Are you a novice amateur horticulturist? And you have to prepare your garden for the winter? Then we hurry to help you! In this article you will find the necessary and useful information on how to prepare apple trees for the winter, as well as answers to some related questions.
Why prepare apple trees for winter?
Such a question, as a rule, arises only for beginning gardeners. But there is nothing shameful in that they do not know something, the main thing is the desire to learn everything and learn everything.
From childhood we were told that the trees "fall asleep" in the winter, and in our minds this assertion is quite firmly entrenched. In fact, this is not true. The tree continues to grow, but it is much slower than in spring and summer. Therefore, it is not necessary to hope that your garden itself will sometime overwinter without you. He needs to create all the necessary conditions for growth, and thus worry about the availability of the crop next year.
And the preparation of apple trees for winter begins in the spring! Yes Yes exactly. The whole point is that how comfortable the apple-tree will be in the spring-autumn period, so it will be able to prepare for the winter on its own. Let's give an example, if the summer was arid, and the autumn is warm and rainy, then the tree will grow intensively in the autumn period. This is dangerous because new shoots will not have time to grow stronger, and there is a high probability that they will not survive the winter. Or another example. In the summer, most of the apple tree was eaten by pests, in which case the tree will not get enough nutrients, because the same photosynthesis occurs exclusively through the leaves. And this is by no means all factors affecting the preparation of young and mature apple trees for winter.
How to prepare apple trees for winter?
So, we prepare apples for the winter. As we have already said, this is a long process, and it begins in the spring with the proper care of the trees. One of the stages of preparation is the correct pruning of the tree. Thus, it is possible to regulate the value of the load by harvest. You probably know that during the flowering period, many flowers fall from the fruit trees. This is self-regulation of the harvest load. But, despite this, without the help of pruning you can not do. However, we should also note that when preparing apple tree colonies for winter, pruning is not performed.
In spring and early summer (the period of intensive growth of apple trees), it is necessary to fertilize with nitrogen fertilizers. And in the beginning of autumn it is necessary to fertilize with organic and phosphoric-potassium fertilizers.
If there are intensively growing shoots on the tree, then at the end of August their tops should be clipped, in order that in the autumn period the shoot may well mature.
In addition, you need to monitor the condition of the crown and bark of trees. If there are unfavorable conditions (for example, drought), then it is necessary to take measures to eliminate them (in our example, such a measure is artificial irrigation). Pest control is also a prerequisite for the preparation of apple trees for winter. For these purposes, it is recommended to treat the bark, and, if necessary, the crown.
When the first snow falls, they need to "wrap" the base of the tree. This is done so that the roots are not affected by severe frost.
Preparing apple seedlings for winter
Preparing apple seedlings for frost, differs from the preparation of more mature apple trees. As a rule, apple trees are planted in the autumn, so recommendations concerning the spring-summer period can not be realized. The main point in the preparation of seedlings is the proper prikopka. Acquired shoots need to get rid of the leaves, this will prevent loss of moisture. When planting a seedling, it is necessary to plant roots to the north, top to the south. And in November, it will be necessary to cover the seedling with the earth to the crown of the head.
This is actually all the arrangements for the preparation of apple seedlings for the winter.