How to properly plant sea buckthorn in the fall and care for it after planting

Sea buckthorn is an unpretentious and hardy fruit crop, which is distinguished by a unique composition of vitamins and microelements. By eating one hundred berries or drinking their juice, a person receives almost the full daily requirement of nutrients.

If you still don’t have this miraculous tree on your site, you still have time to plant it. We will tell you in detail how to plant sea buckthorn in the fall and how to care for it.

Choosing a sea buckthorn variety for autumn planting

There are two types of sea buckthorn:

• willow;
• buckthorn-shaped.

Buckthorn is common in Russia. Most popular varieties:

• sweet – Moscow pineapple, Moskvichka, Lyubimaya;
• large-fruited - Elizaveta, Azhurnaya, Augustina;
• without thorns – Altai, Giant, Solnechnaya, Podruga;
• frost-resistant - Jam, Golden Cob, Trofimovskaya;
• men's - Ural, Dear Friend, Gnome, Alei.

Sea buckthorn has a short dormant period. With any thaw, it can begin to vegetate. If the tree begins to grow early, it may die due to frost. For planting, you need to choose only zoned varieties that are suitable for growing in your climate zone.

Selection and preparation of seedlings

Sea buckthorn is a dioecious plant, pollinated by the wind at a distance of no more than 10 m. That is, to obtain a harvest, it is necessary to plant female and male specimens on the site. Moreover, one male tree can pollinate 4-5 female ones. But it is better to plant two male seedlings at a distance of 50-60 cm.If the female tree is planted near the fence, the male tree can be placed outside the site.

To determine whether a seedling is male or female, you need to pay attention to the buds. The male plant has large buds with 5-7 covering scales. The female plant has buds 2-3 times smaller than the male ones and two covering scales.

Having selected seedlings, they need to be prepared for planting:

1. Remove all leaves.
2. Soak the roots in water for 2-3 hours.
3. Before planting, dip the roots in a clay mash.

Selecting a location

When choosing a location, take into account the characteristics of the growth of the crop:

1. Since sea buckthorn loves the sun, it is planted in a sunny, open place, protected from the wind.
2. The culture has a shallow root system with long branched roots. Therefore, it is planted far from deep cultivation zones.
3. The seedlings are planted at a great distance from each other and about 5 m from the fence.
4. The soil should be light, well drained.

The male seedling is placed on the windy sideto promote pollination.

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Landing dates

Accurate dates of planting in the ground depend on the climatic conditions of the region:

1. Siberia, Ural, St. Petersburg - all September.
2. Middle zone (Moscow region) - late September - early October.
3. Krasnodar Territory, North Caucasus - all October.

When is it better to plant - spring or autumn

Sea buckthorn can be planted at any time - spring, autumn, summer.

The best time for planting is spring, before sap flows.. The seedling will have time to get stronger before the onset of cold weather. This is March - April.

Plants with a closed root system are planted in the fall.. In terms of timing, this is the end of September - October. An important condition is the temperature above +4°C.

How to properly plant sea buckthorn in autumn

Autumn planting is carried out if the seedling is taken from the same area where it will be planted. If a young shoot is brought from the southern regions, it can wake up in January - February, and frosts will destroy it. Choose plants with a closed root system, healthy and strong.

Advice. When planting in autumn, it is better to plant several specimens in case some of them freeze out.

To plant a tree, you will need planting material, a shovel, a rake, water for irrigation, organic and mineral fertilizersto provide nutrients to the young plant. It is better to choose young specimens no more than two years old.

Step-by-step instruction:

1. The planting hole is prepared three weeks in advance. If the soil is poor, add compost and dig it onto the bayonet of a shovel. If it is heavy and clayey, they dig it up, adding sand.
2. Next, they dig a hole 50 cm wide. The depth should be 10-12 cm lower than in the nursery. The top and bottom layers of soil are folded separately.
3. Fill the hole with a nutritious soil mixture: top fertile soil layer (1 part), humus (1 part), wood ash (1 cup), double superphosphate (200 g).
4. Water and leave in this form for 1-2 weeks.
5. Then a mound of fertile soil is poured, a seedling with an open root system is placed on the mound, and the roots are straightened. If the root system is closed, simply place a lump of earth in the center of the hole.
6. Cover the tree with soil. At the same time, shake the trunk slightly so that the soil is evenly distributed between the roots and voids do not form. Lightly press the soil with your hands.
7. Watered. A tree trunk circle is formed.The root collar of the tree should be at soil level.

Further care of the seedling

In the first 2-3 years after planting, sea buckthorn does not require fertilizers. The nutrients that were added during planting are enough for her. Fruiting sea buckthorn is fertilized four times per season:

• in early spring;
• during the flowering period;
• immediately after flowering;
• 20 days after the last feeding.

Carry out foliar feeding by spraying potassium humate solution (1 tbsp per 10 liters of water).

During the formation of ovaries, you can add a nutrient mixture:

• superphosphate (30 g);
• wood ash (100 g);
• potassium salt (25 g).

Regular watering is very important. Waterlogged soil prevents air from reaching the roots. After each watering or rain, the soil around the trunk is loosened. To reduce loosening, the tree trunk circle is mulched with humus or compost from birch leaves.

The crop needs pruning. It is best to carry it out in the spring, before sap flow begins:

1. The young seedling is cut to a height of 10-20 cm. The stump will sprout branches. The next year, four strong shoots are selected, the rest are cut off.
2. When forming a tree, create a trunk 20 cm high and leave 2-4 skeletal branches.
3. After the tree is formed, the branches and shoots growing inward and thickening are removed.

It is important to cover young plants for the winter. For this purpose, spruce branches and turf are used. To combat rodents, wrap the trunk with a metal mesh. The trunk itself needs to be whitened.

Read also:

Step-by-step instructions for planting cherry plum in autumn

How to plant grapes in autumn

Nuances of planting depending on the region

In Siberia and the Urals The soils are heavy, so you need to add sand when planting.Choose a place where there is less snow, since tree branches are fragile and can break under the weight of snow. Young plants planted in autumn require shelter. In spring they are planted from April to May.

In the Volga region It is recommended to plant only zoned varieties. Winter there is moderate, but long. Planting date is the first days of March.

In outskirts of Moscow The climate is suitable for growing sea buckthorn; it does not require shelter. Planting takes place from the end of March to the first half of April.

Conclusion

Sea buckthorn is unpretentious, frost-resistant, and does not require constant care. You just have to follow the planting requirements and do the pruning on time to get a vitamin-rich harvest and save it for the winter.