When to open seedlings after winter. Spring protection of garden plants from pests and diseases

hope dies last

In the spring, novice gardeners often make the mistake of removing plants that do not show signs of life for a long time. Sometimes roses, honeysuckle, astilbe, buddleia, tree hydrangeas, holly mahonia, phlox, chrysanthemums and even grapes.

Out of frustration, they simply tear the bushes out of the ground, and then they are saddened when they see living buds below.

It is usually believed that the plants froze, although more often the cause of death is that they were frozen. In any case, the task is one - to help them recover.

Most plants are very resilient. They have many dormant buds that are not developed and are not noticeable at first glance. Over time, with proper care, they awaken, and the plants quickly recover due to a powerful root system, which is much less damaged in the ground.

To help plants, you need to do following rules. Remove all obviously dead, black and dry branches. The vine does not need to be pruned too short. Sometimes the buds awaken very late, but then the grapes quickly gain strength.

Water regularly, but moderately, avoiding stagnation of moisture. Feed with nitrogen fertilizers. The dose is small - less than a tablespoon per bucket of water. Spray with growth stimulants: epin, zircon or Mival-agro. It is useful to use humic preparations. In hot weather, all spraying should be carried out only in the evening. Be sure to feed after preliminary watering with water and only aqueous solutions.

In addition to the above-ground part, it also suffers in winter. root system. We don’t see any damage to the roots, but we need to remember about them . Keep the soil clean, weeding. It is convenient to do this with a Fokin flat cutter while loosening it at the same time. The presence of air in the soil is very important for weakened roots. In order for the roots to come to life and “earn”, you need water the plant with Kornevin, Heterauxin. These drugs cause the growth of small suction roots that revive the affected plants. Remember that you must strictly adhere to the dose indicated in the instructions. An overdose may have the opposite effect.

If you are sad to see an empty space where your frozen plants have not yet recovered, then plant seedlings of annual flowers nearby . It is useful to plant plants with phytoncidal properties: calendula, marigold or nasturtium. Perhaps in mid-summer you will notice signs of life in frozen plants. In this case, annuals can be removed or replanted.

The main thing is not to lose hope. Remember that plants are very tenacious creatures, so do not rush to “bury” them. Give them a chance to fight for their lives and help them a little.

Sometimes the bark on rose stems is cracked and partially peeled off. Such wounds can be treated with growth stimulants or treated with sorrel juice, as is done on apple trees damaged by rodents. The wound is rubbed with green sorrel leaves or a cloth bandage moistened with juice from the rubbed leaves is applied.

After pruning, affected roses and other shrubs should be protect from the drying rays of the sun. To do this, cover them with a box, flower pot or a bucket. This shelter can be kept for 3-4 weeks - it is more humid under it, which is useful for weakened plants. Check their condition: when the sprouts appear, remove the cover so that they do not stretch out without light (uncover them only in the evening or in cloudy weather).

Plants in which young shoots have begun to grow need to be support with fertilizing. There is no need to get carried away with manure and nitrogen. It is better to give complex fertilizers with microelements. In early August, transfer the plants to a phosphorus-potassium diet.

Irises that look bad after winter must be dug up and inspected. All darkened and soft spots cut the rhizome down to the healthy part and treat with the drug Maxim. Sprinkle the wound with crushed coal and cover it with moss, then cover it with earth. Sphagnum moss has bactericidal properties and prevents the spread of infections on the affected rhizome.

M.P. Zaitseva, Moscow

The main condition for maintaining health fruit trees and receiving abundant and stable harvest is proper care for landings. Garden care includes a whole range of activities that should be carried out throughout the year.

In our article you will find a detailed calendar of garden care by month and find out what measures should be taken to preserve the fertility of trees.

How to properly care for your garden

A well-kept garden that produces a rich harvest is the result of significant efforts of the gardener and his strong knowledge about the peculiarities of caring for plants. After all, plant the plot fruit trees and shrubs - this is just the beginning of growing.

The main focus is on aftercare, consisting of: various kinds seasonal work. Exist general recommendations who provide comprehensive garden care.

Professional gardeners know that a young garden needs especially careful care. So, during the first year after its planting, during the spring-summer period alone, it is necessary to carry out at least 4 loosening of the soil around the trees, while simultaneously weeding out the weeds.

Planted plants need regular watering, which consumes 3-4 buckets of water. After watering, it would be logical to loosen and mulch the tree trunk circles. With the onset of autumn, they need to be dug up, turning the soil well. This procedure leads to the death of pests overwintering in the soil.

Note: In the spring, after the snow has melted and the soil has dried, the tree trunk circles must be loosened. If the soil around the trees is too compacted, it must be dug up again, weeds removed and mulched.

You should know that the growth and development of garden plants depend on the optimal level of soil moisture during the growing season. For example, when excess humidity Tree growth slows down and they may even die. This danger especially increases in the second half of summer, so it is at this time that it is necessary to stop watering. They can be renewed only during the period of massive leaf fall.

Here are some professional advice that will help you learn how to properly care for orchard(picture 1):

1. The diameter of the trunk circles of a young tree in the first two to three years should be from 1.5 to 2.5 meters. Every year the diameter increases, and when the tree reaches the age of 6 years it is 3 meters. Further, this distance remains unchanged.
2. At the beginning of autumn, the depth of digging the soil directly at the trunk is 5-6 cm, at the periphery - 15 cm.
3. To avoid damaging the roots when digging, it is necessary to place the blade of the shovel with its edge facing the tree.
4. To determine whether watering is necessary, you can dig holes up to half a meter deep throughout the garden near the trees. Taking a handful of soil from the hole, notice whether the lump can maintain its shape after unclenching your hand. If the soil crumbles, you need to start watering.
5. Leaves that wilt at midday will also serve as a signal of a lack of moisture.
6. Watering of trees is carried out in circles near the trunks at the rate of 4-6 buckets of water per 1 sq.m.

Figure 1. Basic garden care activities

The first watering of the garden can be done approximately 2-3 weeks after the end of flowering. The second follows 20 days after the first. Stone fruit trees are watered a second time two weeks before harvesting the fruit. After harvesting, they are watered only when necessary, for example, during severe drought.

Note: It is not recommended to cover tree trunk circles with turf.

Trees can be treated with insecticides 10 days after flowering. in addition, after the snow melts, it is necessary to treat the trunks of fruit trees with lime mortar.

Autumn garden cleaning should be mandatory. Dried, rotten fruits should be removed, fallen or cut branches should be burned.

Spring is not only a time of awakening and renewal of wildlife, but also the busiest time for a gardener. After all, the future harvest directly depends on spring garden care. Many of these works must be carried out before the trees awaken and sap begins to flow in them (Figure 2). How to care for your garden in spring? Let us describe it in general terms.

Figure 2. Main stages of spring garden care

First, it is necessary to inspect young fruit trees and seedlings in order to identify possible cracks, damage by rodents, and frost damage to the bark. Any cracks found must be bandaged. plastic film. If tinder fungi were noticed during inspection, they must be removed and the wounds on the bark treated with garden varnish (2 parts clay, 1 part mullein, finely chopped straw or hay).

Note: Some plants may have died during the winter: outwardly they look dried out and buds do not develop on them. When examining tree trunks, pay attention to whether hollows or traces of dangerous diseases have appeared in them.

Particular attention should be paid to examining the crowns of young apple trees, since it is on dry leaves hanging on the web that clutches of ringed silkworms can be found. Last year's leaves are removed using sticks.

If they grow in the garden coniferous trees, it is necessary to prepare shading shields or crown covers for them. The trunks of fruit trees must be whitened with lime mortar.

Whitewash

Gardeners are well aware that fungi and lichens, as well as various types of tree pests and their eggs, settle on the bark of trees. Therefore, tree trunks must be carefully cleaned of growths and whitened with a lime solution (2.5 kg per bucket of water) or treated with a special paste.

Functions of whitewashing:

• Protecting the bark from direct sun rays;
• Protection from pests overwintering in the bark;
• Repels rodents in the presence of aromatic substances in the whitewash composition.

Spraying trees

One of the most important activities carried out in the garden in spring is spraying plants with insecticides. These substances help in the fight against various diseases (scab, black cancer) and pests (caterpillars, moths, spider mites). You should know that this treatment can be carried out only before flowering.

All subsequent sprayings are carried out only for preventive purposes and to increase protective functions plants with specially developed preparations.

You will find more information about garden care in spring in the video.

Tree feeding

Behind winter period plants use their supply of nutrients, and therefore they need feeding. In this case, fertilizers are selected taking into account individual characteristics each crop (age, variety, condition, place of growth).

Feeding can be carried out both by the root and foliar methods. Thus, organic fertilizers in the form of rotted manure, bird droppings, compost, and infusions of green manure are applied to the tree trunks, digging them up along with the soil. Mineral fertilizers are also applied in a similar way.

With foliar feeding, nutrients are sprayed onto the tree crowns by spraying them. For example, stone fruit trees, as well as apple and pear trees are sprayed with a solution of carbamide (urea) of various dosages.

With the onset of summer, weeds begin their rapid development. Therefore, in order to fully supply the plants with nutrients and moisture, it is necessary to weed the tree trunk circles and areas around the bushes already in June (Figure 3). Weeded weeds can be integral part composts.

Figure 3. How to care for a garden in summer: mulching, weeding and watering

When planning to mulch the soil, set aside weeds with roots and flowers. It is better to use them to prepare an infusion of herbs, which will also be useful for garden plants. And to cover the soil in tree trunk circles, use mown grass or sawdust, as well as peat, manure, humus and even synthetic film. When using film as a mulching material, care should be taken more attention watering plants.

Note: If the soil is not covered with mulch, then weeding is combined with loosening, thereby not only freeing the soil from weeds, but also improving air access to the root system. As a result of loosening, the habitats of pests in the soil are also destroyed. It is important to know that starting from August, loosening cannot be carried out, since it interferes with the preparation of trees for winter and also prevents young shoots from ripening.

Just before the fruits begin to ripen, it is necessary to weed, loosen and water the plants. So, the watering rate for a pear is 3-4 buckets, for an apple tree - 4-5 buckets, for stone fruits - 2-3 buckets per 1 sq.m. circumventricular circle. Watering should be such that the soil is saturated to a depth of 40-80 cm. As for berry bushes, then they are watered less often, but more abundantly, than trees (2-3 buckets per bush), and in case of drought, the norm is doubled.

In summer, when there is intensive growth of shoots, it is necessary to ensure that they do not grow inside the crown. Such shoots must either be cut out or broken off without causing significant harm to the plant. To weaken the growth of excess strong annual branches, they must be bent and tied up.

In addition, in early June, increased growth of root shoots is observed. It can only be removed by digging, since cutting with pruning shears only enhances growth.

If a generous harvest is planned, take care in advance about supports for the branches. If the branch still cannot stand under the weight of the fruit and breaks, it must be separated from the tree, and the cut area should be lubricated with garden varnish, or a mixture of mullein and clay, and then tied with a dark film.

In August, trees begin to prepare for winter. During this period, it is no longer possible to apply nitrogen fertilizers, water or loosen the soil, so as not to stimulate the growth process. If young shoots continue to grow in young plants, they need to be pinched back.

The author of the video will tell you all the necessary information about summer care behind the trees.

Protection from diseases and pests

One of the most important activities in garden care is the examination of plants in order to identify various diseases and pests, as well as their control.

Note: This must be done before the plants bloom, since fruit trees cannot be treated with pesticides during flowering, so as not to burn the flowers and cause the death of pollinating insects.

After examining your garden, draw up a clear plan of plant protection measures, separately for each group of fruit and berry plantings. This way you will be able to achieve maximum effect at minimum quantity processing.

You can fight pests and diseases either with the help of special toxic drugs or manually ( mechanically). Often, mechanical control measures are sufficient to control pests. For example, by removing and destroying spider nests, they at the same time fight the caterpillars of the ringed silkworm, codling moth and moth.

Start work when the snow is just starting to melt:

It happens that mechanical means of control are not enough, then they resort to the help of special chemical mixtures or aqueous solutions with the addition of various substances(copper and iron sulfate, Bordeaux mixture, urea, soda ash, etc.). Ready-made products are used according to the instructions, and those prepared by hand are stirred until a uniform consistency is obtained so as not to cause burns to the trees.

Remember that to combat adult insects, spraying must be carried out before flowering, and to destroy their larvae - after the end (Figure 4). Don’t forget about personal protective equipment: gloves, goggles, hats and a respirator.

Top dressing

Summer feeding of garden plants is carried out with the aim of saturating them with missing microelements. In the summer season, foliar feeding by spraying the crowns is more rational, since the leaves absorb nutrients much faster than the roots.

Fertilizing with nitroammophos is considered the simplest and most balanced. It is a mixture of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and sulfur. Excellent for fertile soils. On other types of soil (clayey, heavy), a whole range of fertilizers should be used, based on a number of individual characteristics of each plant.

Very often for foliar feeding use urea. It helps saturate plants with nitrogen and destroys many pests. In August, fertilizing is carried out with diluted karbofos, which combines the qualities of a fungicide and an insecticide. In addition, it is practically harmless to humans. And yet, remember that if the concentration of the active substance in the water exceeds certain standards, then instead of the expected positive result, you can harm the plants.

Autumn events held in the garden are similar to spring ones, but they are carried out in the reverse order. That is, first the harvest is harvested, and then the trees are whitewashed.

Figure 5. Basic measures for caring for trees in the garden in autumn

Before whitewashing, the tree trunks are again cleared of old bark, the wounds and cracks are smeared with garden varnish, and whitewashing is performed (Figure 5).

Fertilizer

In October they hold root feeding with application to the surrounding circles mineral fertilizers(except nitrogen). This type of feeding is a mandatory type of work in the autumn garden.

Trimming

Another mandatory activity in the fall is tree pruning to remove damaged shoots and diseased branches. All collected garbage (branches, leaves, spoiled fruits) must be taken outside the garden and burned.

Preparing for winter

Preparation for winter involves wrapping tree trunks with roofing felt or roofing felt. As a retainer, you can use either a regular rope or barbed wire, which will serve as a additional protection from hares and beavers winter time. Baits with poison will help fight mice.

Whitewashing the bark will provide additional protection. Since it has a bitter taste, it will be unattractive to rodents. In addition, with the arrival of spring, white trunks will serve as a kind of mirror, reflecting direct sunlight and preventing the formation of burns. Thus, even when the tree emerges from dormancy, it will be protected.

You will find tips on preparing your garden for winter in the video.

Since plants are dormant in winter, garden care involves regular inspections to detect rodents and lay out bait for them (Figure 6).

Protection

To obtain good harvest, it is necessary to create such conditions so that trees can survive severe frosts and rodent infestations in winter. Therefore, work must begin in the fall, building protective devices for the bark (various fences, wrapping the trunk with barbed wire, “scarecrows”).

Rodents should be controlled using special poisonous baits that are placed around the plants. Care should be taken to ensure that birds do not have access to them. To do this, baits can be covered with planks or branches.

Figure 6. Winter care behind the fruit trees in the garden

Frosts can also cause a lot of damage. To protect plants from their influence, it is enough to wrap the trunks with roofing felt or roofing felt, using a layer of ordinary burlap as a spacer between the bark and the wrapping material. This way you will protect your garden not only from frost, but also from burns from direct sunlight.

Root and bark care

In February, you can insulate the roots with snow. To do this, a small mound of snow is poured near the trunk insulated in the fall and compacted with feet. This simple method will prevent trees from freezing and help retain moisture.

Shaking off the snow

In winter, it is necessary to regularly monitor the amount of snow on the branches and shake it off, since when it melts it becomes heavier and can break young shoots.

The same measures are carried out during a sharp cold snap or thaw. Ice-encrusted branches break easily and can cause serious damage to the tree.

Garden tools

The following tools are most often used to care for the garden (Figure 7):

• Different kinds shovels: bayonet, shovel and snow removal;
• Rakes, hoes, baking powder;
• Secateurs and loppers, saws and garden shears;
• Hoses and devices for spraying;
• Technical means: cart, lawn mower, chainsaw, cultivator, brush cutter, etc.).

Figure 7. Gardening tools

All these tools must be included in the gardener’s arsenal. But for beginners, you can buy equipment gradually, purchasing tools according to the season.

Garden care products

Garden and vegetable care products are divided into several groups. Garden pitch and lime mortar are used to treat bark and cracks on the trunk and branches. Various types of fertilizers (organic, mineral, complex) are used to strengthen plants, increase fruiting volumes and accelerate tree growth.

The list of necessary garden care products also includes drugs against diseases and pests: fungicides, insecticides, various homemade tinctures.

Spring apple tree care includes pruning and treatment for parasites

Spring work Apple tree care should not be delayed until warmer days arrive. Many procedures must be carried out before the snow melts.

Whitewashing and treatment of apple tree trunk in spring

Whitewashing tree trunks is necessary to protect the bark from sunlight. It is carried out from February to mid-March, until the snow melts. In more late dates painting the trunks will not bring any benefit to the tree, but will only decorate the garden.

Of the wide variety of whitewashes, I prefer garden acrylic paint. Its protective effect remains for a long time- it does not collapse or crack, and also - it is not washed off by rain. I use it only for apple trees over 7 years old. To enhance the effect, I add copper sulfate to the paint. Such a composition will not only protect the apple tree from sunburn, but will also help fight pests overwintering in the bark.

For young apple trees with immature bark, I prepare a whitewash mixture from lime, manure and clay in a ratio of 3:1:1. I mix all the ingredients well and dilute with water to the consistency of thick sour cream. The solution protects against burns and disinfects the bark, but needs to be renewed periodically.

After winter, apple tree trunks are often damaged by rodents. I cover small wounds with garden varnish immediately after the snow melts in March. In areas that have been chewed down to wood, I graft, trying to use as many cuttings as possible winter-hardy varieties.

I remove the exfoliated bark during frost damage, and carefully cover the cuts with varnish. Over time, the wounds heal completely. In large areas of frost damage, I graft with a bridge.

Pruning apple trees in spring

The timing of spring pruning may vary depending on the availability of free time. You can start it at a temperature not lower than minus 10 degrees Celsius, and continue until the first buds appear on the branches.

I carry out sanitary pruning before sap flow begins. I cut out all the branches damaged in winter. For these purposes I use hand pruners and a sharpened garden saw.

In spring, I form the crown of young apple trees. I cut out shading and growing under small acute angle to the trunk of the branch. I leave a distance of 40-70 cm between the skeletal branches. Of the branches of the second order, I leave those growing to the sides, and cut out the rest.

Optimal height apple trees are the ones that are convenient to care for and harvest. I determine the required height as follows. I put a stepladder near the tree, stand on the top step and stretch my arm up. If the tree is taller than my hand, I lower the crown. To do this, I shorten the top of the conductor and the upper branches to the level I need. I treat the cuts with garden varnish.

Prevention of apple trees from diseases and pests in spring

Many pests and diseases easily survive the winter and begin to actively develop with the arrival of spring.

To combat crawling pests, in particular the flower beetle weevil, I successfully use catching belts. I install them with the appearance of the first thawed patches in the tree trunk circle so that they fit as tightly as possible to the trunk.

I do the second treatment after the apple trees bloom, when the first ovary appears. During this period I use more gentle drugs - Fitoverm, Akarin, Lepidocid. I spray in dry, windless weather in the morning. The first results of the drugs can be seen 5-6 hours after treatment.

Apple tree grafting in spring

Best time for apple tree grafting - May, when active sap flow begins. I use cuttings of promising varieties harvested in winter. The survival rate of such grafting is very high - up to 90% of cuttings.

Fertilizing apple trees in spring

If, when planting an apple tree in fertile soil was entered sufficient quantity fertilizers, there is no need to additionally feed the tree for five years. An exception to this rule is growing apple trees on poor soils - sandstones and drained swamps.

I feed trees older than five years at the beginning of April. I use urea, rotted manure, and wood ash. In the soil at the crown projection area, I make 20-25 cm indentations with a pitchfork or a crowbar. I pour a handful of fertilizer into each hole and cover it with soil on top. For one tree I use about half a kilo of urea or 5-6 buckets of manure, so that the feeding is enough for two to three years.

I never scatter fertilizers on the surface of the soil. They will not bring any benefit to the apple tree, but the grass will grow by leaps and bounds. Also, do not spread manure on top of the snow. Such actions will only slow down the snowmelt, and the weeds will get food.

Additionally, during the growing season, I apply fertilizer only when the tree signals a lack of nutrients. The first signs of trouble are visible before flowering begins - during this period I fertilize. I prepare a solution in a hundred-liter barrel of water, to which I add a bucket of mullein, a kilogram of superphosphate, and 300 g of potassium sulfate. The solution is infused for a week. I water the apple trees with this mixture, 4-5 buckets per tree.

I re-fertilize after flowering. I change the composition of the solution - I don’t add manure, but I double the amount of superphosphate and potassium sulfate. These components have a beneficial effect on the formation of the ovary and the future harvest of apple trees.

Watering apple trees in spring

Before the leaves bloom, the need for watering of apple trees is compensated by the moisture accumulated in the ground after the snow melts. Next, the trees need to be watered, especially if the weather is dry and warm. I water young trees every five days, older trees less often, but more abundantly.

After watering, harrow the soil under the apple tree so that a crust does not form. I mulch the tree trunk area thin layer straw or peat to retain moisture longer. Sawdust is not suitable as mulch - it will make the soil acidic. A thick mulch layer is also unsafe - rodents, pathogenic bacteria grow in it, and fungal pores multiply.

Protecting the apple tree from return frosts

Spring frosts will not harm apple trees if the buds on them have not yet blossomed. To protect deciduous trees from frost, I use sprinkling. To do this, in the late evening I generously irrigate the entire crown with water from a hose through a fine sprayer. Drops freezing at night give off their heat to young leaves. This method can only be used in calm weather, otherwise the effect will be exactly the opposite.

When there is a threat of frost during flowering, to protect the apple trees, I resort to the old proven method - smoke. In the garden I lay out heaps of straw, peat, leaves, and dry grass. I drive a stake into the center and pour a little earth on top of the pile. In the evening I pull out the stake - the hole will serve as a chimney, and set the pile on fire.

Transplanting an apple tree in spring

Before the leaves bloom, apple trees can be replanted if the planting site was initially chosen poorly. It is not difficult to dig up young trees (up to three years old) and plant them in a new location. It is necessary to water the soil well in the tree trunk area before digging up the tree, and after planting, carry out short pruning of the branches. This way the apple tree will quickly recover after transplantation and begin to grow.

Things are more complicated with transplanting apple trees at the age of 4-5 years. You need to dig a groove along the perimeter of the crown and gradually deepen it to 50 cm. Any roots that come across are cut off. When the depth of the ditch is sufficient, the earthen ball is dug up and the central root rod is trimmed. Replant the tree with a lump of earth. After planting, it is watered and the branches are radically pruned, leaving only the central conductor and a few skeletal and secondary branches.

If for some reason the apple tree had to be uprooted, a new seedling can be planted in its place the same year - the diseases of the old tree will not be transmitted.

Selecting a seedling for planting

You can plant young apple tree seedlings in early spring, as soon as the ground allows you to stick a shovel into it. During this period, enough moisture is retained in the soil for the tree to take root.

Before purchasing, seedlings with bare roots should be carefully examined for rotting roots, signs of disease and pest activity, and damage to the bark and branches. If the planting of seedlings has to be postponed, their roots should be wrapped in a damp cloth and the trees should be stored in the basement in this form for no more than 3-4 days.

In spring, the apple orchard needs special attention. It is necessary not to miss time and carry out a number of activities on time - trim the crown, heal wounds, vaccinate, feed the trees. It is in the spring that disease and pest prevention is most effective. Having done everything correctly and on time, you will definitely get a good harvest of bulk apples.

Healthy, blooming garden, which brings a rich harvest largely depends on proper, high-quality care, especially in spring period. The time for the awakening of all living things is important and troublesome for gardeners. Carry out all work depending on weather conditions and climate zone.

First work in the garden

Work in the garden begins with clearing the branches of the plantings from melted snow, if there was plenty of precipitation at the end of winter. The spring sun makes the snow loose and heavy and can easily break thin branches. To avoid this, shake it off. If the branches have already sagged and fallen, build supports to support them.

The following advice is relevant for areas with a slope. To melt water were delayed, and the flood did not erode the soil, build snow ramparts across the slope.

Stock up on melt water - it is rich in useful microelements. To do this, containers need to be filled with snow and added as it melts.

With the arrival of spring, not only vegetation wakes up - rodents and pests are ready to become active. Inspect existing bait poisons and prepare new ones if necessary.

The snow has melted - start cleaning the garden. Collect old leaves and other debris, and get rid of weeds if they appear.

Whitewashing - protection of garden crops

How to whitewash trees

Even before the snow finally melts and the trees “wake up,” choose a dry day and whitewash.

Before work, prepare trees with damage: clean the trunk with a brush, remove dead bark, and at the same time, pests that have overwintered and remain in it will be destroyed. Growths and lichens are also cleaned off. Cover all opened cracks with garden varnish. Perform whitewashing after the treated areas have completely dried.

Early whitewashing has double benefits for wood:

1. It will prevent burns that may appear on the bark from bright spring rays, so use only white color.
2. Protects the tree trunk from insect pests.

Choose which solution to apply yourself. Acrylic paint The rains are not scary - this whitewash is the most resistant. You can use special store-bought solutions or self-prepared ones, with the addition of any adhesive.

How to whiten fruit trees

The most common is lime whitening:

• 2.5 kg of lime is diluted per bucket of water;
• half a liter of copper sulfate;
• Add 200 grams of wood glue to make the solution last longer on the wood.

Whitewash based on manure and lime:

• 1 kg each of lime and manure;
• 200 grams of copper sulfate;
• Mix these components in 8 liters of water and leave for about 2 hours.

Clay-based whitewash solution:

• mix 1 kg of fatty clay in 10 liters of water;
• 2 kg of slaked lime;
• a shovel of cow dung;
• 250 grams of copper sulfate.

Leave for 2 hours. Whiten young trees with a mixture based on chalk; under this solution the bark will breathe freely.

Spraying trees and shrubs in the garden

Caring for your garden in the spring is a must for preventing the appearance of pests and combating diseases.

When to treat trees

Processing fruit and berry crops use special preparations at least 3 times:

• before the growing season (bud swelling);
• before flowering;
• 7-10 days after flowering.

How to spray fruit trees

Early spraying of trees Bordeaux mixture or copper sulfate, carbamide, (urea) will relieve plants from many problems. There are other means of treatment: chemical, combined, but the ones mentioned above are effective and one of the most budget-friendly. The gardener decides which product to choose.

1. Start the first treatment when the temperature reaches 5 °C. During this period, spraying will destroy successfully overwintered pests.
2. The use of special preparations before flowering will help protect the buds and cope with pest larvae and fungal diseases.
3. The following treatment is needed to destroy emerging insects and fruit rot.

Remember that it is not recommended to spray trees during flowering.

Tree feeding

Garden care includes spring feeding trees, contributing to nutrition and improving soil quality. All necessary elements Plants rely on mineral fertilizers to grow, so don’t forget about them every year. Organic: compost, peat, manure is enough to use once every 2 - 3 years. Usually in the spring the soil is fed with nitrogen, and in the fall manure, phosphorus, and potassium are used.

Fertilizer application timing

Apply the first fertilizers in March. Mineral mixtures dissolve well and can be sprinkled on snow. Together with melt water they will be absorbed into the ground and useful material. On a site with a slope, such fertilizing will not be effective: it will be carried away by melt water.

Another option is relevant for all fruit and berry crops: 2/3 dose nitrogen fertilizers add it when you dig up the tree trunk circles.

Dosage of organic and mineral fertilizers for the garden

Be attentive to the process of fertilizing: fruit-bearing trees will be negatively affected by both a lack and an excess of minerals. For example, non-standardization of such a useful element as nitrogen can affect frost resistance and overall growth plants.

More accurate fertilizer application data is shown in the table.

Table 1. Fertilizer dose per fruit tree

Year of planting	Diameter of the trunk circle, m	Organic fertilizers, kg	Mineral fertilizers, g
			Nitrogen	Phosphorus	Potassium
2nd	2,0	6	10	10	15
3, 4th	2,5	10	20	20	30
5th, 6th	3,0	15	30	30	45
7, 8th	3,5	20	60	40	60
9, 10th	4,0	25	75	50	75
11, 12th	5,0	40	120	80	150

In addition to mineral fertilizers for feeding, use organic matter: manure and compost. Rotted manure improves soil properties. Those that are clayey in structure become less viscous, while those that are light and free-flowing increase their moisture capacity. Organic fertilizers not only have a positive effect on the soil, but also supply useful elements.

Valentina Kravchenko, expert

How to properly fertilize plants

Do not feed young plants, start this useful process from the second year of tree life.

When applying fertilizers, consider the following factors:

• plants absorb liquid fertilizers better;
• do not apply fertilizer near the trunk: the roots, which absorb nutrients, are located along the perimeter of the branches;
• Apply fertilizer in the evening or on a cloudy day;
• To prevent the roots from getting burned, first moisten the soil, and only then apply liquid fertilizers;
• keep the soil near the tree in a loose state, so the plant “breathes” better;
• After applying dry fertilizers, water the area around the trunk along with top dressing.

Trimming - effective sanitary cleaning

Trees and shrubs that are not pruned during their growth look worse, age faster, and their productivity decreases.

When to prune fruit trees

Complete all pruning work before the buds begin to swell. Before performing the procedure, wait until the temperature drops to minus 5 °C, and night frosts to minus 10 °C have not returned.

During pruning, material is also collected for subsequent grafting of fruit trees. Selected shoots are cut, grafted immediately or stored in a dark, cool place until sap flows.

The Basics of Successful Garden Pruning

• Start pruning before sap flow begins;
• first of all, free the tree from shoots damaged during cold weather, this is an extra load that only hinders the development of the plant;
• remove dry and broken branches;
• cover the cuts with garden varnish if branches with a diameter of more than 15 cm were cut;
• Cultivate fruit-bearing plants first, and cultivate young plants 10-15 days later.

Care and planting of seedlings

Inspection and treatment of trees in spring

If the frosts have subsided, remove the insulation from the bollards. Inspect the trees to see if they are intact and whether rodents have reached them.

If there is an injury, treat the tree:

1. Strip the bark damaged by mice and treat it with iron sulfate (a 5% solution is used for this), then cover it with garden varnish.
2. The tree that the hares reach receives more serious damage. In this case, bridge vaccinations are used.

Planting seedlings in spring

Start planting in the garden in the spring as soon as the snow recedes, 2 weeks before the growing season. Until the trees “wake up”, planting will be more effective.

• Check the soil to make sure it is not frozen; seedlings will not survive in such soil.
• Dip the roots of the tree into the clay mash, this will increase the adhesion of the bottom of the tree to the ground.
• Prepare pits for new plants in the fall, and then you can fill them with fertilizers.
• If fertilizers were not applied before winter, then add rotted manure to the bottom of the hole where you are planting the tree. Apply a nitrogen-based fertilizer some time after planting.

Well done spring care will affect how trees and shrubs are prepared for the new season. A responsible approach to gardening will ensure high results - a well-groomed, beautiful, healthy, fruit-bearing garden.

After winter ends, the trees in the garden need careful care, otherwise you may be left without a harvest during the season.

Garden resuscitation for plants

Don't rush to trim, wait until they start to wake up flower buds. Then the difference between living and damaged branches will be most visible. All branches with frostbites are cut down to living tissue, and the trunk and base of the skeletal branches are urgently whitened so that the situation is not aggravated by burns from the hot spring sun. Before this, all affected areas in places where the bark originates are cleaned down to living tissue and treated with a 1% solution iron sulfate(100 g per 10 liters of water), and then covered with a mixture of clay and mullein.

Frozen trees after winter need good care: provide them with timely watering, fertilizing, protection from pests and, if necessary, update. Moreover, it is important to fertilize not at the root, but at the leaf level with solutions of microfertilizers such as Kristallon, Plantafol, Master or a solution of ammonium nitrate (3-4 g per 1 liter of water). The interval between them is a decade. The frequency of fertilizing is 3-4 times during the summer. Thanks to this, the garden will recover faster.

Please note that the loss of some branches has upset the balance between the above-ground part and the roots of your cherry or apricot. And the juices of the plant with nutrients will rush to their previous points of growth. And, for example, there are already five instead of ten. All of these can cause excessive growth of green shoots.

Therefore, it is better to feed fertilizers in a concentration that is one third less than what the manufacturer recommends on the packaging.

Determining the degree of damage to fruit buds

If in pears and apple trees you can immediately see which ringlets have suffered the most, then with stone fruits they do things differently. To do this, cut bouquet branches and annual shoots with different parts crowns, put in water and kept in the room for two weeks. The next step is to make longitudinal and transverse sections of each of the buds. If they are healthy, they central part will be green. And here brown spot in the center - a signal that the peephole has died. The death of growth buds can be completely compensated by awakening dormant buds. If the flower eyes are damaged, it means you can say goodbye to this year’s harvest.

If the shoot tissue is dark when cut and the buds are brown in the center, do not rush to trim. It is possible only after the awakening of the plants, which need to be greatly rejuvenated, removing all dead and damaged parts, with the branches transferred to healthy lateral branches.

Skeletal branches will need to be shortened for 3-5 year old wood. Such severe pruning stimulates the appearance of tops, with the help of which the crown is restored. Gardeners advise that after such rescue pruning, tie the trunk and main branches with burlap to prevent them from drying out. But it is better not to prune one-year growth this year, as this retards the growth of foliage that feeds the plant. When working with trees, do not allow !

Bridge grafting will save the tree

If the bark is damaged along the ring, the tree will die, since damage to the blood vessels irreversibly disrupts the upward outflow of photosynthetic products through the vessels of the phloem. And here, no amount of tree care after winter will help. If the variety is very valuable, it can only be saved full recovery conducting system. This can only be achieved by a bridge, when several annual branches are grafted using the “bark” method, connecting the tissues above and below the site of damage.

To do this, you need to hurry and cut cuttings from the crown of the tree before the buds open. They should be 20 cm longer than the damaged area. Before grafting (it is done in May, when the bark is well separated from the wood), they are stored in the refrigerator.

If the plant is young and its stem is no thicker than 2.5-3 cm, then two bridges grafted from different sides will be enough to save it.

If the trunk is thick, up to a dozen cuttings are grafted into it.

First, the bark above and below the damaged area must be cleared of dead parts. Then step back 2 cm above and below the frost ring and make T-shaped cuts for each branch. At the ends that will be adjacent to the trunk, make oblique cuts 2-3 cm in length. Then the ends of the cuttings are inserted into the cuts and secured with electrical tape. For reliability, you can fix it with nails. Open areas should be thickly lubricated with varnish, the grafting sites should be wrapped in film or covered with a general ring of electrical tape. The main thing is not to let the grafted bridges germinate. If this happens, the young shoots are immediately broken out. All open areas covered with garden varnish. By autumn the cuttings will fully take root.

Tree rejuvenation with complete crown replacement

Beware of the broom on the trunk! This is especially true for rapidly growing plums, apricots, cherries, cherry plums and tree cherries. This measure is also suitable for tall old apple trees. In spring, the trunk must be cut at a meter height from the ground. Keep in mind that what rougher bark, the less likely it is to awaken dormant buds. Therefore, try to find at least one weak shoot and cut 2 centimeters higher above it. Sometimes it happens that after such a radical pruning, more than a dozen tops immediately shoot out from the cut point. And here it is important not to make a mistake: leave 1-3 of the strongest ones, bend them, tying them to the pegs with a rope, and remove the rest to the base.
Otherwise, you are in danger of becoming the owner of a curly broom on the trunk.

By pinching and shaping them, you can grow new skeletal branches that will yield a harvest already in next year. The correct thing to do with them is to cut off their ends at a height of 60 cm, forcing them to branch, and in August, stretch the grown side branches to the sides. If you miss the moment, the tops can reach more than two meters in length during the season.

Next year you need to do green pruning, pinching and bending the branches of the second tier.