It's hard to find a garden plot that doesn't grow apple trees. Fruit trees are popular thanks to apples, which have a high content of vitamin C. If you consume 300 g of fruit daily, a person's daily need for it will be satisfied. Fruits of this species, grown in their garden, are of great value. But in order to have them, you must first plant apple tree seedlings. How to do it, read the article.
Selection of seedlings
Planting material is selected in accordance with the climatic conditions in which apple tree seedlings will grow. The Timiryazev Academy of Sciences is engaged in their cultivation, and they are sold in the nurseries of this institution.
Depending on the varieties of apple trees, they are:
- Strong. Large trees grow from such seedlings, eight meters in height. Areas with low (up to three meters) groundwater occurrence are suitable for them.
- Semi-dwarf. Trees grown from theseseedlings reach a height of five meters. Groundwater at the site should lie at a depth of two and a half meters.
- Dwarf. Such seedlings give low trees - 2.5 m. It is better to plant them in a garden with a groundwater level above one and a half meters.
You don't need to buy seedlings that are more than two years old, otherwise they will not take root well. This is very easy to determine. Annual seedlings have no branches, two-year-olds have two or three. When buying planting material, a thorough inspection is done. The roots should be free of growths and damage. The color of the stem under the bark in he althy plants should be bright green. Gardeners advise not to buy plants with leaves, as they will take a long time to take root or even die.
Time for planting seedlings in the ground
Apple trees grow well in loamy soils. If your garden plot is heavy, clayey, you need to lighten it by adding humus, peat and coarse sand. The soil must be well ventilated. If it is sandy, add clay soil and a lot of organic matter: peat, compost, humus. Apple tree seedlings are planted in different seasons:
- In autumn, starting from the 20th of September and ending in mid-October.
- In the spring, the planting period is at the end of April.
Preparation of seats
Apple seedlings are placed in pits. If vigorous varieties are planted, the distance between plants and rows should be five meters. ATin the case of medium-sized breeds - four meters. Varieties for which semi-dwarf seedlings were used are planted according to the 4 x 3 scheme, dwarf ones - 3 x 2. The depth of the planting pits should be 70 cm, diameter - 100. The humus layer is the top one, it is folded on one side of the pit, infertile - along another. On the advice of gardeners, it is better to dig holes in advance, about seven days before planting. Their bottom must be loosened, deepening into the ground by 25-30 cm. To do this, use a crowbar or a shovel with a sharp end. According to the experience of gardeners, the soil does not need to be removed from the pit, it should remain at the bottom, where walnut shells, small jars of tin or pebbles should be thrown. This will be the drain.
Then the pit is filled with 1/3 of the humus layer. After that, fertilizers of organic and mineral origin are added: superphosphate - one glass, potassium sulfate - two large spoons, wood ash - 10 of the same spoons, the Berry Giant mixture. Experienced gardeners advise replacing the purchased mixture with manure humus in the amount of three buckets.
All fertilizers should be mixed with the soil right in the hole and add enough fertile soil so that the hole is half full. All the humus soil left without fertilizer is poured into the pit. Experienced gardeners advise doing this: leave a small mound above the ground level, 15-20 cm in height. Drive a peg 40-50 cm long into its middle.
Fitting technology
Apple seedlings should be planted together. One person mustinstall them in the center of the pit, and the other - straighten the roots along the mound, fill them with fertile soil and tamp the pit. Seedlings are installed next to the peg, in a northerly direction from it. Gardeners advise not to deepen the root neck, it should be about five centimeters above the ground level.
Apple seedlings to a peg are best tied with a "figure eight" and polyethylene twine. The final stage of planting is watering. This must be done until the water flows into the planting hole easily. The consumption for one young plant is several buckets. Then the soil around the trunks needs to be mulched. To do this, use peat, humus or simple earth. Gardeners do not recommend making the mulch layer thick, five centimeters is enough, otherwise the roots will not receive the right amount of oxygen. Watering is repeated after seven days.
Columnar apple trees
Fruit trees with wide crowns take up a lot of space in the garden. Breeders have bred many new species for growing in small garden plots. One of them is the columnar apple tree. This tree is compact, growing up, its fruits are tasty and large.
All varieties of this type of apple trees prefer to grow in a lighted area, not blown by strong winds and without drafts. They can thrive and bear fruit well on garden paths if the conditions meet their requirements. The main thing is that the groundwater on the site should lie no higher than two meters from the surface of the earth. This is essential for successfulgrowing a tree, as its root system is long, pivotal.
Technology for planting columnar apple trees
The key to a high yield is soil fertility. Gardeners advise when planting in the spring to cook it from autumn. If this procedure is planned to be carried out before winter, the site should be prepared half a month before planting.
The pits are prepared in advance. Their depth and width are the same, about 90 cm. The soil for columnar apple trees is the same as for other varieties of this type of fruit tree. Seedlings of columnar apple trees should be prepared - cut the roots. If they dry out, put them in water. Then place in a hole, straighten the roots, cover with soil, compact and tie to a support. At a distance of 30 cm from the trunk, you need to make a hole in a circle and water the planted tree with two buckets of water. The last stage in planting is mulching the tree trunks with sawdust, peat.
Dwarf apple trees
There is no such species in nature. It is obtained by grafting ordinary varieties on a dwarf rootstock. Such apple trees are popular because they bear fruit early, they take up little space, and it is easy to harvest from them. But the main advantage is that the intake of nutrients is carried out in the fruits, since the woody part does not take up large volumes.
Planting dwarf apple trees
The best time for this, according to gardeners, is autumn. Trees thrive in high, sunnyplaces not blown by the winds, and fertile soils. The distance between dwarf seedlings of apple trees should be two meters. The diameter of the planting pits is 60 cm, their depth is 50. The topsoil is more fertile, it is removed and set aside. In the future, they fill the pits, but supplement with humus, compost and ordinary earth. A peg is driven into the pit and the prepared mixture is brought in in the amount of two buckets.
The bed is left alone for half a month. During this time, the soil in the holes will settle, which is a signal to start planting. Seedlings are placed in a northerly direction from the peg to protect the bark from sunburn. When the roots are straightened, you can fill the hole, leaving the root neck above the soil surface. After that, the earth around the trunk must be tamped, watered and mulched, as, however, in the case of planting other varieties.
Fuji apple tree
This crop variety is a leader in horticulture. It was bred by breeders from Japan. The variety is adapted for growing in climates with low temperatures. The fruits are very tasty, even, large. Ripens late, at the end of October. Fruiting is characterized by some periodicity. Every two years the yield is higher.
For planting fuji apple tree seedlings, on the advice of gardeners, you need to choose a place on the garden plot where they will get more sun rays. It is important that the soil is fertile, its moisture capacity is high, and groundwater is low. Otherwise, all recommendations for planting this varietythe same as when laying a garden from other fruit trees.
Pink Pearl
This apple variety was bred by American breeders. They took advantage of Michurin's achievements to get fruits with red pulp. Apples are very tasty, sweet, fragrant, reminiscent of the smell of raspberries. Their flesh is juicy. Productivity is good: 10-15 kg per tree.
Planting seedlings of the "pink pearl" apple tree, on the advice of gardeners, is best done in the spring, when the soil thaws to a depth of the planting pit, which is 60 cm, width - 90-120. The technology is similar to the procedure for planting other varieties of apple trees. Only when watering more water is required, about 20 liters per tree. And yet, if the shoot has no branches, it is cut to 1/3 of the height.
