Plum care rules in autumn

Qualitative and careful preparation of trees for winter is a guarantee not only of a good harvest next year, but also a guarantee that the plant will survive the cold times safely. One of the heat-loving and moisture-loving plants is the plum. She does not tolerate drought and cold. Nevertheless, it is grown in the northern regions, and even quite successfully. How to carry out an important part of caring for a tree - preparing for winter, as well as taking into account all the nuances, read this article.

Pruning is an important part of plum maintenance in the fall. It not only forms the correct shape of the crown, but also makes life easier for the plant - it does not waste energy on supporting unnecessary branches.

In the fall, the tree is usually pruned twice. The first time pruning is carried out when the entire crop has been harvested. The second time just before the onset of frost.

In central Russia, the first pruning occurs at the end of the harvest, and the second a little later. But it is best to do this when the leaves have completely fallen off. Cold regions are an exception. In the northern regions (Siberia, the Urals), you need to have time to cut trees at least one more time before the onset of autumn - at the end of summer.

You also need to remember that the plant has its own pruning nuances. It is easiest to prune a mature tree. The conductor and other rapidly growing branches are cut off from him. Of course, old, dry and diseased branches are removed. If the seedling is 2 or 3 years old, then all branches are cut in such a way that they are not 30-40 cm higher than the conductor, the length of the side branches should be no more than 15 cm. If the seedling is very young (1 year old), then all the shoots are cut to a third of the length.

All sections are treated with copper sulfate (it disinfects the sections). Poor pruning can severely weaken the tree. It is not necessary to cut off the apical bud of the central conductor. If you do this, the tree will slow down its growth.

Plum does not tolerate drought or prolonged lack of watering. It can shed fruits, flowers, leaves, and even dry out. Therefore, in late August or early September, you need to start watering the tree with plenty of water. This must be done in order for new shoots to survive in winter. Further (after September) the tree is watered once a month, but not in such a large quantity.

In general, the frequency of watering still depends more on the characteristics of the growing region. If the autumn is warm and without precipitation, then you need to water more often. If the autumn period turned out to be extremely rainy, then you can water less often. If it rains heavily, grooves must be made around the tree so that excess moisture leaves.

Fertilizing is required in the fall, after harvesting. The formation of the latter takes a lot of energy from the plant. It is best to feed in October or later, about a month before the onset of frost.

• During this period, it is good to fertilize with compost or humus.
• For a good harvest next year, the plum must be fertilized with dolomite flour.
• Potassium and phosphate are also essential mineral fertilizers.
• It will also be good for the plant after harvesting in September, fertilizing with manure. A small amount of urea can also be added - only 20 g per square meter.
• You do not need to add a lot of nitrogen to the top dressing. It is needed in order for a large number of leaves to form. Autumn feeding with nitrogen will make sure that the leaves on the plum remain until frost. This is not very good for wintering, the tree will spend its energy supporting the foliage. The permissible nitrogen content in top dressing is 4%.

Autumn processing and treatment are most acceptable. During this period, sap is still flowing, but the fruits have already been harvested, and they will definitely not be poisoned.

• Before starting the autumn processing, you need to carefully examine the tree for the presence of pests or their eggs. They can be found not only on the leaves, but also in the crevices of the bark, and also at shallow depths of the soil. If you find pests or their masonry, then before processing the tree, it is necessary to mechanically remove all living creatures.
• To do this, a cloth is laid on the soil around the tree, and the tree itself is shaken. Most of the living creatures fall onto the canvas. You also need to clean the soil around the tree from foliage, you need to remove moss, lichen or other suspicious formations from the bark. This should be done carefully and preferably with a piece of plastic or a special scraper. All waste must later be burned in the corner of the site. You need to walk along the branches with an iron brush. It is important not to damage the fabric of the tree.
• Next, you need to spray with fungicides. Rust is treated with various medicinal preparations (for example, copper sulfate). The tree can be removed from scab with the help of solutions of potassium permanganate or mustard. Infusions of garlic and tobacco help well against aphids. For the first solution, take 0.1 kg of garlic per 10 liters of water. For the second broth, take snuff or cigarette butts and soak in water. Both the affected areas are treated with both solutions. The fungus is treated with iron vitriol.
• You need to spray trees in the second half of October - early November. This requires a 5% urea solution (500 g per 10 l). Spraying is carried out at a distance of 70 cm. The trunk and branches are processed. The procedure can be carried out only in cloudy weather.

If there are still fruits left on the tree during processing, then they should not be eaten.

Plum bark is very fond of hares and field mice. In the fight against rodents, the primacy belongs to the usual mechanical methods - shelters.

Animals can be scared away by large black bags tied to the trunk. Some bayonets or other similar structures can be placed around the trunk, which will block access to the bark.

As already mentioned, the plum is very fond of abundant watering and does not tolerate drought well. Moisture can evaporate rather quickly and in large volumes. To prevent this from happening, it is imperative to carry out mulching. Before mulching, the tree must be watered without fail. Watering, like mulching, is carried out after the leaves have completely fallen off and before the onset of frost. The "last" autumn watering should take about 35 liters of water. Burlap is commonly used as mulch for plums. Some time after watering, the soil is dug around the tree, then burlap is laid around the tree. After that, a plastic wrap or bags are placed on top of the burlap. Further, both layers are "covered" with a layer of soil. It is this mulching that is most acceptable for plums.

Plum trees need to be whitened so that the bark, as strange as it may sound, does not get burned by the sun's rays reflected from the snow surface. Whitewashing also prevents cracking and fights frost cracks. They can appear with strong temperature changes. Whitewashing should be carried out on the bark, cleaned of dried particles, and also choose a day without precipitation for this. The maximum air temperature should be +3.

The mixture is based on three components - the white part (usually lime, can be replaced with chalk), fastening element (in most cases, PVA glue, hozmylo or clay is used), as well as antiseptic (most often it is copper sulfate, sometimes it is replaced by manure or chicken droppings). As a rule, for 10 liters of water, 2 kg of lime, 1 kg of clay, 2 kg of manure are taken. Other whitewashing mixtures are allowed. The mixture should not be too thin or too thick. If glue is used in the composition, then its content should be about 10% of the total mass. Any mixture should allow the bark to breathe. However, now there is no need to prepare mixtures for whitewashing; they can be bought in specialized stores. The packaging usually contains instructions and recommendations for concentration.

In order to truly properly prepare the plum for winter, it is necessary to insulate it. This part of preparing for winter begins with top dressing. To do this, you need to fertilize the soil. Young plums do not need to be fertilized (for example, annual seedlings). The trunk of the tree should be covered with branches or hay. Later this "layer" is bound with threads.

Mulching is also part of the warming process - the soil around the tree is covered with polyethylene and burlap. For additional insulation, you can sprinkle humus around the trunk circle. The whitewash described above also protects from the cold.

Plums are easiest to care for in cold regions. In Siberia, they try to carry out autumn watering as rarely as possible so that the roots of the trees do not freeze. Trees, even seedlings, absolutely everything in this region is insulated and everything is abundantly fertilized. The main focus of gardeners is on tree insulation.

In the Urals, they try to do pruning as often as possible so that the tree has a better chance of surviving. In central Russia (for example, at a dacha in the Moscow region), the preparation of plums for winter takes place in full - first, the trees are watered abundantly, fertilizers are applied to the soil, the soil is well dug up, after pruning and insulation are carried out. The main focus in this region is on stimulating feeding, watering and digging the soil. The care of plums in the Volga region is about the same.