Plum plum: care and cultivation, how to plant, choose a variety and how to feed

Among the unpretentious garden crops, cherry plum can be distinguished, the cultivation and care of which is not difficult even for beginner gardeners. It is characteristic that this type of fruit tree is the progenitor of the garden plum. You can choose varieties of cherry plum, the fruits of which will be suitable for preparing preparations for the winter, sauces, and fresh consumption.

In what regions is it recommended to plant a tree

Although the cherry plum is a wild variety of plum, this plant prefers a warm climate. Therefore, before planting cherry plum, it is necessary to determine whether the variety is suitable for growing in the region.Hybrids are now available that bear fruit abundantly in the northern regions. The representative of the stone fruit culture endures harsh winters, but with even air temperatures.

Sudden drops for a tree are fraught with diseases. After a winter with jumps from minus 25 to 45 degrees, it is difficult for cherry plum to recover. Dangerous for the tree and return spring frosts. After all, plums begin to bloom earlier than other fruit trees. Low temperatures destroy flowers and ovaries. Cherry plum may stop fruiting until it returns to normal.

Any region is suitable for the cultivation of cherry plum, but at the same time it is necessary to properly care for the crop, prepare for wintering.

Varieties of cherry plum

Among the varieties of stone fruit crops can be distinguished:

• early ripe - Scythian Gold, Found;
• medium - Kuban comet, Cleopatra;
• late-ripening - Golden autumn, Hungarian.

Hybrids differ in size, fruit taste. The fruit may be yellow, dark red, purple in color.

For regions beyond the Urals, winter-hardy varieties of early and medium ripening are chosen. Late-ripening hybrids are suitable for the south.

For the Moscow region and central Russia

In the Moscow region and nearby areas in winter frosts reach 20-25 degrees. But due to the high humidity, the cherry plum can freeze slightly. It is better to choose trees of such varieties that can survive and begin flowering by spring, fruiting by mid-summer.

Suitable for growing in the middle lane:

1. Early fruiting Shater with large dark purple berries that have sweet and sour flesh. Begins to bear fruit in the 4-5th year of life.
2. In early July, fruits appear on the Mara variety. Under the yellowish skin hides juicy sweet flesh.
3. Hybrid Lama not only gives high yields of cherry plum, but can become a decoration of the site. Reddish leaves are in harmony with ripe fruits. The tree is afraid of strong wind.
4. Apricot variety ripens in August. During the summer, the fruits are filled with sweetness, they become similar in taste to apricots. Yields decline during cold winters.
5. Plum plum Gold of the Scythians grows up to 3 meters high. 4-year-old trees produce golden fruits with a delicate and sweet taste.
6. The Vladimir comet has large fruits with orange flesh. With good care, the tree gives high yields of fruit.

Plum hybrids are rarely self-fertile, so trees such as Cleopatra, Scythian Gold are planted nearby.

For Siberia and the Urals

Resilient hybrids bred by breeders have found their place in the Ural and Siberian gardens. It is better to grow here winter-hardy trees of varieties:

• Cleopatra, self-fertile, with purple berries;
• Nesmeyana early ripening;
• high yield Traveler;
• Disease resistant mara.

Short trees bear fruit profusely, endure winter with good shelter. Yields depend on proper care.

For the Altai Territory

In this region, cherry plum is planted everywhere. Many hybrids grow in gardens, endure both severe frosts and dry summers. At the Scarlet Dawn, plums ripen in mid-July. They are bright red, weighing 18 grams, freshly sweet.

On the strongly sprawling bushes of Mars in the first days of August, burgundy fruits ripen. In the Almond variety, the crop is stored for 10 days. Large orange fruits reach a weight of 30 grams. Cherry plum Rubin is beautiful with its red leaves, pink flowers, dark fruits with cherry pulp.

Successful cultivation of a crop requires planting 2-3 trees of different varieties.

For southern regions

In areas with a warm climate, any crop hybrids are suitable for cultivation. It is better to choose Dessert, Royal cherry plums with sweet plums. After vaccination, they get cherry plum, similar in taste to apricots, peaches. Often choose a large-fruited culture Kuban comet.

In the south, trees are not afraid of frost, but with deep snow cover and zero temperature, the lower part of the trunk rots.

How to plant cherry plum

In fruiting, growing crops, everything is important: the timing of planting, and the choice of location. The management of activities is carried out taking into account the region, its climatic and weather conditions.

Optimal time for landing in open ground

Determine the period of planting cherry plum by what variety is selected.If a seedling is purchased with a closed root system, then it is better to plant it in the spring. Even summer is suitable for laying a cherry plum plantation. Autumn planting is better for the southern regions, where winter begins later than the calendar dates.

Autumn

Young trees begin to be planted in open ground in August-September. Late-ripening varieties - until mid-October. It is necessary that the seedling adapt, take root, until the cold sets in. For a month, they prepare a plot for cherry plum, planting pits. If you did not have time to plant, then it is better to leave the seedlings until spring, digging them in the garden.

Spring

Mainly spring is suitable for planting cherry plum, before the buds swell. In autumn, holes are prepared for trees. Holes are filled with organic fertilizer (1-2 buckets), superphosphate (200-300 grams), potash fertilizers (100-150 grams). On soils with high acidity, 50 grams of fluffy lime are added. Be sure to mix the components with the ground before filling the pit.If the soils are heavy, then they are diluted with sand (a bucket per hole).

What soil loves cherry plum

Plots with:

• good light, no cold winds:
• neutral acidity;
• deep water table;
• high permeability to moisture and nutrition.

It is preferable to plant cherry plum where there will be less snow in winter. If the cottage is located on hills and ridges, then choosing a plot for cultivation is easy. In the lowlands, the tree will rot or freeze.

Scheme and technology of planting trees

Preparing landing pits 50-60 centimeters deep. Their diameter is the same, but on infertile, sandy soils, you need to increase the width to 1 meter. The distance between the trees is determined at 2.5-3 meters.

After digging, organic and mineral fertilizers are added to the soil. In the middle of the pit, a mound is made of humus, a tree is placed on it, and a peg next to it. Fall asleep hole, supporting the seedling with one hand. During the procedure, the seedling is shaken periodically so that the clods of earth are distributed between the roots. It is necessary to monitor the position of the root collar. It should be at ground level or 2-3 centimeters higher.

At the end of planting, tie the seedling to a peg, water the plant, spending up to 20-30 liters of water. If the planting pattern is followed, then the cherry plum will quickly take root.

Tree care

Proper cultivation of cherry plum requires knowledge of agricultural technology. You can not let the vegetation of culture take its course. It is necessary to carry out watering, fertilizing, loosening the root circle in time.

Irrigation

In the 1st year of a tree's life, it needs abundant watering. From the 2nd year, the frequency of moisturizing is reduced. If there is a lot of moisture and nitrogen in the soil, then an increased growth of cherry plum begins, and the risk of aphid infection increases. At the same time, shoots ripen weakly, prone to aging. During the summer, it is enough to shed the trees 2-3 times. In August, they finish moistening the soil. It is undesirable to water the cherry plum for the winter.

Caring for the trunk circle

In dry areas it is necessary to keep the trunk circle under the mulch at all times. And where there is a lot of moisture, it is enough to mulch for a year or two. It is better to pour a layer of humus, peat 8-10 centimeters around the tree.

When changing mulching, the previous layer is buried in the soil with a shovel to a depth of 5-6 centimeters, so as not to damage the roots located close to the surface.

They constantly loosen the soil under garden trees, weed up to 4-5 times per season.

Feeding cherry plum

If the tree is properly planted, you can not feed it for the first 2-3 years. When the plantation of cherry plum begins to bear fruit, they begin to apply 2-3 kilograms of manure per square meter, 30-50 grams of phosphate fertilizers, 12-15 grams of potassium, ammonium nitrate. They are brought in for autumn digging or loosening.

You can make grooves along the rows of plants at a distance of 1.5 meters from the trees. Bird droppings, manure or liquid nutrient solutions are poured into them.

Fertilizer during fruit set

When the flowering of cherry plum ends, fertilizers are applied from nitrogen-potassium fertilizers. They consist of 10 grams of ammonium nitrate, 5 grams of potassium s alt per bucket of water. You can use mullein diluted in a ratio of 1:5, or bird droppings - 1:12. The preparation of a manure solution with a concentration of 1:3 is also used.It must be kept in a barrel for up to 3-5 days. And then bring to the desired concentration and water the near-trunk circle or grooves. A bucket of liquid is used on 2-3 running meters of groove. When fertilizing, fruit set will form faster.

To speed up the ripening of fruits, cherry plums are fed in July with phosphorus-potassium complexes.

How to feed cherry plum after fruiting

In the period after harvesting, it is necessary to irrigate with a nutrient solution of superphosphate (15-20 grams) and potassium s alt (7-10 grams). It is necessary to fertilize if the tree has not yet completed its growth. Replace mineral mixtures with wood ash. 50 grams is enough for a bucket of water.

Infertile soils need fertilization every 4 years. Around the cherry plum tree at a distance of 2 meters they dig holes 30 centimeters deep. Take part of the ashes and 3 parts of humus, mix and fill the pits.

Terms and rules for crown formation

Not only top dressing plays a role in the formation of fruits, but also tree pruning. It is necessary to correctly carry out the formation of the cherry plum crown:

1. The first 2 years you need to remove all the branches, leaving the bole clean 40-60 centimeters from the ground. The number of skeletal branches will be within 3-4.
2. Growth near the trunk is pruned annually.
3. Top shoots of young seedlings are pinched in summer.
4. In the 3rd-4th year, you need to cut the central conductor located above the 3rd skeletal knot. This is how the crown is formed in the form of a bowl.
5. In the spring, thinning of the crown is carried out, removing dried branches, and those that are closer than 20 centimeters to each other.

Pruning is necessary in order to rejuvenate and heal the tree.

Insect and pest control

Among plum diseases, fungal infections are more often noted: brown and perforated spotting.Here, pathology is determined by spots on the leaves, holes on their surface. In addition, gum secretion and cracks are visible on the cherry plum trunks. Disease prevention is the collection and burning of plant residues. Spraying Bordeaux liquid three times a season will also help.

Slows down the ripening of the crop fruit mite, its larvae. It is necessary to clean the tree trunks from the old bark in time, and treat the crown with insecticides.

Yellow sawfly caterpillars completely eat away the pulp and stone of the fruit. In cloudy weather, adult insects are collected or shaken off on film. Of the drugs, Fufanon and Novaktion are effective. They begin to apply before flowering.

Codling moths fight with caterpillars by treating with a solution of table s alt, taking 500 grams per 10 liters of water. They spend 7 liters of liquid on an adult tree, 2 liters on a young tree.

To get rid of the fruit sapwood, you need to cut and burn the damaged branches. It is better to deal with aphids during the period of bud exposure with insecticides such as Fufanon.

Shelter for the winter

For competent care of cherry plum in central Russia, in the gardens of the Trans-Urals, you need to think about sheltering seedlings before wintering. This includes whitewashing plum stems to prevent sunburn in February, March.

It is not recommended to water cherry plum abundantly before winter, this will lead to the fact that the trunk will begin to melt under the snow. When the thickness of the snow cover is more than a meter, it is necessary to trample it down. It is dangerous when the rain falls on the thawed earth.

It is advised to put a casing made of tin, sheet iron with a diameter of 40 centimeters on the cherry plum trunk. Deepen the end of the casing into the ground by 10 centimeters. It is important that there are no branches under the shelter. Top wrapped with mesh, burlap. Such a dry wintering will save you from rodents, freezing, and warming up.

What year does cherry plum bear fruit

Many varieties of stone fruit begin to bear fruit in the 4-5th year of life.For the first time, single specimens appear on the branches ahead of schedule, if the care for the cherry plum is correct. Annual and regular fruiting depends on the climate and weather. The more sun, the sweeter the berries on the tree.

The berries are picked together with the stalk, putting them in baskets. The harvest is stored from 5 to 10 days. Cherry plum is used to make sauces, compotes, jams.

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