The main condition for the first treatment of the garden after winter and a good harvest is thorough treatment of both trees and shrubs.

After winter ends, the trees in the garden need careful care, otherwise you may be left without a harvest during the season.

Garden resuscitation for plants

Do not rush with pruning, wait until the flower buds begin to wake up. Then the difference between living and damaged branches will be most visible. All branches with frostbites are cut down to living tissue, and the trunk and base of the skeletal branches are urgently whitened so that the situation is not aggravated by burns from the hot spring sun. Before this, all affected areas in places where the bark emerges are cleaned down to living tissue and treated with a 1% solution of iron sulfate (100 g per 10 liters of water), and then covered with a mixture of clay and mullein.

Frozen trees require good care after winter: provide them with timely watering, fertilizing, protection from pests and, if necessary, update them. Moreover, it is important to fertilize not at the root, but at the leaf level with solutions of microfertilizers such as Kristallon, Plantafol, Master or a solution of ammonium nitrate (3-4 g per 1 liter of water). The interval between them is a decade. The frequency of fertilizing is 3-4 times during the summer. Thanks to this, the garden will recover faster.

Please note that the loss of some branches has upset the balance between the above-ground part and the roots of your cherry or apricot. And the plant juices with nutrients will rush to the previous growth points. And, for example, there are already five instead of ten. All of these can cause excessive growth of green shoots.

Therefore, it is better to feed fertilizers in a concentration that is one third less than what the manufacturer recommends on the packaging.

Determining the degree of damage to fruit buds

If in pears and apple trees you can immediately see which ringlets have suffered the most, then with stone fruits they do things differently. To do this, cut bouquet branches and annual shoots from different parts of the crown, place them in water and keep them in the room for two weeks. The next step is to make longitudinal and transverse sections of each of the buds. If they are healthy, their central part will be green. But the brown spot in the center is a signal that the eye has died. The death of growth buds can be completely compensated by awakening dormant buds. If the flower eyes are damaged, it means you can say goodbye to this year’s harvest.

If the shoot tissue is dark when cut and the buds are brown in the center, do not rush to trim. It is possible only after the awakening of the plants, which need to be greatly rejuvenated, removing all dead and damaged parts, with the branches transferred to healthy lateral branches.

Skeletal branches will need to be shortened for 3-5 year old wood. Such severe pruning stimulates the appearance of tops, with the help of which the crown is restored. Gardeners advise that after such rescue pruning, tie the trunk and main branches with burlap to prevent them from drying out. But it is better not to prune one-year growth this year, as this retards the growth of foliage that feeds the plant. When working with trees, do not allow !

Bridge grafting will save the tree

If the bark is damaged along the ring, the tree will die, since damage to the blood vessels irreversibly disrupts the upward outflow of photosynthetic products through the vessels of the phloem. And here, no amount of tree care after winter will help. If the variety is very valuable, only complete restoration of the conduction system will save it. This can only be achieved by a bridge, when several annual branches are grafted using the “bark” method, connecting the tissues above and below the site of damage.

To do this, you need to hurry and cut cuttings from the crown of the tree before the buds open. They should be 20 cm longer than the damaged area. Before grafting (it is done in May, when the bark is well separated from the wood), they are stored in the refrigerator.

If the plant is young and its stem is no thicker than 2.5-3 cm, then two bridges grafted from different sides will be enough to save it.

If the trunk is thick, up to a dozen cuttings are grafted into it.

First, the bark above and below the damaged area must be cleared of dead parts. Then step back 2 cm above and below the frost ring and make T-shaped cuts for each branch. At the ends that will be adjacent to the trunk, make oblique cuts 2-3 cm in length. Then the ends of the cuttings are inserted into the cuts and secured with electrical tape. For reliability, you can secure it with nails. Open areas should be thickly lubricated with varnish, the grafting sites should be wrapped in film or covered with a general ring of electrical tape. The main thing is not to let the grafted bridges germinate. If this happens, the young shoots are immediately broken out. All open areas are covered with garden pitch. By autumn the cuttings will fully take root.

Tree rejuvenation with complete crown replacement

Beware of the broom on the trunk! This is especially true for rapidly growing plums, apricots, cherries, cherry plums and tree cherries. This measure is also suitable for tall old apple trees. In spring, the trunk must be cut at a meter height from the ground. Keep in mind that the rougher the bark, the less likely it is to awaken dormant buds. Therefore, try to find at least one weak shoot and cut 2 centimeters higher above it. Sometimes it happens that after such a radical pruning, more than a dozen tops immediately shoot out from the cut point. And here it is important not to make a mistake: leave 1-3 of the strongest ones, bend them, tying them to the pegs with a rope, and remove the rest to the base.
Otherwise, you are in danger of becoming the owner of a curly broom on the trunk.

By pinching and shaping them, you can grow new skeletal branches that will produce a harvest next year. The correct thing to do with them is to cut off their ends at a height of 60 cm, forcing them to branch, and in August, stretch the grown side branches to the sides. If you miss the moment, the tops can reach more than two meters in length during the season.

Next year you need to do green pruning, pinching and bending the branches of the second tier.

Seed propagation in the garden strawberries we are accustomed to, unfortunately, leads to the appearance of less productive plants and weaker bushes. But another type of these sweet berries, alpine strawberries, can be successfully grown from seeds. Let's learn about the main advantages and disadvantages of this crop, consider the main varieties and features of agricultural technology. The information presented in this article will help you decide whether it is worth allocating a place for it in the berry garden.

Often, when we see a beautiful flower, we instinctively bend down to smell its fragrance. All fragrant flowers can be divided into two large groups: nocturnal (pollinated by moths) and daytime, whose pollinators are mainly bees. Both groups of plants are important for the florist and designer, because we often walk around the garden during the day and relax in our favorite corners when evening comes. We are never overwhelmed by the scent of our favorite fragrant flowers.

Many gardeners consider pumpkin to be the queen of garden beds. And not only because of its size, variety of shapes and colors, but also for its excellent taste, healthy qualities and rich harvest. Pumpkin contains a large amount of carotene, iron, various vitamins and minerals. Thanks to the possibility of long-term storage, this vegetable supports our health all year round. If you decide to plant a pumpkin on your plot, you will be interested in learning how to get the largest possible harvest.

Scotch eggs are incredibly delicious! Try to prepare this dish at home, there is nothing difficult in preparation. Scotch eggs are a hard-boiled egg wrapped in minced meat, breaded in flour, egg and breadcrumbs and deep-fried. For frying, you will need a frying pan with a high side, and if you have a deep fryer, then that’s just great - even less hassle. You will also need oil for frying so as not to smoke in the kitchen. Choose farm eggs for this recipe.

One of the most amazing large-flowered tubs of Dominican Cubanola fully justifies its status as a tropical miracle. Warm-loving, slow-growing, with huge and in many ways unique bells of flowers, Cubanola is a fragrant star with a complex character. It requires special conditions in the rooms. But for those who are looking for exclusive plants for their interior, a better (and more chocolatey) candidate for the role of indoor giant cannot be found.

Chickpea curry with meat is a hearty hot dish for lunch or dinner, inspired by Indian cuisine. This curry is quick to prepare but requires some prep. The chickpeas must first be soaked in plenty of cold water for several hours, preferably overnight; the water can be changed several times. It is also better to leave the meat in the marinade overnight so that it turns out juicy and tender. Then you should boil the chickpeas until tender and then prepare the curry according to the recipe.

Rhubarb cannot be found in every garden plot. It's a pity. This plant is a storehouse of vitamins and can be widely used in cooking. What is not prepared from rhubarb: soups and cabbage soup, salads, delicious jam, kvass, compotes and juices, candied fruits and marmalade, and even wine. But that's not all! The large green or red rosette of leaves of the plant, reminiscent of burdock, acts as a beautiful background for annuals. It is not surprising that rhubarb can also be seen in flower beds.

Today the trend is to experiment with unusual combinations and non-standard colors in the garden. For example, plants with black inflorescences have become very fashionable. All black flowers are original and specific, and it is important for them to be able to select suitable partners and location. Therefore, this article will not only introduce you to an assortment of plants with slate-black inflorescences, but will also teach you the intricacies of using such mystical plants in garden design.

3 delicious sandwiches - a cucumber sandwich, a chicken sandwich, a cabbage and meat sandwich - a great idea for a quick snack or for an outdoor picnic. Just fresh vegetables, juicy chicken and cream cheese and a little seasoning. There are no onions in these sandwiches; if you wish, you can add onions marinated in balsamic vinegar to any of the sandwiches; this will not spoil the taste. Having quickly prepared snacks, all that remains is to pack a picnic basket and head to the nearest green lawn.

Depending on the varietal group, the age of seedlings suitable for planting in open ground is: for early tomatoes - 45-50 days, average ripening periods - 55-60 and late ones - at least 70 days. When planting tomato seedlings at a younger age, the period of its adaptation to new conditions is significantly extended. But success in obtaining a high-quality tomato harvest also depends on carefully following the basic rules for planting seedlings in open ground.

Unpretentious “background” plants of sansevieria do not seem boring to those who value minimalism. They are better suited than other indoor decorative foliage stars for collections that require minimal care. Stable decorativeness and extreme hardiness in only one species of sansevieria are also combined with compactness and very rapid growth - rosette sansevieria Hana. The squat rosettes of their tough leaves create striking clusters and patterns.

One of the brightest months of the garden calendar pleasantly surprises with the balanced distribution of favorable and unfavorable days for working with plants according to the lunar calendar. Vegetable gardening in June can be done throughout the entire month, while the unfavorable periods are very short and still allow you to do useful work. There will be optimal days for sowing and planting, for pruning, for a pond, and even for construction work.

Meat with mushrooms in a frying pan is an inexpensive hot dish that is suitable for a regular lunch and for a holiday menu. Pork will cook quickly, veal and chicken too, so this is the preferred meat for the recipe. Mushrooms - fresh champignons, in my opinion, are the best choice for homemade stew. Forest gold - boletus mushrooms, boletus and other delicacies is best prepared for the winter. Boiled rice or mashed potatoes are ideal as a side dish.

I love ornamental shrubs, especially unpretentious ones and with interesting, non-trivial foliage colors. I have various Japanese spirea, Thunberg barberries, black elderberry... And there is one special shrub, which I will tell you about in this article - viburnum leaf. To fulfill my dream of a low-maintenance garden, it is perhaps ideal. At the same time, it is capable of greatly diversifying the picture in the garden, from spring to autumn.

Fruit trees after winter damage

Apple tree “changes skin”

Spring is just around the corner. It brings a lot of joy to amateur gardeners. The plants also hid in anticipation, anticipating clear sunny days...

Unfortunately, spring brings not only joy to our gardens, but also problems. One of the most troublesome and painful - winter damage to trees. How to heal our green friends? The answer to this question can be found in almost all gardening books. But many of the recommendations are quite complex and are not accessible to the average summer resident.

I decided to describe several proven techniques from my practice. The methods I suggest are quite effective. Even novice gardeners can use them.

Bridges and rings

One of the most destructive is ring damage to the bark of young trees. It usually occurs due to the fault of hungry and toothy mice.

Classic repair method- bridge grafting. But only an experienced gardener can do it. And even that does not always bring success.

Textbooks are usually full of pictures. The bridges on them stretch upward- Therefore, the mice gnawed the bark at a decent height. But in my area everything happened exactly the opposite. The tree's bark was damaged at the bottom, right at the root collar. There was practically no space for installing cutting bridges. But I still tried. The bridges did not take root, and the tree died.

This incident taught me a lot, prompting me to look for other ways. I began to treat ring damage by applying bark from a healthy branch of another tree. I did this in early spring, at the beginning of intense sap flow. The result is excellent, and the first time.

Donor and patient

This is how I act. First I prepare a piece of branch, preferably- without ramifications, and necessarily- with healthy bark. This is a donor.

I clean the damaged area of ​​the “patient tree” down to healthy wood and treat it with a weak solution of iron sulfate. I outline the height of the insert, retreating 0.5-1 cm up and down from the most distant places of damage. I cut out a rectangular sheet from any dense material, the width of which is equal to the height of the insert. The length must be no less than the diameter of the trunk of the tree being repaired.

This sheet serves as a template for determining the size of the bark insert to be transplanted. Having wrapped the donor branch with this template, I make circular cuts along the ends to the wood. I remove it and make a longitudinal cut. Having wrapped the wound with a template, I make circular cuts and remove the remaining bark along the edges of the damaged area, exposing the cambium.

I apply the bark from the branch prepared for transplantation to the site of damage. If necessary, add another piece of bark until the surface is completely covered. I tightly tie the “patch” with a strip of film (it is better to use polyethylene, then it will be easier for you to check the accuracy of the bark fit). To protect from sunlight, I cover the harness with white film or paper.

Unilateral non-circular cortical injuries are usually easier to treat. The wounds are cleaned and covered with garden varnish. And they calmly wait for them to heal. But keep in mind that if the damage is large, a hollow may appear in its place. Such wounds are best treated in the manner I have described. Only the figured template for cutting out the bark will be of a different size and configuration.

Look at the photo at the top of the page. on her- young apple tree. The picture was taken in the spring of next year after repairs were made with a ring insert of two pieces of bark (under the branch) and shield bark (at the root collar). Groove on the front side of the shield- not a flaw at all, but the result of a discrepancy between the bark throughout its entire thickness. Below, the surface of the damage is completely covered with new bark.

Now imagine what a tree with bridge cuttings would look like. Awkward, right? And after the method I use, in a year or two there won’t even be any traces left on the tree. So choose what you like best! Two years after this repair, the mice completely gnawed the tree bark above the insert. They may ask- What kind of gardener is this who leaves his pets to be torn to pieces by rodents? But what do you want me to do? The site is far from the house; in winter it is abandoned, as they say, to chance. One way or another, I had to, reluctantly, cut down the tree. So what do you think? Longitudinal and transverse sections of the bark turned out to be completely clean, without any damage. By the way, in this way you can not only treat the tree, but also reduce its growth. There is evidence from experts that a change in the polarity of the trunk bark in an area 10-20 cm high helps to reduce the height of the plant. We cut out the bark of the required size with a ring and make an insert “feet up”, that is, aligning the upper edge of the ring with the lower edge of the cutout.

Tree without a trunk

I am often asked: what to do if the trunk of a tree needs to be removed? The need for such an operation is most often associated with freezing or sunburn of the bark of a young seedling. Such incidents are not uncommon, especially in winters with frequent thaws. The bark can also freeze due to the gardener’s excessive care.- when the tree is overfed and does not have time to prepare for winter.

The sun can dry out the young stem of a seedling. Considering this, it is better to play it safe: when forming skeletal branches, leave one at the bottom, in reserve. In winter it will be covered with snow and will remain in any case. And you can remove it after the tree begins to bear fruit.

Usually the trunk is damaged above this branch. In this case, it will be the basis for the formation of the crown.

We cut off the trunk with a well-sharpened garden hacksaw. Secateurs should not be used, even if the tree is very “skinny”- it wrinkles the bark. By the way, to avoid this incident, you can also wrap the bark with adhesive tape, which will protect it from delamination. Now, stepping back a little, we cut the trunk into a ring.

At a short distance from the standard, we drive a stake into the ground. It should be opposite the branch we left. We install a spacer bar between the stake and the tree. To prevent the branch from breaking off when straightening it, we firmly tie the tree to the stake: by the bottom of the branch, placing a piece of dense material so that the bark does not wrinkle. Carefully bending the branch upward, bring the bottom to a vertical position and secure it to the stake with a garter. The upper part of the branch will also bend towards the stake.

Behind the branch, at a short distance from it, we drive in a second stake. Straightening the branch, we tie it to a new support, slightly higher than the previous garter. Now we carry out the garter one by one- first to one stake, then to another, completely straightening the branch. And we fix its thin upper end in a vertical position between two supports, tying it with a twist of twine.

This method can straighten the branch not only in the vertical, but also in the horizontal plane. In this case, we straighten the side branches evenly in different directions using stakes and twine. In this way we form the skeletal branches of the tree.

If it was not possible to straighten the branch at the base in one season, you should periodically, at intervals of 2-3 weeks, retighten the lower straps. The branch will gradually straighten.

When will the kidney wake up?

Let's consider other cases. If there are no branches below the damage site, the trunk should be cut to a well-developed bud. Do not forget to tie the shoot developing from it to a stake in a timely manner.- this will protect it from breaking.

If there are no branches or buds below the damaged area, the trunk must be cut arbitrarily down to clean wood and covered with garden varnish. And then wait for the dormant bud to awaken (the process can last until mid-summer). It is important not to miss the moment of her awakening. Usually the dormant bud is thick and grassy. It is loosely attached to the trunk, held as if on the tip of a needle. Therefore, at the green cone stage, it needs to be wrapped in a funnel-shaped film (under the bud - tightly, above- free). Then the shoot will be well preserved and will not move away from the trunk. And when he grows up, he should be tied to a stake. Next season it will be possible to begin forming the tree crown.

If readers remember, the winter of 1978-1979, like the current one, was very cold. However, those gardeners who were in no hurry to destroy frozen fruit trees preserved more than half of the apple trees, pears, plums, cherries, cherry plums, and cherries, primarily, of course, the zoned varieties.

And now the situation seems to have repeated itself: the abnormally warm, dry, protracted autumn of 2005 led to the fact that gardens in most of the Leningrad region entered the stage of winter dormancy with a great delay. It is known that the last organ of a fruit tree, actively functioning until frost, is the root system. Already in November, when the air temperature drops to -5°C... -10°C, the roots continue to extract nutrients from the still unfrozen soil, which are stored in all parts of the tree and help to survive significant frosts. This is what happens in our area, if autumn is rainy and cool, winter begins with snow in November with slight cold, and the harvest was not too abundant.

This season everything was different: 1. It was warm almost until mid-November. 2. Traditional autumn rains fell in places and rather sparingly. Therefore, in those gardens where the owners did not take care of pre-winter watering, fruit trees were not able to receive enough nutrition in the fall. 3. Relatively warm December and early January did not allow the formation of a stable high snow cover, which during the severe winters of 1978-1979, 1985-1986, 2002-2003. preserved at least the lower part of the trunk and the root system from freezing. 4. Clear, frosty, windy February and March promise sunburn on the south side of the trunk and frost damage on the north and east.

To this should be added good harvests, primarily apples, in the southern and western regions of the region. It is clear that a tree with a large harvest gives up a significant part of the substances it needs, and can only replenish them with timely and attentive care.

All the factors listed above have been added up this winter and will most likely significantly affect the condition of our fruit trees.

So, what should a gardener do to reduce the negative effects of these factors.

First: do not rush to remove frozen trees. The degree of damage is best determined in May, perhaps in June, after the start of sap flow. Moreover, the less frost-resistant the variety, its location on the site is less favorable, and the taller the tree, the more the wood is damaged.

Second: assess the general condition of the tree - by the degree of darkening of the wood on the cut, the location and number of awakened buds, and the nature of the foliage. If the core of the main branches (skeletal, semi-skeletal) is dark brown, the bark is peeling off, and the budding of buds even on apparently undamaged branches is significantly lower than usual, characteristic of a tree of this variety, it means that it has suffered greatly and, most likely, not only this winter.

Freezing (death) of fruit branches of one- or two-year-old shoots, partial damage to the bark as a result of frost damage and sunburn is unpleasant, but does not yet lead to the rapid death of the tree.

Third: perform rejuvenating pruning on adult affected trees, and restorative, preferably formative, crown pruning on young trees.

This work should be carried out only when the dead, partially living and well-restored zones are completely visible.

It can be assumed that in many gardens where there was sufficient snow cover or snow retention was carried out (embanking, organizing shelters, mulching tree trunk circles, etc.), young 3-10-year-old trees with crowns that died above the snow level will be found. At the same time, shoots and trunks covered during frost will remain viable and will produce a sufficient number of young shoots during the growing season.

They must be protected in every possible way from mechanical damage (for example, by the wind) - tied up, shortened to increase strength, and weak, poorly placed, overlapping branches removed. Subsequently, from these surviving shoots it will be possible to form a low-standard or bush form of tree. This applies to both pome and stone fruit crops.

The light brown color of the wood indicates minor tissue damage. However, it must be remembered that in this case, the mechanical strength of such branches has deteriorated, and pruning of these parts of the tree (skeletal, semi-skeletal branches, second-order branches) should be carried out to a greater extent than for a tree of the same type and age, but which has escaped damage.

Severely damaged rooted cherry and plum trees are quite easily restored by root suckers (shoots). Apple trees, pears - only with shoots going above the grafting site.

All affected trees need intensive feeding, primarily nitrogen fertilizers, and watering during the dry period.

It is better to make the final decision on removing the dead tree no earlier than the second half of July. Then the gardener can make sure that the sleeping buds, even at the bottom of the trunk, have not woken up and restoration is impossible. In this case, do not despair, but plant new zoned varieties from nurseries in the North-Western region.

Anatoly Kofman, gardener