits and crumbling leaves, small branches from the ground;
• take out the garbage from the site and burn it, pests and fungal spores can winter in the plant residues, so it is imperative to destroy the garbage;
• thin out the crown of the plant, remove shoots and lower branches, as well as shoots that make the crown too dense;
• how to loosen and mulch the soil near the trunk.

Caring for cherries after harvesting also requires watering abundantly, feeding with minerals and warming the fruit plant for the winter.

Features of caring for cherries in the fall, depending on the age of the trees

The general rules for caring for cherries in the fall and preparing for winter are the same for all plants, regardless of age. However, old and young trees have their own characteristics that must be considered during autumn care:

1. Young plants under the age of 3 years do not need to be fed with minerals before the onset of winter. Since a recently planted plant does not bear fruit yet, it consumes less useful substances, up to 3 years it has enough minerals laid in the soil during planting.
2. Old cherries are fed annually. An adult plant takes a lot of energy to bear fruit, so during the warm season it manages to exhaust the supply of nutrients.
3. Autumn pruning for young trees should be done with great care. Since they are still quite small in size, too much haircut can lead to their death.

Older trees are more resistant to cold

Caring for young cherries in autumn includes more thorough covering, young trees are more susceptible to freezing. Usually they are not only abundantly mulched, but also tied up with branches, and also covered with insulating material. Old trees tolerate cold better, and for them, in preparation for winter, it is most important to insulate the roots and cover the trunk with spruce branches.

How to care for cherries in the fall for a good harvest

It is necessary to take care of the next year’s harvest in the fall. To strengthen and improve trees, a number of procedures are carried out, each of which should be considered more carefully.

Watering and loosening the soil

Cherry care in August and September involves abundant watering. Dry soil freezes stronger and deeper than wet soil, so watering additionally protects cherry roots from frost.

In preparation for winter, it is necessary to shed the soil under the plant to a depth of 1-1,5 m. The frequency of watering is determined based on weather conditions – if the autumn is rainy, it is enough to water the tree 1-2 times, if there is little rain in September, the number of waterings needs to be increased .

A single watering volume is 5-6 buckets of water for an adult tree. You can also dig a small groove around the trunk and put a hose in it for half an hour; using this method, the soil will also be well saturated with moisture.

To determine how much the plant needs to be fed, you can dig a hole about 60 cm deep near it. If the earth at the bottom of this hole is wet, then minimal watering is required, if the soil is dry and crumbles, you need to moisten the soil more abundantly.

Autumn watering for a cherry tree is required

After the final watering, the soil must be tightly mulched – this will retain moisture and at the same time provide additional insulation for the roots.

In preparation for winter, the ground under the trunk must be dug up. Digging to a depth of about 15 cm is carried out so as not to damage the roots of the tree. Before carrying out the procedure, the site is carefully cleaned, fallen leaves and fruits are removed, plant debris is raked and burned.

Digging the soil not only provides good access of air and moisture to the root system. Pests and spores of fungal diseases often winter in the ground; when the soil is loosened, they appear on the surface and quickly die with the onset of frost.

Additional fertilizing

Autumn dressing before winter is carried out in late September or early October. Fertilizers applied in preparation for wintering ensure the strength of the crop and good growth next spring:

1. Autumn top dressing is usually carried out by the root method – fertilizers are applied to the soil during digging and watering, and not sprayed over the crown.
2. You can use both mineral and organic fertilizers in the fall. From organics, compost, humus and bird droppings are usually used, from minerals – phosphorus, calcium and potassium.
3. Organic fertilizers can simultaneously serve as a mulch layer and insulation. For adult trees, about 50 kg of humus or compost are scattered in the near-stem circle, about 30 kg are taken for young cherries.

For the winter, both organic and mineral top dressings are introduced into the soil.

Prevention against diseases and pests

Caring for cherries after fruiting requires prevention from pests and ailments. Processing includes:

• inspection of the tree and removal of all diseased branches and shoots;
• disinfection and covering of wounds and cracks in the bark;
• thorough cleaning of the trunk circle from debris;
• spraying the tree with a 5% solution of urea with the onset of the first frost.

The main purpose of autumn pest control is to reduce the population of larvae and fungal spores that overwinter in the soil and bark cracks.

Trimming

Cherry processing in the fall before winter includes pruning, which is carried out for sanitary purposes and to facilitate the wintering of the plant. Execute it like this:

• remove all dry and broken branches from the tree;
• pruned diseased shoots;
• if necessary, remove branches growing deep into the crown and at the wrong angle.

A shaping haircut is usually done not in the fall, but in the spring, since the tree after a strong pruning may not have enough time to recover before winter. All removed branches and shoots after autumn pruning must be burned, and fresh cuts are treated with garden pitch.

Whitewash

Before the onset of winter, it is customary to whiten the cherry trunk. Whitewash closes cracks and wounds in the bark and thus prevents wintering and reproduction of pests. In addition, a layer of whitewash protects the cherry from rodents in winter.

For whitewashing, lime mortar with the addition of iron sulfate is traditionally used. Mature cherry trees whiten to a height of about 1,5 m, and young plants – until the branching of the main trunk.

It is necessary to whiten the trunk from pests and to protect against cold weather

Preparing cherries for winter in autumn

After carrying out all the basic procedures, it is time to warm the cherry. It must be carried out before the arrival of frost, usually the tree is covered for the winter at the end of October or in the middle of November.

What frosts can cherries withstand?

Cherry is considered a fairly winter-hardy fruit crop. The indicator of its frost resistance depends on the variety, but on average a tree is able to calmly endure frosts down to -20-25 ° C. Some varieties of cherries survive at negative temperatures down to -35 ° C, which makes it possible to grow a crop even in Siberia.

How to insulate cherries for the winter

The algorithm for warming cherries depends mainly on its age. Young trees are usually protected from frost more carefully, while mature plants require minimal shelter.

Young

Preparation for the winter of young cherries consists of several stages:

1. Before the onset of cold weather, the near-stem circle of the plant is mulched with compost or humus. The mulch layer should be about 10 cm, it will not only serve as a fertilizer for the cherry, but also protect its roots from freezing.
2. In the photo of cherries in winter, you can see that young plants are tied with cardboard or light non-woven material for the winter. This protects the trunk from frost and also prevents pests from damaging the tree.

After the first snowfalls, it will also be possible to insulate the trunk circle with a dense layer of snow. It will need to be scooped up to the cherry trunk, and sprinkled with straw or sawdust on top.

Young plants for the winter are additionally wrapped around the trunk.

Old

Old tree cherry is more resistant to cold. Therefore, the tree trunk is usually not tied up and is limited to mulching the near-stem circle. In this case, you need to make sure that the layer of mulch does not touch the trunk of the fruit tree, otherwise the bark can prop up and rot. In cold winter conditions, the trunk of a fruit tree can be additionally overlaid with spruce branches.

Felt, columnar, bush

Certain varieties of cherries require a special approach to sheltering before winter:

• young felt cherry, as well as tree-like, it is customary to wrap white propylene bags for the winter, several layers of white paper or other light covering material, and also abundantly mulch the soil under the trunk;
• columnar cherry for the winter they cover from above with a non-woven light material, after tying up the shoots if necessary, and fix the shelter near the ground;
• bush cherry for the winter they tie it up so that heavy snow does not break its branches, and they also cover it with light warming material and mulch the trunk circle.

In general, measures to protect cherries from frost remain the same – it is necessary to protect the root system first of all. The tree trunk is insulated, if there is a convenient opportunity, for cherries with thin shoots, the integrity of the branches is monitored.

How to prepare cherries for winter in the regions

Preparing a fruit tree for winter largely depends on the growing area. The climate in the Moscow region, in the Urals and in Siberia varies quite a lot, so the nuances of plant care are also different.

Preparing cherries for winter in the Moscow region

Winter near Moscow is notable for its unpredictability, severe frosts can be replaced by sudden thaws. Despite the fact that the winter hardiness of most varieties of cherries allows you to leave the tree without winter shelter, it is still recommended to warm the crop for the winter.

Shortly before the onset of winter, the trunk circle of the tree is mulched with a layer of at least 10 cm, and the trunk of the plant is covered with spruce branches. At the same time, the mulch must be positioned so that it does not touch the trunk, otherwise the bark will support and rot during the thaw.

The layer of mulch for the winter should be at least 10 cm

Preparing cherries for winter in Siberia

Severe Siberian frosts pose a certain danger even for cold-resistant varieties. Before winter, it is important to properly cover the plant. First of all, the cherry is mulched under the trunk with a dense layer of compost or humus to prevent the roots from freezing. Cherry care in autumn in Siberia also includes trunk insulation. In adult trees, it is covered with spruce branches, and young plants, columnar and bush cherries, if possible, are tied with insulating material.

In the middle lane and in the Urals

The Urals and central Our Country are characterized by rather severe and snowy winters with strong winds. Therefore, shelter also plays a big role, the cherry must not only be mulched under the trunk with a layer of 10 cm, but also cover the trunk and branches, if the size and structure of the tree allow this.

Since in the Urals the wind and the bright winter sun are especially dangerous for cherries, it is better to plant a crop initially under the cover of buildings. In this case, autumn-winter cherry care will become easier.

It is most carefully to cover the plant before the cold weather in Siberia and the Urals.

Conclusion

Preparing cherries for winter includes several mandatory measures to maintain the health of the tree and its ability to bear abundant fruit. It is necessary to start caring for cherries already at the beginning of autumn, before the onset of cold weather, you need to have time to feed, cut and warm the plant.