How to choose to plant and care for a blue plum. Plum: planting and care, pruning, propagation, diseases, pests, photos. Yellow plum: planting and care. The neighborhood of plum and raspberry

Plums can be grown throughout Russia, however, not all gardeners achieve success and large harvests, but mainly residents of regions with short summers. The fact is that plum is a fairly heat-loving stone fruit crop, which means that mistakes in choosing a variety and planting often lead to rather modest results.

Many agronomists and gardeners agree that it is better to plant fruit trees, including plums, in the fall, because... During this period, the young seedling will intensively grow the underground part, i.e. my root system(which is necessary in the first place), and not aboveground, in other words, it definitely will not vegetate.

However, spring planting plums has some obvious advantages:

• As the seedling grows during the warm period, you will be able to quickly respond to all possible problems (diseases, pests, lack of moisture) and immediately take the necessary measures to eliminate them.
• The spring supply of moisture in the soil will allow the root system of the seedling to quickly adapt after planting and begin active growth.
• You have the opportunity to prepare the planting hole in advance, in the fall, so that the soil has time to settle by spring, in order to avoid deepening the root collar during planting.

Alternative opinion

To be fair, it should be said that some gardeners, on the contrary, adhere to the old rule: pome crops(apple and pear trees) are better to plant in autumn, A stone fruit(plums, cherries, cherries, apricots) - in the spring.

The fact is that stone fruit culture(including plum) are considered less winter-hardy, so their It is recommended to plant in spring so that they have time to take root well and get stronger before winter.

However, if you are a resident of the South of Russia, then this is not important for you. It's another matter if you are a representative of a region with a more severe (northern) climate.

There is even an opinion that in the southern regions it is better to plant all crops in the fall, and in the northern regions only in the spring.

Video: at what time is it better to plant seedlings of fruit and berry crops

Planting plums in spring and autumn: optimal timing

Well, we have examined several points of view on when it is better to plant plums - in spring or autumn. The decision is yours!

Note! Plum seedlings with a closed root system (in a container) can be planted all year round - from April to October, although it is not recommended to do this in the middle of summer, when it is very hot.

Spring planting

So, you still need time to plant a plum in the spring before the buds bloom on the seedling, in other words, before it enters the growing season (i.e. the plant must still sleep).

At the same time, an important condition for successful spring planting is positive air temperature, and not only during the day (it should already be +5), but also at night.

Advice! Don't wait until the ground thaws completely. It is very good to plant seedlings with an open root system immediately after the snow melts, but the earth has not yet had time to warm up and dry out much.

Thus, it is highly advisable to have time to plant while the seedlings are still “in the dormant stage”, otherwise this will certainly negatively affect their survival rate and disrupt their natural development cycle.

By the way! The best time to plant seedlings is cloudy and windless weather: early morning or late evening.

As for the approximate timing, depending on the climatic characteristics of the region spring planting It is recommended to carry out plums from the end of March-April until the beginning-mid-May:

• Thus, in the south of Russia, plum seedlings can be planted in open ground in the second half of March-early April.
• In the Middle Zone (Moscow region), plums are planted no earlier than the second half of April.
• In Siberia and the Urals, spring planting of plums is carried out in late April-early May.

Autumn planting

The main rule when determining the optimal timing for autumn planting is to calculate when stable frosts will arrive and plant 3-4 weeks before them, i.e. you should have about a month left. The fact is that the seedlings must have time to take root well before the onset of cold weather and successfully prepare for winter, and this will take time.

However! It is also not recommended to plant seedlings too late in the autumn, because... The shoots must have time to ripen well in order to successfully survive the winter. This is especially true for planting plums in cold (northern) regions, such as Siberia.

However, if, God forbid, you are late, and frosts are expected within 1-2 weeks, then it is better to play it safe and postpone planting the plum until spring (you can save the seedling by burying it in the garden and covering it, or planting it in a container and putting it in the basement, where the temperature stays no higher than +3 degrees).

Interesting! Many experienced agronomists recommend plant plums in the spring and buy seedlings in the fall, because their choice is wider, and the quality is significantly higher.

Thus, depending on the climatic characteristics of the region, autumn plum planting is recommended from September to the end of October:

• So, in the south of Russia, plums can be planted until late autumn - until the second half of October.
• Gardeners in the Middle Zone (Moscow region) should have time to plant plums in the fall before the end of September (maximum in early October).
• In colder regions - in the North-West (in the Leningrad region), as well as in Siberia and the Urals, plum trees are planted in early autumn - in the first half of September.

Video: planting plums in autumn in October from a container

According to the lunar calendar in 2019

This can help you choose the optimal date for planting seedlings. moon calendar.

So, favorable days for planting plums in spring and autumn in 2019 according to the lunar calendar are:

• in April - 11-17; 21-26.

Yes, this is not a mistake; according to the lunar calendar, seedlings of fruit and berry crops are recommended to be planted in the spring only in April.

• in September - 17-24, 30;
• in October - 2-4, 12, 13, 21-25, 30, 31.

Of course, it is not always possible to get to the dacha on favorable days, so the main thing is not to land on unfavorable days.

Unfavorable days, according to the lunar calendar for 2019, The dates for planting plum seedlings are as follows:

• in March - 6, 7, 21;
• in April - 5, 19;
• in May - 5, 19;
• in June - 3, 4, 17;
• in July - 2, 3, 17;
• in August - 15, 16, 30, 31;
• in September - 14, 15, 28, 29;
• in October - 14, 28;
• in November - 12, 13, 26,27.

According to the lunar calendar, from the magazine “1000 tips for a summer resident.”

How to plant a plum tree correctly: instructions from A to Z (choosing a seedling, place in the garden, preparing a planting hole)

Before you run headlong for a seedling to the market or garden fair, you need to carefully study all the rules for choosing a plant, as well as selecting a place in the garden and preparing a planting hole.

What should a seedling be like?

When choosing planting material (a specific variety), you first need to pay attention to its origin. It's best to choose zoned varieties drain who themselves proven well when grown in your climate zone, i.e. They adapted to weather conditions and the composition of the soil in your growing region.

Worth knowing! Seedlings can be either with an open root system (OCS) or with a closed one (in a container).

It is better for novice gardeners to buy seedlings in a container (although they are more expensive), while experienced gardeners can purchase them with OKS.

A high-quality plum seedling must have the following characteristics:

• General appearance there must be a seedling healthy, without signs of wilting, damage by diseases or pests.
• The seedling itself must be no older than 2 years (1-2 years of age), since at this age seedlings adapt faster to a new place.
• Height there must be a seedling within 1-1.5 m: any deviation upward or downward indicates improper care or excessive application of nitrogen fertilizers.

Another thing is that some sellers immediately sell cut seedlings, but this is rare.

• The seedling must have well developed root system(without any growths or new growths), that is, in addition to the main root, there should be several more lateral roots (the older the seedling, the more roots it has), the length of which can be about 20-25 cm, but they should not be overdried and broken.

By the way! Even if you buy a seedling with a closed root system, you may want to consider lateral roots because... they tend to stick out from the container.

Advice! And to check that the seedling really has a closed root system, you need to take it by the trunk and shake it. If it sits tightly, everything is fine, if not, then something is wrong here... the seller just wants to make money on you by slipping a seedling with ACS, which he moved into a container a couple of days ago.

• At the bottom, on the trunk, you should clearly see vaccination site(joint of rootstock and scion), which will guarantee that this is a varietal tree and not a wild one.

As a rule, grafting is done by the method of budding with a bud (they also say “grafted with an eye”), less often with a cutting (i.e., copulation).

• It is also worth assessing the quality of the upper part of the trunk (grafted part): the wood must be mature and strong, without any mechanical damage, sunburn, frost holes and bark cracks. And you The trunk must be straight and not curved.

Note! If the bark on the trunk peels off in places without damaging its integrity, then this is a sign of improper storage of the seedling in winter, which led to its freezing.

• It is highly desirable that the seedling had no signs of the beginning of the growing season, i.e. was in the dormant stage, which means its buds should still be dormant (i.e. there should be no leaves on it).

Important! This applies to the selection and purchase of seedlings in early spring.

However, seedlings with a closed root system (in containers) are often sold in the spring already in the growing season, which is quite normal. Therefore, in this case, you also need to carefully evaluate their appearance, especially the color of the leaves.

Video: how to choose a plum seedling

Preparing for landing

If you want to properly prepare a seedling for planting, then immediately before planting the plum, you should wash its roots from the old soil, then dip them in clay mash, and then renew their (root) tips, slightly trimming them.

Important! Renewing the root tips by trimming them is highly recommended if they are either too long or you notice that there are damaged, diseased or broken roots (in which case they need to be trimmed to a healthy place).

Some gardeners recommend soaking the seedling in water (possibly with the addition of Kornevin) for a day or at least an hour. This will help restore biological processes in the roots and saturate them with moisture, especially if you see that the roots are slightly dry (and this should never be allowed).

Landing location

Plum loves warmth and a lot of light, which means that this stone fruit crop will grow well and bear fruit abundantly only in open and well-lit areas of the garden.

The ideal option for planting a plum would be a place that is protected from the drying winter winds on the north side (this could be your country house, some kind of outbuilding or fence), while the tree itself, Naturally, it should be placed with south side(or at least from the southwest or west) so that it receives the maximum amount of sunlight during the day.

You can't plant plums in the lowlands, where melt water stagnates for a long time or is heavily wetlands.In other words, at the landing sitemoisture should not stagnate in the springwhen the snow melts.Otherwise, the plant’s root collar will simply get stuck, and its days will be numbered..

The occurrence of groundwater in the area intended for planting plum trees should be at a level of 1.5-2 m from the ground surface.

Advice! If groundwater lie close, then you have no choice but to make an artificial embankment and plant a seedling on it.

Important! Plums and other trees should not be planted near large spreading trees (especially oreshin), since this always negatively affects their growth and productivity (if the seedling can grow and bear fruit normally).

At what distance

You have chosen the place, now you need to decide on the planting scheme.

If you want to plant several seedlings at once, it is recommended to plant plums according to the scheme - 3 by 3, i.e. the distance between seedlings in a row and between rows should be 3 meters.

Advice! It is necessary to retreat exactly the same distance from other plants on the site so that the wide crown of the plum tree does not shade them in the future.

Remember! The closer you plant trees, the more difficult it will be for you to control their crown in the future, in other words, you will need regular and mandatory pruning, including summer pruning.

It is also necessary to take into account the fact that Some plum varieties are not able to self-pollinate (self-sterile), so they should be planted only in groups (at least two, and preferably three different varieties).

Required soil

To count on good growth and stable yields, the soil under plums must have high fertility, be light and loose (water- and breathable), and also have neutral acidity level.

Worth knowing! All stone fruits like non-acidic soils and will grow better in alkaline soils (7-7.5 pH) than even relatively acidic ones (5.5 pH).

The most suitable types of soil for plums are the following: loams, peatlands(but only deoxidized, i.e. calcified = acidity reduced to neutral level) and soddy-podzolic.

Of course, the worst option for planting plums (and almost all fruit trees) is purely sandy and clay soil.

Important! When planting a seedling in excessively sandy soil, you should add a little clay and more compost to it, and sand to clayey soil, this will help balance the composition of the soil.

Advice! In cold and harsh climates, and also if the soil is heavy, or the area is very waterlogged and groundwater is very close, then it is recommended to plant plums (like any other fruit trees, especially stone fruits). gentle hills(“according to Zhelezov”).

Video: planting a plum seedling on a hill in Siberia

Preparation of the planting hole: optimal dimensions

Naturally, as always, it is recommended to prepare the planting hole for planting a plum seedling or any other plant in advance. It is best to do this in the fall or at least 1-2 weeks before planting the seedling. During this time, the soil will have time to settle to the desired level.

Important! When digging a planting hole upper layer The soil is discarded to the side for further use.

Width (diameter) and depth of the planting hole for all fruit trees should be within 50-80 cm. In this case, the walls of the recess should not narrow downwards: it is better to make them vertical.

By the way! As a rule, on average they dig a hole 60 by 60 cm. However, for planting plums, many It is recommended to dig a hole 1 meter wide and 60-80 cm deep.

And here is the planting hole for the seedling with closed root system they do it simply 2-3 times larger than the container itself.

If necessary, it is immediately placed on the bottom drainage layer 5-15 cm from broken bricks or small stones (it is optimal to use lime or chalk crushed stone, which contains a lot of calcium and which perfectly deoxidizes the soil = reduces its acidity), and then the prepared nutrient mixture is poured.

Important! If you have to plant in clay soil, then, in addition to the obligatory drainage layer, you also need to dig the deepest possible hole.

What (what fertilizers) to fill the planting hole with - prepare the nutrient substrate

So that the plum seedling can easily adapt to a new place and begin to grow actively, when planting it, it is recommended to fill the planting hole with a nutrient substrate.

To do this, it is recommended to pour a specially prepared soil mixture into the planting hole (which is thoroughly mixed to a uniform consistency). The nutrient substrate is usually prepared from the following components (mineral and organic fertilizers):

• all top fertile soil (top 20-30 cm) that you removed when digging the hole;
• a bucket (8-9 kg) of good humus or compost;

Additionally:

• a bucket (8-9 kg) of non-acidic peat (purely at will and opportunity, or if you have sandy soil);
• a bucket (8-9 kg) of sand (if you have relatively heavy/clayey soil);

• 1-2 cups (200-500 grams) or 400-600 grams of bone meal (organic equivalent);
• half or 1 glass of potassium sulfate (100-200 grams) or 2-4 glasses (200-400 grams) (an organic analogue of potassium fertilizer).

Or, instead of superphosphate and potassium sulfate, you can take 300-400 grams of nitroammophoska (it contains 16% nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium) or diammophoska (10:26:26). At the same time, it is better to use nitroammophoska for spring planting, and diammophoska for autumn planting.

Worth knowing! When planting a tree (even in spring), you do not need to specifically add nitrogen fertilizers (it’s a different matter if it is a complex fertilizer), since they stimulate the growth of the above-ground part to the detriment of the development of the root system (especially when planting in the northern regions).

Important! However, some gardeners and agronomist scientists do not recommend putting mineral fertilizers into the planting hole at all, but advise applying them in the future as fertilizing, because There is an opinion that a plant (seedling) does not need fertilizer until it begins to bear fruit. Another thing is organic fertilizers such as compost, wood ash, bone meal.

After filling the hole with nutrient substrate, it is necessary to drive a wooden peg, which will further serve as a support for young seedling.

Note! If you do not tie a young seedling to a peg, then when leaves grow on it, due to its high windage strong winds they will shake the trunk and tear off young roots.

Direct step-by-step planting of seedlings

Step-by-step instructions for planting plum seedlings in open ground in spring and autumn:

• Fill the planting hole with fertile soil in advance, leaving a depression the size of the seedling's root system.

• If you are planting a seedling with an open root system (ORS), then you need to place a small mound in the center of the planting hole.

It’s another matter if you plant a seedling with a closed root system (ZKS). In this case, there is no need to make any mounds, but simply plant the seedling in a prepared planting hole without disturbing the earth.

• Drive in wooden support or a peg (if you haven't done this in advance).

If you do not tie a young seedling to a peg, then when the leaves grow on it, due to the high windage, strong winds will shake the trunk and tear off the young roots.

• Place the seedling in the center of the mound and spread the roots along its (mound) sides downwards (the roots should under no circumstances bend or stick up!), because The roots should be placed in the hole as comfortably as possible for them, without twisting or bending.

Advice! If you have a seedling that has been grafted with an eye (budding), then the budding site (eye = new shoot that has grown from the graft) should face north, and the cut site should face south.

• Cover with soil, shaking the seedling while doing so to eliminate any voids between the roots.

Remember that the grafting site should initially be located 10 centimeters above the soil level. In this case, it is convenient to control the planting level with a rack, which must be placed horizontally on the sides of the hole when the hole is almost filled with soil.

• Compact (compact) the soil, starting from the edges at the base of the seedling.

Important! Do not confuse the root collar (the place where the first root leaves the trunk) with the graft, which is located higher (on the trunk) and should ultimately be located 3-5 cm (you can just put 2-3 fingers) above the soil surface. After the tree settles in loose soil, the root collar will in any case return to its normal position.

Attention! If you bury the root collar, the tree will grow poorly and gradually die (because the root collar will dry out). On the contrary, if you plant too high, the roots of the seedling will be exposed and may simply dry out in the summer heat or freeze in the winter.

• Next, you need to make a hole (roller) along the diameter (perimeter) of the tree trunk circle with a height of 5-10 cm.
• Pour plenty of water, pouring out at least 2-3 buckets (pour out gradually - wait for it to be absorbed and add more).
• Tie the seedling to the prepared support with soft twine and secure it in the correct position.

• Level the roller, loosen the soil in the tree trunk circle and mulch it with peat, humus or compost.

Mulch will help prevent roots from drying out and excessive moisture evaporation.

Note! Mulch should not be placed close to the trunk of the seedling, as this can cause the bark to become warm and, consequently, cause the development of fungal diseases.

In any case, the grafting site should be above the mulch.

Video: how to plant a plum

Caring for plums after planting: basic measures

Immediately after planting, the plum seedling must trim, to level the root system with the above-ground part (this is done for a kind of “reanimation” of the seedling after planting, since any planting and replanting is trauma and stress for the plant).

How to prune a plum after planting in spring or autumn?

• You need to leave the main trunk 50-60 cm high, making a cut above a healthy bud.

If there are side shoots, then they also need to be shortened, leaving 2 buds.

It is not unreasonable to assert that one of the main conditions for successful rooting of plums is a sufficient amount of moisture in the soil. Therefore, if the weather is dry, then after planting you should carry out timely and regular watering (1-2 times a week), pouring out 2-3 buckets of water. In the future, watering will need to be carried out as needed, depending on weather conditions (in spring and autumn you can water 2-3 times a month, and in the hot and dry summer - once a week). And after each watering, if you have not mulched the tree trunk circle, it is recommended loosen the soil at the base to improve oxygen access to the roots and at the same time weed the tree trunk to remove weeds.

By the way! It is very simple to determine that the earthen lump has dried out and the plum urgently needs watering: dig a hole as deep as a shovel (25-30 cm), take a handful of earth from the bottom, and if it is dry, then water it urgently.

Advice! Either make a new hole every year, or initially dig not very deep (maximum 3 cm), so that moisture does not accumulate in it during the winter-early spring period and the root collar does not get wet and rot.

Additional fertilizing there is no need to carry out any more during this season, since all the necessary nutrients were added during planting, and they should be enough for the next few years (2-3 years).

And if in the future you don't like the variety or you will want to have several different varieties on one tree at the same time, You can graft a plum one of the known methods.

Of course it is required carefully monitor the condition of your tree so that it is not suddenly struck by any diseases or attacked by pests.

The most annoying diseases that affect plums (as well as cherry plums) are Clusterosporiasis (hole spotting) And polystigmosis (plum red spot or cherry plums).

Plum polystigmosis

If the plum was attacked by aphids, then in the fight against this malicious pest of fruit trees you will help .

And in the fall, don’t forget to properly prepare your plums for winter.. It is especially important to mulch and lightly cover (insulate) young seedlings.

A next spring you will again have to perform a number of simple measures to care for your stone fruit crop.

Video: plum care

Well, now you know everything you need to correct landing plums in spring and autumn, as well as what will be needed in the post-planting period. After just a few years, the plum will certainly fully thank the owner for the care provided with a bountiful harvest of sweet plum fruits.

Video: how to plant a plum tree correctly

Plum, as one of the sought-after plants in the garden, is valued for its excellent productivity, early fruiting and the versatility of using the fruits.

Planting and caring for plum trees do not require special labor, however, it is important to know all the nuances of its cultivation, since only this is the key to a good harvest.

Useful properties of plum

Plum fruits are very rich in vitamins, minerals, sugars and microelements. Depending on the variety and proper cultivation, plums can accumulate about 20% sugars, 4% free acids, about 3% pectin, 3 mg of folic acid, which is vitamin B9, 25 mg of ascorbic acid, 1 mg of nicotinic acid.

Plums are especially rich in vitamin P, which has a beneficial effect on strengthening blood vessels. In addition, the fruits contain calcium, potassium, phosphorus, fluorine, manganese, magnesium, copper, chromium, sodium and iron. In dried form, plums, or rather prunes, help remove cholesterol from the body and have a laxative effect. Potassium contained in fruits has a diuretic effect and removes excess salt and water from the body.

Common varieties of plums

The choice of plum varieties is very large, and everyone decides for themselves which type to plant in their garden. Let's look at the most common and best varieties of plums.

• Belarusian

A medium-sized tree with a lush, rounded crown. Sweet and sour, large fruits (45-50 g) with a small stone. It begins to bear fruit already in the 5th year after planting; at the age of 10 years it produces a harvest of about 30 kg per tree.

• Hungarian common

Like the previous species, the Hungarian common plum is a medium-sized tree with medium-sized fruits (about 30 g), and begins to bear fruit already in the 5-6th year of its growth. The maximum amount of harvest from one tree at the age of 10 years is about 40 kg. This type undemanding in growing conditions, winter-hardy.

• Hungarian Italian

A medium-sized fruit tree with a wide-round crown, the fruits are above average in size (30-40 g) and reach late dates, in the cold season the fruits can crack, but in the warm season they are preserved perfectly and for a long time on the tree. It can begin to bear fruit already in the 4th year after planting. The harvest is irregular, since due to early flowering at low temperatures, fertilization is not good enough.

• Large-fruited

A vigorously growing tree with a wide pyramidal crown, the light yellow and red fruits are very large, reaching a weight of 60-65 g. By the 4th-5th year of its growth it already bears fruit. At the age of 8-9 years, 20-25 kg of crops are harvested from one tree.

• Victoria

This species is a medium-sized tree with a rounded spreading crown, the weight of the fruit is about 30-40 g. Plums can be harvested on average in the 4th year after planting; they bear fruit abundantly and mostly regularly. At the age of 8 years it produces a harvest of 30-35 kg per tree.

Choosing a place to plant a plum

Considering that the plum is a rather capricious fruit tree, such an important stage as choosing a planting site should be treated with special responsibility. Of course, it will grow in almost any area, but it does not promise to bear fruit. That is why for planting plums it is necessary to choose an area with good protection from strong winds. In addition, the plum does not tolerate shade and loves the sun. In winter, snow should not accumulate in excess of 60 cm in the area where the tree grows.

Dates and planting of plums

It is best to plant plums in the spring, as early as possible, or in the fall - 1.5-2 months before the soil freezes.
When choosing seedlings, you must consider the following:

• Seedlings should have 3-5 powerful roots measuring 25 cm or more.
• Plums are either grafted or self-rooted. The difference between them is that the latter, in the event of freezing, are able to recover on their own.
• In addition, these trees are self-fertile and self-sterile. For the latter, in order for them to bear fruit, the company of the first varieties is required.

The planting hole for the plum must be about 0.5 m deep and no more than 1 m wide. When planting, the root collar should be 5 cm above ground level.

Depending on the type of tree, the distance between seedlings also varies. For example, the interval between pits for widely spreading plums should be about 3 m. There are varieties with not very wide crowns, no more than 1.5 m in diameter, so the placement of planting pits depends on the characteristics of the plum.
This fruit tree does not tolerate concentrated fertilizers, so humus added to the ground from a hole in a ratio of 1:2 will be sufficient. After planting, the tree is watered abundantly with warm water.

Plum propagation

Any gardener will sooner or later face the problem of plum propagation. Why? Firstly, because it is not always possible to find and purchase the variety you like. Secondly, self-propagation of plums is the most reliable and cheapest way. Therefore, if you fall in love with a neighbor’s tree, you can use it without any problems in the following ways plum propagation:
1. Vaccination;
2. Root shoots;
3. Green or root cuttings;
4. Layering.
As a rule, plums are propagated vegetatively, namely by grafting, cuttings, and root shoots; the seeds are usually used only to obtain rootstocks, onto the trunk of which the cuttings are grafted.

The method of propagation by root suckers (shoots) and cuttings is suitable only for self-rooted plums, and the simplest option is the first option.

We propagate by root suckers

To propagate plums in this way, you must initially select shoots that should be well developed and grow as far as possible from the mother plant. So, you have chosen a shoot, now you need to cut off the root at a distance of about 15 centimeters from the root collar, after which you can start planting.

Graft

In order to grow a grafted seedling, you must have two components:

• rootstock - the tree on which the grafting will be carried out;
• scion - cuttings of our grafted plum variety.

The rootstock can be grown independently from seeds or cloned from shoots.
As mentioned earlier, seeds are mainly used for seedlings on rootstocks. To grow them yourself, we first take healthy fruits, carefully remove the seeds and soak them in water for 4-5 days, while changing the water every day and stirring the contents. After this, thoroughly dry the seeds and store them in a dry glass jar.

It is worth planting in autumn or spring at the end of April, after frosts. In order for the grafting to be successful, it is better to grow a rootstock that is winter-hardy plum. It will take about a year to grow the rootstock, after which grafting can begin.
There are several methods of grafting: budding, grafting with cuttings into clefts or bark.

• Budding

Budding or, as it is often called, bud grafting is carried out in the second half of July.
For this procedure, it is initially necessary to remove all leaves and stipules from the scions, leaving petioles about 0.5 cm long.
After that we take sharp knife and carefully cut off a strip of bark (bud along with shield) about 4 cm long and 0.5 cm wide. Then we make a T-shaped cut on the trunk of the rootstock at the site of the intended grafting of the plum (preferably at a distance of 4-6 cm from the soil level). Now we carefully bend the cut part of the bark and place the previously prepared shield with the bud there. We wrap the place of our grafting moderately tightly with polyethylene film.

• Grafting with cuttings

Grafting with cuttings should be carried out in the warm season, or rather, in spring or summer, using one of the methods - in the split or bark.
It is necessary to make two identical oblique cuts in the rootstock and cuttings of the depths of about 1.5 cm and a length of 2.5 cm.
The scion and rootstock must be connected so that part of one fits tightly into the cut of the other. When grafting into a cleft or bark, it is advisable to do it using several cuttings for a 100% positive result. After this, the treated part of the tree should be tightly wrapped with film, which can be removed after four weeks.

Root cuttings

Propagating a plum tree with green cuttings is a very labor-intensive process that requires a special fog installation, so let’s consider a more accessible method called “root cuttings.”

Root cuttings should be prepared in autumn or spring, when frosts have not yet begun or have already ended. Having retreated up to 1 m from the trunk of the young tree, we dig out the roots. The cuttings should be cut to a length of 15 cm and a thickness of 1.5 cm. Moreover, if they are harvested in the fall, then they must be stored in a box with sand in a cool place, for example, in the basement. Another option is in a dug hole about 50 cm deep, sprinkled with sand and peat in a 1:1 ratio.
At the end of April or beginning of May, prepared cuttings are planted in loose soil under the film.

The distance between rows should be within 10 cm, and between cuttings - 5 cm. After planting, the plums should be watered. Until shoots form, the cuttings should be shaded to prevent them from drying out. If several shoots grow on the cuttings, the strongest one should be left. The film can be removed within a month.

Feed the plants with organic fertilizers several times a season to improve their development. The next winter, the plums should be replanted and after they reach 1.5 m they can be moved to the garden.

The nuances of growing plums

• Plum is warm and light-loving, so pay attention to these factors when choosing a planting site.
• In addition, the plum is also a moisture-loving fruit tree, which is more afraid of drying out than frost. In extreme heat, it is recommended to water the plum once a week with the following calculation: 4 buckets of water for a young seedling and 6 buckets of water for an already mature tree. If cracks appear on the fruit, this is a signal of a lack of moisture, however, if the tops die off and the leaves turn yellow, this indicates excess moisture, to which the plum also reacts negatively.
• Plum trees, especially young seedlings, require careful care in winter. It is necessary to regularly trample snow around the plum tree and shake off excess snow from the branches, but it is not recommended to completely expose them.
• The most popular varieties of plums are self-sterile, and therefore require the presence of a pollinator, which can be excellently served by other varieties of plums or cherry plums.
• It is worth remembering that plums are not famous for their regular harvest - the more fruits you have this year, the less you will harvest next year.
• In order to avoid a poor harvest, plum trees need to be thinned out twice a year: in early June, when the ovary is just forming, and in mid-July, when the fruits are already beginning to swell.

Pruning plums

The first pruning of plums must be done in early spring; if for some reason this could not be done, then it is better to wait until next spring. Initially, 5-6 skeletal branches should be isolated, and then their development should be supported.

Next, the tree only needs sanitary pruning, namely, the removal of vertical, damaged or frozen branches growing inside the crown.
When the plum begins to bear fruit, it needs pruning to maintain the vigor of the shoots.

Plum care and pest control

• In the first year of its growth, the plum tree is not fed, and in the second year, only nitrogen fertilizers are used. To do this, prepare a mixture in the ratio of 10 liters of water per 2 tablespoons. urea or mineral fertilizer. The trees are sprayed and watered with this mixture. For each young plum tree, about 30-35 liters of fertilizer are used.
• When the fruiting period comes, it is advisable to feed the plum three times a year - before flowering, during fruit filling and immediately after harvesting: 10 liters of water/2 tbsp. urea/2 tbsp. potassium sulfate. During fertilizing, the soil must be loose and moist for the solution to achieve maximum effect.
• In addition, in summer time you need to fight weeds, loosen the soil around the tree trunk to a shallow depth and add one bucket of humus or peat.
• The plum tree has quite a lot of enemies, including pests, viruses, and fungi, namely: smallpox, moniliosis, pollinated aphids, spotting, clasterosporiosis and much more. Therefore, it is important to monitor the health of the plum; as soon as signs of disease or pest damage appear, take action immediately, since it is difficult, and sometimes completely impossible, to fight an advanced disease.
• Modern chemicals cope well with most pathogens. For example, the drugs “Iskra”, “Decis” and “Inta-Vir” are very effective against pests, and “Topaz”, “Strobi” against diseases. If you find that your favorite tree if you feel sick, immediately spray with a solution that includes water, pesticides and, of course, soap. In addition, with timely assistance to trees that have been negatively affected by frost or summer sun, the rapid destruction of pests helps prevent the occurrence of various viral and fungal diseases.

Known since the times of the Egyptian pharaohs, the plum fruit tree today is still loved by gardeners for its excellent tasty fruits and amazing decorativeness, which can not only decorate the garden space, but also qualitatively improve it, giving a special flavor and elegant sophistication.

This heat-loving crop, long grown in the southern regions of Russia, is currently successfully developing the temperate and northern regions of the country. This became possible thanks to the efforts of domestic and foreign breeders. New winter-hardy varieties that can withstand the harsh climate of temperate latitudes are in great demand on the market. Plum, planting and caring for it, as well as cultivation features are the topic of this article.

Description and specific characteristics

Today, more than 300 varieties are cultivated, and this variety includes not only the usual plants with drupe fruits in yellow, burgundy and purple shades. The plum genera includes many species, and all of them are spreading trees or shrubs that are highly decorative. In spring they surprise with simultaneous and early flowering, when the branches are completely covered with snow-white or slightly pinkish flowers, later with a blizzard of small petals, and at the end of summer they droop under the weight of the ripening harvest. And the fruits - juicy drupes of various colors and shapes - do not leave anyone indifferent. These are the main characteristics of the plum fruit crop. Planting and care (photos of the main operations are presented in the article), their stages will be discussed further.

Common varieties

The most popular varieties of plums in Russian garden are considered:

Renclod - a group that unites varieties of domestic plums, bred from green Renclod and having in the name features. There is Renklod collective farm, Tambov, Altana, Bave, etc. All of them are characterized by large juicy sweet fruits with juicy and dense pulp and an easily separated stone. These varieties are difficult to transport and are not stored for long. Being a unique basis for the selection of many species, Renklod green is valuable because when propagated by seed it retains all the features inherent in the mother culture.

Egg plum with a pronounced egg-shaped fruit is an excellent variety suitable for culinary processing and fresh consumption.
Varieties are distinguished by the color of ripened fruits: Egg plum yellow, red or blue. The yellow plum is particularly decorative. Planting and caring for it is not burdensome; fulfilling the basic requirements of the crop will not keep you waiting long for the harvest.

Hungarian with red-bur or blue-violet oval-shaped fruits, which are characterized by a dense bluish coating and excellent sugary pulp. The high sugar content makes it possible to obtain good quality prunes from Hungarian plums. The variety is perfectly stored and transported. Varieties: Hungarian domestic, purple, Italian, Azhan, early Bulskaya, Wangenheim, etc.

Mirabelle is a very sweet plum with a well-separable pit. Its small fruits, pointed at both ends, resemble cherry plums. The most famous varieties: Mirabelle Nancia, September, small.

Plum fruits are decorative and brightly colored. Gardeners are usually impressed by the sunny color of the fruits that the yellow plum produces. Planting and caring for it is no different from trees with burgundy and blue fruits.

Frost-resistant varieties

Damson plum is one of the hardiest crops of the plum genus, capable of bearing fruit well in the most difficult conditions. It is a shrub or tree with small dark bluish-blue fruits of a specific tart and moderately sweet taste, excellent for harvesting and canning.

Canadian plum (the best varieties are Terry, De Soto, Tecumsech) is highly frost-resistant (up to -45-50˚C). Blooming later than all other varieties, this crop safely avoids the consequences of spring frosts. But all representatives of the Canadian plum are self-sterile, therefore, when planting them on the site, you need to take care of several varieties with identical flowering periods. Cross pollination will ensure fruit set and good yield.

Choosing a variety

The basic rule when choosing plums is that the variety must be adapted to the local weather. Their diversity today makes it possible to most accurately select a zoned variety of crop, the seedling of which will take root well and quickly develop into a strong tree that produces a harvest in the summer and does not freeze in the winter. Let's move on to the features of growing a crop such as plum. Planting and subsequent care are very important, and it is correct actions during the rooting period of the seedling, they are necessary in order for the tree to grow stronger faster. To get a good harvest, experienced gardeners recommend planting several different varieties to allow cross-pollination.

In this case, it is necessary to take into account the varieties of pollinators. Ideally, fruiting of plums planted on the site will occur at different times. Since plum is a spreading tree, the minimum distance between plants in plantings should not be less than 3 m.

Requirements for the site for planting

The place for the culture is chosen on the south or south-west side of the site. This is an immutable rule for all representatives of the plum genus. The heat-loving nature of these crops is very high, so it develops better on gentle slopes facing southern directions in warm soil with good aeration. You can plant the plum along the fence on the sunny side or use it as a hedge. If the site is located in a lowland, then it is recommended to plant on raised mounds up to half a meter with a base diameter of up to two meters. Very sensitive to soil characteristics, draining, planting and caring for which are simple but necessary, prefers chernozem or gray forest soils with a light loam structure, breathable and quite moisture-absorbing.

Soil preparation

Prepare the soil for planting in advance: a plot of 1.5-2 m2 is dug up on the bayonet of a shovel, while simultaneously introducing high-quality organic matter and mineral fertilizers. Since it is better to plant plums in early autumn, the ideal option would be spring digging, followed by keeping the area under pure fallow until planting. If you plan to plant the crop in the spring, then the area should be processed two weeks before this moment. In temperate climates, plums are planted exclusively in the spring, and the soil is prepared in the fall.

Planting holes are dug based on the size of the root system: the roots should be comfortably located, without bending upward or being constrained by the walls of the hole. The usual parameters are: width - 0.7 m, depth - 0.5 m.

Planting work

One-year-old seedlings are considered the best. Experienced gardeners claim that this type of plum takes root faster and is less susceptible to diseases. Planting and care in the fall is carried out as follows: immediately before planting, a bucket of humus and half a glass of wood ash are placed in the hole. The lack of organic matter can be compensated for by applying mineral fertilizers - 200 g of superphosphate and 100 g of potash, which are mixed with the fertile soil layer. The seedling is positioned so that the root collar remains 3-5 cm above the soil layer. The soil is poured evenly, periodically shaking the plant so that the soil lies more densely and envelops the roots, without leaving air pockets that can provoke the occurrence of rot. Then the soil around the seedling is compacted, watered and mulched. After 10-12 days, with established dry weather, they are watered again, giving each young tree 20-30 liters. Watering is important for a crop such as plum.

Planting and care in spring differ from autumn operations. A spring seedling begins to actively develop and requires care, while a plant planted in the fall has time to take root and go into a dormant state.

Plum: planting and care. Pruning and its features

For the first few years, young trees form a neat bush-like crown on a low trunk of 4-6 skeletal branches. Subsequently, they are thinned out and truncated. Upon reaching 6-8 years of age, the central conductor is usually shortened, stopping upward growth and transferring it to a side branch.

Siberian plum varieties, the hardiest, age faster than their southern counterparts and sharply lose productivity. Therefore, after 7-8 years of active fruiting, rejuvenating pruning is done, removing shoots that have grown over the past three years. This work is carried out in early spring before the sap begins to flow.

What you need to know about anti-aging pruning

This type of pruning has different effects on different varieties of crops such as plums. Planting and caring for the plant are almost the same for all varieties, and pruning should be approached with caution. If for Ussuri plum varieties it does not cause a noticeable reduction in yield due to enlargement of the fruits, then for Karzinsky plum varieties this is a radical operation that can lead to the loss of a significant part of the harvest. To avoid this and rejuvenate the tree in time, they do this: in the first year, weakened and diseased branches are cut off, and the rest are shortened the next year. This procedure can last 2-3 years, and after several years it is repeated.

Feeding

Since plum is a fruit-bearing crop, it must receive high-quality nutrition to restore strength. A lack of nitrogen and potassium has a serious impact on the health of the tree: a brown edge appears along the edges of the leaves and a weakly expressed mosaic appears, and yields drop sharply.

A lack of lime leads to cracking of the fruit, and its excess leads to chlorosis. In other words, feeding is necessary. They begin from the 3rd year of the plant’s life. In the spring, 7-8 kg of humus or compost and 100 grams are distributed in the trunk circle of each tree. ash. During the growing season, the crop is supported with complex mineral fertilizers applied in two stages: before flowering and after it.

In the fall, after harvesting, phosphorus-potassium fertilizers are needed, which are most conveniently added during digging or embedded in the top layer of soil (120 g/1 m2). Lime is added once every 2-3 years (50 g/1 m2). This is the nutritional pattern of a crop like plum. Planting and care, propagation and watering - all operations are simple, but important for her. But it is important to remember about preventive treatments of trees.

Plum: planting and care. Diseases

Unfortunately, plums are not spared from various misfortunes: diseases and pests. The most common of them are considered different types aphids (brown, gray or green), plum moth. The mucous sawfly is also common uninvited guest settles on the plant.

Plum trees are also susceptible to diseases such as hole spot and fire blight. Control or prevention measures are publicly available and are carried out using biological or chemical fungicides. Spraying of trees is carried out in the spring before buds open and before winter.

These are the main aspects of growing a crop such as plum. Planting and care, pests, diseases and the fight against them naturally require a certain amount of effort and time, but this fruit tree is a grateful plant that will respond to care with a generous harvest of excellent healthy fruits.

Every summer resident dreams of planting a plum in the garden. It is believed that an unpretentious plum tree can be planted and cared for by anyone. Is it so? Among the many varieties, there is sure to be a suitable one. But there are features, without providing which you can expect flowering for a long time, but still not try plums from your own garden. How to choose a seedling, find a place for a tree, plant and care for it correctly - our article.

Choosing a place for a plum

The terrain should be undulating, the slopes should be gentle and wide, not shaded by other trees. There should be a distance of 5 meters from buildings and fences. The tree will not grow in the lowlands. If there is a “pipe” with constant blowing, this is also not suitable. Groundwater should be below 1.5 meters.

You cannot plant a plum where a freshly uprooted garden grew. The land deposit must gain strength and nutrition for at least 4 years. The best soil for trees is loam or sandy loam. Plum roots go deep and they should not be washed away by groundwater. If there is a problem, you need to plant the tree on a ridge 50-70 cm high, and drain the area using special ditches. After planting, plum care will include a gradual annual expansion of the radius of the flowerbed by 10-15 cm - the place for the roots.

For good yields, you need to plant different varieties of plums that are compatible for pollination. Place trees at a distance of at least 3 meters. There should be no shading plants nearby.

Dig the area where the plum will grow as deep as possible. Ideally, 70 cm. This technique is used to saturate the ground with air. The place for the plum begins to be prepared 2-3 years before planting the tree.

If the soil is acidic, it is limed. IN peat soil In addition to lime, sand and ash are added. To restore fertility, the application of organic fertilizers after their processing by EM-1 Baikal is suitable. Planting plums and caring for them after preparing the site will not cause any difficulties.

How to choose suitable seedlings

A gardener has three ways to purchase planting material:

1. In the nursery, where you can buy varietal seedlings and pollinators. There you can also get the necessary advice on the characteristics of the variety and how to plant plums. When choosing a seedling, be guided by the picture presented. If you can choose a plant with an open root or in a container, it is better to choose an open one. It clearly shows all the nuances of development. The root should be in a clay mash.
2. You can get free planting material using cuttings. Take young branches that have turned red from the mother plant, carefully separate them and keep them in water for 10 days. Callus will appear. Root the branches in a substrate of sand and peat, watered with phosphated water. The roots will grow in 10-40 days. By the time stable frost sets in, cover the shoots completely with peat and leave them for the winter.
3. Grow a seedling from a seed.

Any seedling must be no older than 2 years. When planting, the buds should be swollen, but not open. You cannot buy a seedling with dry buds in the spring - it has been exposed to frost. Autumn planting is carried out 1.5 months before persistent frosts.

In autumn, the seedling is not pruned. In the spring, you need to shorten the branches so that the weak root system can feed a small amount of ground mass. The rule is this: the weaker the root system of the seedling, the more shoots need to be pruned, while simultaneously forming the crown.

The fruit pit is prepared in advance, filled with a substrate of humus, phosphorus-potassium fertilizers and fertile soil by half. The roots are placed along the mound and carefully covered with ordinary top soil. This compacts the soil to force out the air. The root collar should remain above the planting level, but be sprinkled. Later the tree will settle. After planting, pour several buckets of water into a fresh hole and mulch. A stake is installed on the north side to which the seedling is tied. Caring for plums after planting consists of timely watering and loosening the soil.

Spring plum care

In spring, not only trees wake up, but also insect pests and disease spores. Therefore, plum care in the spring begins with preventative spraying with copper sulfate. You can carry out the first spraying with nitrofen to destroy wintering ticks. In addition, trapping belts are installed, tree trunks are whitened with insecticides added to lime. To protect the plum, you will need to treat it four times with copper sulfate of 1% strength:

• on swollen kidneys;
• along the green cone;
• by flower buds;
• a week after flowering.

Preventive treatments are carried out to destroy colonies of pests overwintering in the garden.

In order for the tree to direct its forces to the formation of a harvest, the plum is pruned in the spring according to the scheme for a young and fruit tree. The purpose of pruning a seedling is the correct formation of the crown, creating the correct ratio of the central shoot and fruit tiers. At the same time, skeletal branches are formed and unnecessary interlayer formations are removed. Pruning is done in such a way as to force dormant buds to work, because the entire harvest occurs only on young growth.

An adult plum tree undergoes sanitary and thinning pruning. After spring formation through the branches, the sparrow should fly in a straight line in all directions.

The tree had just begun sap flow, and a portion of natural organic matter was added to the trunk circle of an adult tree. Caring for plums in the spring ensures that the tree regains its strength after wintering. Therefore, fertilizing and abundant spring watering - necessary measures. When watering, add ammonium nitrate according to their calculations. Matchbox onto a bucket of irrigation water. Careful attention to the tree will protect it from weevils and other misfortunes.

Caring for a plum tree after flowering

To form a harvest, the tree needs to process the nutrition it receives into the characteristic set of organic and mineral ingredients that make up the cream. How to feed a plum after flowering? Natural organic matter and green broths poured into the tree trunk will help feed the roots. Prepare a mixture of 2 tablespoons of urea and 3 nitrophoska per bucket of water. Each fruit tree requires 25 liters. At the same time, abundant watering of the tree continues.

How to care for plums in August? A month before harvesting, the trees are fed with a mixture that prepares the plums for winter. 4 buckets of fertilizer are poured under each bush. Add 2 tablespoons of potassium sulfate and 3 tablespoons of superphosphate to the bucket. Nitrogen at this time is harmful to the tree, and watering continues.

Plum (lat. Prunus)- a genus of tree-like plants in the Rosaceae family, which includes about 250 species growing in the Northern Hemisphere. Plum is a natural hybrid of cherry plum and sloe. Plum was cultivated in Ancient Egypt, in the 5th-6th centuries BC. And the Syrians, long before our era, knew how to prepare prunes from it, which they traded with other countries. According to legend, the Roman commander Pompey brought the plum to Europe from Damascus. In Rome, the best varieties of plums were considered to be walnut and damask. And during the Crusades, other wonderful varieties came to Europe, including Renclaude, named after Claude, daughter of Louis XII. View home plum, which we will talk about today, comes from the Caucasus.

Planting and caring for plums

• Landing: in cool areas - in spring, before the buds swell, in warm areas - both in spring and autumn, in mid-September.
• Bloom: from the beginning of May.
• Lighting: bright sunlight.
• The soil: fertile, well drained, neutral reaction.
• Watering: during the growing season - 3-5 times. The soil needs to be wetted to a depth of 40 cm: 4 to 6 buckets of water are poured under young trees, 10 buckets are poured under fruit-bearing trees. In dry autumn, winter watering is carried out.
• Feeding: Organic fertilizers are applied once every 3-4 years (10-12 kg per m²), mineral fertilizers - once every 2-3 years: nitrogen in the spring, and potassium and phosphorus - in the fall. In the first and fourth years, 150 g of superphosphate and 50 g of potassium salt (in autumn), as well as 75 g of ammonium nitrate (in spring) are added to the tree trunk circle for digging. In the fifth and eighth seasons, the amount of fertilizer is doubled.
• Trimming: usually in the spring, before the sap begins to flow, but also in the summer, at the end of June, and in the fall, from mid to late September. The crown is formed over a period of five years, usually giving it a sparsely tiered shape.
• Reproduction: seeds, shoots, root and green cuttings, grafting.
• Pests: hawthorn, cherry shoot moth, cherry slimy sawfly, lacewing, plum and apple codling moth, ringed silkworm, plum pollinated aphid and apple moth scale, apple plantain aphid, apple glassfly, black plum sawfly, fruit striped moth, plum gall mite, moth peeled , downy silkworm, gypsy moth, fruit moth, gypsy moth, leafminer, red apple mite, goose, winter moth, western gypsy bark beetle, sapwood, pear moth, eastern codling moth and brown fruit mite.
• Diseases: affected by cleasterosporiosis (hole spotting), moniliosis (grey rot), gommosis (gum disease), rust, fruit rot, coccomycosis, sooty fungus, root canker, marsupial disease, milky sheen, brown spot, witch's broom, mushroom blight, dwarfism, mosaic disease , smallpox and dying branches.

Read more about growing plums below.

Plum tree - description

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 taprooted, 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 lower part sheet plate. The length of the leaves is from 4 to 10 cm, width from 2 to 5. Flower buds produce from one to three white flowers with a diameter of 1.5-2 cm.

The fruit of the plum is a purple, yellow, light green, red, or blue-black drupe with a bluish coating, with a pit that is flattened and pointed on both sides. The shape of the fruit can be round or elongated. The genus Plum also includes fruit trees: cherry, almond, apricot and peach.

Planting plum

When to plant 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 also be planted in the fall, in mid-September, so that they have time to take root before frost. But if you purchased plum seedlings later, in October or November, bury them in the garden until spring and cover them from frost with spruce branches, laying them with their 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 plums in autumn

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

The pit for the plum is prepared two weeks before planting. Plum grows on any soil except acidic, but the groundwater in the area should lie no higher than one and a half meters deep. Choose a sunny place for plum trees, protected from drafts and cold winds, facing south, southwest or west.

Dig the area to the depth of a bayonet and, if the soil is acidic, add a deoxidizing agent - 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 layer of soil in one direction, and the lower, infertile layer in the other. Drive a planting stake of such length into the bottom of the hole in the center that it rises above the surface of the area by at least half a meter. Place a mound of fertile soil mixed in equal parts with humus or peat at the bottom of the hole.

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 in water for several hours before planting. The plum bark should be without damage, and the trunk should be in excellent condition. The plum trunk should not have forks.

Planting a plum in the fall is done 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 soil from the top layer of soil mixed with organic fertilizers so that there are no voids left. When planting, the root collar 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 settles and the root collar is at the level of the surface of the site, mulch the tree trunk circle with peat.

How to plant a plum tree in spring

Planting plums in the 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 added to the soil during autumn planting. The fertile layer of soil is mixed in a 1:1 ratio 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, mixed thoroughly 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 of varieties that bloom at approximately the same time. If cherry plum grows nearby, it will be sufficient as a pollinator. As we have already written, spring planting is carried out before the start of sap flow.

Plum care

How to properly care for plums? Planting and caring for plums will not seem difficult if you know exactly what to do and when: how to fertilize a plum in spring, summer and autumn, how to graft a plum onto a root shoot, how to treat a plum that is sick. For ease of understanding, 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 the plum tree. In April the soil in tree trunk circles and between rows are dug 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 entered fruiting. When digging, try not to damage the roots of the tree: around the trunk itself, dig no deeper than 5-10 cm.

In the spring, plum trees require preventive treatment against pests and pathogens that have overwintered in the bark of trees or in the soil around the tree trunk. 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 area is mulched with sawdust or peat. The trunk circles are kept clean by regularly removing root growth.

Plum care in summer

Plums in the summer, after flowering, need to be fertilized with organic and mineral fertilizers in the same proportions as in the spring. In dry weather, watering is carried out. At the end of summer, plum trees begin 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, moisture-recharging irrigation is carried out to prepare the trees for wintering. If you keep the soil in the area under black fallow, you need to dig it up in the tree trunk circles and in the rows, while simultaneously removing and burning fallen leaves.

How to feed a plum after harvesting, so that she can regain her strength and prepare for winter and fruiting next year? During digging, organic and mineral fertilizers are applied to each tree, carrying out the latter in this year fertilizing What it consists of, read in the corresponding section. The trunks and bases of skeletal branches are cleaned of dead bark, lichens and moss, the discovered wounds are cleaned, treated with a solution of copper or iron sulfate, and then with garden varnish. The trunks 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 of plums is carried out in the spring, before sap flow begins - at the end of March or beginning of 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 the winter are destroyed, and the plants receive their first nitrogen supplement of the year. But if you do not have time to treat the trees with urea before the buds open, you will have to use Fitoverm, Agravertin, Akarin, Iskra-bio or other preparations of similar action.

After this treatment, spray the trees with a solution of Ecoberine or Zircon to increase the plants' resistance to weather changes and diseases. The same preventive treatments are carried out in October before preparing the plum for wintering.

Watering a plum

Irrigation of plums is considered sufficient when 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 3 to 5 times, pouring 4 to 6 buckets of water under young trees, and up to 10 buckets of water under fruit-bearing trees. for one watering. In autumn, pre-winter watering must be carried out, which recharges the soil with moisture until spring and increases the frost resistance of trees.

Plum feeding

Fertilizer application is combined with loosening the soil around the trees. Organic fertilizers are applied once every three to four years at a 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 potassium fertilizers 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 digging site. For 5-8 years this norm is doubled.

Wintering plum

Like any others garden trees, an adult plum overwinters without shelter. It is only necessary to mulch the tree trunk circle with peat or humus. For the winter, young trees need to be either tied with spruce branches or wrapped in burlap. Do not use artificial covering material for wrapping, because the seedlings will rot under it.

Pruning plum

When to prune a plum

The formation of plums by pruning is most often carried out in the spring, before the sap begins to flow. A sparsely tiered form of the crown on a trunk no less than 40 cm high is popular. Pruning begins in the second year after planting, since the plum tree grows intensively in the first years of its life. The crown is formed within five years.

How to trim a plum

In the year of planting, the plum is not pruned, and the following spring a lower tier of 5-7 skeletal branches is formed on it at an equal distance from one another, directed in different directions with an angle of departure from the trunk of 45º. They begin to form a tier, retreating up the trunk from the surface of the area 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, also cannot 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 to ensure that the conductor grows straight. The growths of the continuation of branches, stretching more than 60 cm, are cut to a third or a quarter of the length, and side shoots up to 15 cm per bud, oriented downwards. Second-order skeletal branches are formed at a distance of 50 cm from the trunk; the distance between second-order skeletal branches located on a first-order skeletal branch must be at least 30 cm.

In the fourth year, the conductor 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 new growth is removed only annually. Take responsibility for the formation of the top, removing all improperly growing shoots in a timely manner: the plum crown should have a pyramidal shape, therefore, when fruiting begins, the conductor is cut off at the level of the upper lateral skeletal branch. Last year's growths are shortened to stimulate the development of new growths next year.

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

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

Pruning plum in spring

Spring is the best time to prune plum trees, and the optimal time is late March or early April. It is in the spring that they do sanitary pruning of broken and frostbitten branches during the winter and form the plum crown. The formation of tiers involves an event such as bending branches: the skeletal plum branch is tied with twine and pulled down from the trunk at an angle of 50-60º so that it does not form an arc when deflected. The lower end of the twine is secured at the base of the trunk. Rubber is placed under the fastening of the twine to the branch or trunk so as not to injure the tree bark. Bending plum branches allows you to speed up the tree's entry into fruiting by 2-3 years. If the procedure is carried out later than April, its results will only be felt next year.

Pruning plum in summer

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

Pruning plum trees in autumn

Autumn sanitary pruning is carried out after the leaves fall - approximately from mid-September. Remove dry, diseased and broken branches, shorten the central conductor if it has become too elongated during the growing season. Then fast-growing shoots and competing shoots that thicken the crown are cut out. 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 trees are propagated by seeds, shoots, green or root cuttings and grafting, but vegetative methods propagation is much simpler and more reliable than seed propagation. We'll tell you how to grow plum from cuttings And from a seed how to use root shoots for plum propagation, and we will also introduce you to all the methods of plum grafting - by bud, budding, cuttings, in splits and behind the bark.

Propagation of plums by root suckers

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

Plum seed propagation

This method may be useful to you to grow 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 seed is planted in a pot. When it sprouts, it is cared for in the same way as seedlings are usually cared for - watered and fed. In the fall, when the seedling grows up, it is planted for growing in a greenhouse or school, and after a year it will be ready for planting in a permanent place and for grafting varietal plums.

Propagation of plums by green cuttings

This method of propagation has recently become increasingly popular among amateur gardeners, as it gives quick results and has a high survival rate of young plants. However, not all plum varieties are capable of rooting, and for cuttings you need to choose those that tend to form abundant root shoots.

Cuttings are carried out in June, during the period of active shoot growth. Cuttings 30-40 cm long are taken from young plants on a cloudy day, placed in water, and trimmed with a sharp tool. bottom part shoot, also removing the lower leaf and leaving only half of the petiole, and the upper cut on the cutting is made immediately above the third leaf. After this, the cuttings are tied and their lower ends are dipped 1.5 cm into the Heteroauxin solution overnight.

Since rooting must occur in greenhouse conditions, build a mini-greenhouse for the cuttings. Place a mixture of peat and sand in half in a container, pour a 1 cm thick layer of sand on top, pour over the substrate and compact it slightly. The cuttings are buried to the petiole of the removed leaf at an angle of 45º 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 from straight lines if necessary sun rays. Water the cuttings through a divider; a month after planting, fertilize them with a solution of 30 g of nitrogen fertilizer in 10 liters of water or a weak solution of slurry.

Once the cuttings take root, the dome is removed. To preserve the cuttings until spring, they are dug up at the end of September, their roots are covered with damp moss, wrapped in film and sent for storage in a shed or placed in a trench dug in the garden, and covered with sawdust, moss or fallen leaves on top. In the spring, the cuttings are planted in the ground and grown for two years before being planted in a permanent place.

Propagation of plums by root petioles

Root cuttings are taken in spring or autumn from shoots located at a distance of at least a meter from the mother tree. First, the shoots are dug up 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, put the cuttings in a box, sprinkle them with sand and store them 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 from green cuttings.

Plum propagation by grafting

To propagate a plum tree by grafting, two components are required - a scion and a rootstock. You can grow the rootstock yourself from the seed, or you can use the root scion of an adult plum, which is dug up, separated from the mother plant and planted. As raw materials for the rootstock, you can use the root shoots of plum varieties such as Skorospelka red, Moskovskaya, Renklod collective farm, Ugorka, Eurasia 21 - they are quite winter-hardy. You can graft varietal scions onto the rootstock of cherry plum, damson, sloe or felt cherry.

Kidney vaccination. The rootstock is watered abundantly to enhance sap flow, which will make it easy to separate the bark from the wood. The stem 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 rootstock, 4 cm above the root collar, make a T-shaped cut with a budding knife, and bend the cut bark. From a varietal scion, cut a bud with a strip of bark 3 cm long and half a centimeter wide, insert it into a T-shaped cut wood to wood, press the bark tightly and tie the grafting site with budding film, tape or a piece of polyethylene, without covering the bud with the film.

Butt budding. If the weather is dry and the bark bends poorly, use the butt budding method. A 7 cm long bark cut is made on the rootstock, capturing a thin layer of wood. An oblique lower cut is made on the cutting of the same length as on the rootstock, but with a ledge immediately under the bud, which is inserted under the bark of the rootstock 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 the upper part of the rootstock is sawed off or cut off in early spring, leaving a spike about 15 cm long above the bud. You can budding with two buds, placing one at a height of 4 cm above the surface of the area, and the second 7 cm above the first.

Grafting with cuttings. In summer or spring, plums are grafted with cuttings. 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 cut on the rootstock with the cut towards the outgoing part of the cleft. 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.

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

Vaccination for the bark. During the period of active sap flow, when the bark is well behind the wood, two or three cuts of the bark are made from top to bottom from the cut of the rootstock trunk, the bark is bent in these places and an obliquely cut varietal cutting with three buds is inserted into each cleft with a cut towards the wood of the rootstock, after which the place vaccinations are fixed with film, tape or tape.

The “into the split” and “by the bark” method suggests 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 after a month.

Plum diseases

Unfortunately, there are many diseases that can affect a plum tree. Some diseases are common to all stone fruit trees, and some diseases affect plums more often. Plum in the garden is affected by cleasterosporia or perforated spot, moniliosis or gray mold, gommosis or gum disease, rust, fruit rot, coccomycosis, sooty fungus, root canker, marsupial disease and milky shine.

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

Control measures. Regularly thin out the crown, preventing it from thickening. In the fall, after the leaves 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 mixture or a solution of copper oxychloride at the rate of 30-40 g per 10 liters of water.

Moniliosis- also a fungal disease, affecting flowers, fruits, leaves, ovaries and branches of fruit trees. The fruits become brown and soft, and gray cushions with fungal spores form on them. The disease becomes more active in the spring, and it develops especially quickly in rainy weather.

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

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

Control measures. Do not allow 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 sulfate, and then treat it with petralatum. It is better to cut down severely affected branches. The dead bark on the trunk is cleaned off, and the wound underneath is rubbed three times at intervals of 10 minutes with horse sorrel leaves, after which it is covered with garden varnish.

Rust- 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 blade, gradually increasing in size. Sick trees become weak, their winter hardiness decreases, and the leaves fall off prematurely.

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

Fruit rot affects both stone fruit and pome trees - cherry, apricot, 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 fungal spores appear on the fruits, located in concentric circles.

Control measures. Affected fruits are collected and destroyed, but try not to touch healthy fruits so as not to transfer pathogens to them. Treat the plum with one percent Bordeaux mixture.

Coccomycosis- 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. A light pink coating of fungal spores forms on the underside of diseased leaves. As a result of the disease, the plum's cold resistance decreases, the leaves turn yellow, turn brown and fall off, and the fruits stop developing, become watery, and then dry out.

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

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

Control measures. Find out the cause of the blackening. This may be due to excessive soil moisture or crown density. Eliminate the cause, and only then treat the plum with a copper-soap solution (5 g of copper sulfate and 150 g of soap in 10 liters of water). Copper sulfate can be replaced with Bordeaux mixture or copper oxychloride.

Marsupial disease also caused by a fungus. It appears after the plum blossoms, affecting and disfiguring its fruits: they grow, do not form seeds, and are covered with a powdery-waxy coating containing fungal spores.

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. Collect the diseased fruits and burn them. During the period when plum buds acquire a pinkish tint and immediately after flowering, treat the tree with one percent Bordeaux mixture.

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

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

milky shine 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, and the tree bark darkens. Most often, the disease destroys young trees that are frozen in winter.

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

In addition to the diseases described, plum trees can suffer from brown spot, witch's broom, fungal blight, dwarfism, mosaic disease, smallpox and dying branches.

Plum pests

Plum trees also have plenty of enemies among insects. The most active among them are hawthorn, cherry shoot moth, cherry slimy sawfly, lacewing, plum and apple moths, ringed silkworm, plum pollinated aphid and apple moth.

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

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

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

Control measures. Treatment of plums for aphids of this species is as follows: in early spring, treat the trees with Nitrafen, and at the time of bud opening and after flowering - with a ten percent solution of Karbofos or Benzophosphate. Make sure that root growth does not grow around the tree.

Apple codling moth. The caterpillars of this butterfly feed on fruits, eating away the seeds, and the passages made are masked by 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 two percent Chlorophos solution or a three percent Karbofos solution.

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 along 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, denuding the branches and sometimes the entire tree.

Control measures. Remove and destroy hawthorn nests from trees, collect and destroy caterpillars. At the end of April or beginning of May, when the caterpillars emerge from their nests, and in the summer after flowering, treat the plum with a one percent solution of Actellik, Corsair or Ambush.

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

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

Cherry slimy sawfly- a widespread pest that damages trees such as cherries, cherries, quinces, pears, plums and hawthorns. Sawfly larvae that chew leaves from the upper side are dangerous.

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

Plum moth dangerous not only for plums, but also for peaches, apricots, sloe and cherry plum. One butterfly lays up to 40 eggs in green fruits, and the caterpillars that emerge from them eat the pulp of the fruits, emerge from them and crawl away to wintering areas. Drops of gum appear on spoiled fruits, they acquire a purple tint and fall off.

Control measures. The caterpillars must be collected manually, and the plum must be treated with a ten percent solution of Benzophosphate or Karbofos during the period when the caterpillars appear, and then after another two weeks.

Ringed silkworm – moth. Its caterpillar eats leaves and buds of trees, weaving web nests in the forks of branches.

Control measures. Remove all winter nests from the plum tree, destroy the oviposition, and treat the tree with infusions of chamomile, tobacco or wormwood during the period of bud break and when the caterpillars appear. Among biological preparations, good results are obtained by treating trees with Antobacterin or Dendrobacellin in accordance with the instructions.

Goldentail – 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, with the help of a web, make nests from the remains of leaves, in which they overwinter.

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

In addition to the described pests, from time to time the plum tree has to be saved from the apple-plantain aphid, apple glassfly, black plum sawfly, fruit striped moth, plum gall mite, moth striped, downy silkworm, subbark budworm, fruit moth, gypsy moth, leafminer moth, red apple mite, goose, winter moth, western gypsy bark beetle, sapwood, pear pipe roller, eastern codling moth and brown fruit mite. Before treating a plum for pests, try to determine what kind of insect you are dealing with.

How to deal with plum

Overgrowth is a tree’s desire to self-preserve, which is quite natural for any living organism. Most often, the growth of shoots is activated by injuries - damage to the bark or cutting of branches. Another reason for the abundant growth of root shoots may be a mismatch between the rootstock and scion. In any case, intensive growth of root shoots is a sign of unhealthy plums. Overgrowth 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 shoots, otherwise the growth of shoots will not stop.

The easiest way is to cut out the shoots with pruning shears, but before cutting the shoot, you need to dig it out to the very root and cut it off at the place where it departs from the root of the mother plant, after which the hole should be filled with earth and trampled down.

Gardeners are sometimes very superstitious, and here is the recommendation we found on one forum: to ensure that the root shoots never grow back, they need to be destroyed only on such days: April 3, June 22 and July 30. Take advantage of this recommendation and share your results with us.

Plum varieties

In our gardens we grow varieties and hybrids of four types of plums - domestic plum, sloe plum, American plum (including Canadian plum) and Chinese plum. But most often, gardeners prefer domestic plum varieties, which are also divided into four subspecies: damson, renclod, mirabelle and hungarian.

According to the ripening period, plum varieties are divided into early, mid-ripening and late. Among the varieties there are also winter-hardy and non-winter-hardy varieties, drought-resistant and moisture-loving, self-fertile and self-sterile.

Plum varieties for the Moscow region

There are so many varieties of plums that you can always choose several of the most successful and adapted ones for each region. In areas with mild warm winters A plum bearing fruit abundantly and for a long time is quite a common phenomenon, but for the climate of the Moscow region there are special requirements for fruit trees. The main problem when choosing varieties for the middle zone is the low winter hardiness of fruit crops. But thanks to the tireless work of breeders, today there are plum varieties that can be grown without fear in the Moscow region and even more northern regions. So, the best plum for the Moscow region:

• Hungarian Korneevskaya- a drought-resistant variety, capable of producing consistently high yields from the age of six - forty to fifty kilograms per tree. Abundant fruiting continues for about twenty years. The fruits of this variety are violet-brown with a waxy coating, medium-large in size, with juicy, sweet yellow pulp. The only drawback of this variety is that the branches can break under the weight of the fruit;
• Yakhontovaya- a productive, drought-resistant plum up to 5 m high with a compact spherical crown, immune to fungal diseases and courageously withstanding return frosts, which often kill flower buds of non-cold-resistant varieties. The bright yellow fruits of the yakhont plum with a sweet and sour taste reach a weight of 35 g. They are covered with a light waxy coating. From one tree you can get up to 50 kg of plums annually;
• Collective farm farmhouse– a frost-resistant and consistently productive early-ripening self-sterile variety with medium-sized greenish-yellow fruits with sweet and sour juicy pulp of a delicate taste. The variety was developed by crossing green Renclod with damson plum. This variety begins to bear fruit in the third year. The collective farm renklod is an excellent pollinator for other varieties of plums;
• Smolinka– an early-ripening, 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-separable stone. Smolinka is a hybrid between the varieties Renklod Ullesa and Ochakovskaya yellow. The varieties Superrannyaya, Opal, and Blue Gift are suitable as pollinators for Smolinka;
• In memory of Timiryazev- a late winter-hardy self-fertile variety that does not require the presence of other plum trees on the site. The yellow, egg-shaped fruits with a red, uneven blush weigh up to 22 g; their flesh is also yellow, not very dense, but surprisingly aromatic. However, fruiting of this variety may 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 Krupnaya, Pamyati Finaeva, Krupnaya Novaya, ELSE-R, Skorospelka Novaya, Tula Black, Seyanets Volgograd, Morning , Early yellow, Volga beauty, Nezhenka, Red ball, Egg blue and others.

Early plum varieties

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

• July rose– early ripening, winter-hardy, disease-resistant, partially self-fertile variety with ovoid yellow fruits weighing up to 35 g with low-juicy pulp of medium sugar content. The stone in the fruits of this variety is not completely separated from the pulp;
• Oh yeah– early-fruiting, productive, winter-hardy variety of Ukrainian selection, resistant to fungal diseases, with large oval fruits of violet-brown color with delicate yellow pulp of a sweet and sour spicy taste. The bone is small and separates well. The best pollinators for Oda are the varieties Vengerka, Kirke, Ekaterina;
• Opal– 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- a completely 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 Skorospelka red and Hungarian;
• Alyonushka– self-sterile, disease-resistant, fairly winter-hardy plum, able to withstand cold temperatures down to -25 ºC. Fruits weighing up to 35 g are round-oval in shape, dark red in color. The pulp is orange, juicy, crispy. The bone does not separate;
• Renklod Karbysheva– a self-sterile variety of Ukrainian selection, obtained from the Persikovaya and Jefferson varieties, for which pollinators can be trees of the Vengerka Donetskaya, Vengerka Donetskaya rannyaya, Renklod ranniy varieties. The fruits weighing up to 50 g are round, purple with a bluish bloom, the flesh is dark yellow, aromatic, juicy, sweet with a slight sourness.

The following may be of interest to gardeners: early varieties plums, such as Renklod early, Kuban early, Red ball, Golden ball, Hungarian July, Hungarian Wangenheim, Montfort, Early, Sapa, Red ripening, Summer damson, Kliman, Nadezhda, Zarechnaya early, Skoroplodnaya, Kirghiz excellent, Ball, Kuban comet, Early pink, Morning and others.

Medium plum varieties

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

Mid-season varieties such as Pamyat Vavilovu, Duche, Krasa Orlovshchiny, Kuban Legend, Vengerka Donetskaya, Vengerka Belorusskaya, Bogatyrskaya, Vetraz, Svetlana Primorskaya, Voloshka and others are popular.

Late plum varieties

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

• Stanley– a winter-hardy, productive variety with dark purple fruits with a strong waxy coating and a clearly defined seam. The pulp is yellow, dense, medium juicy. The bone separates well;
• Zhiguli– a winter-hardy, self-sterile variety resistant to aphids and codling moths, 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 sweet and sour taste;
• Vikana- an Estonian variety bred from the Victoria variety and the American plum. The fruits weigh up to 24 g, are burgundy in color with a strong waxy coating, and are oval. The pulp is light yellow, sourish-sweet. The pit is easily separated;
• Tula black- a fairly winter-hardy, self-sterile variety resistant to fruit rot, requiring the presence of pollinators on the site of the varieties Renklod Kolkhozny, Renklod Tenkovsky, Ternosliv Dubovsky or Ternosliv Tambovsky. The fruits of this variety are ovoid, very dark blue, almost black, with a faint bloom. The pulp is oily, light yellow, sweet and sour. The bone separates well;
• Hungarian Italian- a world-famous variety, unfortunately, it is affected by codling moths, sawflies and aphids, but 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 stone is easily separated from the pulp;
• Hungarian large late- a self-fertile, productive, winter-hardy and drought-resistant variety, rarely affected by fungal diseases, with oval reddish-purple fruits with a waxy coating weighing up to 40 g. The pulp is juicy, sweet and sour, tasty.

In addition to the varieties described, the following late-ripening plums are popular: Vision, Primorskaya obilnaya, Svetlana, Krasnomyasaya, Canadian Vision, Hungarian Pulkovskaya, Valor, In Memory of Timiryazev, Zolotaya Kaplya, Prunes 4-39 TSHA, Renklod Michurinsky, Anna Shpet, Ozimaya red, Ozimaya white, Moscow Hungarian, autumn damson, October Hungarian, Tambov damson, Dubov damson, Memory of Finaev, Large-fruited blackthorn and others.

As for such concepts as self-fertility or self-sterility, they are quite conditional and unstable, since the same plum variety, depending on the agroclimatic zone and growing conditions, can be self-fertile, self-sterile, and partially self-sterile. Moreover, the same tree may be self-fertile this year, but pollinators may be required for its fruiting next year. Partially self-sterile varieties are those that can bear fruit on their own, but if there are pollinators on the site, their yield increases significantly.

Properties of plum

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

Sections: Fruit and berry plants Pink (Rosaaceae) Fruit trees Honey plants Plants on C

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