Protection for the winter is primarily required by young, newly planted fruit trees. Typical treatmentsprotecting fruit trees in winterinclude making mounds at the base of trunks, setting orchard covers against rodents and deer, whitewashing fruit tree trunks with lime, and covering the crowns of the most sensitive species. Seehow to protect fruit trees for winter , what materials to protect them with and when to do it.
How to protect fruit trees for the winter - casings against hares and rodents
What fruit trees do you need to protect for the winter?
Protection for winterrequires first of allyoung fruit trees, planted in autumnBefore the onset of winter, they have little time to take root and acclimatize to new position. First of all, the base of the trunk and the place of budding require protection, and in the case of the most frost-sensitive species, such as peaches, apricots or cherries, it is also worth protecting their crowns. For all fruit trees, regardless of their age, lime bleaching is recommended. Remember thatfruit trees for the winter are securednot only against frost but also against damage to trunks by rodents or forest animals.
How to protect the trunks of fruit trees for the winter?
The most important thing issecuring the base of the fruit tree trunk for the winterby making a mound about 30 cm high. It is best to use compost for this purpose.Such mounds will protect the place of grafting a fruit tree, and also prevent the still poorly developed root mass of the tree from freezing.
How to protect fruit trees for the winter - make a mound at the base of the trunk and put a cover against rodents and hares on the trunk
Another important procedure isprotection of the tree trunk against being bittenby deer, hares or rodents (losses can be caused by volley, field voles, voles and mice - both field mice and mice home). For this purpose,on the trunks of fruit trees for the winter , plastic orchard covers, PVC tubes or perforated orchard protectors are put on. Self-locking plastic casings can be gray, white, green or blue. The latter color is a particular deterrent to hares! These protections should cover the tree trunk up to a height of 60-100 cm, depending on the height of the trunks of the planted trees.
If we do not have orchard covers, tree trunks can also be covered with conifers. For this purpose, we tie conifer twigs to the tree trunk with a string.In order not to encourage rodents to visit our garden, remember to cut the grass low for the winter. Avoid mulching the soil with straw and sawdust, under which rodents like to hide.
Conifer twigs trunk cover
Fig. depositphotos.com
In order toprotect fruit trees for the winterfrom animals roaming in the orchard, you can also apply repellents (fragrances that repel animals) to tree trunks.Among preparations for lubricating or painting tree trunks, we especially recommend HANTUSIt is a paint for trees which has two functions at the same time:
- prevents animals from gnawing trees and seedlings,
- protects trees against bark cracking as a result of frost.
Painting trees with HANTUS can therefore replace the traditional whitewashing of fruit trees with lime, and at the same timewill protect trees from being bitten by deer, deer, hares and rodentsFor the treatment to be effective, the trees should be painted from the ground itself (against rodents and hares) to a height of 1.8 m (deer and roe deer can reach this height).
Importantly, HANTUS does not contain any chemical poison. It issafe for people and the environment
A popular way toprotect fruit trees from deer and deer , easy to use in amateur gardening on a plot or in a backyard orchard, is to hang scented toilet soaps. They should be hung on the branches of fruit trees every 2-3 meters. We should also remember to check the condition of the garden fence before winter so that the animals do not get inside through the proverbial holes in the fence."
It is also importantto protect fruit tree trunks from frostand sudden changes in temperature, which can damage and crack the bark of trees. For this purpose, straw mats can be placed on the trunks of young trees or they can be wrapped with white winter agrofiber. Corrugated cardboard is also used as an anti-frost protection for trunks of fruit trees. Although it protects well against frost, it must be remembered that it soaks and softens easily, as a result of which its remnants later litter our garden.
However, the most important and the most commonly used method of securing tree trunks in an orchard against frost damage is whitewashing of fruit trees with lime. This treatment is used for both young, newly planted fruit plants and older fruit trees.
How to protect fruit trees for winter - whitewashing of trunks with lime
Whywhitening fruit tree trunks for winteris so important? During sunny days, the bark of trees warms up strongly from the sun.Then comes nighttime and strong temperature drops. As a result of sudden and strong temperature changes between day and night, the dark bark of fruit trees is easily damaged and cracks, which in turn weakens the entire plant and leads to disease infections. Lime whitewashed trunks of fruit trees heat up much less than the sun during the day and they withstand night temperature drops better, and their bark is protected against cracking.
Note!Strong temperature fluctuations between day and night, which can damage the trunks of fruit trees, occur mainly in January and February. Therefore, whitewashing of fruit tree trunks should be done in December (preferably at the end of December) and repeated until the end of winter, as soon as the lime is washed away by rain.
How to protect the crowns of fruit trees for the winter?
Much less oftenwhole fruit tree crowns are secured for the winter Such protection should be performed in the case of newly planted trees of the most frost-sensitive species, such as peaches, and in the case of dwarf, low-foaming forms, usually less resistant. An indication for the use of suchfruit tree cover for winteris also the location of the garden in a place exposed to low temperatures and gusts of frost. The best way to wrap the tree's crown is white winter agrotextile, remembering that the crown of the tree and its trunk should be wrapped quite loosely.
What materials should I use to protect fruit trees in the winter?
Forsecuring fruit trees for winterjute, straw or straw mats and nonwoven agrotextile are most often used. You can cover whole newly planted fruit trees with straw mats and non-woven agrotextiles, but remember that covers must be placed quite loosely so that air can circulate under the cover.
When deciding on straw covers, we must also remember that straw is an excellent hiding place for field rodents that can gnaw the roots and bark of trees.Therefore,straw covers on fruit treesshould be mounted slightly higher so that they do not come into direct contact with the ground.
Note!In the case of agrotextile, to protect fruit trees for winter, always choose a white winter agrotextile with a thickness of 50g / m². Under no circumstances should black agrotextile be used.
Black nonwoven agrotextile is not suitable forwrapping fruit trees for winter , because it causes excessive heating of the above-ground parts of plants, promotes their too quick hardening and the development of fungal diseases. Remember that the black nonwoven agrotextile is intended only for mulching the soil under the plants.
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When to protect fruit trees for winter?
Remember not toput on winter covers for fruit treestoo early, because then they will delay the plant's dormancy and make hardening for winter more difficult. Too early straw covers are also an invitation to rodents, and moreover, they are easily excessively moist, which may favor the development of fungal diseases. Therefore,fruit trees for winter are coveredonly after the first frosts, when long-term cooling is expected. In practice, it is usually the second half of November, and if it is extremely warm, it is worth waiting even until December, of course following the weather forecasts.
