Why do fruit tree seedlings not take root? TOP 15 Reasons for Poor Growth | (Photo & Video)+Reviews

Modern gardening, even in comparison with the achievements of half a century ago, is very well developed.

Breeding work, as well as the results of applying the latest hybridization techniques, made it possible to obtain a large number of plants adapted to almost any conditions.

No one is surprised by southern fruits and berries, which can be grown not only in the middle lane, but also in summer cottages in the northern regions.

Read also: Projects of country houses for 6-10 acres: 120 photos, description and requirements | The most interesting ideas

Main reasons

Planting a fruit tree seedling

Agricultural technology did not stand still, and the new methods of growing and harvesting that became widespread made it much easier for gardeners and gardeners to work with already familiar and well-studied crops. New covering materials, drip irrigation systems, combined growing methods, modern fertilizers and other improvements that allow for much more efficient plant care have significantly increased crop establishment and yield.

Nevertheless, no matter how the development of agriculture goes, something in it has been and remains unchanged. This is planting and growing plants before their transition to "adulthood" - beginning of flowering and fruiting. This is the most difficult part in the process of growing any crop. It can last more than one season and its result, in general, is unpredictable. It is at this stage that most of the plants die and not all reach the adult state.

At the same time, one should not think that plants die solely from some external causes associated with weather conditions, pests, diseases, and other similar phenomena. A process such as culling is an integral part of growing any crop, since only the healthiest and strongest specimens should be allowed to bear fruit.

Planting and transplanting young plants and their seedlings is one of the important parts of the agricultural technology of fruit crops.. How quickly and well the plants take root depends on their entire future life, including growth, development, flowering and the ability to bear fruit. Quite often, gardeners are faced with the problem of poor survival of seedlings in their areas.

Planting plants - basic rules

In total, there are three main reasons why seedlings do not take root:

Naturally, the most important factor is the first one. Planting material of poor quality or not suitable for some conditions will not grow and develop normally. Moreover, it does not matter in what conditions he would be placed, and what care would not be given to him. Often the gardener's problem is not to solve the question "how to grow", but how to "choose the right" culture of interest to him.

The remaining factors affect the degree of adaptation of planting material to a lesser extent, in addition, their negative impact can be corrected or completely corrected in a fairly short time. But for some cultures, they can also be critical. For example, there are many trees whose seedlings, in principle, do not grow on alkaline soils, since they cannot absorb nutrients from the soil when the pH reaches a certain maximum value.

The following are the most common reasons on which seedlings do not take root in the plots, as well as ways to improve the adaptation of planting material to certain conditions.

No. 1 Purchase of unsuitable seedlings

At the beginning of spring, a huge number of seedlings can be found in the markets

The planting stock market is seasonal. As soon as the time for planting comes, sellers of seedlings and young trees are activated. In the markets, in specialized supermarkets, gardening associations, nurseries, etc., in spring and autumn, a huge amount of new planting material appears, often not meeting the stated requirements. 

There is nothing surprising in this: according to the laws of a market economy, demand must necessarily be supported by supply, and everything that is available is often sold. Under such conditions, most of the seedlings sold may be weak, diseased or not non-acclimatized specimens that were grown without observing the required standards.

How to avoid mistakes when planting seedlings

One of the most common methods of unscrupulous sellers is the sale of heat-loving varieties. (as a rule, with rapid growth in the first year or two) under the guise of cold-resistant. Sometimes it is difficult to notice a substitution even for experienced agronomists; there is no need to talk about an ordinary gardener. Naturally, such crops not only will not take root in colder climatic conditions, but they may not even survive the first winter.

Grafted plants are a separate problem. Even if the appearance of the grafting site does not arouse suspicion, but nothing is known about where and by whom the grafting was done, it is difficult to say how such a seedling will behave in certain conditions after planting.

And this still does not take into account the possibility of elementary deception. Often, the assurances of unscrupulous sellers that this is a large-fruited variety of a cherry tree or an apricot with a small stone end up with nondescript fruits that do not differ much in size or taste from an ordinary game.

Therefore, the purchase of planting material should be made exclusively from trusted suppliers, and it would be nice to see any certificates of origin for the goods sold. You should also not be tempted by the low price of seedlings, since plants grown in compliance with all the rules of agricultural technology cannot be too cheap.

No. 2 Problematic root system of seedlings

Bare root seedlings

One of the most common violations in the sale of seedlings is its storage with an open root system. The acquisition of such planting material is the most serious mistake of a gardener.

It does not make much sense to buy such seedlings, since the roots cannot stay open for more than 6-8 hours. After this period, the small root hairs located in the suction zone begin to dry out and die. The survival rate of such seedlings is significantly reduced. So, roots open for more than 12 hours are the main reason why cherries do not take root even in the most favorable conditions.

Seedlings should be purchased, the roots of which go in plastic bags or burlap, along with a small clod of earth. In this form, they can be stored from several days to several months (at low temperatures, for example, in a cellar). An extreme option is seedlings with roots in a clay mash; they keep well up to 3-4 days.

No. 3 Too much pruning of the root system

Excessively heavily pruned root system

Preparing seedlings for many crops means cutting off their root system before planting. In this matter, the main thing is not to overdo it, because. Root recovery can take a long time. This is especially true when planting in the fall, because before the onset of cold weather, the root system does not regenerate to the desired degree and the plant does not adapt.

The main thing in the matter of trimming - do not remove the suction zone from the root system, on which the root hairs are located. It is located 5-7 mm from the end of the root and its length in different types of trees is from 3 to 10 cm. Visually, it can be distinguished by the layer of rhizoderm - a soft integumentary tissue with a characteristic color. In the conduction zone following the absorption zone, the rhizoderm is absent and the integumentary layer is darker. 

Ideally, pruning should be carried out no more than 5-7 cm. If the roots are too long, it is better to expand the diameter of the planting hole or somehow lay the root system in the existing one. Also (especially during spring transplantation) it is not recommended to prune the root system of seedlings obtained from cuttings.

Naturally, for plants with a fibrous root system, all this is not critical, since the number of small roots is large enough and the root hairs, even with the strongest pruning, remain in sufficient quantity.

#4 Mistakes when planning a garden

It is necessary to have fruit trees at distances of at least 3-5 m from each other

The most common mistake is over-thickening the landing. Visually, seedlings do not seem so big, so many gardeners, forgetting about the size of adult trees, plant young trees too close to each other.

This problem is especially acute for summer residents, whose plots have a small area. Naturally, this should not be done, because after 1-2 seasons the crowns and roots of plants will interfere with each other.

In this case, some part of the plants may die. Therefore, even before the planting stage, the location of the trees should be carefully planned.

#5 Picking the Wrong Neighbors

Fruit tree compatibility table

Each crop has its own growing characteristics. Not the last role is played by the compatibility of plants, and this applies not only to vegetables, but also to fruit crops.

For example, Cherry incompatible with pears, some apple trees and any currant. And the apple tree does not take root well near the walnut, peach and cherry (well, the cherry tree too). Plum is incompatible with almost all crops, except for some types of apple trees. Honeysuckle does not combine well with currants and raspberries, etc.

There are also antagonist cultures, landing which in the neighborhood often leads to the death of one of them.

Therefore, when planting new seedlings, you should carefully study the crop compatibility tables and plant according to the following rules:

Columnar trees can be planted at about 20-30% shorter distances, than conventional crops (for example, columnar apple trees are allowed to be located at a distance of 2.5 m from each other).

#6 Picking the Wrong Ancestors

fruit tree seedlings

A problem similar to the previous one, but in relation to plants that grew at the planting site before. You should also take into account the history of the use of a particular area of ​​the garden, so that the new culture does not suffer from the consequences of life (diseases and parasites) left over from the previous one.

No. 7 Incorrect choice of landing site

Planting a seedling in spring

Each plant has its own growing characteristics. It would be a delusion to believe that all trees and shrubs ideally grow exclusively in "southern sunny areas, protected from the wind", this is far from the case.

There is a huge number of plants and crops that develop normally in shade or partial shade. And there are crops that require well-ventilated areas for cross-pollination, etc.

Therefore, when choosing a landing site, they carefully study the crop being grown, not to make a mistake with it. Even within the same species, different varieties can have vastly different growing conditions. All this you need to know in order not to subsequently dig up plants planted several years earlier in order to transfer them to a place where they will grow better.

A separate problem may be the location of plants near buildings or fences. This factor should be taken into account, since some crops require shading at different times of the day.

#8 Planting seedlings in place of recently removed trees

Planting a seedling

Quite often there is a need to fill in an empty space after removing an old or diseased tree from it. There is a great temptation to plant a new one, exactly the same, in the place of a dead culture, so as not to change either the design of the garden or the usual care measures.

This should not be done, because parts of the root system of the removed crop still remain in the ground, and they may contain pathogens, which may have caused her death.

The soil in such a place should be carefully dug up and disinfected. The best solution would be to plant some other type of crop on it (for example, cereals, legumes, conifers, etc.), but in no case, not a fruit tree. Re-planting trees in such places is allowed at least after 5-7 years.

No. 9 Mistakes in the formation of holes and planting pits

Properly made planting pit for a fruit tree

The dimensions of the planting hole (diameter and depth), as well as the soil mixture with which it will be filled, are also very important for the survival of seedlings. Usually, pits for planting are prepared in advance (about 1-3 months) before the purchase of seedlings. The pit should take into account not only the type of planted tree but also the composition of the soil.

It is desirable that the plants purchased for planting are compatible with the type of soil available. If the soil does not match the crop, its correction is applied. So for sandy and sandy loamy soils, they are enriched with compost, peat or humus. Too heavy clay soils are loosened by sanding (adding quartz sand to them).

Soil acidity is also important. Depending on the type of plant, soil deacidification or leaching may be required. Traditionally, excessively acidic soils are sprinkled with wood ash or slaked lime, and peat is added to alkaline soils.

№1 0Problems with the root collar

The root neck should not be below ground level

Most often, gardeners do not pay much attention to the level of deepening of the root collar. Planting too deep can kill any seedling. This can happen both during the planting season, and after a year or even two. Once below the soil level, the root neck begins to rot, which leads to a weakening of the plant, the spread of the fungus to the root system and death.

To avoid this, it is recommended to land slightly above the norm. That is, leave the root neck 3-5 cm above the ground. After a few months of watering, the soil in the pit will settle and the neck will take its normal place.

#11 Excessive waterlogging

Drip irrigation for trees

Many gardeners may not be interested in the level of groundwater in their area at all. Usually, interest in this parameter appears simultaneously with questions why even cherries do not take root in the country.

High groundwater levels lead to that almost all trees can stop developing and die due to rotting of their root system from constant contact with water in the soil.

There are several ways to solve this problem:

Each of the methods has its own advantages and disadvantages and is used depending on the capabilities of the owner and the nature of the site.

#12 Mistakes when watering

An example of proper watering in the near-stem circle

The most common mistake is improper watering. Moreover, we can talk about both excessive waterlogging and lack of moisture. Violation of the norms or frequency of watering are quite common, especially among inexperienced gardeners. Often, following the instructions literally, they do not stop watering in rainy weather and do not increase the amount of water in hot weather.

Even the irrigation technique itself can cause problems leading to poor establishment of planting material. For example, many gardeners simply place the watering hose directly under the trunk of a tree when watering. This is not entirely correct, since if the soil is too soft and loose, almost all moisture will “fall through” into the deep layers of the soil, bypassing the root system. That is, all watering will simply go nowhere.

It would be more correct to form a watering (stem) circle within a radius of 0.5-0.7 m around the plant, enclosing it with a small mound 10-15 cm high. In this case, pouring water into a circle should be done not with a hose, but with a bucket. Due to this, a large volume of liquid will immediately spread over the entire area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe near-stem circle, and moisture will be absorbed more evenly, falling on the roots of the plant. 

#13 Wrong cropping

molding pruning young fruit trees

Another common mistake when caring for young plants is the untimely pruning of seedling shoots. The largest buds that will form the foliage of the tree are formed at the ends of the branches.

If they are cut off in the first seasons, then the growth rate will be significantly reduced. In some cases, the plant may even die. In this regard, pruning of branches in seedlings is recommended to be done no earlier than the third year after planting.

No. 14 Problems with top dressing

Top dressing with bone meal when planting or transplanting a plant

A common mistake when growing young plants by inexperienced gardeners is top dressing of seedlings in the first years of life in order to accelerate their growth and maturation. Such an approach not only stimulates the growth of the exclusively vegetative part of the plant, but can also cause delays in its development. A side negative effect of excess fertilizer is acidification of the soil, or even burns of the root system from excessively high concentrations of fertilizers.

Usually, the amount of fertilizer poured in when preparing the planting hole is sufficient, so that the first 1.5-2 years the plant does not fertilize at all. Such an event is not just done. The root system of seedlings is not yet strong enough, and even those concentrations of fertilizers that are normal for an adult tree can cause burns in young specimens.

Phosphorus-potassium fertilizer

This applies to both mineral and organic fertilizers. Solutions in the water of mullein or chicken manure are quite active (from a chemical point of view), so their use can lead to the described negative consequences.

In addition, the use of incorrect dressings can also create problems. For example, fresh manure is applicable to a limited range of plants; its application to seedlings in general is almost never discussed.

However, one should not think that top dressing for seedlings is not used at all. They can be used, but you should be guided by simple rules:

Separately, it should be said about the timing of fertilizer application. To be most effective, it is best to apply them at the beginning of the season.

#15 Wrong preparation for winter

How covered young trees for the winter

In the first years of life, young trees are especially vulnerable to wintering. Severe winters can destroy even seedlings of crops that are resistant to frost.

Usually, the frost resistance zone of seedlings and shoots for any crop is about two units higher than that of an adult plant. If, for example, some stone fruit crop has the fifth frost resistance zone (tolerates frosts down to -29 ° C), then in the first years one should focus on the seventh zone (-17 ° C).

It is strongly recommended to protect seedlings in the first 2-3 years of life from frost.

Step-by-step instructions for preparing for winter may look like this:

It also helps to cover the seedlings with last year's foliage using mesh frames, having a vertical position.

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Why do fruit tree seedlings not take root? TOP 15 Reasons for Poor Growth | (Photo & Video)+Reviews