How to plant fruit trees in the spring and what is important for gardeners to know?
What to look for when choosing seedlings of fruit trees for planting in a garden plot? What kind of seedlings should I buy? When is the best time to plant seedlings? What should be the diameter and depth of the pit for seedlings of different fruit trees? Lyubov Zanina, Deputy Head of the Federal State Budgetary Institution Rosselkhoztsentr for the Republic of Tatarstan gave the answers.
With the onset of spring, it's time to start planting seedlings in our gardens. In winter, gardeners have already decided which varieties are needed for planting.
You need to buy seedlings of those varieties that are allowed for planting in our region, in specialized outlets or in nurseries.
What you should pay attention to: first of all - at what depth in the summer cottage groundwater occurs. For vigorous trees with long roots, the depth of groundwater in the territory should not exceed 3 meters. Semi-dwarf varieties are planted in soil, the depth of which is not more than 2.5 m, and seedlings of dwarf trees, with a superficial root system, need a plot at a level of 1.5 meters. It is also necessary to determine what kind of soil is on the site, and to plant seedlings on the southern (less often - on the south-western) side of the site in a place protected from winds.
If different trees grow in the garden with a height of 5 m, 4 m and 3 m, then they need to be planted at a distance of 6–9 m from each other. If you plant seedlings thicker, they will grow not in breadth, but upwards, intertwining with branches, interfering, fraying and shading each other.
Apple trees, pears and stone fruits are planted in the spring as early as possible, seedlings of fruit bushes are planted, even when the buds have already blossomed a little. Spring planting begins from the moment the last snow melts and ends ten days before bud break.
Pits for apple and pear trees on a vigorous rootstock are dug with a diameter of at least 1 m and a depth of 60 cm. For trees on a semi-dwarf rootstock, the diameter of the pit should be 1 m and a depth of 40 cm. For undersized dwarfs, the diameter of the pit is 90 cm, the depth is 40 cm. Plums, sea buckthorn, chokeberry, shadberry need pits with a diameter of 80 cm and a depth of 40 cm.
When planting, the soil around the seedlings is compacted, and earthen rollers 10–15 cm high are arranged on top along the contour of the planting pit and, regardless of the weather, are watered abundantly (two or three buckets of water for each tree).
In the first two years of life, young trees require a lot of attention. Moderate regular watering and top dressing, loosening and weed control are important. In dry times, the soil must be carefully loosened after each watering or occasional rain. Thanks to attention and care, the garden will delight with its appearance and abundant harvest for many years.