How to Plant Cherry Trees
Let me share with you some small experiences in the maintenance of green plants about how to plant cherry trees and the cultivation techniques of cherry trees. Let's take a look together!
Cherries are delicious but the trees are difficult to grow. Many friends enjoy eating cherries and want to plant them themselves, but they are not very familiar with the planting methods. In fact, if you want to harvest delicious and healthy cherries and increase your economic income by planting cherry trees, it is particularly important to be familiar with the planting methods.
Cultivation and Management Techniques for Cherry Trees
I. Planting
1. Growth Habits: According to related information, cherry trees have relatively strong adaptability and should be planted in sunny and windward areas with fertile soil, no consecutive cropping, no waterlogging, good drainage, and irrigation conditions in neutral loam or sandy loam, which is more conducive to the growth and development of cherry trees.
2. Planting Time: Generally, the best time to plant cherry trees is from November to the first ten days of March of the following year. Planting during this period is more conducive to the growth and development of cherry trees and can effectively increase the fruit yield, which is beneficial for winter pruning and cleaning of the orchard.
3. Planting can be done when the water has seeped into the planting trench and the soil is not sticky. Use the marked points as the planting holes, dig the holes, place the seedlings in the middle of the holes, fill the soil to the root collar, gently lift the seedlings to make the roots spread out, then tread the soil firmly and cover the top with soil until the hole is level. The grafting part after planting should be level with the ground or 5-10 centimeters above the ground.
II. Management Techniques
1. Cherry trees should be applied with autumn base fertilizer before planting, and it should not be later than November. Manure, livestock urine, and soil manure can all be used. Generally, young cherry trees and trees in the initial fruiting stage should be applied with 30-60 kilograms of livestock urine or 100 kilograms of manure; mature trees should be applied with 60-80 kilograms of livestock urine or 200 kilograms of manure.
2. Top dressing time for cherry trees is before flowering or during the first rapid growth period of the fruit, mainly using fast-acting nitrogen fertilizer, which can improve the fruit-setting rate, promote the growth of branches and leaves, and lay a good foundation for flower bud differentiation. If 0.5% urea and 0.5% boron fertilizer or 600 times potassium dihydrogen phosphate are sprayed on the leaves during the full bloom period, the fruit-setting rate can be further increased.
III. What are the Propagation Techniques for Cherry Trees?
1. Seed Germination Method
After harvesting cherries, cut open the fruit skin and flesh to remove the seeds, wash off the fruit flesh attached to the seeds with clean water, and then let them dry in a cool place for 1-2 days before sowing. Sow the seeds directly in a shallow pot, and they will germinate in about 10-30 days. When the seedlings grow to 5-250px, transplant them into plastic soft pots. Cherry seeds germinate easily, but the germination is not uniform and some plants often lack viable embryos, resulting in a germination rate below 30%. The seedling method takes a longer time to bear fruit and there is a large variation in quality among seedlings.
2. Cutting Method
In the spring and summer growing period, select semi-mature healthy branches with a diameter of 0.5cm or more, about 20cm long, with 4-6 leaves attached, and plant them in river sand, vermiculite, peat soil, or a mixture of several, keeping the cuttings moist and shaded. The cuttings will root in about 1.5-2 months, and then can be transplanted when the root system is vigorous. If managed properly, the cutting method can achieve a survival rate of 60-90%.
3. High-Air Layering Method
Select branches that are more than two years old, make a girdle cut near the node at the bottom, put moist grass into a transparent plastic bag to wrap the entire wound, and tie both ends. When the roots have formed, cut the branch below the layering site to become a new plant. This method is usually chosen during the vigorous growing period of cherries (in late spring to early summer) and is easy to root, but there is a large difference in effectiveness among varieties.
4. Grafting Method
For cherry grafting, use cherry seedlings, mountain cherries, cherry blossoms, etc. as rootstocks, and good cherry varieties as scions. It is best to choose to graft before the spring sprouts, preferably with rootstocks and scions of the same or similar thickness. When using the split grafting method, cut off the excess branches on the top of the rootstock at the selected grafting position, split the "stump" with a knife, insert the scion quickly into the split, align the cambium layers, tie the plastic film strip securely, and do not let any air in. Place it in a cool and ventilated place, spray water on the ground to keep the environment humid, or cover it with a plastic bag to keep it moist. Adjust ventilation according to temperature changes and do not let the temperature inside the bag get too high. Remove the plastic bag when new shoots appear and move the plant to a sunny place. Watering should be done in an alternating dry and wet manner.
How to Plant Cherry Trees
IV. How to Prune Cherry Trees
1. Thinning: After harvesting the fruit, promptly thin out the tall and dense branches on the top and some dense fruiting branches to open up the center (note to cultivate small branches in the center to prevent baldness). Thin out temporary fruiting branches, drooping branches, weak branches, and dense outer branches, leaving 2-3 branches on the whorled branches and thinning out the rest, opening up the outer part to make the branches sparse inside and dense outside, with good ventilation and light.
2. Heading Back: For fruiting branches that form bare legs, cut them back to the leaf buds to control the outward movement of the fruiting position.
3. Pinching: Continue to pinch the branches left in the center in the early stage, pinch back new shoots by 5-15 centimeters if there is space after pinching back, to cultivate small fruiting branch groups, and pinch back the outer new shoots by 25 centimeters when they reach about 40 centimeters long.
4. Bud Removal: Promptly remove new buds that have no space after thinning, pinching back, and heading back.
V. Cherry Trees Need to be Pruned Three Times: Spring Pruning, Summer Pruning, and Winter Pruning
I. Summer Pruning
1. Removing suckers and buds: During the leaf cluster stage (3-5 centimeters), remove strong branches, extension branches, and competitive buds on the upper part of the main branches and lateral branches, the trunk, and near large pruning cuts.
2. Thinning branches: Thin out dense branches on the main and lateral branches and fruiting branch groups, being careful not to thin out too many branches at once, controlling the thinning amount to one-third of the new shoots in the thinning area. Super shortening before June, for strong branches on the main and lateral骨干 branches with space, leave 1-2 nodes at the base for super shortening, which can cultivate small and medium-sized fruiting branch groups.
II. Autumn Pruning
In September and later, new shoots no longer extend and growth is essentially in a semi-stopped state. Cutting off the tender green tips of the current year's branches can save nutrients and promote the development of branches, flower buds, and leaf buds. Cut back strong branches by 1/3 and properly thin out dense branches that block light on the outer part.
III. Winter Pruning
Cut off less than 1/5 of the length of one-year-old branches. The new shoots that emerge the following year will have weak growth but a high number, which are mainly used to cultivate medium, short, and flower bundle fruiting branches. Or, after light shortening of strong fruiting branches, increase the number of fruits and control the growth of new shoots. Thin out useless branches such as weak, diseased, sprawling, overlapping, and dense branches that block light, which can promote the growth of the remaining branches. For strong sprawling fruiting branches or long fruiting branches, long放 can weaken the terminal dominance and promote the formation of medium and short fruiting branches.
VI. How to Fertilize Cherry Trees
1. The first fertilization of the year should be completed within 10 days after harvesting the fruit to supply the tree with growth nutrients. The amount of fertilizer should not be too large. For trees about 10 years old, use 2 kilograms of Nuobang Dilong biological organic fertilizer and 1 kilogram of balanced compound fertilizer, and spray 2000 times of Cuikang Huaguo Ling liquid fertilizer on the leaves.
2. The second fertilization is in September to October. During this period, the tree's life activities are vigorous, and its ability to absorb nutrients is strong, which is beneficial for delaying aging, enhancing photosynthesis, and storing nutrients for the next year for a bountiful harvest. The amount of fertilizer should account for 50-60% of the annual usage, with 3 kilograms of Nuobang Dilong biological organic fertilizer, 2 kilograms of nitrate sulfur-based compound fertilizer, and 1 kilogram of Huaguo Duo. This fertilization should be applied in a trench 15-20 centimeters deep.
3. The third fertilization is before the cherry trees bloom in the following spring, mainly supplementing nitrogen fertilizer. During this period, the cherry tree goes through a series of activities, such as flowering, leafing, and shooting, which consume nutrients quickly. Use Guocai Yi Hao for stem painting and spray Cuikang Huaguo Ling 2000 times liquid fertilizer on the leaves.