2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38
Autumn is a fertile period for the acquisition of seedlings of all kinds of fruit trees: their huge assortment will delight even the most inveterate skeptics, and the quality of copies purchased in the fall will be an order of magnitude higher. But sometimes it happens that the seedlings were acquired quite late, and the pit for planting them turned out to be completely unprepared. In this case, it is recommended to postpone the planting of young trees until the onset of spring, having carefully dug the seedlings for the winter
In what cases do seedlings drop in?
It is possible to dig in seedlings for the winter not only in case of their belated acquisition - it is quite permissible to do this manipulation with seedlings of varieties unstable to frost. You can do this even when, when buying a new variety, there is no one hundred percent confidence that the seedlings will be able to tolerate late planting. As a rule, seedlings of apple trees, plums, cherries and pears are most often buried.
It is also important to know that it is not too late to prepare planting holes in October (even if the seedlings will still be planted in the spring). As a rule, the ground has not yet had time to freeze thoroughly by this time. It can hardly be argued that it will be extremely problematic to allocate time for this part of the work in the spring, because there is so much to be done!
How to add seedlings?
To dig in the seedlings, the first step is to find the highest and best protected from the wind place on the site - neither in spring nor in autumn there should be no stagnation of water on it. And so that young seedlings do not damage enterprising mice, do not bury them near the straw heaps. Plots located in close proximity to hay, compost heaps or thickets of grass will not be the best place - rodents will easily get there too.
A groove for the subsequent dropping of seedlings must be prepared in advance. It must be dug strictly at an angle of forty-five degrees. In this case, the sloping wall should be located on the south side, and the vertical one on the north. As for the maximum depth of placement of seedlings, it should not exceed seventy centimeters.
Before starting to drop in seedlings, they should be thoroughly prepared. Firstly, in order to increase their winter hardiness, all the leaves must be cut off from them (otherwise they will actively evaporate excess moisture). And then the future trees are immersed in water (entirely) so that both the wood and the bark are thoroughly saturated. As a rule, seedlings are kept in water from two to twelve hours.
The prepared seedlings are laid in the dug groove with branches to the south (that is, to the flat wall), and the root system to the north (to the vertical wall). And immediately after they find themselves in such a peculiar shelter, they are completely covered with sand or soil. The dug-in seedlings must be well watered - this will help not only to protect future trees from drying out, but also to prevent the formation of air voids that can provoke extremely undesirable bark heating.
And as soon as the first frosts hit, the stems and twigs of the previously dug seedlings are promptly covered with earth. At the same time, an impressive earthen lump will form above the seedlings. As for the branches sticking out from one of its edges, it will not hurt to cover them with spruce branches - this is done in order to protect against rodents.
When the snow melts in the spring, the seedlings that have wintered under a reliable shelter begin to slowly open. You should not delay with this - any delay is fraught with podperevanie young bark.
How are seedlings freed from the ground?
In order not to damage the rather fragile seedlings, they are freed from the stuck earth by holding the stem with one hand, and with the other - by the rootstock stem or by the root collar. It is strictly forbidden to swing the seedlings during this procedure! If you ignore this advice, the scion located at the vaccination site can easily break off.
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