Want to plant a tree? You have one last option. Soon the ground will start to freeze too much. And what to bet? Plum, for example, is ideal.
Forget the exotic, look at home
Own fruit or vegetables from the garden is always a big plus. But in order for it all to make sense, you need to bet wisely. Which tree tolerates our changeable weather well and will reward you with an annual harvest for minimal care? Don’t look for the exotic. That’s exactly what a plum is. Ordinary, yet absolutely ideal. It is not for nothing that it has been cultivated here for hundreds of years and is still very popular.
It was already cultivated here in the Middle Ages and is one of the most rewarding trees in Czech gardens. It lasts when it rains, even when it’s dry. Does not require special care and hers fruits are versatileand. You can use them for jams, dumplings and plum jam. Hard to find a more practical tree that would adapt to so many conditions.
The traditional homemade plum remains a classic. It is cultivated domestic large-fruitedas well as early Čačany beauty, American variety Stanley or, conversely, older Czech Hamanova. Newer varieties like Jojo or Presenta, Hanita whether Top taste they cope better with frost and diseases such as the typical plum disease.
Choose a variety according to the area and regularly appearing diseases and pests. If you have more space, get different variants.
And what is meant by minimal care? It is mainly about cutting and spraying. The autumn cut of plums will be presented to you by a post from the Šikulio Zahrada YouTube channel.
Where to plant it and how to care for it
The ideal place is sunny, sheltered from the wind. Plums do not like waterlogged soil, but they can handle drier periods as well. All you need is permeable soil, a little compost and the space around the trunk.
The plum plants quite shallowly, it could also theoretically raise the floor, but it is not suitable for planting directly next to the house. It is not one of the fruit trees that would be grown on the walls of houses as a trellis. The plum needs enough space for the fruits to ripen well, sunlight from different sides is necessary.
A young tree needs more attention in the first years. Water, tie to a stake, lightly shape the crown. Nothing complicated, just regularity. And if you treat it with mulch, it will retain moisture better. Once it takes root, it can handle the hot summer without any problems.
The reward will come, it just takes patience
You will wait two to three years for the first plums, but it is worth it. An adult tree can easily produce several tens of kilos of fruit per season. and sweet foods, you can dry them or process them in other ways, but they are quite best freshly picked, like most fruits and vegetables.
In the spring, the tree will delight you with white flowers with a hint of pink or green, in the summer it will be a beautiful growth, and in late summer and autumn it will be covered with fruits.
But the first step is planting, and you can do it now. from October until the end of November to unfrozen soil.
