How to plant a peach and care for a tree?

Planting, growing and replanting in risky farming zones of such a capricious southern culture as a peach is a difficult and non-trivial task.

Many gardeners, after the first bad experience, give up further attempts. And in vain. Most misunderstandings can be avoided with a competent approach to laying a peach garden, already at the stage of planting seedlings.

When is the best time to plant a peach in fall or spring?

This is a problem around which many copies have been broken. There are two options - spring and autumn, and each has its own advantages and disadvantages.

This brief analysis shows that planting in the fall has more benefits. However, the main factor that determines the optimal time is the climatic zone.

If autumn is warm, you can plant a peach in September. 6-10 weeks before frost, he will have time to start and get ready for winter. If early frosts and cold weather are predicted, it is better to store the purchased seedling in a prikop until spring, and plant it in March, when the temperature of the upper soil layer will be + 12⁰С.

In the southern latitudes (North Caucasian, Lower Volga and Central Black Earth regions), you need to plant a peach, of course, in the fall, until mid-October. In areas with a difficult climate (Northern region, Ural, Siberia, Far East) planting should be only in spring.

Which peach to plant?

The choice of a seedling is one of the most crucial moments. Three main factors influence the success of the cultivation: the variety, the stock, the condition of the seedling.

Variety selection

Everyone knows that varieties should be regionalized for a specific growing region. The problem is that out of 57 peach varieties registered in Rosreestr, all 57 are recommended for cultivation only in the south of Russia. For the Central or, for example, the Far Eastern regions, there is not a single suitable peach. Therefore, it will not be possible to choose a variety according to this landmark. What to do?

In addition to zoning, there is also the concept of acclimatization. It lies in the fact that a variety transferred from another climatic zone, with the help of special agrotechnical techniques, takes root in new conditions... In other words, the tree must be "born" where it will grow. Acclimatized peaches can only be found in closely spaced nurseries. It makes no sense to write out seedlings on the Internet and transport them thousands of kilometers.

Rootstock selection

The stock determines a lot: the viability of the plant, and its yield, and resistance to diseases, and longevity, and even future sizes.

Rootstocks can be vegetative and generative. Vegetative ones are obtained from plant cuttings with the desired properties. Generative are seedlings grown from seeds. Vegetative stock is always more reliable, generative stock is less predictable.

The main criteria for a rootstock are as follows:

• winter hardiness;
• excellent compatibility with the scion;
• the ability to adapt to different soils.

Several types of plants can be used as a rootstock for peach:

• apricot;
• bitter almonds;
• cherry plum;
• Manchu peach.

For cultivation in areas of risky farming, it is best to take a seedling grafted onto a Manchu peach. It is this rootstock that takes root well in any kind of soil, has increased winter hardiness and drought resistance, makes the future tree compact and resistant to bacterial cancer. In addition, on such a rootstock, peach fruits do not tend to be chopped.

Sapling condition

Two-year-old seedlings take root most successfully. When buying, you should examine the plant according to the following scheme:

1. Inspection of the root system. It should be fibrous, highly branched, not overdried. The more powerful the root system, the better the plant will accept.
2. Inspection of the trunk and branches. The normal growth of a "two-year-old" is from 1.2 to 1.5 meters. The thickness of the trunk is about 2 cm. The distance from the root collar to the grafting site is 6-8 cm. Well-developed lateral branches are at least 3.
3. Inspection of the bark. It should be smooth, glossy, free of cracks and flaking. In no case should there be any traces of gum.

If the seedling is purchased in the fall, it may contain leaves. They can also be used to judge the condition of the seedling. Twisted leaf plates, dried up, affected by clasterosporiosis and other fungi are a reason to be wary.

Seat preparation

Peach is an extremely thermophilic and light-demanding plant. When choosing a site for planting it, you must immediately cut off all lowlands, windy, flooded and swampy places, areas with a high standing of groundwater, places shaded by tall buildings or mature trees.

The best options are any well-lit area covered from the north side: the south wall of a house or the slope of a gentle hill.

If the seedling is planted in an area where garden plants were previously cultivated, it must be borne in mind that any plants of the Solanaceae family, melons, as well as strawberries and sunflowers are not suitable as precursors for the peach.

The general scheme for preparing the landing pit is as follows:

1. The minimum dimensions are 0.5 * 0.5 * 0.5 meters. If the root system has powerful dimensions, the size may be larger - 1 * 1 * 0.8 meters. On wet soils, the depth increases by 20 cm. Additional space is filled with expanded clay.
2. The soil taken out of the pit is separately mixed with two buckets of good humus and a liter can of wood ash.
3. You can drive a support into the bottom of the pit close to the center.

The peach tree carries out a lot of nutrients from the soil, and filling the planting hole with fertilizers is a must. In addition to pure organic matter, you can add mineral complexes. For example, "Kemira Lux" or "Nitroammofoska". In this case, you need to ensure that the root system does not receive a chemical burn, and before planting the seedling, sprinkle mineral fertilizers with a layer of soil.

Two ways to plant a peach

In recent years, there has been a lot of discussion between gardeners on the issue of burying the root collar of peach seedlings. It is believed that a recessed planting increases the frost resistance of the tree. Some peach breeders go further and advise to deepen not only the neck, but also the vaccination site.

However, in this case, there is a risk that the scion will move to its own roots, and all the positive qualities of the rootstock will be lost. Therefore, the advisability of dropping the vaccine is questionable.

There are two standard planting technologies: "on a cone" and "in a slurry".

Plant "on a cone"

Planting "on a cone" is not difficult. This is the most common method. The landing procedure is as follows:

1. 2 buckets of water are poured into the landing pit.
2. After soaking, the soil prepared in advance according to the above scheme is poured into a mound on the bottom of the pit.
3. The seedling is set on the top of a hill ("cone"). The roots are straightened along the slopes so that their location is at an angle of 45⁰.
4. Constantly controlling the position of the root collar, the hole is covered with fertile soil, tamping slightly so that there are no air cavities around the roots.
5. The trunk circle is watered with 1 bucket of water. When absorbed, the entire area of ​​the circle is mulched with humus, peat, and crushed bark.

After planting, the seedling is fixed to a support so that it does not tilt when the soil subsides in the pit and does not break in a strong wind.

Landing "in the slush"

This method is good because it allows you to land alone. The algorithm of actions to plant a peach "in a slush" is as follows:

1. At the bottom of the landing pit, 2 buckets of humus are poured out and filled with a bucket of water.
2. When the water is half absorbed, a bucket of fertile soil is poured.
3. The root system of the seedling is immersed in the resulting slurry. The viscous mass keeps it upright well.
4. The pit is gradually covered with soil. As it fills, the seedling is pulled higher by the stem. The roots themselves are at the correct angle.
5. When the hole is full, the position of the root collar is checked and another watering is performed.

The trunk circle should be mulched. The layer thickness must be at least 7 cm.

A special case - stale peach

In the northern regions, Siberia and the Far East, it is advisable to form stale peach forms. In this case, the landing is done as follows:

1. Dig a planting hole with a diameter of 120 cm. The depth is shallow, to the thickness of the fertile layer.
2. At the bottom of the pit, a mound of earth is poured, mixed with humus and superphosphate (250 g). Nitrogen fertilizers are not applied.
3. The seedling is laid on a mound so that the top does not touch the ground and is directed south.
4. The hole is filled with fertile soil, following the position of the root collar - it should be buried no more than 3-5 cm.
5. A thicker layer of soil is poured over the root system to prevent it from freezing.

After planting, the seedling is well watered and mulched with a layer of organic matter.

Care after landing

The main mistake that novice peach breeders make after planting is leaving many side shoots on the seedling. With spring planting, this is a direct path to the death of the seedling: the vegetating ground part will evaporate too much moisture, which will not have time to be replenished by the idle root system.

In the fall, post-plant pruning is not so important. You can do it in the spring, according to the results of wintering. In any case, the operation is performed as follows:

1. Choose 3 strong side shoots at a height of about 0.5 m and slightly higher. The center conductor is shortened over the upper branch.
2. Lateral branches are shortened by 2 buds. The top should look outward so that an open crown will form in the future.
3. All extra side shoots are cut out.

When planting in autumn, you must also take care of the shelter of the peach. To do this, you can build a structure around the tree from 3 layers of dense agrospan. Tent covers made of reeds or corn stalks will also work. It is better not to use straw mats - rodents are often found in them.

If the planting pit is filled with fertilizers, peach feeding will not be needed for two years. But whitewashing the bole is worth it: whitewashing will protect the delicate bark of the plant from frost breaks.

You can grow a peach tree not only in the south. If you correctly approach the choice of the variety, the preparation of the seedling and its planting, even in more northern latitudes, in a couple of years the peach will delight the owner with delicious fruits. The main thing is proper care and faith in a successful outcome of the case.