People often say: "As you start, so it goes." Any business must be started consciously and correctly. After winter, fruit trees or berry bushes may suffer on your plot, or even die. Or maybe you just want to equip your site with a good garden, the fruits of which you will enjoy all winter? Then you need to purchase high-quality seedlings of bushes or trees.
What is this?
First you need to understand what a seedling is, how to choose, plant and care for it. From many sources or dictionaries, one can learn that seedlings are young plants of trees or shrubs that have been grown from cuttings or seedlings. Subsequently, they are used for landing on a permanent place of residence. This place can be a garden, a park, etc.
What are there?
In turn, in addition to the fact that seedlings are trees, but very young, there is their classification:
- Seedlings with bareroots. They are dug up and transported for sale without soil. So that the root system does not dry out, it is wrapped in a wet rag. Such trees take root very well, but for planting, you need to choose the period October or November.
- Seedlings where the roots are immersed in an earthen clod. When a seedling is dug up in this way, its root system is not disturbed. It is necessary to pay special attention to who is around the roots, it should not collapse and expose the roots, the earth should not dry out. Such seedlings are planted in the period September-October or April-May.
- Seedlings in a container. This is the best option for youngsters. It is grown from seed in a pot and then planted in a container. You can plant such seedlings at a convenient time for the buyer. Growers can purchase this planting material throughout the year.
- Seedlings in the package. Such packaging material may include plastic bags or cardboard boxes. The root system of young growth is sprinkled with wet peat. Seedlings should be planted in October or March.
Sale of seedlings
In nurseries or garden markets, two types of material are on sale: OKS and ZKS. Each buyer can choose an acceptable option for him. To begin with, consider the seedlings of ZKS and OKS. What is it and how to plant them? Which ones are preferable to buy and how they should look.?
- ZKS seedlings is a plant with a closed root system. Such material costs decent money, but it has a number of advantages. The seedlings have a good and undamaged rootsystem. Such planting material has a long landing period.
- OKS seedlings are young plants with an open root system. When choosing such seedlings, you can study the roots well. But the landing of such material has a limited time - up to two weeks.
If you buy a plant with ACS in the fall, then it should be devoid of leaves. This procedure is carried out in nurseries, before the planting material is removed from the ground. If this is a plant with ZKS, then it does not lose foliage. This is not necessary.
How to choose the right seedlings
In order to grow a good tree, and subsequently get an excellent harvest, you need to choose the right planting material. Here are a few rules when choosing seedlings:
- You should buy one-year-old or two-year-old seedlings. Such trees will take root better and will be able to winter without much damage.
- It is necessary to pay special attention to the proportionality of the crown and root. If the crown is large and the root system is small, then most likely they want to sell you an adult tree with chopped roots.
- Standard seedling size. A biennial plant has a root system length of at least 30 cm. It also has a central conductor from which three branches extend.
And, of course, do not forget to ask the seller questions, to which he must give a detailed answer. Feel free to examine your purchase, touch the trunk and feel the ground. Outwardly, the seedlings should be he althy, the root system should not be dried, and the crown should be whole.
New method of obtaining seedlings
We have already considered that seedlings are young growth that has been grown from a seed or from a cutting. But recently, a new method of growing planting material has begun to gain popularity.
Own-root seedlings are young growth that can be obtained by rooting a cutting or root growth. Such trees have two advantages. Firstly, you can grow such seedlings in your area without vaccination. Second, if the tree has not overwintered and is frozen to ground level, it can be revived from the root system.
Whatever planting material you choose, you need to plant it correctly. To get started, learn everything about the culture that you will plant, you need to familiarize yourself with all the characteristics, advantages and disadvantages. Then select the area where the landing will be made. We must not forget that you can not plant young growth in place of an old tree. It should take at least three years. If the soil in the area is acidic, you need to add dolomite flour to the planting pit. Seedlings are planted in spring or autumn, depending on your climate and tree type.
Following all the rules and approaching such work with soul, you can grow a beautiful garden and enjoy its gifts.
