Why do the edges dry out? Why do coniferous plants dry out? How to eliminate the problem of dryness - general measures

Cherry is a heat-loving plant.

Despite the fact that cold-resistant varieties have now been bred, the most large harvest still will be near the southern trees.

Unlike its relative, the cherry, this berry is larger in size and less susceptible to disease.

Pests also appear less frequently on cherries.

However, it is still susceptible to a terrible scourge - drying out.

Why do cherries dry out and what to do?

The moment the cherry tree branches begin to dry out, the gardener should sound the alarm. If you leave this fact without due attention, the tree will soon wither completely. It is necessary to determine the cause of drying out as quickly as possible and eliminate it immediately.

Here it is immediately worth mentioning the issue of mistakes when planting cherries. She loves a lot of light and a well-ventilated area, preferably on a hill, even an artificial one. Like any heat-loving plant, even frost-resistant varieties should be protected from north winds. The most favorable soil is sandy loam or medium loamy. Failure to follow these rules can greatly affect the development and growth of cherries.

Why do even cherry trees planted according to all the rules dry out?

Probable reasons:

— unfavorable weather conditions;

- illness;

- pests.

Adverse weather conditions

The disadvantage of breeding varieties of cherries is that frost-resistant varieties tolerate drought extremely poorly, and vice versa, varieties that feel great in conditions high temperatures, do not tolerate frost.

Cherries are drying up due to the heat - what to do?

In the hottest years, the scorching sun literally burns the soil and all the vegetation on it. The main reason for drying out of cherries during this period is lack of moisture. Regular and abundant watering will help correct the situation. To allow moisture to penetrate as deeply as possible, you can dig a small depression around the trunk.

After watering, some gardeners cover the soil around the cherry trunk with large leaves or artificial materials.

What to do to prevent cherries from drying out from frost?

Cherries that are not prepared for winter can freeze in extreme cold. The most harmless thing that can result is dried buds and young shoots in the spring. The worst option is a cracked trunk, which becomes defenseless against disease.

How to avoid freezing:

— abundant fertilizer of the root zone in the fall;

- pruning affected branches;

- peeling off dead bark;

- whitewashing the trunk lime mortar or coating water-based paint;

— young seedlings are protected by completely covering them insulating material, having previously driven pegs around the trunk and compactly rolled up the crown.

Cherries dry up due to disease

What to do about verticillium

Increasingly, many gardeners are complaining about the drying out of cherries for no apparent reason. in early spring. First, small branches begin to dry, then large branches dry out and after 2-3 years the tree dies. The probable cause is verticillium disease.

First of all, young trees up to 7 years old suffer from this disaster. A clear symptom of the disease is rust-colored gum leaking from cracks in the bark. In the worst case scenario, the cherry tree dies in one season.

Older trees cope better with this fungal disease, so it progresses more slowly. Gradually, strips of bark peel off, and abundant smudges of gum are observed. It can take 8 years for the cherries to completely dry out.

Powerful antifungal agents will help cure the plant, which large quantities offered in specialized stores. The gum must be cleaned off and all cuts treated with garden varnish. Before winter, the affected tree is coated with a solution of lime and copper sulfate.

In order to eliminate the possibility of disease, the planting site should be selected with special care. If groundwater flows close to the surface, drainage is required. Strawberries, melons, nightshades and sunflowers should not be planted next to cherries, as they are also susceptible to verticillium.

Cherry roots should be protected from damage, since the fungus penetrates the tree through the soil. It also wouldn't hurt to preventive measures spray the plant before flowering and before leaf fall with Bordeaux mixture.

What to do with moniliosis

Many types of stone fruit crops are susceptible to moliniasis. Cherries are no exception. During the flowering period, fungal spores enter the tree through the pistil of the flower. This is followed by the falling of flowers, and then the drying of shoots and branches. It looks like a consequence of a fire, which is why the disease is also called molinial burn.

Treatment measures:

- cut off diseased branches, capturing a small healthy area to get rid of the fungus, and then burn them;

— make sanitary pruning of the crown for better ventilation, after which treat the sections with garden varnish;

- cover all the cracks in the cherry bark with garden varnish;

— after leaf fall, dig deep into the soil around the trunk to destroy the fungal spores remaining in the foliage;

- immediately after flowering and a month after it, treat the tree with Bordeaux mixture or copper sulfate.

Cherries dry out due to pests

What to do if you are affected by Californian scale insects

The first time after a cherry tree is infected by a scale insect, it is completely unnoticeable, since the insects are small in size (adults are about 2 mm). In addition, they have a protective color. Only after a few life cycles growths of dead scutes appear on the bark.

The scale insect feeds on cherry juice, so in places where it accumulates, the bark cracks and peels off, which is also a visible sign of damage. To get rid of pests, you should cut off the affected areas and burn them. After this, it is necessary to treat the tree with pesticides. Otherwise, the cherry tree will die.

What to do if you are infected with bark beetles

It is immediately worth noting that there are several varieties of bark beetles. The western gypsy bark beetle attacks absolutely healthy trees, which is why it poses a danger.

The fruit sapwood prefers mainly old and weakened trees. Young and strong plants They resist these pests well.

The first sign of a cherry tree being damaged by bark beetles is the presence of tunnels in dried branches.

Fighting methods:

— good care is required, including regular watering, pruning, spraying and fertilizing;

— the affected tree should be treated with a bark beetle preparation in early spring, before the buds open;

— dried branches must be pruned and burned.

What to do if the reasons for the drying of cherries are not determined

If the cherry dries out and the above-described signs and causes are not found, first of all you should pay attention to the root system. It is likely that a May beetle has appeared on the site, feeding on roots. Or maybe it’s a mole or a whole anthill in the roots? Remember what fertilizers you applied to the tree, because twice the norm of urea or azofoska can destroy the tree. Try spraying with stimulants: Epin, Zircon and others. This will help the tree recover from stress.

If everything is fine with the roots, no pests are found, and the cherries are withering before our eyes, you need to contact an agronomist who specializes in fruit trees. Even the eyes experienced gardener may not see what the eyes of a professional will see.

In conclusion, it should be noted that if planting rules are followed and proper care is taken, cherries will delight the gardener with a large harvest for many years. The gardener’s labors will not go without reward, because these are large and delicious berries Among other things, they are also very good for health.

It is not by chance that we fell in love with coniferous crops. They are unpretentious, beautiful and almost never get sick. But if their needles suddenly begin to turn brown, then the plants need to be saved.

IN normal conditions After three to five years, the needles turn brown and dry out, falling off the tree. Such needles are replaced with new ones naturally. But if the tree has completely lost its decorative effect, then it’s a disaster.

Like all plants, conifers can be attacked by pests and diseases. This happens rarely, but if it happens, it is difficult for them to cope with the disease without human help. I will list the most common causes of disease in coniferous trees.

Wrong landing site.

Before planting, study all the requirements of the conifers you have chosen. Thus, spruce prefers shaded areas. Juniper - sunny, fir - shady, pine - open. Thuja grows well in sun and partial shade.

Incorrect landing.

If you plant the plants too densely or dig small planting holes (they usually dig at least 50 cm deep). In such conditions, the branches acquire a brown tint. Trees must be planted so that the root collar is above the soil level.

Unfavorable growing conditions.

A brown tint can be caused by car or industrial emissions, excessively moist soil or high air humidity. Similar symptoms occur due to drought or low humidity.

Freezing of needles.

Many coniferous seedlings are imported to our country from Europe. The climate there is much milder than ours. As a result, the needles of such “migrants” may freeze slightly winter period, it turns brown and dries out. Even in winter-hardy species, the needles can break and dry out from the snow that has settled on them.

Conifer diseases.

Branches may turn brown due to disease. Such changes are caused by gray rot, brown rot, caenangium necrosis, and pine fusarium. From them, plants are sprayed with Ridomil Gold or Tilt.

Plants are damaged by pests.

Pests such as thuja aphids, common spruce sawfly, yew false scale, and pine hermes can deprive trees of their decorative properties. Bi-58 or Fufanon will help you deal with them.

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Drying of the tips of the leaves most often indicates that the plant is kept in unfavorable conditions. A healthy flower has water and nutrients freely flow from the roots to all parts of the leaves. If a houseplant is weakened, the roots gradually die and continue to feed the leaf only partially. Vessels die or become blocked. To prevent dry tips of the leaves and return the flower to a healthy appearance, you need to follow the rules for caring for the plant.

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Main reasons

The tips of the leaves of houseplants dry out for various reasons:

unsuitable temperature conditions;
watering errors;
low air humidity;
lack or excess of fertilizers;
incorrectly selected soil;
too bright sunlight;
reduced immunity from diseases caused by fungi or insect pests;
insufficient pot capacity.

The exact cause can only be determined by knowing the characteristics of a particular plant: origin , growing conditions in nature and rules of keeping in the house. Most often, dried tips of leaves indicate a discrepancy between the living conditions and those to which the plant is adapted.

If everything is in order with the maintenance conditions, you should inspect the plant. If the cause is infection or pest damage, various spots, tubercles, damaged areas are noticeable on the leaves, and the plant has a painful and depressed appearance. You also need to check the root system. The plant should be removed from the pot and assessed whether there is free space for the roots to grow and feed, whether there are dried areas, rot, or other damage.

If the plant suffers from an infection or fungal disease, in addition to dried ends on the leaves, spots and other noticeable damage appear

Temperature

The tips of the leaves may dry out due to inappropriate temperature or severe changes in temperature. This effect can appear both when the content is too hot or too cold. Drafts from a window or cold air from an air conditioner make the situation worse.

The temperature difference is very common reason drying of the ends of the leaves. It can be caused even by short-term hypothermia during transportation of the plant in winter or ventilation. Changes often occur in spring or autumn, when the days are hot and the nights are cold. Plants standing on the windowsill are stressed.

Some house flowers require a period of winter dormancy. For 3–5 months they are placed in cool conditions (usually from +5 to +15 °C), watering and fertilizing are reduced. These include citrus fruits, coniferous and deciduous plants, myrtles, and geraniums. If they spend the winter indoors, then too hot conditions, too little or too much light and dry air cause the tips of the leaves to turn yellow and dry out.

Watering and air humidity

The tips of the leaves dry out indoor plants from both insufficient and excessive watering. It all depends on the type of plant, on the conditions in which it grows in nature. External symptoms may be the same: the leaves look limp, turn yellow or turn pale. Dried ends are just one of the signs. In a flooded plant, the earthen lump does not dry out, which makes it difficult for air to reach the roots; they begin to rot and die. The consequences of overwatering are more difficult to cure than restoring a dried plant.

Most indoor plants love watering with soft, sometimes acidified water. Tap water does not always turn out to be suitable. You can check its acidity using a special indicator, comparing the current pH level with the required one for the flower. Severe hardness of water is indicated by scale or lime flakes that constantly form in the kettle. Such water leaves a cloudy coating and stains after drying. A sign of excess salts when watering a plant - white coating on the pot, which is cleaned mechanically. Light spots also appear on the top of dried hillocks of soil, and the soil itself becomes crusty. Anthuriums, gardenias, camellias, orchids, and citrus fruits especially suffer from watering with hard water. They signal this by dry leaf tips and yellowing.

Hard water leaves a white residue in the pot

Water temperature is also important for irrigation. It is advisable that it be slightly higher than room temperature, especially for heat-loving plants. From cold water Plant roots suffer, they can rot and die, and become unable to supply water and nutrients to the leaves.

Dry indoor air is one of the most common reasons why the tips of the leaves of plants that require high humidity air, but are kept in a too dry microclimate. This problem is often encountered by owners of anthuriums, spathiphyllums, gloxinias, cyperus, and dracaenas. In nature, these plants receive moisture not only from the roots, but also actively absorb it through the leaves, so they need regular spraying or artificial air humidification. If such care is not provided at home, the leaves begin to dry out from the tips. Heavy rains outside sometimes compensate for this lack of indoor maintenance. And in hot and dry summer or winter, in heating season, the air is not sufficiently saturated with moisture, and the plant begins to suffer.

Soil and fertilizing

Most indoor plants prefer light, breathable soil. If the soil is too heavy, clayey, sticky, water stagnates in it, the roots cannot breathe and begin to rot and die, they stop supplying necessary substances leaves, which leads to drying of the tips.

Almost all house flowers need regular feeding - there are not enough nutrients in the soil for normal growth and development, especially if the flower is rarely replanted. But moderation is important here - an excess of fertilizers sometimes harms more than a lack. Different types plants need different composition and the amount of fertilizer.

During the growth period, in spring and summer, fertilizing of domestic plants is increased, and by winter it is reduced to a minimum.

Some gardeners are guided by the principle “the more the better” and fertilize indoor flowers not according to the manufacturer's instructions, but more often and more intensely. And they make a mistake. Excess fertilizers, especially those containing phosphorus, cause salt burn in plants, causing the tips of the leaves to dry out. This effect is more pronounced when combined with watering with hard water. The lack of fertilizing affects not only the dried tips of the leaves, but also the overall weakened appearance of the plant: it grows slowly and does not bloom, the leaves look pale, and some appear yellow spots.

Features of caring for some indoor plants

Several types of plants in the house are kept in approximately the same conditions, but their natural growth environment is different. If they are standing next to each other in a room, then one of them will suffer. Therefore, it is so important to know where the flower comes from and what maintenance conditions a particular specimen requires.

Geranium

Pelargonium, which is commonly called geranium, is one of the most popular indoor plants due to its unpretentiousness. Geraniums love light, but adapt well to being kept in partial shade. They do not require abundant fertilizing and spraying. This reputation leads to the opinion that the flower does not need constant attention and special care, as a result he dies.

Due to unfavorable conditions in geraniums, the edges of the leaves turn yellow and dry out.

If the tips of geranium leaves dry out and a dry edge appears along the edges, there may be several reasons:

1. No rest period. One of the features of geranium is that it needs a cool winter at a temperature of 13–15 °C. The plant will feel good without it, but the intensity of flowering decreases and defects appear on the leaves.
2. Improper watering. Geraniums do not like excessive watering and suffer from stagnation of water in the soil. Therefore, the soil should be quite loose, and a drainage layer at the bottom is required.
3. High humidity. Pelargoniums are adapted to dry air; they retain moisture in the leaves from evaporation thanks to the villi. Frequent spraying and proximity to moisture-loving plants lead to the death of the tips of the leaves.
4. Cramped pot. If the flower is not regularly replanted, there is not enough space for the development of the root system, aboveground part plants do not receive enough nutrition. Then the tips and edges of the leaves turn yellow and become deformed.

Royal pelargoniums are the most capricious varieties of this plant; they suffer more than others from improper care.

Spathiphyllum (female happiness)

Spathiphyllum grows in nature in damp swampy forests and on the edge of ponds. At home, this flower needs a little shading. It is kept at cool temperatures and not in direct sunlight. The optimal position is on a southwest or southeast window, but the flower will be uncomfortable on the window sills of south windows. Spathiphyllum requires humid air, at home this can be achieved by daily spraying or placing an open container of water next to the flower.

The main reason for the appearance of dry leaf tips on spathiphyllum is low air humidity and poor watering. “Women's happiness" can also suffer from excess light, especially from direct sun rays, which leave burns on the leaves. The bright sun leads to too rapid drying and evaporation of moisture. Another common cause of a defect is drafts.

Dried ends and spots on spathiphyllum leaves appear from sunburn

Aloe

Aloe is a succulent plant that is famous for its vitality and unpretentiousness. It comes from South Africa, prefers a warm and dry climate, tolerates heat well, but not in conditions of high humidity. In nature, aloe is forced to develop a powerful root system in order to extract scarce moisture from the soil. At home, the flower feels good in plenty of light, in a spacious pot filled with soil for succulents with high content sand.

Reasons for the appearance of dry leaf tips in aloe:

1. Cramped pot. Aloe roots grow quickly and intensively, filling everything free space. Having pulled it out of the pot, you will find that the soil has been almost completely displaced. In this case, the tips of the leaves dry out due to lack of nutrition. Therefore, the flower requires frequent replanting.
2. Unsuitable soil. Aloe prefers poor sandy soils, and clayey, heavy soil is not suitable for it. It retains moisture, which is detrimental to the well-being of aloe.
3. Excessive watering. In conditions of excess water, aloe roots begin to rot and die. This can lead to quite serious consequences, including the death of the entire plant.
4. Overdrying. Many people know that aloe loves dry conditions, so they water it too rarely, but this is also wrong. If the plant does not have enough moisture, the leaves dry out, starting from the ends, turn red and curl.
5. Lack of light. The plant additionally signals this with pale, yellowing-prone leaves.
6. Excess mineral fertilizers. In nature, aloe grows on poor sandy soils, so it does not need frequent feeding in the house. The abundance of microelements does not strengthen the plant, but leads to the death of the tips.

Palm trees

Domestic palms have different geographical origins, which is why optimal conditions their contents are different. Tropical plants are often kept in apartments; they do not require cool conditions in winter and feel great under room temperature. In the places where they grow temperature changes during the year are minimal. Areca, coconut, caryota, and chamedorea require constant heat and humidity. The tips of their leaves turn yellow and dry out, most often from too dry air. Howea, Rapalostylis, Rapis, Washingtonia need cooler conditions. And subtropical palm trees are often kept in greenhouses and winter gardens, they need a cool winter. Most palm trees tolerate heat well, but begin to get sick at temperatures below 12°C.

After drying, the tips of the leaves are no longer restored and greatly spoil the appearance of the plants. They can be removed, but this must be done in such a way as not to damage living tissue, otherwise the process will continue and the leaf may die completely.

The reason for drying leaf tips, common to all types of palm trees, is sharp drop temperatures They do not tolerate drafts, so pots with palm trees are not placed near a cold window or under air conditioning. Dry air and insufficient or excessive watering are also risk factors.

Chlorophytum

Chlorophytum is considered an unpretentious plant; it tolerates a wide range of temperatures and does not suffer much from changing conditions. But even this flower’s leaves sometimes darken and dry out at the ends. The reasons for this may be the following:

1. Dry air in the room and insufficient watering.
2. Prolonged waterlogging of the soil. It affects not only the tips; usually the entire leaf turns yellow and dries out.
3. Lack of nutrition. The lack of fertilizing is expressed in the paleness of the leaves. Chlorophytum is especially sensitive to nitrogen deficiency.
4. Excess sodium during feeding. In this case, the tips turn black and dry, while the rest of the leaf remains bright.
5. Lack of light. Chlorophytum signals this pale leaves with dried tips and weak growth.
6. Cramped pot.

If only the tips of the leaves of chlorophytum dry out, most often this indicates too dry conditions

Dracaena

Dracaena is a tropical plant that requires high air humidity. It is its lack that is the most common cause of yellowing and drying of the tips of leaves. Even daily spraying of the plant will not be enough. The perfect solution- installation next to flower pot an open vessel filled with water that will constantly evaporate, or purchasing a special humidifier.

Dracaenas are sensitive to dry soil and excessive watering. In both cases, the ends of the leaves may dry out. When watering, you need to ensure that the earthen ball dries out not only at the surface, but throughout its entire depth. This usually takes about a week, but to be sure, you can check the humidity by tapping the pot along its entire height: with wet soil the sound will be dull, with dry soil it will be sharper. The soil must be well drained, otherwise the water in the pot will stagnate.

The ends of dracaena leaves can also dry out from short-term stress. It can be caused by sudden hypothermia, draft, or direct sunlight on the leaves. Too intense feeding leads to salt burn on the tips of the leaves.

A beautiful indoor plant is healthy plant, which is provided the right conditions maintenance and care at home. Even small mistakes in care indoor flower can cause the tips and edges of leaves to dry out and cause dry brown spots to appear on them. Such external signs They can be either harmless to the plant or be the first messengers of deeper problems that lead to the death of the flower. To save decorative look plants, it is necessary to find out the reasons for the drying of the leaves and eliminate them.

Why do the leaves of indoor plants dry out?

There may be several reasons for the leaves of indoor plants drying out; after a thorough examination, analysis and description of the damage, determine why the leaves of indoor plants are drying.

Most often, the leaves of indoor plants begin to dry in the autumn-winter period. For indoor plants, this is a testing time, due to the decrease in lighting, the inclusion of heating devices, worst conditions for plant life. With the onset of cold weather, indoor plants that were exposed for the summer open air in the garden or on the balcony, transferred to apartments. Many indoor plants are sensitive to sudden changes in conditions. external environment and react to this by dropping leaves. Autumn leaf fall is often observed in ficus, citrus and other tree-like plants. Seasonal yellowing and dying of leaves in tree-like plants is natural, just as trees outside shed their leaves for the winter, so in indoor plants old leaves turn yellow, dry out or fall off, so that new greenery appears in the new season after a dormant period. To prevent the plant from becoming completely bare by shedding most of its leaves, try to make the change in conditions as gentle as possible, place the trees in one direction towards the light source and avoid drafts.

Many indoor flowers, after abundant summer flowering, go into a complete state of dormancy; their entire above-ground part dries out and dies; in the ground, only rhizomes, tubers or bulbs remain alive in hibernation. Flowers with full period dormancy is gloriosis, gloxinia, tuberous begonia, hippeastrum, caladium, etc. For such plants, the drying of leaves and stems is an inevitable cycle of life; without complete rest, their vigorous growth and flowering in the next season is not possible. In the fall, watering is specially reduced for them, feeding is stopped and the temperature is lowered so that they do not waste their energy and go into hibernation as soon as possible.

Why do the tips of the leaves dry out?

We have dealt with the natural causes of drying leaves of indoor plants, now let’s move on to the problems that arise when caring for indoor plants. Often gardeners in the fall or winter see how the tips of the leaves of plants dry out, spoiling the decorative appearance. The reason for the appearance of dry tips on the leaves is low humidity air, which in winter can drop less than 30%, while for most indoor plants the air humidity is favorable at 50-60%, and capricious tropical plants will grow only in a humid atmosphere at 80-90%.

For moisture-loving plants from the tropics and rain forests, it is necessary to create special conditions in apartments close to natural, first of all, increase the humidity of the air around them. To do this, their leaves are often sprayed, wiped with a damp sponge, and washed in the shower. Such water procedures bring short-term relief to plants; to create a humid atmosphere around the plant, the pot should be placed on a wide tray filled with wet tracing paper, expanded clay or moss, then the moisture will evaporate from the surface for a long time, creating a favorable microclimate around the plant.

Another option for increasing the air humidity around the plant: place the pot in a wider pot, and fill the void between the walls with damp moss.

To humidify the air in your home, you can use electric humidifiers, decorative fountains, or the most affordable way- hang a wet cloth on hot radiators.

The delicate leaves of tropical plants are most sensitive to dry air and should not be placed near hot heating devices, under the flow of hot dry air, the leaves quickly wrinkle and dry out. Also dry tips on leaves and brown spots on the leaves may appear in a draft, when windows or doors are opened. High humidity Azaleas, ferns, calathea, stromantha, and some types of indoor palm trees require air.

The most drought-resistant indoor plants that can tolerate dry desert air are cacti and succulent plants, they have protection from the evaporation of moisture from tissues - a waxy coating, a dense shell or pubescence. Popular indoor plants that are resistant to dry air in an apartment include Sanseveria or pike tail, Zamioculcas or dollar tree, hoya or wax ivy, as well as pelargonium or indoor geranium.

Many unpretentious indoor plants and flowers require spraying in the fall and winter, otherwise the tips of their leaves begin to dry out. You can notice dry ends in such common indoor plants as chlorophytum, spathiphyllum, dracaena, syngonium, etc.

Why do the edges of leaves dry out?

The appearance of dry spots along the edges of the leaves and on the surface is caused by a completely different reason - excessive watering, which leads to acidification of the soil and rotting of the roots; if this process is not stopped, the plant may die. Dry spots along the edges of the leaves are called necrosis or partial death of tissue; this occurs due to the death of part of the roots, so the leaves no longer receive vital substances. Dry spots on the edges of leaves caused by root rot are usually darker than spots caused by lack of watering or low air humidity, often with a bright yellow or light stripe running along the edge of the spot.

Necrosis along the edges of the leaves is caused by improper watering, when the soil in the pot does not dry out, air does not pass to the roots, and putrefactive bacteria begin to actively develop. This process is accelerated by keeping the temperature cool or placing the pot on cold basis. It’s always warm in summer, so most plants need abundant watering, but as the weather gets colder in autumn and winter, indoor flowers need to be watered less often to prevent rotting of the roots and, as a result, drying out of the leaves at the edges. Excess fertilizers aggravate the situation of overwatering. In the autumn-winter period, most plants stop their growth, so the need for nutrients is reduced; if you continue to fertilize with fertilizer, the soil will become salty, sour, and the roots will suffer in an unfavorable environment. If plants require abundant watering all year round, then they must be kept warm, the soil in the pot must not be allowed to cool and protected from drafts.

Drying of fruit trees is possible for a number of reasons. Often young trees die from damage to the roots by water voles (if your garden is located near water bodies) or by the larvae of May beetles (if their number in the area is quite high). But trees and shrubs in gardens (at any age) can dry out from getting their roots wet.

Despite the fact that water is of paramount importance in the life of plants - it is their main part, allows them to extract nutrients necessary for growth and development from the soil, saves them from overheating, and maintains them in an elastic (turgor) state - its excess amount is sometimes destructive for all cultures. In wet years, plants get sick more often and more often. Excess moisture in the soil contributes to a significant rise in the level of occurrence groundwater, and high moisture saturation of the soil prevents the growth and branching of the roots of trees and shrubs, leads to their death, delays the growing season, and weakens winter hardiness.

At high groundwater levels, especially on unstructured, heavy clay soils and their strong compaction, the trees lack air, which is so necessary for the normal functioning of the roots.

According to gardeners' observations, in early spring, even before sap flow begins, the roots of fruit trees do not suffer from excess melt water and even floods caused by overflowing rivers and streams. However, in June-July, during the period of active summer development, they become very susceptible to waterlogging of the soil. In years when there are heavy rains all summer, and the sun only occasionally peeks through the clouds, the entire soil horizon is saturated with water from the precipitation. At the same time, the groundwater level rises closer to the surface. When there is excess moisture, air is forced out of the soil. And the delicate root hairs, with the help of which the fruit tree receives water and nutrition from the soil, with a weak air flow (weak aeration), deprived of oxygen, suffocate (asphyxia occurs) and after three days begin to die. Longer waterlogging leads to gradual death and rotting of thick roots.

On trees with affected roots, the growth of shoots in length most often stops, the leaves turn yellow or brown, often become covered with scab spots or a coating of other diseases, and with the onset of hot, dry weather, early leaf fall often begins. Weakened trees can shed their leaves and fruits in mid-summer and remain completely bare, as if in winter. If rainy weather continues into August, as happened this year, then the thick bark on the trunks of fruit trees affected by excess moisture may warp and begin to separate from the wood, and such trees become completely unprepared to withstand winter frosts.

Most often, not all gardeners pay attention to these changes in the summer and only next year in the spring, seeing dead trees or dried individual branches, they think that winter frosts are to blame. Sometimes severely weakened trees, having gathered all their last strength, bloom in the spring, but soon dry out, since the dead roots no longer supply them with water and nutrients.

But even on a small summer cottage fruit trees react differently to the same conditions. Their condition largely depends on the age, type of crop and composition of the soil under top layer soil directly under the roots of the tree. The youngest trees - up to 4-6 years old - are least susceptible to the effects of waterlogging. root system located close to the soil surface. Later, when the roots of a grown tree penetrate into the deeper layers of the earth, the danger of their death from soaking of the roots increases.

However, even in a completely flat area under the upper soil horizon there may be layers of dense loams and clays in the form of saucers, in which excess soil constantly accumulates. rainwater, and micro-elevations, where there is no accumulation of water. That's why sometimes the two are nearby standing trees one dies, and the second can live even 40-50 years. And when a new seedling is planted in place of a dead one, the tree dies, having lived no more than 10-15 years. And they rarely suffer from root death fruit trees on sloping slopes, this phenomenon is usually observed only in areas where springs are located.

To make fruit trees less susceptible to root wetting, pay attention to some features:

if there are heavy clays, sand, crushed stone or gravel under the top layer of soil on the site, fruit trees most often grow poorly and may die over time;
The depth of groundwater from the soil surface should be at least 2-2.5 meters. Where they are shallow, soil is added (a mixture of manure, peat, sawdust, fertile soil, etc.). To drain excess water, drainage or drainage ditches are made.

Apple tree does not tolerate wet places and shading and prefers fertile loose loams on sandy or loamy subsoil.

Pear even more demanding on growing conditions than an apple tree. It is recommended to plant it in warmer places protected from the wind.