Plum is grown in many summer cottages. It is important for this tree to provide a suitable place. To obtain a rich, stable yield of juicy high-quality fruits, it is necessary to think over a care system.
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Landing rules
Plum can be planted on your site in early spring or in the fall season. When choosing a place, they avoid lowlands where fog accumulates. In these cool, humid conditions, the trees are often affected by disease. The still unblown flower buds freeze out during sudden spring temperature fluctuations.
Plum will thrive on fertile, loose soil. Preference is given to sandy loam or light loam with a neutral pH. You will not be able to get a good harvest if the seedlings are placed on sandy or dense clay soil.
The place should be sunny with mandatory protection from strong gusts of wind. For this purpose, you can plant mulberries and cherries in the neighborhood. The black elderberry will protect against aphids.
Fertilizers
Regular feeding of plums begins in the second year after planting on the site. The need for nutrients increases when the tree enters the fruiting period.
In the spring, it is recommended to fill the soil with a mixture of rotted manure, which will require 10 kg, combined with 25 g of urea. If you add a glass of ash, crushed peat, then there will be enough nutrients for the entire growing season. One adult tree is fed with the prepared volume. In September, it is important to feed the plum with a phosphorus-potassium complex.
It is necessary to periodically measure the acidity level of the soil in the area where the plum is planted. If you want to reduce the indicator, then in the fall they use dolomite flour, crushed chalk, lime. Ferrous sulfate, pounded dried bark of conifers are added to the alkaline earth.
Care rules
When growing plums, several basic agricultural techniques are observed:
- Pruning. Plums rarely form an unnecessarily dense crown. Pruning of these trees is performed mainly by sanitary and formative pruning. Dry, damaged branches are harvested in the spring. If necessary, cut out excess shoots, adjusting the uniform illumination of the crown. In the fall, unnecessarily long processes are shortened by a third.
- Watering. It is important to systematically water the young tree throughout the first year of life. Then water is poured under the drain, focusing on the condition of the soil, preventing it from drying out excessively.
- Mulching. In order to preserve moisture in the soil, it is necessary to cover the trunks with an even layer of mulch. Use hay, chopped straw and other materials. Mulching helps to slow down the development of weeds.
- Defeat protection. Plum can suffer from dangerous diseases. Gray rot, clasterosporium disease appears more often. Yields may decrease due to brown spotting. Sooty fungus is harmful. At the first sign, it is necessary to irrigate the crown with special compounds.
For prophylaxis, organic residues should be removed from the surface in the autumn season, when the harvest is completely removed. Spraying is carried out, preventing the appearance of the most common pests next year. If signs of infection have been noticed, the necessary drugs are used.
Plum does not require complex maintenance. For its abundant and stable fruiting, it is important to immediately select a suitable site. Care consists in performing standard techniques.
Do you know how to fertilize plums correctly?
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