Gardeners consider plum homemade one of the best stone fruit crops. The plant needs a lot of heat to form high-quality fruits. Therefore, the plum is considered a predominantly southern plant, little cultivated north of the Moscow region. Certain conditions are necessary for the cultivation of fruit trees. When the plum dries, what to do becomes an urgent question for the summer resident.

Acceptable Growing Conditions

In order for a plum to bear fruit, it needs neighbors - pollinating varieties. As for the choice of soil, the culture in this regard is not particularly picky - any fertile land is suitable for it.

Note! The plant loves moisture, but does not tolerate an overabundance. Therefore, it is better to plant a plum in areas with low groundwater.

The culture is relatively resistant to drought. But sometimes gardeners notice that the tree has begun to wither. In this case, the problem of how to save the plum from drying out must be solved immediately, using effective means of therapy.

Possible causes of wilting

Fruit trees wither for various reasons, this moment can come at any of the phases: after hibernation, during flowering, and even at the time of fruit formation. Before proceeding with the treatment of a tree, it is necessary to establish why the plum branches (or leaves) dry.

Plant wilts after flowering

The garden woke up after winter, opened its leaves, and suddenly a problem arose. The reason why the plum blossomed and withered may lie in the invasion of pests. Some feast on the nectar of flowers, others gnaw through the bark and penetrate into the branches.

Mass destruction of trees by diseases also falls on this period. If preventive measures (spraying, fertilizing) were not taken in time, this may be the reason why the plum dries after flowering, the immunity of which is weakened by hibernation.

Important! Plums are characterized by a large growth of shoots. If it is not removed, the shoots will pull food onto themselves, preventing the main branches from entering the fruiting phase, and the tree begins to dry out in places.

Wither after winter

The reason why the plum dried up after the winter may be the harsh climate (i.e. the plant is frozen). If these are young seedlings, it is possible that varieties were selected incorrectly for planting - without taking into account the region. Even in the southern regions, sometimes the trees, not having time to wake up after the winter, begin to dry. Plants weakened by fruiting without autumn feeding do not tolerate cold well.

Pests settle in the root zone of trees in order to comfortably overwinter. With the advent of spring, they wake up and begin to feed on parts of the plant. The roots are especially actively affected during this period, causing the tree to die.

The plant has not come out of hibernation

Plum is considered a relatively winter-hardy crop, but is often damaged by severe frosts (especially high-quality varieties). Data fruit trees begin to wake up one of the first (after cherries). If by mid-April the buds do not swell, it is necessary to revise the plant.

Dry trunk of a plum tree

A dry trunk near a plum is a sign that it has suffered from frost. If the bark is “alive”, there is hope that the tree will wake up a little later. Apparently, the weather has not yet settled down on the street, and the plum is waiting for heat.

Leaves do not bloom

With the advent of spring, buds swelled on the branches, but for some reason the plum leaves do not dissolve. The reason may be in insects that have eaten eyes. Some pests remain in them to winter, and with the advent of heat they wake up and begin to actively develop.

Note. The leaves may not bloom because the plant is weakened by poor wintering. Perhaps the trees planted in the fall did not have time to take root normally before going into hibernation. And a fairly adult plum representative has simply outlived his life and is gradually dying.

tree without leaves

In gardens, there are also such situations:

• the plum had time to dissolve the foliage, and then suddenly dropped it;
• leaves appeared only on some branches, the rest are bare;
• the tree itself did not give leaves, but the growth is lushly green.

In the latter case, it is possible that the plant died out in winter, but the root remained intact. In other situations, all the same pests and diseases are to blame.

There is another reason why there are no leaves on the plum. If a tree has survived a too hot summer, and then severe frosts, then it is tired of fighting temperature fluctuations. Most likely, the plum needs a “time out”, and in the next season, having rested, it will enter the normal phase of development.

Leaves dry

In the middle of summer, you can see how the leaves on the plum are covered with a dry border. This is a sign that the plant has become ill with moniliosis (gray rot). If no action is taken, the foliage will dry out completely, but will hang on the tree, disfiguring its appearance.

Gradually, the twig affected by the disease also begins to dry out, then the second, the third, until the tree completely withers.

dried plum leaves

In this case, the reason why the plum has dried up must be sought in the conditions of agricultural technology. The infection enters the area with pests or is carried by the wind and settles where preventive treatments of trees have not been carried out, the crown has not been thinned out, and water balance.

Additional Information. The cause of the disease can also be an incorrectly chosen place for planting a plant: in a lowland, in an unventilated area, or in a place where groundwater is too high.

How to deal with problems

Having established the reason why the plum branches dry up (as well as leaves and flowers), the gardener seeks to take immediate action. Especially if the culprits are insects and diseases.

Disease control measures

Problem	sign	Measure
perforated spotting	The bark, leaves and flowers are affected. It appears in the rainy spring season and progresses throughout the period; On the plant you can see brown spots framed by a dark border. If the disease is not treated, the spores penetrate the fetus, ulcerating it to the very bone.	Prevention is important - annual thinning pruning, cleaning of fallen leaves, autumn digging of the trunk circle; If signs of the disease are found, the affected branch is cut off, and the cut points are covered with pitch; · It will be necessary to spray with copper chloride or Bordeaux liquid. Processing is carried out 10-14 days after the start of flowering
Gommoz	Represents smudges on the tree in the form of thick brown resin. They appear in those places where the plant was injured from a sunburn or winter cold; · An excess of moisture and nitrogen in the soil can provoke cracks in the bark; From seemingly harmless gum, the tree can dry completely	Required meticulous care behind fruit trees; If wounds are found, it is immediately recommended to cover them with petralatum; · On the large plots lesions, the bark is removed, the bare trunk is treated with horse sorrel (fresh grass is rubbed), then smeared with var
Rust	It appears on the leaves, covering them with red spots, rapidly increasing in size; Photosynthesis is disrupted, causing the tree to weaken and shed its leaves prematurely. Such a plant may not survive winter cold	Sick leaves should be immediately removed from the site and destroyed; Before flowering, the plum is sprayed with copper chloride, after harvesting the fruits - with Bordeaux mixture
Bacterial spotting	· Having found a small circle or strip on a leaf plate, it is safe to say that a bacterium has settled on the plant. Confirmation of this is a yellow, quickly drying border around the perimeter of the sheet; Fruits are also covered with dark flaky spots. After that, the plant is difficult to save, in the end it dries up	In the treatment of the disease, azofoska 5% or 1% copper sulfate will help; Sometimes antibiotics diluted in water are used; At least 3 treatments are carried out per season at weekly intervals
Moniliosis	Gray rot affects not only the leaves - the branches dry out very quickly. The fruits rot right on the tree and do not fall off.	Processing is carried out during the following periods: after swelling of the kidneys; at the flowering stage after the plum has blossomed. In order not to harm the bees at this time, it is recommended to use less toxic drugs: Topsin-M, Horus, Fitolavin, Skor
Smallpox sharka	The cause of viral infection is a colony of aphids; First, light spots appear on the sheets, which, growing, turn yellow, and the plate dries up; The fetus is also affected: it becomes small, deformed, covered with brown spots and crumbles	· Having found smallpox on the drain, nothing can be done - the plant will die anyway; But in order not to infect other stone fruits, the diseased tree will have to be uprooted and burned

Other insects are no less dangerous for plums: Aphids from a still healthy tree can be washed off with a strong stream of water, and then treated with Karbofos or Sharpei. To protect the site from colonial invasion, it is recommended to plant islands of Dalmatian chamomile, garlic or onions near fruit trees, the smell of which will scare away pests.

• spider mite, which should be controlled with biopesticides;
• the scale insect is scraped off along with the bark, then the tree is treated with Biotlin, Bankol, Aktara;
• the treatment of plums with Karbofos, Dendrobacillin, Entobacterin will help destroy the golden tail and silkworm butterflies.

When spraying trees, they also capture the soil around the trunk, as well as neighboring plants.

Important! If there is an abandoned garden plot nearby, it is recommended to treat it with chemicals as well. This will protect yourself from the invasion of pests from the outside.

In order for spring to please with lush fruit blooms, and summer for a juicy harvest of fruits, it is necessary to provide plants with a comfortable wintering. Then the question will not arise why the branches of the plum tree dry up.

Fruit planting calendar

Month	Measures taken
Aug. Sept	Trees that have passed the growing season need enhanced nutrition. Introduced into the soil full complex fertilizers. At the end of September, 5-7 buckets of water are poured under each plant. This will help the plums to better endure the winter.
October	Tree trunks are cleaned of damage and whitewashed with lime
November December	The branches are freed from adhering snow - this will save them from breaking off. Fruit trees are annoyed by rodents that eat up the root part. Therefore, it is necessary to thoroughly trample the snow around the plants, and make a special protective harness on the lower region of the trunk.
January	If the plum area is lightly covered with snow, you need to worry about additional shelter of the near-stem circle to protect the roots from freezing.
February	The binding from the tree is removed, the snow is raked off, the trunk is covered again lime mortar. Plants prepare for temperature changes
March	In the middle of the month, trees are inspected, after which sanitary pruning is performed.
April	Drainage grooves are made through which melt water will leave (it should not stagnate near trees). The soil around the plum is dug up and nitrogen fertilizers are applied. Protect from return frosts smoke piles located along the landing will help
May	Measures are taken based on the temperature outside: if May is cold, they continue to carry out night smoke, followed by watering the root zone (only warm water is used), and preventive spraying of the crown (possible with Bordeaux liquid); in a hot month, up to 6 buckets of water are poured under each tree. Before flowering, plants are fed with a complex of mineral water and organic matter.
June July	The main concern comes down to watering and top dressing. Under each tree prepare 5 buckets of organic solution. Urea is diluted at the rate of 1 tbsp. for 10 l

Common questions on the problem Such a set of measures will save you from solving the dilemma of what to do when the drain dries up. Full-fledged prevention and proper agricultural technology is already 90% of success in growing fruit trees.

On the forums, novice summer residents and experienced farmers often communicate with each other. Some share their experience, give advice and recommendations, explain why certain drugs are needed, how to use them correctly.

Others ask pressing questions about the challenges they face while gardening. The most common of them are listed below.

What to do if there are few leaves on the plum? When the cause is not in diseases and pests, it can be assumed that the plant lacks nutrition. For growth, first of all, nitrogen is needed, with which you need to feed the plum in the spring.

On a note. Why did the plum die? Noticing that the plant began to die, you need to immediately establish the cause. The main factors are described in the article. To the reasons given, we can add the decay of the roots in winter and the damage caused to the plum by water rats (they are especially hungry for young seedlings).

Noticing that the leaves of the plum have not blossomed, you should not uproot the tree, considering it dead. If the near-stem growth develops well, then the main trunk can return to life. Otherwise, you will have to select the strongest side shoot and allow it to develop into a new tree.

Plum trees grow in front of our house. After this winter, we were afraid that they would freeze. But the plums survived, although they did not bloom. In summer, a part of the crown of one adult tree withered. The leaves do not fall off, withered right on the plant. The literature says that such branches should be removed. But in our case, we need to cut down half the tree! And there is no damage on the trunk. On the other plum, a small twig also withered. Neighbors say it may have come from the drought. But we watered our trees with a hose, and wetted the leaves too. What is it? How should we proceed? N. Ryabova, Pavlovo

From lack of moisture, young trees can really dry out. But, as a rule, the whole plant suffers, and the leaves wither on all branches equally. Mature trees are saved from drought by deep root system which draws moisture from the lower layers of the soil.

In the case of the plum, the reason for the death of half the tree is most likely that it is affected by moniliosis.

Moniliosis is a fungal disease of stone fruit trees such as cherries, plums, apricots. The fungus-causative agent infects the plant during the flowering period, falling on the pistil of the flower. Then it germinates and penetrates the branch through the pedicel. Further, moniliosis develops inside the branch, affecting the wood deeper and deeper. At the end of June, individual dried branches can be seen on a diseased plant. According to the nature of the disease (the leaves hang on the tree as if burned), the disease is also called monilial burn.

Sometimes the disease becomes mass phenomenon and then a significant part of the crown dies.

The causative agents of the disease can penetrate into the tree through cracks and other mechanical damage to the plant. Affected fruits (cherries, plums, apricots) become brown and soften, then they dry out (mummify). Without falling, the fruits hang on the tree until spring.

Pathogens hibernate inside the affected plants and mummified fruits. In spring, spores are spread by air, raindrops or insect pests.

The most favorable for the development of moniliosis is warm, humid weather. This year there is a drought, but if you often water the plants, wetting the leaves with a hose, then the effect can be compared to rainy weather.

The development of the disease is also facilitated by the thickening of plants, as well as their location in a lowland.

AT bad years when moniliosis becomes widespread, the crop can completely die, and the tree can become very weak. If you do not take action for several years, the plant will completely dry out.

Measures to combat moniliosis:

1. The garden should be planted in well-ventilated areas.

2. Remove shoots of cherries, plums, avoiding dense plantings.

3. Avoid mechanical damage to plants, and in case of such, treat wound surfaces (cover with garden pitch or paint).

4. Remove dry branches as soon as you find them. Cut them out, grabbing healthy wood 10-15 cm down. If this is not done during this, then the damage to the branch will only increase, since the pathogen penetrates deep into (down) the wood.

5. Collect dried fruits and destroy them (burn). To collect fruits from the upper branches, use special devices, but do not leave the source of the disease in the crown of the tree.

6. Collect leaves that have fallen during pruning and in the fall. Burn them. Never put in compost!

7. Annually treat cherries, plums and other stone fruits with fungicides against moniliosis. Suitable preparations are HOM, HORUS (according to the instructions), copper oxychloride (40 g of powder per 5 liters of water). Processing is carried out before and after flowering. After pruning the affected branches, treat fruit trees with 1% Bordeaux mixture.

You can find this article in the newspaper "Magic Garden" 2010 No. 14.

Number of impressions: 16945

Often summer residents cut down a tree when aphids start up, leaves wither or branches dry up. Fruit trees and shrubs need care, and if there is no appropriate care, they die, infecting nearby plants with diseases.

It is not always clear why the process of drying the leaves began, the tree shed all the leaves or completely withered. You need to figure out what to do when the plum dries.

Causes

Not only people feed on plum fruits, but also various microorganisms that are not so easy to detect.

The plum tree suffers from three types of infections:

• bacteria;
• mushrooms;
• viruses.

Non-infectious causes of wilting:

Basically, infection occurs from disturbed ecology and abandoned areas near:

• Gum flow - translucent "tears" flow down from the damage and freeze, so the plum heals itself, sealing the wounds. But this weakens the tree, increases the risk of contracting serious diseases. Damage to the tree is treated with garden pitch or blue vitriol. With a heavy lesion, diseased branches are cut off.

• Damping - damage to the bark in the root zone, when snow falls in large quantities on the ground that has not had time to freeze. Compacting the snow, stamping it at the trunk, you can prevent damping. Someone is raking snow from the trunk so that the soil freezes. Then the snow is shoveled back.
• Violation of the water balance occurs due to the drying of the earth or excessive wetting of the soil and roots. Stagnation of water or drought contributes to the death of the root. In the dry season, it should be watered abundantly: normally 10 liters per 1 sq.m of the entire crown area. Excess water must be removed. You can do this with grooves.
• Plum trees frozen in winter dry out rapidly in spring. Nothing to help here. Choose next time frost-resistant variety and the right place to land.
• Infection of wood weakened by frost or disturbed water supply leads to the drying of individual branches first, and then the entire plant. It is necessary to regulate the water supply and take measures to next winter if most of the tree survived.
• Gardeners rarely meet with water rats, but rodents do a lot of harm: in winter they eat the bark of young plums, in summer - the roots. Against rodents in autumn, the plum trunk is tightly tied with spruce branches with needles down, and during the thaw they trample down the snow near the trunk so that the rats cannot reach it.
• From insect pests should be sprayed with chemicals. It is important to spray correctly so that the fruits do not accumulate harmful elements - before flowering, immediately after flowering or before fruit ripening, and, if necessary, even after leaf fall. Insecticides perfectly cure insect pests: "karbofos" or "phosphamide", which must be treated before and after flowering, as well as in early August, when pests lay larvae. In case of damage by sapwood and leafworm, eating away passages in the tree, the preparations are powerless - you will have to cut and burn the branches.

It is not difficult to deal with non-infectious causes of plum drying, you just need to eliminate the shortcomings.

Infectious diseases

If you do not pay attention to the modifications of the leaves and fruits of the plum, then other plants will become infected, and soon you can be left without a garden.

Virus

All stone fruits fall ill with smallpox (sharka): cherry plum, apricot, cherry, etc. At first, the leaves are affected: light rings and stripes form on them, which turn yellow and dry out. Then the fruits become infected: they change color, become covered with light depressed rings, similar to pockmarks - hence the name. There may be stripes. The fruits are deformed, turn brown, fall off early, transparent gum appears on the "pockmarks". It carries an infection from other aphid plants, or maybe the virus was already in the purchased seedling or got through an untreated tool.

Chlorotic spotting (annular or mosaic) begins with the leaves, only in the center of the resulting pattern a hole forms, dead tissue disappears. The leaves become smaller, narrower, become stiff, with wrinkles. It is transmitted in the same ways as smallpox, infection through pollen is possible.

Viral diseases of the plum, as well as the fungal "Milky Shine" and the bacterial "Witch's Broom", cannot be cured with the drug. The plum will have to be uprooted and destroyed.

However, it is imperative to take preventive measures to protect neighboring and future trees: in the spring, before the buds appear, it is necessary to spray the trees with Bordeaux liquid 3% (300 g per 10 liters of water) and repeat the procedure after flowering with the same preparation, but only 1%.

Fungus

Mushrooms are widely distributed in dense plantings and in humid climates, but an outbreak can occur even in northern regions due to rainy summer

Cytosporosis (drying infectious) leads to complete drying of the plum. The tree is affected through damage to the bark, which leads to the death of tissues. You can see small black tubercles under the dead bark - spores of the fungus. It is necessary to spray the tree with Bordeaux liquid 3% (300 g to 10 l of water) or fungicides.

Klyasterosporiosis (perforated spotting) affects not only the leaves, but also all the aerial parts of the tree: reddish spots appear on the leaves, turning into holes, then the leaves dry up. The shoots and bark are also covered with red spots, gum is visible at the lesions. The buds darken and fall off, also with flowers and fruits. The spores of the fungus are quickly spread by insects, tools or wind. For treatment, Bordeaux solution 1% (100 g to 10 l of water) or copper oxychloride (40 g to 5 l of water), as well as the drug "topsin M" are sprayed. Many treat the soil and trees before flowering with suitable fungicides.

Moniliosis ( gray rot) are compared with a burn, because the consequences are similar. Affected branches shrink with lightning speed, but flowers, fruits and leaves do not fall off. The disease is easy to recognize by rotting fruits that deteriorate right on the branch. Spores easily endure the winter and in the spring "attack" the surviving crops with renewed vigor. Bordeaux liquid 1% or copper oxychloride will help in the fight.

Pockets (handbags) are formed as a result of infection with fruit spores: plums of an unusual elongated shape in the form of pouches with little or no stones. The fruits do not ripen, do not grow, and soon dry out and fall off. Sprayed with Bordeaux liquid 3% (300 g to 10 l of water) or fungicides.

Fruits and leaves are affected by coccomycosis: they are distinguished by red-violet, and sometimes even brown spots, which soon cover the entire plum. The fruits grow irregularly shaped and are not edible. The leaves turn yellow or brown in a short time, after which the tree sheds them. Treated with copper sulphate or Bordeaux solution 1%.

Milky shine is distinguished by the silvery color of the leaves and air bubbles in them, then the leaves dry out. Brown spots are visible on the trunk and branches, then the plum bark darkens and begins to fall off in strips. There are cases of infection through vaccinations. It is unrealistic to save a tree; in this case, it should only be uprooted and burned. Treat the soil with a Bordeaux solution or copper-containing preparations, biofungicides.

Curly is visible in the shape of the leaves: they are corrugated, curled, turn yellow or redden. Then a plaque appears, the leaf dries out and falls off. The fruits are deformed or not tied. The spores of the fungus do not withstand frost, and most often the disease rages for only one season.

Plum rust is characterized by the appearance of the corresponding color of spots on the leaves, which darken by autumn and become like small pads. “Zineb”, copper-containing preparations, is excellent.

The sooty fungus affects the plum leaf - it seems to be covered with soot, it turns black, but this is just a coating that can be easily wiped off or washed off. Therefore, it is easiest to get rid of this disease. A soap-copper solution is sprayed (150 g of grated household soap mixed with 5 g of copper sulfate to 10 liters of water), copper oxychloride and 1% Bordeaux solution.

With verticillium, individual branches dry out, but the whole tree may die: from below, the leaves turn yellow and crumble, and from above they usually remain healthy green, like bast and bark. Most often young plums get sick. The main reason is a soil imperfect fungus of the genus Verticillium.

They effectively fight many fungal BIOpreparations: "phytodoctor", "phytosporin" and many other less toxic standard chemicals.

Bacterium

Bacterial spots on plum leaves appear as small roundness and lines. Further, the process of drying occurs and the spots turn yellow along the border. The fruits are also covered with convex dark spots with a white border and a scaly surface. The tree quickly turns black and dries out.

The "witch's broom" is distinguished by overgrown thin branches that appear as a result of infection of the tree with the smallest microorganisms. These twigs are barren, but they take a huge share of nutrition. The leaves below on such branches are covered with bloom.

At bacterial burns and diseases, the plum is sprayed with copper sulfate 1% (100 g to 10 l of water), fungicides 5% "azofoska" and antibiotics. The procedure is carried out in late spring and early July, during the flowering period, 3 times per season, observing an interval of 4–6 days.

Prevention methods

To prevent diseases, it is necessary to timely protect and prevent all garden trees and shrubs from various diseases, especially bacterial and fungal ones.

Prevention must be carried out correctly:

• cut the branches in time in moderation, and process the cuts with garden pitch;
• prevent damage to the bark;
• do not leave affected fruits;
• do not thicken with new planting crops;
• buy seedlings from trusted suppliers;
• disinfect garden tools before each treatment;
• timely spray with insecticides;
• regularly inspect the trees for the manifestation of diseases and, having found signs of infection, immediately cut and burn the branches;
• whiten the trunk and branches in autumn;
• harvest carefully, avoiding damage to the fruit;
• dig grooves, preventing waterlogging of the site;
• regularly sow green manure, especially mustard, which mushrooms do not like.

Before using any preparation, it is better to check its safety for leaves on individual branches. Fungicides are effective, but rather weak, and strong concentrations are prohibited for use due to toxicity.

A plot with fruit stone trees should be well ventilated and illuminated by the sun, which heats and dries the tree.

Only through hard work can you get a healthy and tasty harvest as a result!

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Plum seedling does not bud

How to revive low-quality seedlings

Even when the garden has everything your heart desires, you still have to plant something or replace it with new trees. Unfortunately, seedlings in the markets are often dried, rotted or moldy. Usually, what you bought in the market is unlikely to be exchanged. Therefore, we give you recommendations for the urgent rescue of planting material.

If you notice brown traces of black cancer on the trunk, then just cut the trunk below the black spot. Anyway, after planting, the seedling will need to be cut. It's just that your seedling will be trimmed more strongly. But it will certainly take root and give good growth next year.

If you notice thickenings on the roots of trees, do not write off throwing them entirely into the fire. Cut off the thickenings and burn, and dip the roots of the seedlings into a solution of 3% Bordeaux mixture, then rinse thoroughly with water: now you can start planting.

Wrinkled bark on the branches of a tree is bad. But do not rush to cut them to the very spine. You can try to save the seedling by throwing it "head" into a bath of water. There you can restore the water balance for two or three days. Only the water should be cold, otherwise the kidneys will get wet.

If you notice outgrowths and thickenings on seedlings of acacia and sea buckthorn - do not rush to throw them away or cut them off - these plants have thickenings provided by nature - they contain beneficial nodule bacteria.

If the seedling has short stumps instead of roots, then this planting material can be successfully planted. Only after planting cut off all the branches shortly, leaving small stumps. As soon as the roots of the seedling grow, the tops will more than grow. If you leave the entire crown, then the seedling will surely die.

For heavily dried seedlings, you can prepare "living water". To do this, take 1 tbsp for 10 liters of water. a spoonful of urea + 1 tbsp. a spoonful of superphosphate + a few drops of Kornevin. Seedlings are immersed in such a solution for 12-20 hours, after which they can be planted. Survival will be almost 100%.

If the seedling does not bud in the spring or they immediately dry up, then such a plant must be severely cut. They act simply - the whole tree is cut off 5 cm above the graft. Usually, after a few days, shoots appear from the remaining stump. They leave one of the strongest - the one that is higher than the vaccination. Wild shoots are immediately cut out. So that the new shoot does not break off, a support is stuck next to it, to which it is tied.

We hope that our advice will help you in the resuscitation of substandard seedlings.

source

zakustom.com

Plum planting

When to plant a plum.

Planting plum trees in autumn.

How to plant a plum in the spring.

plum care

Plum care in spring.

Plum care in summer.

Plum care in autumn.

Plum processing.

Watering plums.

Plum feed.

Plum winter.

plum pruning

When to prune a plum.

How to cut a plum.

Plum pruning in spring.

Summer pruning.

Plum pruning in autumn.

Plum propagation

How to propagate plum.

Propagation of plums by seeds.

Plum propagation by grafting.

plum diseases

plum pests

How to deal with plum

Plum varieties

Plum varieties for the Moscow region.

Early varieties of plums.

Medium sized plums.

Late varieties of plums.

plum properties

floristics.info

Growing plums let's be patient

Growing a plum tree requires knowledge and attention at all stages. Each is important for the result - obtaining tasty, pleasing gardener's eyes, fruits.

The survival rate, the growth of the seedling and the yield of an adult tree depend on how skillfully the plum planting is carried out.

Therefore, it is necessary to adhere to a number of rules.

Landing Rules

Plum is a genus of stone fruits. This family loves warmth, like all the closest relatives of the plum:

• Apricot;
• Cherry plum;
• Cherries;
• Peach;
• Cherry.

According to this list of representatives of the plum family, it is clear - southern plants. Mild southern winters make it possible to plant plums not only in spring.

Autumn planting is also successful, the tree withstands the cold and wakes up safely in the spring.

Planting seedlings in different seasons has differences, features.

You need to know how to grow plums in different regions.

Autumn and spring planting plums: choose the timing

Plum tolerates planting in different ways, when to plant it, the gardener decides, carefully weighing the pros and cons.

Terms strongly depend on the region of cultivation.

Pros and cons of autumn planting

Autumn is fertile for planting in the south, especially its second half. Seedlings leave for a dormant period, "fall asleep" for the winter.

Benefits of planting planting material in the fall:

1. Minimal injury: the kidneys are at rest, the movement of moisture and nutrient media is suspended in the roots. A young tree is less sensitive to manipulation.
2. Planted before winter, a month and a half before severe cold weather, the tree manages to settle in the ground. At the right depth, the soil tightly fits the skeletal roots and lateral roots. Autumn rain moisture and almost no evaporation eliminate the presence of voids around the roots.
3. The southern winter is often like a continuation of autumn. Seedlings manage to overwinter without problems, they wake up in the spring already as “natives”, without feeling changes.
4. By the time of hot weather, and it is familiar to the southern spring, the seedling will adapt, will not perceive temperature fluctuations as stress.

For climatic zones located to the north, autumn planting is possible, but difficult and risky:

1. Weak seedlings can freeze slightly, even die.
2. The surface location of the feeding roots will require warming - mulching, sheltering the trunk circles. You have to cover them with snow. The stems must be whitewashed to prevent cracking of the thin surface layer of the stem in the cold. Otherwise, the temperature difference - the heating of the seedling during the day by the sun, alternating with frosty nights, "beats" the bark - it bursts.
3. Option: tying the stems with thick paper, this increases labor costs. If the garden is not at home, in the country - you have to continue the season of work on it in the winter.
4. Spring floods can destroy even a well-overwintered plum tree. Flooding disrupts air exchange in a waking plant. The roots are rotting.

Therefore, planting plums here is advisable - in the spring.

spring planting plum

“Prepare the sleigh in the summer ...” - the proverb is universal and true for preparing the “residence” of garden trees. It is better to choose and prepare a site for any landing season - from the fall.

Provide the tree:

• Wind protection - plant under the cover of tall trees, pergolas, walls;
• Sunny place;
• Convenient location for irrigation. If the climate is dry, plum planting is carried out taking into account the possibility of irrigation, closer to the water source;
• Prepare food in advance. In the fall, when digging the site, add humus. And it’s better to dig a landing hole before winter and fill it up at the same time.

A pit for planting is dug, taking into account the structure of the root system of seedlings and soil fertility.

Good, nutritious soil will allow you to plant a plum in a shallow - 60 cm - hole with a diameter of up to 80 cm.

If the soil is poor, the pit will be deeper, its width will be greater. Sufficient size: meter per meter.

Follow the verticality of the walls, otherwise uneven settlement of the earth, skew of the trunk is possible.

You don’t have to bury a tree a meter; half the depth will be occupied by earth mixed with humus.

The plum root system contains many lateral roots. They are shallow, provide food to the tree. Distributed within the projection of the crown.

This area is fertilized with organic matter (compost, humus, manured soil). This food is enough for the first years.

Skeletal roots go deep, they hold the tree, they can supply moisture.

But the plant is nourished by a superficial root system. In its zone, the soil is loosened, fertilized, and mulched from above to preserve moisture.

The depth of skeletal roots is close to the height of the tree itself.

Plum planting, adherence to technology, will determine the health and development of the tree to a large extent.

In the spring, the seedling is inspected, the upper third is removed with secateurs. This stimulates the growth of side branches well.

The kidneys should be swollen, alive. But not yet blooming. So it is easier for the plant to take root: it will wake up in new conditions.

Varietal seedlings are obtained by grafting varietal material onto a more hardy root - stock.

The grafting site is easy to see: it is thickened. Below the graft is the transition of the root into the trunk - the root neck.

Its location during landing is not arbitrary. The neck should be above the surface of the earth, deepening can destroy the tree.

The bark of the neck, which is in the ground, gradually rots and collapses, the tree withers.

Landing algorithm

Both in spring and autumn, a plum seedling is planted according to one algorithm:

1. A high stake is driven deep into the center of the pit - a support for the seedling. Check the strength of the fastening: the stake should not swing.
2. Fertile soil is poured into a prepared pit filled with fertilized soil. The slide is made above the edges of the pit - then it will settle. If poured lower, after planting and watering, a recess is formed. This will be a mistake: stagnation of irrigation and rain water at the stem will lead to its decay.
3. Evaluate visually planting material. Damaged roots, if any, are pruned to healthy areas. This improves survival.
4. A seedling is placed on a hill, the roots should be freely located on the soil, not pressed against the edges of the pit. There should be no voids between the central lower part of the root adjacent to the trunk and the ground.
5. It is more convenient to plant together: one person holds the plant by the stem, the other pours earth on top of the roots. So it is possible to give the plum trunk a vertical position and gently fill the space between the roots with soil.
6. Sprinkling the roots with a small layer of soil, the seedling is slightly shaken. So the earth is distributed between the roots denser.
7. A layer of soil is poured above ground level, after watering the sediment will level the surface.
8. Watering is carried out carefully so as not to expose the roots. It is better to water around the perimeter of the pit, the water will be absorbed evenly.
9. It is good to mulch the near-stem zone with last year's leaf, straw, improvised material. This will retain moisture, reducing evaporation, and protect the roots from possible frosts.

If it was not possible to dig and fill the landing hole in the fall, in the spring they prepare it two weeks before the planned planting.

Landing pattern

When planting several trees or laying a garden, the planting pattern is chosen according to the characteristics of the variety.

Tall plums are placed four meters in a row. You can reduce the distance to three, focusing on the size of the site, the number of trees.

between rows tall plums distance according to the standard scheme is 5 meters. You can - 4 meters, according to the conditions.

Modern varieties of low plums are more compact: a meter closer than tall plums, both in a row of trees and in the aisle.

Seedling care

The period of adaptation of the tree will require special attention. Observe and note:

• Whether the kidneys start growing in time. This is monitored regardless of the planting season.
• Has the trunk circle dried up;
• The appearance of pests - young trees are the first to suffer from them.

Otherwise, growing plums does not require special care at first.

With the right amount of organic matter landing pit four years of feeding is not needed.

You will need watering, pruning, loosening the soil. Possibly mulching.

Watering and fertilizing

Everyone knows that the main thing in care is watering, and it is also necessary for draining.

High-quality moistening up to 40 cm depth will be optimal.

In the first half of summer, 5 buckets per tree will become the norm, the amount of water is increased during the fruiting period of the plum, but not excessively, otherwise there is a risk of fungal infection.

Mineral fertilizers will come in handy in the third or fourth year from the moment of planting, so potassium and phosphorus are added to the soil in the autumn digging.

In the spring and after flowering, nitrogen fertilizers are used, and by mid-June an infusion is applied. cow dung(in near-stem circles - for young trees, for adults - throughout the planting area).

Nitrogen, potassium, magnesium help to ensure good fruiting and stable growth, so they should be used for both root and foliar feeding.

For example, nitrogen in the form of saltpeter or urea can be applied to the leaves by spraying if they turn pale.

With brown and twisting leaves, granular potassium and magnesium can be added to the soil.

crown formation

Pruning plums is easy. The conductor - the central trunk - is always in the lead, it is left above the other branches.

Competitive branches are best removed or severely shortened. Remove the completely cut branch “to zero”, without hemp.

Stone fruits are prone to fungal diseases. The spores of the fungus are introduced precisely through the wounds on the stumps.

Lateral branches are shortened at the end of the first or beginning of the second season. The plum tends to grow quickly, cutting off the ends will force it to branch.

Without pruning, most plums "drive" vertical branches to a greater height.

After a couple of years without care (pruning), no ladder will help to get fruits that have ripened at a height of many meters.

When cutting out the extra branches that thicken the crown, free the tree from uncomfortable ones.

Uncomfortable:

• Growing vertically (tops) - they are barren or barren;
• Departing at an excessively sharp angle from the central trunk;
• Growing horizontally or at a large (greater than 50°) angle;
• Crowns directed inward;
• Growing in the direction of the paths, they will interfere with walking through the garden.

It is desirable to direct the skeletal branches along the rows, this will facilitate the care of the plum.

Every year during the growth season, “hold” the lush growth in height.

Do not allow strong pruning: the longer the cut fragment of the branch, the stronger the branching on the remaining part.

More works on thinning - more injuries to the tree and loss of time for the gardener.

growth

Stone fruit crops, having taken root, quickly develop new territory. Lateral roots actively expel shoots.

If this is not checked, a few years will turn the garden into an impenetrable plum thicket.

Gardeners are struggling with an undesirable phenomenon. If the variety is own-rooted (without grafting), the plum can be safely propagated by the vegetative method.

The shoots are dug up, the roots are cut, planting is carried out. Valuable varieties are sold.

Varieties obtained in nurseries through grafting cannot be propagated in this way. Everything that comes from the root is not varietal.

Therefore, it is cut down or dug out.

To facilitate the laborious work, the shoots are not allowed to grow. Along the perimeter of the near-trunk circle in the projection of the crown, they dig in material impermeable to the roots:

• Plastic;
• Metal;
• Slate;
• Rubber.

They select what is available, connect the fantasy. The roots lie shallow, you can block the road.

Take the trouble once - get rid of the need to dig up shoots annually throughout the site.

Deepen the material by thirty centimeters: the roots are superficial. Leave a small edge at the top.

Weeding

Weeding is minimal. The first year is manual. Tools can accidentally damage delicate roots.

In subsequent periods, weed the surface layer, preferably with a flat cutter. At the same time, the soil is loosened, “closing of moisture” occurs.

The term means the destruction of the crust, the network of cracks on it. This prevents moisture from evaporating actively, keeps it at the roots.

In the aisles, you can even walk with a walk-behind tractor (cultivator). Plum care of this kind will endure without problems.

Harvesting

Plum is a juicy fruit. It must be picked slightly unripe. Otherwise, it will wrinkle, the skin will burst.

Small trees are much easier to maintain. Special fixtures not necessary: ​​buckets, baskets, fruit boxes, and the working hands of a gardener.

Add a ladder to this set if the varieties are tall.

The fruit should be picked carefully, trying not to damage the skin and even the protective whitish coating on it.

Then the plum will lie longer. You will have time to process or transport it without loss.

Plum propagation methods

First of all, let's say right away that the reproduction of this tree, regardless of the variety, occurs vegetatively, that is, through cuttings, root shoots and plum seedlings.

Seeds can only be used to get a rootstock - a tree, which is then grafted onto.

How and why to grow a rootstock?

If you need a rootstock, start preparing the seeds:

• you need to select the best fruits, remove the pulp, rinse under running water and soak for 4 days, changing the water and mixing the “bones”;
• dry future seeds thoroughly;
• store them until planting time in a glass container;
• for a sufficient period before planting (it will be 180 days), stratify the seeds - keep in a humid environment, it can be sand or wood chips in temperature conditions from -10 to +10C;
• plant in the ground either in autumn or with the onset of stable spring weather (this is usually done at the end of April);
• withstand landing correct distances- between seedlings they should be 10 cm, between rows - 70 cm, with a planting depth of 70 cm.

In order for the grafting to be successful, it would be better for you to take winter-hardy varieties of thorns or plums as a rootstock.

The stock should grow within 1 year, after this period, you can graft.

Graft

Vaccination is performed during the period when the movement of juice is actively proceeding, this is:

1. Spring: mid-April - mid-May;
2. Summer: mid-July - mid-August.

Spring is more suitable for grafting cuttings, and buds are grafted in summer.

Root growth

We have already talked about coppice reproduction. It is suitable only as a clone, vegetative.

Horizontal roots with many small lateral roots (or even without them) take root almost one hundred percent.

A proven good variety can be propagated quickly and successfully. Make money on sales or endow all your relatives, neighbors, acquaintances with your favorite plums.

The method is economical, not expensive, fast. Well suited for yellow plums: they do not let down the taste, size and beauty of the fruit. Transportable if harvested on time.

Late pink plum shoots give less, but they also reproduce successfully.

With the upcoming transportation of seedlings for sale and their possible storage until sale, dip the roots, protecting them from evaporation, drying out, in a clay mash.

But even wrapped in a damp cloth, “naked”, free from earth, the roots will remain viable.

You can transport seedlings to any region suitable for their climate.

There are cases of successful rooting and cultivation of a southerner - a yellow plum in the Moscow region.

Experiment, keep it up. Fortune favors the brave.

If the variety is grafted, the shoots will not convey the characteristics of the variety, the result of the gardener will be disappointing.

root cuttings

You can also take root cuttings for propagation.

The stalk is mined like this - the root is dug up at a distance of a meter from the trunk of a young plum, or one and a half meters - from the trunk of an adult; the thickness of the root should be approximately 1.5 cm, and the length - 15.

It is chopped off and stored in a trench covered with peat and river sand, mixed in equal proportions.

Its depth should be at least 0.5 m, but you can also use the basement, where you have to create suitable conditions for the handle with moss and wet sawdust.

These measures are useful if the stalk is cut off in the fall, and if in the spring, then you can place it in the ground, under the film, when peat is added to the soil in a ratio of 1: 3.

Position the cutting vertically or obliquely.

Plum cuttings will require careful care - when planting, it is important to observe intervals of 5 cm between units, and keep the rows 10 cm apart.

The depth of the soil cover will be 5 cm, but it is better to deepen the upper ends by a couple of centimeters, mulch, that is, sprinkle them (peat or sawdust is suitable).

You need to keep them in the shade, do not let them dry out until shoots appear.

If there are several shoots on one cutting, then the strongest should be left.

Organic fertilizers (slurry, for example) will be useful if you fertilize several times a season.

It is time to repot the stalk that has escaped will come by next winter, and it will be possible to go to the garden when it reaches a height of 1.5 m.

But not all gardeners can and love to grow their seedlings and, therefore, it is sometimes easier to visit a nursery and choose the right variety. Get what you want, refresh your knowledge.

And then planting a plum, growing it, will not be excessive work. And the result will be expected and will definitely please.

Blooming but not fruiting

And sometimes it happens that way, plum trees bloom profusely, then ovaries appear, which fall en masse without bearing fruit. For this reason, gardeners even uproot healthy trees. What to do in this case?

Let's consider all the reasons for the poor harvest of plums: from the choice of variety to agricultural technology and climatic conditions.

1. Most varieties require pollination, as they are self-infertile. Each variety has its own “fellow traveler”: they must grow close to each other. The symbiosis of two varieties - "Annushki" and "Skoroplodnaya" - will give a high yield. When a "pair" is not identified by breeders, you will have to plant a "curtain" of several varieties of fruit trees. You can cooperate with neighboring trees by planting your plums near the fence. Cross-pollination by insects is reduced in cold or rainy weather - you will not wait for the harvest.
2. A phenomenon known to biologists as a physiological carrion: the tree does not have enough nutrition for all the fruit that has set. Root system defects are considered a common cause. Alas, it is impossible to fix this, but at the expense of correct formation crown amateur gardeners still increase the yield.
3. Bacterial diseases trees can often be seen near plums - this is the result of a careless attitude of gardeners towards them. Carrion from under the crown and fallen leaves must not only be removed, but also taken out of the garden. The crown of trees must be regularly treated against gray rot and pathogenic fungi. One percent Bordeaux liquid, applied three times, with an interval of two weeks, successfully copes with infectious diseases of stone fruits.
4. Insect pests can significantly reduce the yield. The most common are plum sawfly, codling moth and caterpillar-thick-legged. Apply agricultural practices (loosening, hilling), put trapping belts. So you protect your garden without chemicals.
5. weather and climatic conditions define future harvest. On young shoots after winter, you can see traces of frost damage. Clean these places, treat with garden pitch. But amateurs cannot fight with the sterilization of pollen. It is caused by a strong cold wind during flowering. AT northern latitudes the tree does not have enough heat, drought threatens the seedlings in the south, the middle lane is recognized as the best for growing plums.
6. Non-compliance with the conditions and place of landing. Seedlings love neutral soils, sunny areas of the garden that are not shaded by large trees, where there are no "foreign" roots.

Now that you know the causes of plum failure, you can weigh up your ability and desire to select a few plum trees for your new garden, knowing their characteristics.

Finishing the article, I want to invite you to watch videos about planting plums and pruning them.

See you soon, dear readers!

tags: plum

www.syperdacha.ru

Plum - planting and care: pruning and grafting

Plum (lat. Prunus) is a genus of tree-like plants of the Rosaceae family, which includes about 250 species growing in the Northern Hemisphere. Plum is a natural hybrid of cherry plum and blackthorn. The plum has been cultivated since Ancient Egypt, in the V-VI centuries BC. And the Syrians, long before our era, knew how to cook prunes from it, which they traded with other countries. According to legend, the Roman commander Pompey brought plums to Europe from Damascus. In Rome, the best varieties of plums were considered walnut and damask. And during the Crusades, other excellent varieties came to Europe, including Renklod, named after Claude, daughter of Louis XII. The type of home plum, which will be discussed today, comes from the Caucasus.

Plum is a tree up to 15 m high with an ovoid crown, the productive age of which is 10-15 years, but it can live up to a quarter of a century. Early-fruiting varieties begin to bear fruit in the second or third year after planting, late-fruiting varieties - only in the sixth or seventh. The root system of the plum is pivotal, most of the roots lie at a depth of 20-40 cm. The leaves of the plum are simple, short-petiolate, alternate, obovate or elliptical in shape, with a serrated or crenate edge, pubescent from the bottom of the leaf plate. The length of the leaves is from 4 to 10 cm, the width is from 2 to 5. Flower buds give from one to three white flowers with a diameter of 1.5-2 cm. The plum fruit is purple, yellow, light green, red, or blue-black with with a bluish bloom, a drupe with a stone flattened and pointed on both sides. The shape of the fetus can be round or elongated. The genus Plum also includes cherry, sweet cherry, bird cherry, almond, apricot and peach fruit trees.

Plum planting

When to plant a plum.

In regions with a cool climate, plums are planted in the spring, in April, before the buds begin to open. In warmer areas, plums can be planted in the fall, in mid-September, so that it has time to take root before frost. But if you purchased plum seedlings later, in October or November, dig them in the garden until spring and cover them with spruce branches from frost, laying them with needles up so that mice do not get to the seedlings. When it snows, throw a snowdrift on the spruce branches. In the spring, as soon as the buds begin to bloom, dig up the seedlings and plant them in a hole prepared in the fall.

Planting plum trees in autumn.

If your area has mild winters, you can plant trees in the fall, but you need to prepare the site for planting in advance. Even if you have purchased a seedling of a self-fertile plum, it is still desirable that a pair of plums of a different variety grow nearby - such a neighborhood contributes to consistently high fruiting.

The drain pit is prepared two weeks before planting. Plum grows on any soil except acidic, but the groundwater on the site should lie no higher than one and a half meters deep. Choose a sunny, draft- and cold-wind location for plum trees, facing south, southwest, or west. Dig the area to the depth of the bayonet and, if the soil is acidic, add a deoxidizer for digging - dolomite flour or ash at the rate of 600-800 g per m². Then dig a hole at least 60 cm deep and about 70 cm in diameter, discarding the top, fertile soil layer in one direction, and the lower, infertile soil in the other. In the bottom of the hole in the center, drive a landing stake so long that it rises above the surface of the site by at least half a meter. Place a mound at the bottom of the hole fertile soil mixed in equal parts with humus or peat.

Now let's talk about the requirements for seedlings. A seedling with a fresh, not overdried root system is considered good. If the roots are slightly weathered, soak them for several hours in water before planting. The plum bark should be undamaged, and the trunk should be in excellent condition. The trunk of the plum should not have bifurcations.

Plum planting in autumn is carried out as follows: a one-year-old seedling is placed on an earthen mound, poured around a peg, its roots are carefully straightened and covered with earth from the top layer of soil mixed with organic fertilizers so that no voids remain. When planting, the root neck of the seedling should be 3-4 cm above the surface level. After planting, water the seedling with two or three buckets of water, and when it is absorbed, the soil will settle and the root neck will be at the level of the surface of the site, mulch the near-stem circle with peat.

How to plant a plum in the spring.

Planting a plum in spring differs from autumn only in that, in addition to organic matter, it is necessary to add the entire set of mineral fertilizers to the fertile planting mixture, including nitrogen fertilizers, which are not applied to the soil during autumn planting. The fertile soil layer is mixed at a ratio of 1: 1 with humus or compost, 200-300 g of superphosphate, 40-60 g of potassium salt and 300-400 g of wood ash are added to it, thoroughly mixed and the roots of the seedling are covered with this planting mixture. Plums are planted at a distance of 3-4 meters from each other. It is best to plant two plum trees at once of varieties that bloom at about the same time. If cherry plum grows nearby, it will be enough as a pollinator. As we already wrote, they carry out spring planting before the start of sap flow.

plum care

How to properly care for plums? Planting and caring for a plum will not seem difficult if you know exactly what and when to do: how to fertilize a plum in spring, summer and autumn, how to graft a plum onto a root shoot, and how to process a plum that is sick. For the convenience of perceiving information, we have divided the section "Growing plums" into seasons.

Plum care in spring.

At the very beginning of spring, to attract birds to the garden that will help you fight harmful insects, hang birdhouses on the trees. In mid-March, you can start pruning plums. In April the soil in trunk circles and between rows they dig with nitrogen fertilizers at the rate of 100-200 g of calcium nitrate or urea for young trees older than one year and 300-400 g for plums that have come into bearing. When digging, try not to damage the roots of the tree: dig no deeper than 5-10 cm around the stem itself. Plum in the spring needs preventive treatment from pests and pathogens that have overwintered in the bark of trees or in the soil of the trunk circle. If the temperature drops to 1 ºC, you will have to burn smoke piles at night, stopping smoking only two hours after sunrise. In dry spring, plums are watered at the rate of 3-6 buckets per tree. At the end of May, the trees are fed with organic matter, and after that the site is mulched with sawdust or peat. Trunk circles are kept clean, regularly removing root shoots.

Plum care in summer.

Plums in summer, after flowering, need to be fertilized with organic and mineral fertilizers in the same proportions as in spring. In dry weather, watering is carried out. At the end of summer, the plum begins to bear fruit, so be prepared to harvest and process the crop.

Plum care in autumn.

In September, the collection of plums continues, and after that, water-charging irrigation is carried out as a preparation for wintering. If you keep the soil in an area under fallow, it is necessary to dig it in the trunk circles and in the aisles, while removing and burning the fallen leaves. How to feed the plum, after harvesting, so that it can restore its strength and prepare for the winter and for fruiting next year? Under digging, organic and mineral fertilizers are applied under each tree, carrying out the latter in current year top dressing. What it consists of, read in the appropriate section. The stems and bases of the skeletal branches are cleaned of dead bark, lichens and moss, the wounds found are cleaned, they are treated with a solution of copper or iron sulfate, and then with garden pitch. The stems and bases of the branches are whitened with a solution of lime with the addition of copper sulfate, after which the plums are prepared for wintering.

Plum processing.

the first preventive treatment plums are carried out in the spring, before the start of sap flow - in late March or early April. Plums are treated with a solution of 700 g of urea in 10 liters of water. As a result, pests and pathogens that survived after the winter are destroyed, and plants receive the first nitrogen fertilization this year. But if you do not have time to treat the trees with urea before bud break, then you will have to use Fitoverm, Agravertin, Akarin, Iskra-bio or other preparations of a similar action. After this treatment, spray the trees with a solution of Ecoberin or Zircon to increase the resistance of plants to weather changes and diseases. The same preventive treatments are carried out in October before preparing the plum for wintering.

Watering plums.

Such plum watering is considered sufficient, in which the soil is moistened to a depth of 40 cm. During the growing season, depending on the amount of precipitation, the soil around the plums is moistened from 3 to 5 times, pouring under young trees from 4 to 6, and under fruit-bearing up to 10 buckets of water for one watering. In the autumn, winter watering is necessarily carried out, charging the soil with moisture until spring and increasing the frost resistance of trees.

Plum feed.

Fertilization is combined with loosening the soil around the trees. Organic fertilizers are applied once every three to four years at the rate of 10-12 kg per m², and mineral fertilizers are applied once every 2-3 years, with nitrogen fertilizers only in the spring, and phosphorus and potash fertilizers are preferably applied in the fall. In the first and fourth years after planting, 120-180 g of superphosphate, 40-50 g of potassium salt and 60-90 g of ammonium nitrate are added per m² of land for digging. For 5-8 years, this rate is doubled.

Plum winter.

Like any other garden trees, adult plum hibernates without shelter. It is only necessary to mulch the trunk circle with peat or humus. Young trees for the winter must either be tied with spruce branches or wrapped in burlap. Do not use artificial covering material for wrapping, because the seedlings will melt under it.

plum pruning

When to prune a plum.

The formation of plum pruning is carried out most often in the spring, before the start of sap flow. Popular is the sparse-tiered form of the crown on a trunk with a height of at least 40 cm. Pruning begins from the second year after planting, since the plum grows intensively in the first years of life. The crown is formed within five years.

How to cut a plum.

In the year of planting, the plum is not cut off, and next spring a lower tier is formed on it from 5-7 skeletal branches at an equal distance from one another, directed in different directions with an angle of departure from the trunk of 45 º. They begin to form a tier, retreating up the trunk from the surface of the plot 45-50 cm, and the branches that grow below this mark are removed. Branches above the trunk, which are at an angle of less than 40º, should also not be left - they can break off during fruiting. Skeletal branches are shortened by a third of the length, and the rest are cut into a ring, leaving no stumps. The conductor is shortened so that the height of a one-year-old tree is 1.5-1.8 cm.

In the third year, the conductor is shortened 30-40 cm above the upper branch - this measure is necessary in order for the conductor to grow straight. The growths of the continuation of the branches, which are extended by more than 60 cm, are cut to a third or a quarter of the length, and the side shoots up to 15 cm are cut into a downward-oriented bud. Skeletal branches of the second order are formed at a distance of 50 cm from the trunk, the distance between the skeletal branches of the second order, located on the skeletal branch of the first order, must be at least 30 cm.

In the fourth year, the guide is cut so that it is 6 buds longer than the skeletal branches. The conductor is trimmed until it reaches a height of 2.5 m, after which only a new growth is removed annually. Responsibly treat the formation of the top, removing all improperly growing shoots in time: the plum crown should have a pyramidal shape, therefore, with the entry into fruiting, the conductor is cut off at the level of the upper lateral skeletal branch. Last year's increments are shortened to stimulate the development of new increments next year.

After four years, when the crown as a whole is formed, pruning stimulates the growth of new fruit branches, which give the bulk of the crop. The fruits are obtained on young fruit wood of two to three years of age. Four-year-old branches that yielded last year are pruned. If this is done systematically, then a total rejuvenating pruning of an aging tree will not have to be done.

Pruning is carried out with sharp tools, all cuts are treated with garden pitch.

Plum pruning in spring.

Spring is the best time to prune plums, and optimal time end of March or beginning of April. It is in the spring that they make sanitary pruning of branches broken and frostbitten during the winter and form a plum crown. The formation of tiers provides for such an event as bending branches: the skeletal branch of the plum is tied with twine and pulled down from the trunk at an angle of 50-60 º so that it does not form an arc when deflected. The lower end of the twine is fixed at the base of the trunk. Rubber is placed under the attachment of the twine to a branch or trunk so as not to injure the bark of the tree. Bending back the branches of the plum allows you to speed up the entry of the tree into fruiting by 2-3 years. If the procedure is carried out later than in April, then its result will affect only next year.

Summer pruning.

Since the young plum grows intensively and tends to thicken the crown, its formation is carried out as needed throughout the growing season. The best time for summer pruning - the end of June. side shoots the youngest trees are shortened by 20 cm, premature shoots by 15 cm. The central conductor is not cut in summer. At this time, the branches frostbitten in winter are already clearly visible - they are cut to a healthy tissue. Remove and shoots thickening the crown.

Plum pruning in autumn.

Autumn sanitary pruning is carried out after the leaves fall - from about mid-September. Remove dry, diseased and broken branches, shorten the central conductor if it is too long during the growing season. Then cut out fast-growing shoots and shoots-competitors, thickening the crown. Cut branches and shoots must be burned. This pruning is relevant for areas with warm, mild winters, in cooler areas it is better to postpone pruning to spring.

Plum propagation

How to propagate plum.

Plum is propagated by seeds, shoots, green or root cuttings and grafting, but vegetative propagation methods are much simpler and more reliable than seed. We will tell you how to grow a plum from a cutting and from a stone, how to use root shoots to propagate a plum, and also introduce you to all methods of plum grafting - a bud, budding, cuttings, splitting and bark.

Propagation of plums by root offspring.

This is the fastest and easiest way to propagate a crop that produces abundant root shoots. Since you still have to remove root suckers that clog the tree's trunk circle, why not try to grow a new tree out of them? Select a developed offspring at a distance from the plum, dig out its root and cut it off from the mother plant at a distance of 20 cm from the stem. Dig up the sprout, and in order not to introduce an infection, treat the cut of the root with garden pitch and plant the sprout in a permanent place. If the plum does not yet have large, developed offspring, and you dug up a thin twig, plant it for a year in a nursery for growing.

Propagation of plums by seeds.

This method may be useful to you to grow a rootstock for varietal grafting. The bone is wrapped in gauze or cloth and placed in the refrigerator from mid-autumn to early March for stratification. In March, the bone is planted in a pot. When it sprouts, they take care of it, as they usually take care of seedlings - water and feed. In the autumn, when the seedling grows up, it is planted for growing in a greenhouse or in a school, and in a year it will be ready for planting in a permanent place and for grafting a varietal plum.

Plum propagation by green cuttings.

This propagation method has recently become more and more popular among amateur gardeners, as it gives quick results and has a high survival rate of young plants. However, not all varieties of plums are able to take root, and you need to choose for cuttings those that tend to form abundant root shoots. Cuttings are carried out in June, during the period of active growth of shoots. Cuttings 30-40 cm long are taken on a cloudy day from young plants, put them in water, trim the lower part of the shoot with a sharp tool, also removing the lower leaf and leaving only half of the petiole from it, and the upper cut on the cutting is made immediately above the third leaf. After that, the cuttings are tied and their lower ends are lowered overnight by 1.5 cm into the Heteroauxin solution. Since rooting should take place in greenhouse conditions, build a mini-greenhouse for cuttings. Place a mixture of peat in half with sand in a container, pour a layer of sand 1 cm thick on top, pour the substrate and compact it slightly. The cuttings are deepened to the petiole of the removed leaf at an angle of 45 º at a distance of 5-7 cm from each other, the gap between the rows is kept within 5 cm. The planted cuttings are covered with a transparent dome and placed in a bright place, shading if necessary from direct sunlight. The cuttings are watered through a divider, a month after planting, fertilizing is carried out with a solution of 30 g of nitrogen fertilizer in 10 liters of water or a weak solution of slurry. As soon as the cuttings take root, the dome is removed. To save the cuttings until spring, they are dug up at the end of September, their roots are covered with wet moss, wrapped in foil and sent for storage in a barn or placed in a trench dug in the garden, and covered with sawdust, moss or fallen leaves from above. In the spring, the cuttings are planted in the ground and grown for two years before being planted in a permanent place.

Plum propagation by root petioles.

Root cuttings are cut in spring or autumn from shoots located at a distance of at least a meter from the mother tree. First, shoots are dug out along with the roots, and then cuttings up to 15 cm long and about 1.5 cm in diameter are cut from them. If it is autumn in the yard, put the cuttings in a box, sprinkle them with sand and store at a temperature of 0-2 ºC until spring. Root cuttings are planted in early May in the same way as green ones: at an angle, at a distance of up to 10 cm from each other and under a transparent cap. All further actions are carried out in the same way and at the same time as when propagating plums with green cuttings.

Plum propagation by grafting.

To carry out the propagation of plums by the method of grafting, two components are needed - a graft and a stock. The rootstock can be grown from the seed itself, or the root offspring of an adult plum can be used as this, which is dug up, separated from the mother plant and planted. As a raw material for the stock, you can use the root growth of such varieties of plums as Skorospelka red, Moskovskaya, Renklod kolkhozny, Ugorka, Eurasia 21 - they are quite winter-hardy. You can graft varietal grafts on the stock of cherry plum, thorn, blackthorn or felt cherry.

Kidney vaccination. The rootstock is watered abundantly to increase sap flow, which will make it easy to separate the bark from the wood. The bole is wiped with a damp cloth or sponge, and all leaves are removed from the scion, leaving only the remains of petioles half a centimeter long. On the stock, 4 cm above the root neck, a T-shaped incision is made with a budding knife, and the cut bark is bent. A bud with a strip of bark 3 cm long and half a centimeter wide is cut from a varietal scion, inserted into a T-shaped incision with wood to wood, the bark is pressed tightly and the grafting site is tied with a grafting film, tape or a piece of polyethylene, without covering the bud with a film.

Budding for example. If the weather is dry and the bark does not bend well, use the butt budding method. An incision in the bark 7 cm long is made on the stock with a thin layer of wood captured. At the cutting, an oblique lower cut is made of the same length as on the stock, but with a ledge immediately below the bud, which is inserted under the bark of the stock with wood to wood, after which the grafting site is tied with budding film or polyethylene so that the scion bud remains open. After three weeks, the film is removed, and upper part the stock is cut or cut in early spring, leaving a spike about 15 cm long above the bud. It is possible to bud with two buds, placing one at a height of 4 cm above the surface of the site, and the second 7 cm above the first.

Grafting cuttings. In summer or spring, plum cuttings are grafted. Make an oblique cut on the rootstock 2.5 cm long and 1.5 cm deep, capturing the wood. On a fresh varietal cutting, make an oblique cut of the same length and insert it into the notch on the stock with a cut to the outgoing part of the split. Wrap the grafting site with budding film and monitor the condition of the cutting: when you are sure that it has taken root, you can remove the film.

Split grafting. Cut off the stem of the rootstock, make a split 3 cm deep in the center of the cut, make two lower cuts on the handle to make a wedge, insert this wedge into the split of the stock and wrap the grafting site with film and polyethylene.

Bark vaccination. During the period of active sap flow, when the bark lags well behind the wood, two or three notches of the bark are made from top to bottom from the saw cut of the rootstock trunk, the bark is bent in these places and a cut obliquely cut varietal cutting with three buds is inserted into each split with a cut to the stock wood, after which the place vaccinations are fixed with a film, tape or electrical tape.

The “split” and “behind the bark” method implies the possibility of grafting several scions on one rootstock - the number of grafted varietal cuttings depends on the thickness of the rootstock. The film is removed in a month.

plum diseases

Unfortunately, there are many diseases that can affect a plum tree. Some diseases are common to all stone fruits, and some plums are more likely to get sick. Plum in the garden is affected by clasterosporia or perforated spotting, moniliosis or gray rot, gommosis or gum disease, rust, fruit rot, coccomycosis, sooty fungus, root cancer, marsupial disease and milky sheen.

Clasterosporiasis is a fungal disease that can affect leaves and branches, and plum blossoms risk buds and flowers. The disease begins with the appearance on the plum leaves of brown spots with a darker border, turning first into ulcers, and then into holes. The fruits are affected to the very bone and become ugly. The disease progresses in rainy weather.

Control measures. Thin out the crown regularly, avoiding its thickening. In autumn, after leaf fall, remove and burn all the leaves, and dig up the soil in the area. Remove and destroy all affected parts of the plant. 2-3 weeks after flowering, treat the plum with a one percent solution of Bordeaux liquid or a solution of copper oxychloride at the rate of 30-40 g per 10 liters of water.

Moniliosis is also a fungal disease that affects flowers, fruits, leaves, ovaries and branches of fruit trees. The fruits become brown and soft, gray pillows with fungus spores form on them. The disease is activated in the spring, it develops especially quickly in rainy weather.

Control measures. Collect and destroy all affected fruits, remove dead branches. Before flowering, treat the trees with Nitrafen, iron or copper sulphate, or one percent Bordeaux liquid. Immediately after flowering, carry out a second treatment with Bordeaux liquid or a solution of drugs such as Phthalan, Cuprozan, Captan, copper oxychloride or other fungicides.

Gommosis (gum disease) can appear on any stone fruit tree. The affected plant begins to secrete a colorless or yellowish drying resin from wounds on the bark. Branches that flow with gum dry and die. This phenomenon occurs from sunburn, damage to bark and wood, as well as from excess moisture and nitrogen in the soil. The most dangerous gum disease is in the cold season, and more often it affects trees weakened by excessive pruning or pests. Bark impregnated with gum becomes a favorable environment for the development of bacteria, cancer causing trunk and branches. With a strong gum disease, the plum dries and dies.

Control measures. Avoid mechanical damage to the trunk and branches of the plum, and if they appear, immediately clean the wound and disinfect it with a one percent solution of copper sulphate, and then treat it with petralatum. Severely affected branches should be cut down. The dead bark on the trunk is peeled off, and the wound under it is rubbed three times with an interval of 10 minutes with leaves. horse sorrel, after which they cover it with garden pitch.

Rust is also a fungal disease. It affects plum leaves and is especially active in July: convex red or brown spots appear on the upper side of the leaf plate, gradually increasing in size. Sick trees become weak, their winter hardiness decreases, and the leaves fall prematurely.

Control measures. Remove fallen leaves from the site in a timely manner, before flowering, treat the plum with a solution of 40 g of copper oxychloride in 5 liters of water, spending 3 liters per tree. After harvesting, the affected plum is treated with one percent Bordeaux liquid.

Fruit rot affects both stone fruits and pome trees - cherries, sweet cherries, apricots, quince, peach, apple, pear and others. The first signs of the disease can be seen in mid-July, during the period of fruit filling: first, brown spots appear on them, which gradually increase, then grayish pads with fungus spores appear on the fruits, located in concentric circles.

Control measures. Affected fruits are collected and destroyed, but try not to touch healthy fruits at the same time, so as not to transfer pathogens to them. Treat the plum with 1% Bordeaux liquid.

Coccomycosis is one of the most dangerous fungal diseases that affects not only leaves, but sometimes fruits and young shoots. In mid-summer, red-brown or purple-violet spots can be found on the surface of the leaves, which grow over time, merging with each other. On the underside of diseased leaves, a light pink coating of fungal spores forms. As a result of the disease, the cold resistance of the plum decreases, the leaves turn yellow, turn brown and fall off, and the fruits stop developing, become watery, and then dry up.

Control measures. Destroy fallen leaves, dig up the soil in autumn, after harvesting, treat the plum with a solution of 30-40 g of copper oxychloride in 10 liters of water or one percent Bordeaux liquid.

Sooty fungus appears as a black coating on plum leaves. It can be easily erased. This plaque makes it difficult for light and oxygen to reach the plant cells, which makes photosynthesis difficult.

Control measures. Find out the cause of the blackening. It may be excessive soil moisture or crown thickening. Eliminate the cause, and only after that treat the drain with a copper-soap solution (5 g of copper sulfate and 150 g of soap in 10 liters of water). Copper sulphate can be replaced with Bordeaux liquid or copper oxychloride.

Marsupial disease is also caused by a fungus. It appears after the flowering of the plum, affecting and disfiguring its fruits: they grow, do not form stones, and are covered with a powdery-wax coating containing spores of the fungus.

Control measures. Cut out branches affected by the fungus in a timely manner so that the disease does not spread to healthy parts of the plum. Harvest diseased fruits and burn them. During the period when plum buds acquire a pinkish hue and immediately after flowering, treat the tree with one percent Bordeaux liquid.

Root cancer is manifested by growths on the roots and root collar of the plum, caused by bacteria living in the soil that have penetrated the roots through cracks and wounds. An adult plum stops growing, seedlings do not take root and die. The disease progresses in drought, especially in neutral and slightly alkaline soil.

Control measures. Do not plant seedlings in places where cancer-affected plants have previously been found. garden tools treat with a solution of formalin or chloramine. If growths are found on the roots, remove them, and disinfect the root system with a one percent solution of copper sulphate.

Milky sheen is a widespread dangerous disease that affects many fruit crops and leads to the death of trees. The leaves of the affected plant become silvery white, holes form in them, the leaf tissue dies off, the bark of the tree darkens. Most often, the disease destroys young trees frozen in winter.

Control measures. When preparing the garden for winter, treat the stems and bases of skeletal branches with a solution of lime. In early spring, carry out preventive treatment of trees from fungal diseases with urea - this will simultaneously strengthen the immunity of the plum to diseases and nourish the plant with nitrogen. Remove and burn affected branches and shoots.

In addition to the diseases described, the plum can suffer from brown spot, witch's broom, mushroom burn, dwarfism, mosaic disease, smallpox and dying off of branches.

plum pests

Enemies among insects in plum trees also abound. The most active among them are hawthorn, cherry shoot moth, cherry slimy sawfly, goldtail, plum and apple codling moths, ringed silkworm, pollinated plum aphids and apple comma-shaped scale insects.

Apple comma-shaped scab spreads along the bark of trees, sticks to shoots and young branches and freezes, covered with a shield. Trees occupied by scale insects are depleted and die.

Control measures. During the period of dormant buds, treat the trees and soil in the near-trunk circles with Nitrafen (200-300 g per 10 liters of water), and immediately after flowering, the plum should be treated with a ten percent solution of Karbofos.

Plum pollinated aphids are very common in gardens. It damages blackthorn, peach, almond, apricot and plum, lives in huge colonies, covering the underside of the leaves with a thick layer, which causes them to curl up and dry, and the affected fruits begin to rot. In addition, aphid excrement is a favorable environment for soot fungus.

Control measures. The treatment of plums from aphids of this species is as follows: in early spring, trees are treated with Nitrafen, and at the time of bud opening and after flowering, with a ten percent solution of Karbofos or Benzophosphate. Make sure that there is no growth around the tree root growth.

Apple codling moth. The caterpillars of this butterfly feed on fruits, eating out the seeds, and mask the moves made with food waste glued together with cobwebs.

Control measures. Collect and destroy prematurely fallen fruits, clean and disinfect the bark, two weeks after flowering, treat the tree with a 2% solution of Chlorophos or a 3% solution of Karbofos.

Hawthorn is a large butterfly with a wingspan of about 7 cm. Its caterpillar covered with thick hairs reaches a length of 45 cm and is decorated on the back with two yellow-brown stripes that stand out against a black background. It feeds on the upper side of plum leaves, as well as its buds and flowers, exposing branches, and sometimes the tree completely.

Control measures. Remove from trees and destroy hawthorn nests, collect and destroy caterpillars. In late April or early May, when the caterpillars leave their nests, and in the summer after flowering, treat the plum with a one percent solution of Aktellik, Corsair or Ambush.

Cherry shoot moth damages stone fruit crops. Its caterpillar eats away plum buds, buds and rosettes of leaves, makes passages in green shoots.

Control measures. Loosen and dig up the soil on the site regularly. Before the start of sap flow, treat the trees and the soil under them with a two to three percent solution of Nitrafen, and during the period of bud swelling, spray the plum with a ten percent solution of Karbofos.

The cherry slimy sawfly is a widespread pest that damages trees such as cherry, sweet cherry, quince, pear, plum and hawthorn. Dangerous sawfly larvae, gnawing leaves from the upper side.

Control measures. It is necessary to loosen and dig up the soil on the site, and in the case of massive occupation of the plum by sawflies, it is best to treat it with a ten percent solution of Karbofos or Trichlormetaphos-3.

Plum codling moth is dangerous not only for plums, but also for peach, apricot, blackthorn and cherry plum. One butterfly lays up to 40 eggs in green fruits, and the caterpillars that appear from them eat away the pulp of the fruits, come out of them and crawl away to wintering places. Drops of gum appear on spoiled fruits, they acquire a purple hue and fall off.

Control measures. The caterpillars must be harvested by hand, and the plum during the appearance of the caterpillars, and then after another two weeks, they are treated with a ten percent solution of Benzophosphate or Karbofos.

The ringed silkworm is a night butterfly. Its caterpillar eats the leaves and buds of trees, weaving spider web nests in the forks of the branches.

Control measures. Remove all winter nests from the plum, destroy the oviposition, and treat the tree during bud break and at the time of the appearance of caterpillars with infusions of chamomile, tobacco or wormwood. From biological products good results gives the treatment of trees with Antobacterin or Dendrobacellin in accordance with the instructions.

Goldentail is a white butterfly with a wingspan of up to 5 cm. Its greenish caterpillars feed on the pulp of leaves from the upper side of the plate and, using cobwebs, make nests from the remains of leaves, in which they hibernate.

Control measures. Winter nests are destroyed, and trees are treated with a three percent solution of Karbofos before flowering.

In addition to the described pests, from time to time the plum has to be saved from the apple-plantain aphid, apple glass case, black plum sawfly, fruit striped moth, plum gall mite, peeled moth, downy silkworm, subbark leafworm, fruit moth, gypsy moth, mining moth, red apple mite, goose, winter moth, western unpaired bark beetle, sapwood, pear pipeworm, eastern codling moth and brown fruit mite. Before you process a plum for pests, try to determine what kind of insect you are dealing with.

How to deal with plum

Growth is the desire of a tree to self-preserve, which is quite natural for any living organism. Most often, the growth of shoots is activated during injuries - damage to the bark or cutting branches. Another reason for the abundant growth of root shoots may be a mismatch between the rootstock and the scion. In any case, the intensive growth of root shoots is a sign of unhealthy plum. The growth spoils the aesthetics of the garden, weakens the tree and reduces its ability to produce a high yield, so it must be removed. Determine and eliminate the cause of the appearance of the shoots, otherwise the growth of the shoots will not stop.

The easiest way is to cut the shoots with a pruner, but before cutting the shoot, it must be dug up to the very root and cut off at the place where it departs from the root of the mother plant, after which the hole should be covered with earth and trampled down.

Gardeners are sometimes very superstitious, and this is the recommendation we found on one forum: so that the root growth never grows again, you need to destroy it only on such days: April 3, June 22 and July 30. Use this recommendation and share the results with us.

Plum varieties

Varieties and hybrids of four types of plums grow in our gardens - domestic plum, blackthorn plum, American plum (including Canadian plum) and Chinese plum. But most often, gardeners prefer home plum varieties, which are also divided into four subspecies: thorns, renklods, mirabelles and Hungarians.

By maturity, plum varieties are divided into early, mid-season and late. Among the varieties, there are also winter-hardy and non-winter-hardy varieties, drought-resistant and moisture-loving, self-fertile and self-fertile.

Plum varieties for the Moscow region.

There are so many plum varieties that you can always choose for each region some of the most successful and adapted ones. In areas with mild warm winters, abundant and long-bearing plums are quite common, but for the climate of the Moscow Region, the requirements for fruit trees special. The main problem when choosing varieties for middle lane- low winter hardiness fruit crops. But thanks to the tireless work of breeders, today there are plum varieties that can be fearlessly grown in the Moscow region and even in more northern regions. So, the best plum for the Moscow region:

• – Hungarian Korneevskaya is a drought-resistant variety, capable of producing stably from the age of six high yields- forty to fifty kilograms from one tree. Abundant fruiting lasts about twenty years. The fruits of this variety are purple-brown with a waxy coating, medium-large in size, with juicy sweet pulp. yellow color. The only drawback of this variety can be considered that the branches under the weight of the fruit can break;
• - Yakhontovaya - a productive drought-resistant plum up to 5 m high with a compact spherical crown, immune to fungal diseases and courageously enduring return frosts, from which flower buds of non-cold-resistant varieties often die. Bright yellow fruits of yakhontovy plum of sweet and sour taste reach 35 g in weight. They are covered with a light wax coating. From one tree you can get up to 50 kg of plums annually;
• – Kolkhoz Renklod is a frost-resistant and consistently productive early-ripening self-fertile variety with medium-sized greenish-yellow fruits with sweet and sour juicy pulp of fine taste. The variety was bred by crossing Renklod green with thorny. The plum of this variety enters fruiting in the third year. Greenclod collective farm is an excellent pollinator for other varieties of plums;
• - Smolinka - early ripe self-fertile productive variety with large dark purple fruits of a very regular ovoid-oval shape, up to 35 g in weight, dessert taste with yellow flesh and a well-separated stone. Smolinka is a hybrid between Renklod Ulles and Ochakovskaya yellow varieties. As pollinators for Smolinka, varieties Superearly, Opal, Blue Gift are suitable;
• - In memory of Timiryazev - a late winter-hardy self-fertile variety that does not require the presence of other plum trees on the site. Yellow ovoid fruits with a red uneven blush weigh up to 22 g, their flesh is also yellow, not very dense, but surprisingly fragrant. However, the fruiting of this variety can be periodic.

In addition to the described varieties, the following plum varieties grow and bear fruit well in the Moscow region: Dashenka, Peresvet, Eurasia-43, Zagorsk, Kantemirovskaya, Yellow large, In memory of Finaev, Large new, ELSE-R, Skorospelka new, Tula black, Volgograd seedling, Morning , Early yellow, Volga beauty, Sissy, Red ball, Egg blue and others.

Early varieties of plums.

Early varieties include plums that ripen from late July to the end of the first decade of August. They are represented by:

• - July rose - early ripe, winter-hardy, disease-resistant, partially self-fertile variety with ovoid yellow fruits up to 35 g in weight with low-juicy pulp of medium sugar content. The stone in the fruits of this variety is not completely separated from the pulp;
• - Oda - fast-growing, fruitful, winter-hardy variety Ukrainian selection, resistant to fungal diseases, with large oval fruits of purple-brown color with delicate yellow pulp of sweet and sour spicy taste. The bone is small, it separates well. The best pollinators for Oda are the varieties Vengerka, Kirke, Ekaterina;
• – Opal is a self-fertile high-yielding dried fruit variety with rounded red fruits with dark orange dense, juicy and sweet pulp. The bone is not completely separated;
• - Record - quite winter-hardy, high-yielding, partially self-fertile variety with oval-elongated blue-violet fruits weighing up to 30 g with yellowish-green juicy, dense and aromatic pulp. In terms of taste, this is one of the best varieties of plums. Suitable pollinators for Record Red and Hungarian early ripening;
• – Alyonushka is a self-infertile, disease-resistant, rather winter-hardy plum that can tolerate cold down to -25 ºC. Fruits weighing up to 35 g are round-oval, dark red in color. The pulp is orange, juicy, crispy. The bone does not separate;
• – Renklod Karbysheva is a self-infertile variety of Ukrainian selection, obtained from varieties Persikovaya and Jefferson, pollinators for which can be trees of the varieties Hungarian Donetsk, Hungarian Donetsk early, Greenklod early. Fruits weighing up to 50 g are rounded, purple with a bluish bloom, the flesh is dark yellow, fragrant, juicy, sweet with a slight sourness.

Of interest to gardeners may be such early varieties of plums as Renklod early, Kuban early, Red ball, Golden ball, Hungarian July, Hungarian Wangenheim, Monfort, Early, Sapa, Early maturing red, Summer thorns, Kliman, Nadezhda, Zarechnaya early, Skoroplodnaya, Kyrgyz excellent, Sharovaya, Kuban comet, Early pink, Morning and others.

Medium sized plums.

Mid-season varieties of plums ripen from August 10 to September 10. These varieties include:

• - Gigantic - a self-fertile drought-resistant variety of American selection. The fruits are large, dark purple, elongated. The greenish-yellow flesh is juicy, sweet and sour in taste;
• - Souvenir of the East - a productive, but insufficiently winter-hardy variety with large maroon heart-shaped fruits with dense, sweet pulp of spicy honey taste;
• – Hungarian Azhanskaya – French promising high yielding variety, resistant to fungal diseases, moisture-loving and partially self-fertile. Fruits are medium in size, ovoid, purple with a strong waxy coating. The pulp is sweet, sour, tender. The bone separates well;
• - Romaine is an unusual variety of plum with red leaves and red flesh, burgundy-colored heart-shaped fruits. Has a slight almond flavor;
• – Californian is a chlorosis-resistant, high-yielding, partially self-fertile variety of American selection. Fruits with juicy, tasty pulp of average density. The bones are not completely separated.

Popular are such mid-season varieties as Memory Vavilov, Duce, Krasa Orlovschina, Kuban legend, Hungarian Donetsk, Hungarian Belarusian, Bogatyrskaya, Vetraz, Svetlana Primorskaya, Voloshka and others.

Late varieties of plums.

Of the late-ripening varieties that ripen from the second decade of September, the most popular in amateur gardening are:

• – Stanley is a winter-hardy productive variety with dark purple fruits with a strong wax coating and a pronounced seam. The pulp is yellow, dense, average juiciness. The bone separates well;
• - Zhiguli - resistant to aphids and codling moth, winter-hardy self-fertile variety, which begins to bear fruit in the fifth year. The fruits are large - up to 31 g in weight, round-oval, blue with a bloom. The pulp is yellowish-green, juicy and tender, with a sour-sweet taste;
• – Vikana is a variety of Estonian selection, bred from the Victoria variety and the American plum. Fruits up to 24 g in weight, burgundy in color with a strong wax coating, oval. The flesh is light yellow, sweet and sour. The bone is easily separated;
• - Tula black is a fairly winter-hardy, self-fertile variety resistant to fruit rot, requiring the presence of pollinators on the site of the varieties Renklod kolkhozny, Renklod Tenkovsky, Ternosliv Dubovsky or Ternosliv Tambov. The fruits of this variety are egg-shaped, very dark blue, almost black, with a slight coating. The flesh is oily, light yellow, sweet and sour. The bone separates well;
• – Hungarian Italian – worldwide famous variety, unfortunately, affected by codling moths, sawflies and aphids, however, its large, oval dark blue, almost black fruits with a bluish bloom and greenish juicy pulp have an excellent sweet taste with a slight sourness. In addition, the bone is easily separated from the pulp;
• – Large late Hungarian is a self-fertile, productive, winter-hardy and drought-resistant variety, rarely affected by fungal diseases, with oval reddish-purple fruits with a wax coating weighing up to 40 g. The pulp is juicy, sour-sweet, tasty.

In addition to the varieties described, such late-ripening plums are popular: Vishen, Primorskaya plentiful, Svetlana, Krasnomyasaya, Canadian vision, Hungarian Pulkovskaya, Valor, Timiryazev's memory, Golden drop, Prunes 4-39 TSHA, Renklod Michurinsky, Anna Shpet, Winter Red, Winter white, Moscow Hungarian, Autumn Ternosliv, October Hungarian, Tambov Ternosliv, Dubovsky Ternosliv, Finaev's Memory, Large-fruited Tern and others.

As for such concepts as self-fertility or self-fertility, they are rather conditional and inconsistent, since the same plum variety, depending on the agro-climatic zone and growing conditions, can be both self-fertile, self-fertile, and partially self-fertile. Moreover, the same tree may be self-fertile in the current year, and pollinators may be required for its fruiting in the next year. Partially self-infertile varieties - those that can bear fruit on their own, however, if there are pollinators on the site, their yield increases significantly.

plum properties

In addition to excellent taste, plum fruits have healing properties. They are saturated with vitamins, minerals and other substances necessary for the human body. The composition of the pulp includes proteins, carbohydrates, dietary fiber, free organic acids, potassium, sodium, calcium, magnesium, fluorine, provitamin A, vitamins B1, B2, B6, PP, C and E.

Fresh and dried plum fruits have a mild laxative effect, therefore they are recommended by doctors for intestinal atony and constipation. Plum, used in diseases of the kidneys and hypertension, cleanses the body of cholesterol. The potassium compounds contained in the fruits have a diuretic effect, relieving the body of edema and salt deposits. Plum is useful for rheumatism, metabolic disorders, gout, kidney damage, heart disease. In addition, its fruits increase appetite and improve the secretion of gastric juice.

Fragrant, clean, sweet, large plum fruits that easily separate from the stone are the dream of any gardener. Unfortunately, there are times when Plum blossoms but does not bear fruit. What to do? Be sure to understand the problem individually.

Plum tree: cultivation

In the central zone of the Russian Federation, plantings of this tree are concentrated in amateur gardens. As an agricultural product, after processing which you can safely get commercial benefits, the plum has no value:

Even zoned species do not bring large yields.

The tree in severe winters, if not completely frozen, then partially damaged.

Imported varieties may differ initially high yield and large fruits, then quite sharply the fruits can become smaller.

Fruiting (depending on the variety) occurs in some varieties from 4-6 years of age.

Processing plums from pests and diseasesshould be carried out constantly, and this requires the vigilant attention of the gardener.

Needs tillage in near-stem circles (does not tolerate weeds).

Dislikes both drought and high humidity.

Requires compliance with the feeding regimen.

Nevertheless, this tree remains a favorite for many gardeners: if a plum begins to bear fruit, enthusiastic owners will surely boast of a large harvest of clean and fragrant berries when talking.

Plum blossoms but does not bear fruit. What to do?

There may be several reasons for this:

In order not to deal with the consideration of others, you need to try to remember the name of the plum variety that was bought and has already entered the fruiting age. Why is it important? Initially, plum is a self-fertile plant. This means that cross-pollination is needed to produce ovaries.

The second reason may be improper planting of the plum when its root neck was deepened. In this situation, the bark begins to rot, and all the forces of the plant go to fight this scourge.

Since the plum does not tolerate frost very well, you need to make sure that it does not freeze. In this situation, the empty flower is inevitable. More often, however, fruits are still formed on part of the branches.

The reason may be return frosts at a time when the plum blossoms. Evidence of this will be yellowed (frozen) pistils. And the fruit, even if it starts, will fly around very quickly.

Experienced gardeners name a few more weather reasons for poor fruit set - dry spring, fogs, high humidity, low temperatures and strong winds.

The most incredible, but still not excluded from the list, will be the reason for eating away the middle of the flowers by the yellow plum sawfly. The beetle eats out moves in the buds, damaging them, thereby preventing the ovary from developing. Even with a very developed sawfly colony, when almost every flower is damaged, ovaries develop. They may then fall off, or the fetus may not fully form, but there will still be ovaries.

A plum may not develop ovaries if it lacks nutrition. Timely top dressing with alternating organic matter and minerals will help the tree.

Excessive shading of the tree can cause a barren flower. To eliminate the cause, cutting around the tree and timely cutting of extra branches is needed.

The proximity of groundwater will not allow the plum to set fruit. Marshy soils are therefore not the best for plants, and irrigation work is needed.

What to do if the plum is self-fertile?

Unfortunately, until now, when selling (in the markets, in supermarkets, in specialized stores, and even in nurseries), the plum variety is indicated (it’s good if there is a sign or memo), but no one warns about the need for cross-pollination anywhere.

It is assumed that the buyer should know the varieties and their characteristics. If the variety name is preserved, you just need to check whether it is self-pollinating or not.

If this is one of the varieties that require the neighborhood of another plum, you need to create these conditions: either plant a second tree, or plant a sprig of another variety on the plum. Unfortunately, you will have to wait for the second seedling to reach fruiting age, which can take from two to three years, and even then if the new seedling was three years old.

You can ask the neighbors if they have plum seedlings, suddenly they are young and are about to bloom. Important in this situation are the distances to the neighboring plum (from 20 to forty meters), that is, whether the bees can transfer pollen.

If the plum was already bearing fruit and suddenly stopped, the reason is the removal of the pollinator. On the site (or at the neighbors) there could be

The reason may be the uprooting of the blackthorn because of its unaesthetic appearance and thorniness. It is important to remember here that the plum (according to scientists) arose a long time ago as a result of natural crossing of cherry plum and blackthorn. Therefore, the blackthorn could simply be a plum pollinator if it bloomed with it.

How to choose planting material for plum

So it has been fruitful for a long time, it is quite difficult (a whole range of measures is required), it is easier to change an old tree or just plant a new one. To determine the variety, it is better to first look at the literature, read articles on the Internet.

To date, quite a lot of varieties are offered and self-pollinated, and early ripening, and early fruiting.

Beginning gardeners should be warned: do not buy varieties that you know nothing about, choose proven varieties, it is better to plant several trees at once with different ripening periods - early, middle and late. Why? Even if among the three varieties one self-fertile one comes across, then one of the two remaining varieties will pollinate it.

You can buy seedlings both with a closed (in a container) root system, and with an open one (in this case, it must be checked for integrity and rot damage).

The thickness of the seedling at the root collar should be at least 14 cm.

It is desirable for gardeners to know that if a plum seedling is not obtained on a rootstock (that is, not grafted), there is a possibility that it is an off-brand plant or it is a root shoot of a varietal plant. In the case of buying root growth (even super-yielding ones), you need to be prepared for the fact that in a few years the entire garden will be in the same growth, it is difficult to deal with this - only complete destruction.

Determining the place and time of landing

In areas of central Russia, plums can be planted in the fall, but then there is a high risk that it will not have time to take root.

Therefore, the gardener must know in advance how to walkthrough, prompted experienced gardeners, suggests that after buying a seedling, you need to decide on a landing site.

The drain should be located on a site with direct sunlight, groundwater should not be higher than two meters, the distance to the nearest trees (already overgrown, not seedlings) should not be less than four meters.

It is necessary to plant a plum in the spring when its buds have not yet blossomed (that is, it is at rest).

How to Plant a Plum in Spring: A Step by Step Guide

A week (2-3 days is possible) before planting, prepare a hole 70 cm wide and the same depth. When digging, you need to separate the upper fertile layer from the lower. (usually the depth of the infertile layer in a well-groomed garden is at a depth of thirty, a maximum of forty centimeters). The selected infertile layer (usually clay in the regions of the middle zone of the Russian Federation) must be removed from fruit plot and use for household needs.

A deoxidizer must be added to the fertile layer (plums do not like acidic soils) and mixed with the soil (ordinary fluff lime or dolomite flour does not quickly deoxidize the soil before planting). The deoxidizer will need 300-400 grams. Microelements must be added immediately (the quantity and composition are usually indicated on the packages).

Immediately before planting, you need to loosen the bottom of the pit by half a bayonet.

Sprinkle a layer (30-30 centimeters) fertile land. It could be purchased soil or good fat soil after cucumbers.

Then pour a small layer of prepared soil.

If the seedling is in a container, it must be shed, removed, and the integrity of the horse system checked. Set on a layer of soil so that the root collar is 5-6 cm above the soil level.

If the seedling has an open root system, it is necessary to inspect it, make sure it is intact, remove damaged and broken roots. Dip the roots in a pre-prepared mash from a mixture of clay, soil and water. Drive a peg about one and a half meters high into the center of the pit, with north side install a seedling from it, placing the roots along the pit. Fill them with a layer of prepared soil, slightly raise the seedling, while the root collar should be 5-6 cm above the soil level. Fix by loosely tying to the support.

Around the seedling (closer to the edge of the pit, where there are no roots), pour out a complex of mineral fertilizers for plums in a circle (it depends on the composition of the soil, usually it is superphosphate (300 grams) and potassium sulfate (70 grams)). Although there is an opinion among practicing breeders that plums should not be fed at the time of planting, since the plant is vigorous and with an abundance of food everything will grow. Mix fertilizers with soil, spill. Pour another layer of soil, spill it again, gently piercing the soil with a stick, thereby allowing the air to escape and the soil to compact.

Fill up the soil completely. Make sure that the root neck is a centimeter and a half higher than the soil. The first subsidence will occur after watering, the final - in a few days. A high-left root collar, as well as one that has gone under the soil, is the cause of the plant's improper development.

Fight against ticks and sawflies




Plum pollinated aphid

Oranks among the most malicious pests. May change during the seasonneartwelve generations multiplying exponentially. Afterplum blossomand ovaries appeared, the firstfounding females settle in colonies on the underside of the leaves, begin to feed on the juice, the leaf curls. To the question and than, experienced gardeners give the following recommendations:

before bud break, if last year aphids multiplied, after blooming and after flowering;

urgently immediately after the appearance of the first colonies, then constantly during the period of fruit ripening with a frequency of appearance on the underside of the leaf.

Effective treatments with a soap-ash solution (an infusion of a kilogram of ash and half a bar of laundry soap) before and after bud break. Plum during flowering should not be treated against aphids.

An infusion of marigolds, an infusion of orange peel, just a solution of laundry soap bring good results. Of the most, perhaps, exotic - spraying "Coca-Cola" (one two-liter bottle per bucket of water).

It is desirable to do without pesticides, such as " Akarin" ("Agravertin"), "Aktara", "Aktellik", "Arriva".

common plum codling moth

Her appetite is amazing: a small caterpillar, laid by a butterfly on the wall of the ovary in the form of an egg, after hatching, gnaws the fruit, sits in it, chews and pollutes everything around with excrement, and can grab and touch. The butterfly flies out after the plum blossoms, begins to lay eggs at a temperature of about fifteen degrees. The gum released from the fruit is an alarm.

Control measures are both folk and chemical. Traps from fermented compote, beer, kvass - at night, butterflies fly to smell, drown in liquid. Smoke with "fragrant" seasonings - rotten straw with potato and tomato tops, bitter wormwood. Two hours - and the butterflies do not want to fly to the plum, which is fumigated. Twice a season, just when the butterflies fly out, is enough to get rid of them.

There are a lot of chemical agents: Aktara, Aktellik, Sonnet, Bankol, etc. You need to choose the most modern ones and alternate them with folk ones.

plum diseases

In plums, like in humans, diseases are different in nature:

Almost all fungal diseases are similar in nature, therefore, the same methods are used to combat them - agrotechnical and fungicide treatment.

Agricultural technology is reduced to ensuring the openness of the crown to the sun's rays and free access to air. Treatment, both preventive and special (in case of illness), with Bordeaux liquid (three times a season - in autumn, spring and after flowering) gives the best results.