- a fairly large plant, a tree that bursts with health and strength! In fact, things are somewhat different than they might seem at first glance, and the plum is a capricious plant, which many gardeners fail to bear fruit throughout the entire growing period!
The fact is that this crop reacts sharply to the composition of the soil where it grows, to the climate characteristics of a particular zone, as well as to how the summer resident correctly forms the crown of its bush and what fertilizers it applies to it. root system. That is why you can see flowering, but never see the fruits, or rather their ripening. The tree will form ovaries, the fruits will grow to a certain size and will then be dropped to the ground.
Well, the most important thing is that it often happens. Unscrupulous sellers deliberately sell incorrectly rooted plum seedlings, which will initially not bear fruit!
What year does the plum bear fruit?
Let's assume that we manage to purchase high-quality planting material plums. The planting site, as well as the soil itself, have all the characteristics for the normal growth of this crop. The tree is followed throughout the entire growth stage proper care and timely watering. When will the plum tree begin to bear fruit in this case?
When initially comfortable conditions growth, it can be noted that the plum begins to bear fruit already in the third, or even the second year. The number of fruits will be small, but gradually every year it will increase. However, this does not guarantee that all plum fruits will ripen! It turns out that, having finally waited for fruiting, you should under no circumstances relax, because it is during this period that the tree needs, more than ever, proper care!
Why doesn't a plum bear fruit for a long time?
Some summer residents manage to see the first harvest of “their” plum only in the fourth or fifth year, why? The plant’s root system takes a long time to form, and until it is sufficiently strong, the tree will shed almost unformed fruits. The only thing that can help in this case is the plum subrind and correct formation crowns
It happens that a tree becomes infected with some kind of infectious disease, only after curing it can the first fruits be seen. Along with this, the plant is attacked by pests. You may also come across a plant variety that is unsuitable for growing specifically in your climate zone, which also happens quite often!
Not every gardener knows how many years a plum bears fruit, because this crop is not as popular as an apple or pear tree. It should be noted that plum seedlings must be planted in well-lit areas, and there should be several species of this plant in the garden, since most varieties of plums are considered self-sterile.
While creating favorable conditions When a plum is planted in well-aerated soil rich in nutrients, the first harvest of fruit can be harvested after 3-4 years, later for some varieties. Gardeners note that the fruits of this crop ripen unevenly, so they need to be collected as they ripen. Plums can bear fruit in different ways, some produce a good harvest every year, while other varieties intensive formation fruit alternates with crop failures. In general, a plum can bear fruit for 20 years, after which the tree becomes old, dries out, and after a while dies.
How to increase plum yield
Proper care is considered the basis for obtaining good yields from the plant in question. For planting choose sunny place, which is protected from the influence of northern winds. In order for the plant to take root well in the new soil, it is necessary to systematically water the seedling. Abundant harvests will promote good pollination of inflorescences, which can be achieved by planting several varieties of plums in the garden.
Some trees grow quickly, but do not produce a good harvest, although they are quite old. The reason for this phenomenon may be oversaturation of the soil. useful substances. In this case, it is necessary to remove some root shoots. If there is a lack of microelements, wood ash is added to the soil, and rusty nails are also buried, because the formation of the ovary occurs with the participation of iron. Sometimes a nail driven into the tree at the level of the first branches helps to force a plum to bear fruit. Note that this operation is carried out during the flowering period. Shape good harvests A plum tree may be 25 years old, but for this it is necessary to carry out constant thinning of the crown to combat diseases and pests.
A woman gardener called the editorial office and asked to answer about the beginning of fruiting of plum and apricot seedlings. She motivated her request for an answer by the fact that she already had a five-year-old apricot seedling growing and there were plum seedlings of the same age that had not yet begun to bear fruit. It was not me who spoke to this woman on the phone. Therefore, many details about the nature of the grown apricot and plum seedlings and the conditions for their cultivation remained unknown to me. And without such data it is difficult to answer such a question.
First of all, it is not clear from the seeds of which varieties of plum and apricot the seedlings were grown by the author of the call to the editor. If these are southern varieties of domestic plum, Chinese plum, cherry plum, apricot, the fruits of which are present in large quantities on the shelves of our trading enterprises, then due to the very low winter hardiness of the seedlings obtained from their seeds, the start of fruiting of these seedlings cannot be waited at all. Because these seedlings, due to our lack of heat and their low winter hardiness, will freeze or freeze to varying degrees every year depending on the snow level. I would like to warn US readers about the complete futility of growing seedlings in our conditions from the seeds of fruits of southern varieties of plum, cherry plum, apricot, peach, almond, and cherry for their open culture.
To grow plum and apricot seedlings in order to obtain fruit-bearing plants from them in an open form, we must use pits from the fruits of Ussuri, Chinese and Canadian plums of the Far Eastern, Siberian or Ural varieties and pits from the fruits of apricots also from the Far Eastern, Siberian or Ural varieties. The beginning of the first flowering, and, consequently, the first fruiting of plum and apricot seedlings is associated with the genetic characteristics of the mother variety and the pollinator variety, as well as with the growing conditions of the seedling. The more early-fruiting the seedling's parents are, the more early-fruiting it will be and vice versa. As practice has shown, under conditions good growing seedlings of Ussuri, Chinese and Canadian plums, as well as seedlings of apricots of the Far Eastern, Siberian and Ural selection, begin to bear fruit mainly in 4-5 years. To speed up the onset of fruiting, seedlings should be transplanted from place to place as rarely as possible and should be provided with annual good care. Seedlings should have a large annual increase in shoots and should be grown not as a bush, but as a tree with a small number of main branches. Since it is known that the beginning of fruiting of any fruit tree, occurs only when its shoots, starting from the first year of growth and ending with the beginning of fruiting, reach a certain number internodes of the buds. That is, if you grow a seedling into one trunk with one shoot, which, of course, is practically impossible, then you can achieve the most early start fruiting.
It is really possible to accelerate the onset of fruiting by forming a crown with a limited number of skeletal branches and leaving a limited number of shoots each year while creating a very good diet of nutrition and moisture for the seedling to maximize shoot growth.
I have great experience in growing plum seedlings and brought at least a hundred of them to fruiting. I can say that any transplant, especially after a two-year growth period, delays the beginning of fruiting by at least 1-2 years. A lot depends on the precocity of the parents and especially on the quality of care for the seedlings. In order to select seedlings from best qualities and for better cross-pollination, I usually plant 3-4 seedlings in one planting hole. With this planting, seedlings in one planting hole with the same growth rate begin to bear fruit in 4-6 years. Sometimes seedlings with a slower growth rate begin to bear fruit even in the 7th year. So, if the author of the call to the editor meets the conditions the right choice plum and apricot seeds for growing seedlings, then the absence of the beginning of fruiting of these five-year-old seedlings cannot yet constitute any crime. The possibility of damage to seedlings during wintering should also be taken into account. Any single, and if the seedling’s winter hardiness is not very high, and repeated winter damage, delays the start of its fruiting. To assess the reasons for the delay in the start of fruiting of plum and apricot seedlings, which turn six years old this year, the author of the call to the editor must analyze all the conditions set out in this response.
When choosing a variety to grow, it is worth remembering what year the plum bears fruit after planting. This will allow you to prepare for harvest and make it easier. Each variety is characterized by its own ripening time, depending on the climate of the region and the characteristics of the variety.
Main fruiting dates
Descriptions of plum crops indicate that there are several time frames for ripening.
- Early. Typically, such species begin to bear fruit 2 years after planting. The most common varieties include plum varieties Iskra and Novinka.
- Medium ripening period. Before fruiting begins, 3-5 years must pass from the moment of planting. The most common varieties include the plum variety Red Skorospelka and Record.
- Late cultures. They begin to bear fruit after 7-9 years. These varieties include the white Nikopolskaya and yellow Ochakovskaya varieties.
Reasons for lack of fruiting
It is not enough to know what year the plum bears fruit. It is also necessary to take into account the fact that there are certain problems that do not allow the tree to develop and produce timely harvest.There are several main reasons why fruiting is delayed:
- wrong place to land;
- improper planting process;
- when choosing a seedling, the region was not taken into account;
- presence of diseases and pests;
- non-compliance with care rules (feeding, watering and weeding).
Landing Features
Each variety takes root in certain conditions. Early varieties and varieties with medium ripening periods need a lot of sunlight, so they need to be planted in the south-eastern part garden plot where the most sun gets during the day.
Late varieties can be planted in any part of the garden, since the sun does not affect their ripening time.
To speed up the process of fruit appearance, you need to choose high-quality soil. They should be light, but contain a large number of nutrients. Ideal option Black soils and soils are considered for growing plums. loamy lands. Fruiting is delayed if the acid level in the soil exceeds 4%, so you need to add per 1 square meter. m. 3 kg of lime. When the plum tree begins to bear fruit after planting depends on how correctly the planting is carried out.
The optimal depth of the planting hole should be 60 cm. The root collar must be left above the ground at a height of 5-9 cm. This will provide air exchange to the root system.
When digging a hole in the fall, you need to add organic fertilizers. Pour 5 kg of humus and 3 kg of humus into each hole wood ash. It is prohibited to use fresh manure, as it increases the acidity of the soil.
Care
The quality of care directly affects how many years it takes for a plum tree to bear fruit. Caring for plum crops is not difficult.
- It is necessary to ensure complete and timely watering. It must be carried out at intervals of 20-25 days. At least 30 liters of warm water is poured onto 1 plant.
- Fertilizing is an important process in crop care. It depends on it when the plum tree begins to bear fruit. Fertilizing should consist of the use of both organic matter and minerals. In the spring, for the formation of early and healthy ovaries, the tree needs to be fed with a solution ammonium nitrate(30 g per 5 liters of water). In the fall, to nourish the soil and improve resistance to frost, it is necessary to apply per 1 square meter. m. 15 kg of humus or peat. You can mulch the soil with humus and straw, which will protect the root system from freezing.
- After each watering you need to loosen upper layer soil and remove all weeds. This will ensure air exchange and facilitate the flow of nutrients into the soil. The weeding depth should be no more than 8 cm so as not to damage the developed roots.
Conclusion
The characteristics of a particular variety determine which year the plum begins to bear fruit. This parameter is also influenced by a large number of factors: how the person will land and where. It is necessary to provide the culture with proper care. If everything is done correctly, then ripening will take place within the time frame specified when purchasing the seedling.