Transplanting plums to a new place: how and when is it better - in autumn or spring

There are various reasons for transplanting a plum tree locally or bringing it in from another location, but the necessary processes only change depending on the age of the useful tree. Despite the ability of the plant to live in variable climatic conditions, plum transplantation is a delicate and responsible business. The tree does not perceive such transformations well and endures them painfully, so you need to act carefully and balancedly.

Why is it necessary to transplant plums

Gardeners with experience and experience are well aware of the addictions of the fruit tree and try to resort to transplanting plums in extreme cases.The most common option for transplanting plums to new locations is to move out of the nursery after purchase. To the variety of fruit tree species - the main argument for planting, no less significant pluses are always added:

• minimum care required;
• immunity to pests (frequent in other plants);
• unassuming to dressings and soil.

With practical experience, site planning is carried out in advance. At the same time, they try to take into account the characteristics of each culture, its requirements for humidity and illumination. If the site has acidic soil, it will certainly be corrected, because the plum does not like either high humidity or high acidity. In this case, there is rarely a need to transport any fruit variety. There are several common reasons to transplant plums:

• Poorly selected location of a plum tree that does not allow pollination, or does not take into account the requirements for light and humidity;
• transfer of a fruit crop from another place (from an abandoned site, a nursery, from neighbors who did not need a plum, from basal shoots, in order to propagate a successful variety);
• planned construction when there is no other option to locate the required building;
• demolition of a house and the desire to preserve certain species when moving to a new place of residence with an unfilled land plot.

Usually this happens at an age when the adaptability of the seedling is large enough, but even after transplantation in this period there are often difficulties in caring for the tree after the procedure. Unpretentiousness and immunity plum retains throughout the entire period of life.

Which tree needs repotting

Sometimes there are objective reasons - a tree hasn't had any harvest for several years now. This is due to improper planting or placement of the seedling. The need for cross-pollination suggests that other varieties of plums, cherry plums, or at least cherries are nearby. The latter option is not very desirable due to the possible mismatch in flowering time.

It happens that a tree does not receive the necessary illumination due to an unsuccessfully chosen place, the construction of a building by neighbors or the rapid growth of nearby fruit crops (a common mistake is planting a nut that not only grows faster, but also affects the nearby culture).

Sometimes, when delimiting plots, it turns out that the drain is located on the line of the fence. Neighbors have complaints about non-compliance with the norm of distance, shading the beds with a tree.The reason for transplanting a plum can be even an extension in the front garden of an apartment building in which a plum is planted, which is not designed for such transformations.

A good owner in this case will try to save the tree, and an indifferent inhabitant will simply cut it down without hesitation. In any case, transplanting a tree is a responsible process, the success of which requires care, optimal planting time and thorough preparation. You can try to transplant any tree.

But success is guaranteed if it is one year old, doubtful, but possible if the tree is under 5 years old, and then there is a minimum chance even with the most careful care and compliance with all conditions.

Timing

You can try to transplant plums in the spring immediately after the soil warms up, but until the moment when intense warming sets in, and the tree will have to develop, without having time to take root properly, or gain enough strength and energy:

1. There are more prerequisites for the success of spring transplants. If the snow has already melted and the soil has warmed up, but the movement of juices has not yet begun, the buds have not swollen, there is every chance for rooting and successful adaptation of the plum in a new place. During the summer and autumn, she will have time to accumulate enough strength to give a harvest next year.
2. To properly transplant in the fall, you need not wait for the first autumn frosts, but start the process immediately after the leaves fall.
3. At any other time, the success rate is minimal, even if you do it in advance and follow all the instructions.

The practice of transplanting plums has been developed for a long time, because it was grown by the ancient Egyptians. But the plum, and any other fruit tree will need some time to adapt.

When is it better to transplant: autumn or spring?

The best time to move a tree from its familiar place is spring. Autumn tree transplants are resorted to when there is an urgent need, when there is no other way out. The probability of sudden freezing is too high. But spring is also a flexible concept for different climatic regions. If April is considered optimal in the middle lane, then in the South it may be the end of March, and in Siberia and the Urals, transplantation is carried out in May, after the end of frost.

If the variety is winter-hardy, theoretically you can take a chance right after the snow melts.

Transplant technology

Transplant technology in autumn is almost the same as in spring. In any case, the pit is prepared before winter, in October. The only difference is that after a late transplant, the tree is mulched, and in cold climates it is covered from freezing after transplanting.

Location of the tree on the plot

The optimal location of the tree is on the sunny side, with maximum heat and light. If possible - on a hill, because the plum does not like dampness and reacts poorly to nearby groundwater.

The soil should be light, preferably loamy. If the site is heavy and clayey, you will have to add peat and sand, and if it is sandy, be sure to add clay and compost.

Preparing a site for planting plums

Dig a hole in the ground in the fall, and in the spring - at least 3 weeks before the start of the process. The best option in terms of distance from the edges is considered to be a comprehensive distance equal to the width of the earthen coma on the root system. If the plum was transported from afar, then the diameter of the pit is determined by the longest roots.

Several buckets of water are poured into the dug hole, drainage is poured (usually fragments of brick or expanded clay, but gravel is possible).Then fertilizers (wood ash, humus or compost) are applied, which are poured onto a layer of soil so that they do not burn the injured roots. The removed top sod is set aside and can be used in place of mulch in the spring.

Preparing the tree for planting

In order not to damage the roots, the trunk is dug at a distance of 70-80 cm (this depends on the age of the plum), after pouring more water under it so that the extraction from the soil goes without difficulty. The digging depth should not be less than 70 cm.

If there are often roots under the shovel, it is better to slightly increase the diameter of the circle being dug.

Work instructions

Putting the tree in the hole, they cover it with soil so that the root neck is not covered by the earth, but rises above the soil. As the recess fills, the soil is tamped and watered.The deeper the hole is, the more carefully it needs to be trampled down so that there are no air bubbles, and it does not subsequently sag. After planting, you need to use peat or sawdust in the trunk circle to avoid moisture loss. If it is a seedling, it is tied to a peg buried with the tree.

How to care for a plum so that it takes root

Proper care at the initial stage is the correct choice of location and preparation of the pit for planting. For about a year, the plum is enough for what is placed in it, but already in the second year it is necessary to take care of fertilizers. Pruning is also best done after signs of final rooting appear. For good rooting, at first you need to loosen the soil in the root zone, make sure that the crust does not bake on it.

The tree perfectly tolerates the peculiarities of the cold climate, consistently produces a good harvest and has a lot of other useful qualities. But plums rarely perceive positively moving from place to place, recover for a long time, refuse to produce crops for several years.

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