Cherry: planting and care. Some useful tips

Cherry is like a cherry, a representative of the Rosaceae family, but the taste of its berries is more sweet due to the fact that their flesh contains less acids. The appearance of large, ripe and juicy cherries on the shelves of markets and on your table is a sure sign that summer has come. Well, and if you have your own backyard or garden, then there must necessarily be a place for such a beautiful culture as cherry. Planting and caring for her, of course, require certain skills and attention, but the result in the form of a rich harvest of fragrant berries is worth it!

Step 1: Choose seedlings

Saplings of sweet cherries are better to buy in specialized nurseries, while always checking with the sellers, whether the cultivar you choose is suitable for cultivation in the conditions of your region. Thanks to the efforts of breeders, with the advent of hardy and frost-resistant hybrids, it became possible to plant cherries in the suburbs, where long cold winters and short, not too warm, summer.

So, picking up the cherry tree that you liked, you should pay attention first of all to its root system: it should be absolutely healthy and well developed. Any signs of disease or damage to the roots - this is a good reason for refusing to purchase this seedling.

Step 2: choose a location on the site

Cherry, planting and caring for which is planned in your garden, prefers sun, warmth and mild climate without sudden changes, such as winds and drafts. Even better, if you plant a young tree on a hill, to protect it from stagnation of cold air.

The soil for the sweet cherry is needed light, fertile, through which air and moisture penetrate well. Clay and sandy soils are far from the best option.

Step 3: several rules for planting seedlings in the ground

First of all, it is necessary to understand when it is better to plant such a garden culture as a sweet cherry. Planting and care, pruning and shaping of the crown in northern regions with a more severe climate are most often made in the spring, and in the southern - in the autumn. The process of "settlement" of a new tenant - a young petiole - on your site takes place in several stages:

1. Preparation of the pit is not less than 1 m in width and 80 cm in depth. It should be borne in mind that the main rhizome of the sweet cherry can penetrate into the soil to a depth of more than 2 m, and the horizontal roots lie 30-50 cm from the ground, so you do not just dig a hole, but carefully loosen its bottom It was easier for the roots to adapt.
2. A young sweet cherry, planting and caring for which is planned on your site, - the plant is fragile, so it definitely needs support. It is created by fixing a sturdy pole at the bottom of the pit.
3. At the bottom of the pit, a hillock of soil consisting of soil mixed with compost and ash is poured, and the seedling is placed on top, gently and evenly spreading its roots along the mound.
4. The rest of the pit is filled with soil, slightly sealing it. It is important to ensure that the root collar of the seedling is located at a distance of 3-5 cm above the ground.
5. The soil around the seedlings of the sweet cherry is watered and mulched.

Step 4: Crown Forming

If you want not only to wait for a rich harvest, but also to easily assemble it, you need to pay attention to how your cherry grows. Planting and caring for her assume also competent formation of the crown. Cherry - garden culture is not from branching, so all its increments need to be shortened regularly - one-fifth of the length. In order for secondary branches to grow not strictly upward, but horizontally, forming a magnificent spreading crown, it is possible to install spacers between them, and to hang the load on the strongest shoots.

In short, good luck with your endeavors!