Content
Cherry care in spring is a wide range of measures. In order for the cherry tree to develop well and bring bountiful harvests, it needs special attention in the spring.
How to properly care for cherries in spring
A cherry plant in the garden is not considered the most capricious, but it requires some attention. It is especially important to properly care for cherries in spring, after the start of active growing season, it is during this period that it is determined how good the tree will yield.
The main activities for the care of cherries in the spring in the country
With the onset of spring, several basic activities are required. These include:
- site cleaning and sanitary thinning of branches;
- processing wood from pests and fungal diseases;
- spring feeding of crops and watering as needed;
- attracting pollinating insects to the garden.
It is spring that becomes the most stressful time for the gardener. While the cherry is preparing for flowering and laying fruit ovaries, it is important to provide it with maximum support, in later periods the tree requires much less care.
Cherry trees need special attention in spring
How to care for bush cherries
Bush cherry is in many ways considered more convenient than tree cherry. It looks more attractive in the garden, is not very demanding on conditions, and besides, it is easier to harvest from it than from a cherry tree.
Caring for bush cherries as a whole differs little from the standard. However, some procedures are recommended to be given special attention.
Shrub cherry grows much faster. Therefore, it must be thinned out more carefully, if the crown is too thickened, the fruit shoots will begin to experience a lack of light, air and nutrients.
Shrub cherry without rejuvenation bears fruit abundantly for only 8-10 years. Therefore, as the bush matures, it is recommended to gradually remove old shoots, replacing them with young ones, this must be done for several years so that the plant rejuvenates without unnecessary stress.
How to care for young cherries
Caring for a sapling tree is considered easier than caring for an old cherry in the spring. As a rule, the culture begins to bear fruit only at 3-4 years of age and only from this moment requires increased attention.
Caring for young cherries in spring comes down mainly to watering on hot days and to treating diseases and pests. It is important to protect seedlings and developing cherry trees from ticks, aphids and bark beetles, since the bark of young trees is thin, they are especially vulnerable to attack by pests.
In the first 3 years of life, young trees in the spring need to be mainly protected from pests.
How to care for cherries before, during and after flowering
Flowering is an especially important stage, the abundance of the crop depends on its quality. First of all, you need to pay attention to feeding:
- In early spring, before the start of active growing season, it is necessary to feed the culture with urea or calcium nitrate. Mineral fertilizers in a small amount are scattered under the trunk and loosen the soil, saltpeter or urea will contribute to active growth.
- During the period of direct flowering, cherries can be fertilized with manure or bird droppings, as well as minerals with a nitrogen content. Such care will improve the quality and abundance of flowering, which will have a positive effect on the formation of ovaries.
Caring for cherries after flowering also involves feeding. The plant should be sprayed with a urea solution over the crown, and this is done twice, a week after flowering, and then after another 2 weeks. Top dressing strengthens the ovaries and improves fruit ripening.
Cherry care for a big harvest
The yield of a cherry tree depends primarily on the quality of pollination. Crop care for a good harvest comes down to:
- to maintain a ventilated, non-thickened crown;
- to timely prevention and treatment of ailments;
- to moderate fertilizing of a plant that has entered the fruiting age.
For high yields, cherry trees need high-quality pollination
Cherry care rules in spring
Spring care comes down to simple procedures. But each of them should be studied a little more carefully - this will allow you not to miss deadlines and take care measures correctly.
Pruning, whitewashing and cleaning the garden
Cherry care in spring after winter should be started immediately after the snow melts. Even before the start of active vegetation and swelling of the kidneys, the following procedures should be carried out:
- Pruning... In the spring, it is necessary to remove all weak branches from the cherry tree, shoots that have broken down during the winter and branches that thicken the crown. Timely pruning will allow the plant to receive more oxygen and light, in addition, the tree will not expend nutrients for the growth of shoots that do not take part in fruiting.
- Whitewash... The procedure is carried out in March, a lime or chalk solution with the addition of wallpaper glue is used to whitewash the trunk, copper sulfate, manure and clay can also be added to the solution. Environmentally friendly whitewashing protects the trunk from bark cracking and pests, prevents the spread of fungal diseases. Before the procedure, moss and dried bark are cleaned from the cherry trunk, and if there are wounds on the wood, they are treated with copper sulfate and covered with garden varnish. Adult cherries must be whitewashed to a height of 1.5 m, and young plants - until the trunk branches.
- Garden cleaning... In early spring, for the healthy development of the plant, it is imperative to devote time to cleaning the garden. All last year's foliage and crumbling branches are removed from the site. Pests and fungal spores often hibernate under a layer of plant residues, and with the onset of spring, in the absence of harvesting, they wake up and move to the trunk of the plant.
To prevent the reproduction of pests and fungal ailments, plant debris should not only be removed from the site, but also burned.
At the beginning of spring, it is very important to remove plant debris in the garden and whitewash the trees.
Processing of near-trunk circles
In the video of cherry care in spring, you can see such a procedure as loosening and weeding the soil near the tree trunk. Processing helps to achieve several goals:
- provides good access of moisture and air to the roots;
- helps to destroy some of the pests that winter in the soil;
- inhibits the growth of weeds.
The soil is cultivated under the trunks in the spring after the snow melts and the earth warms up. It is necessary to weed and loosen the soil under the crown to a depth of about 8 cm.The diameter of the circular cultivation for young trees is about 1.5 m, for adults - from 2 to 4 m.
To protect the roots from overheating and to retain moisture in the soil for a long time, it is also recommended to use mulch in spring. Humus or hay is the best mulching material.
Prevention against pests and diseases
Every spring, it is recommended to carry out treatment for fungal diseases and pests, even if the tree is absolutely healthy. Preventive care helps prevent disease and increases the chances of a good harvest:
- In early April, at a temperature of about 15 degrees, it is recommended to process cherries with copper sulfate, Bordeaux mixture or Homa solution. Spraying and spilling the soil will help protect the tree from moniliosis, coccomycosis, and clotterosporia.
- Also, before flowering, you can spray the tree with Prophylactin - a universal remedy for aphids, ticks and cherry flies. A good effect against insects is provided by Nitrafen, which is also used before flowering.
After flowering, it is recommended to once again prophylactically treat the cherry with solutions of Skor, Topaz, Kilzar and Iskra with re-treatment after 2 weeks. Some harmful insects reproduce in waves, several times per season, so a one-time spring treatment is not enough for high-quality prevention.
Spraying fruit crops from ailments is necessary for the purpose of prevention
Top dressing and watering
Cherries are capable of producing good yields only on fertile soil. Taking care of cherries for the first year is very simple, but after the tree enters the fruiting phase, you will need to supplement the spring care with annual fertilizing with organic matter and minerals:
- In early spring, after thawing the soil, cherries are fertilized with substances containing nitrogen. With spring care, fruit trees can be watered with a urea solution, about 40 g of fertilizer is dissolved in 10 liters of water.
- Before flowering, you can sprinkle ammonium nitrate or nitroammofosk in the near-stem circle, and then water the ground and loosen it.
- During the budding period, the soil under the trunk can be spilled with a superphosphate solution or chicken droppings and liquid mullein can be added.
- At the end of flowering, the plant is fertilized with a solution of nitrophoska, about 2 buckets of water under the trunk, the substance is diluted in a volume of 50 g per 10 liters of water.
As for ordinary watering in spring, in general, cherry is considered a drought-resistant crop, and tolerates a lack of moisture better than waterlogged soil. Frequent watering is necessary only for young seedlings, they are watered at first twice a week and once a month after rooting.
Taking care of a cherry tree at the fruiting age is quite simple - two spring waterings of 50-70 liters of water are enough. The first time the tree is watered before bud break, and the second - after flowering.
Pollination
Any varieties of cherries give more abundant yields if pollinators and cherries with similar flowering periods grow nearby. Planting pollinators is a very important part of care - self-fertile cherries without pollination, in principle, will not yield a crop, and self-fertile varieties will give only about 40% of the maximum volume of ovaries.
You can improve the quality of pollination by planting melliferous plants
During the cherry blossom season in spring, it is necessary to remember that bumblebees and bees play an important role in pollination. To attract them to the garden in the maximum amount, mint, lungwort, lemon balm and other melliferous plants are planted near the cherries or in the aisles.
How to protect cherries from spring frost
Return frosts in spring are not uncommon throughout Russia.With a sharp drop in temperature, the buds, flowers and ovaries of cherries can die, and if the temperature in the region of -4 ° C is dangerous for the buds, then the ovaries fall off already at a temperature of -1 ° C.
There are two ways to care for young cherries in spring to protect them from frost:
- Spraying... On the eve of a cold snap, you can spray the crown with water, which will help to avoid critical freezing of flowers and buds.
- Smoke... During a cold snap in the morning, dry manure or heaps of straw are set on fire in the garden, after sprinkling them with damp earth. After several hours of smoldering, a dense smoke screen forms around the cherry trees, the temperature inside which rises by about 1.5 ° C.
With a strong cold snap, the partial death of flowers and ovaries becomes almost inevitable. But proper care measures help minimize waste.
How to get rid of cherry overgrowth
Some cherry varieties actively produce root shoots. It must be removed, but it must be done correctly.
You can't just dig up young shoots entirely in spring - this has the opposite effect. Very quickly, several new ones grow at once on the site of the dug out shoot. To combat overgrowth, it is necessary to cut off only part of the excess shoot, leaving it to rise about 20 cm above ground level. In this case, the cherry will not expend energy either on feeding the growth or on the development of new shoots.
Shoots at the roots of the plant must be pruned in the spring.
Spring care for cherries in the regions
The rules for caring for cherries in spring are largely determined by the growing region. The climate in different regions of Russia can differ significantly, therefore, the care of fruit crops depends on weather conditions.
Cherry care in spring in the Moscow region
The Moscow region is considered one of the most attractive regions for growing cherries. Spring here usually begins in the middle or end of March, and solid above-zero temperatures are established by mid-April.
However, in early May, frosts often return for several days in the Moscow region. So that cherries, especially thermophilic ones, do not freeze in spring, it is recommended to plant them in bright places in the garden under the cover of buildings or high hedges. Spring care comes down mainly to protection from sudden cold snaps, the most effective way of smoking shows itself.
How to care for cherries in Siberia
Caring for cherries in spring in Siberia is associated with certain difficulties. Spring in Siberia lasts quite a long time, so in March it is necessary to shake off snow from the trunks of fruit trees in the garden area, as soon as the temperature exceeds 0 degrees. Otherwise, the root collar of a cherry can become dry due to the long melting of snow under the sun.
To prevent damping, it is also recommended to initially plant cherries on small elevations up to half a meter, the soil thaws faster on such elevations.
Siberian spring frosts are especially dangerous for cherries. Fan irrigation, which significantly increases the frost resistance of trees, and treatment with Epin's solution help prevent the death of flowers and ovaries. Young seedlings can be additionally wrapped with light-colored non-woven material during a cold snap.
In Siberia, it is quite difficult to care for cherry crops due to the climate
Cherry care in spring in the Urals
Cherry care in the Urals primarily includes protecting trees from winds and drought. Spring rains in the Urals are quite abundant, but strong winds can blow moisture from the soil and compact the soil. When growing cherries in the Urals, it is important to thoroughly loosen the soil under the trunk in spring to improve aeration, and planting trees is best in a sunny area and under the cover of tall buildings.
In the Urals, flowers and ovaries often crumble in spring due to climatic changes; dry and hot, as well as cloudy and windy weather can damage. To improve flowering and fruiting, it is recommended to treat cherries with Epin and Novosil solutions.
How to care for cherries in summer
Cherry care all year round, and in particular in summer, is reduced mainly to periodic watering. For the first time, about 5 buckets of water are poured under the tree trunk after flowering, the second - during the formation of berries. Watering the culture is necessary only under the condition of a hot and dry enough summer.
From time to time in the summer it is necessary to loosen the soil in the trunk circle, removing weeds. During the ripening period of berries, fruit trees can be treated with copper oxychloride and Fufanon, solutions will protect cherries from fungal ailments and insects.
Summer care comes down mainly to watering and loosening the soil
Seasoned gardener's tips for caring for cherries in the spring
The presence of pollinators in the garden does not always guarantee high yields. Experienced gardeners use the following method to increase fruiting in the spring. During the flowering period, cherries are sprayed with a sweet solution or hung on the branches of a container with honey or jam. This attracts more bees and therefore improves pollination.
Spring watering of cherries should be carried out, focusing primarily on the weather. If the spring turned out to be cloudy and rainy, then it is better to exclude additional moisture from the care procedure - the cherry does not tolerate waterlogged soil.
After planting cherries on the site, the first spring feeding is usually carried out only for 3 years of plant life. Until that time, the fertilizer applied during planting is enough for the young tree.
Conclusion
Caring for cherries in the spring requires increased attention from the gardener. It is during the flowering period and the formation of ovaries that it is necessary to take good care of the fruit plant in order to get a bountiful harvest in a couple of months.
