The best time to buy seedlings of fruit trees is autumn. It is at this time in nurseries that you can choose high-quality planting material from a fairly large assortment. In the spring months, only a few remaining bushes will be sold here, in this regard, the purchase of seedlings should not be postponed.
Many are haunted by the thought that the seedlings will not be able to survive the rainy autumn and frosty winter. Maybe it's still better to plant young trees with the onset of spring?
Until mid-October, currants, lilacs or apple trees (winter-hardy varieties) can be planted in a permanent place. Cherry, not a winter-hardy apple tree, pear and plum are best planted in the spring, the acquired trees should be buried before its onset. If everything is done correctly, then the seedlings will be preserved just fine.
5 basic rules for successful autumn seedlings digging:
- It is necessary with special care to choose the place where the digging will be made, and the ditch must be made according to all the rules;
- the trees should be located in the prepared ditch exclusively in the direction from north to south, while do not forget to leave intervals of the required size between them;
- after that, using a shovel, you will need to sprinkle the seedlings with earth so that they are half hidden under it, and then the soil should be compacted;
- then you need to take care of protecting the trees from rodents;
- after the first frosts come, it will be necessary to bury the seedlings entirely, forming a mound.
It is worth giving preference to a place located on a hill. It must also be dry. There, neither in the autumn nor in the spring months, water should accumulate.
Also, do not forget that the one that is located next to the compost heap, a heap of hay, or straw, tall grass or other organic matter will not be a suitable place for digging. The thing is that a large number of rodents live in such places, and in winter they can gnaw trees. You can also place a groove along the southern wall of almost any structure.
The process of digging seedlings
Step one. Groove preparation
This type of ditch should be dug in the direction from west to east. Its depth and width should be approximately 0.3-0.4 meters. However, if the tree is grafted, the depth of the digging should be increased to 0.5-0.6 meters. The south side must be made flat (at an angle of approximately 45 degrees), the north must be vertical.
Step two. Placing seedlings in the groove
Before proceeding with the digging of the acquired trees, they must be prepared.
First, you will need to remove all the foliage from the seedling. As a result, its winter hardiness will increase significantly, because due to foliage, excess moisture evaporates very quickly. After this, the tree must be lowered entirely into the water and left in this position for 2-12 hours. During this time, the wood and bark are saturated with water.
Also, before digging, you need to carefully examine the roots. Any soaked or broken should be removed.
In order for you to easily be able to determine in the spring which variety a particular seedling belongs to, you need to sign it. For this, a small piece of aluminum or plastic is taken, a grade is written on it with a marker. Then it is attached to the trunk with a wire or synthetic cord.
Then you can start laying the seedlings. They are placed in a ditch, leaving a distance of 15-25 centimeters between them. In this case, the tops should be directed to the south, and the roots - to the north. This is to keep the trees from overheating on warm days.
Step three. Covering seedlings with soil
To avoid the formation of air voids, the prepared trees are backfilled with sand or earth gradually. First you need to fill in the gaps between the roots and thoroughly moisten the soil with plain water. After that, you should fill in such an amount of earth so that the trunk is completely closed from the root collar to a height of about 15–20 centimeters. Then spill the soil again, but not as abundantly. If autumn is very rainy, and the earth is saturated with moisture, then you don't need to water it.
Then the earth must be tamped with a shovel, or, as an option, it can be drowned. This is to ensure that the roots have excellent contact with the soil.
In the event that the tree is grafted, then the grafting should also be under a layer of soil during digging.
If you need to dig in a rather large number of seedlings, then it is worth considering that you need to start laying the second row only after the first one is sprinkled with soil or sand.
Step four. Providing protection from rodents and shelter of buried seedlings
You should not cover the trees until severe frosts begin. As a rule, this time falls on the last days of October-early November.
After the depth of the frozen soil becomes 3-5 cm, the trees will need to be completely filled up. To do this, you can use sawdust mixed with soil, or dry loose soil. As a result, where there was a ditch, you should form a low hill, from which only branches will stick out.
The branches should be covered with twigs cut from rose hips or blackberries, this will be an excellent protection from mice. However, no covering materials should be used. The fact is that with the onset of spring, the trees under them can begin to grow.
The digging process is complete.
If in the winter months you happen to visit the country house, be sure to throw it on a mound of snow. At the same time, it is advisable to completely clear a strip around it, the width of which will be at least 2 centimeters (additional protection from mice).
With the onset of spring, excess snow should be removed. It is necessary to leave a layer, the thickness of which will not exceed 0.3-0.4 m. Otherwise, the seedlings may rot or begin to rot. When the snow has completely melted, it will be necessary to free the trees by carefully pulling them out of the ground. And then check if they were able to survive the winter by cutting the bark and wood for this. The incision should not be very large and should be located at the base of the root. If the tree is healthy, then the color of its wood will be white-green, and the color of the bark will be light brown. After that, the incisions must be treated with garden pitch and the seedling should be planted in the holes prepared in the autumn period. If the wood and roots are dark brown, then the tree is dead.
In the event that you consider the digging to be too difficult a process, as an option, you can help the seedlings survive the winter by bringing them into a room such as, for example, a cellar or garage. 1/2 part of the trunk must be sprinkled with sand, but the roots are completely. The latter should be systematically moistened. If the trees are kept in an apartment, then they are unlikely to be able to survive until spring.
