We arrange a flower bed under a tree.

Before many amateur gardeners, owners of small personal plots, the question is often asked: how to small area combine garden, vegetable garden and flower beds.

Moreover, so that there is maximum benefit from everything, and so that the site looks beautiful.

There is an answer to this question: naturally, the best decoration of the site are flowers grouped into flower beds, ridges, and mixborders. But under deciduous trees- the kingdom of shadow, and the soil is permeated with roots. All this creates a rather unsightly appearance in the garden.

What to do in such a situation?

It turns out that it is possible to decorate an area with flower beds where priority is given to the orchard. To do this, it is enough to create flower beds near the tree trunks. We know that in nature, plants create groups according to certain biological characteristics. Not all trees and plants make good neighbors.

Some trees cannot be good neighbors at all; they release substances into the soil that not only inhibit the development of other plants, they can be destructive for them. Such trees include walnut, black locust, hazel, and walnut.

Therefore, having certain knowledge, you can create such biological groups in your garden, trying to create the most beautiful composition. Many plants thrive in the shade. These include periwinkle, ivy, and sedum.

Not only ground cover plants, but also perennials and annuals can decorate a tree-trunk flower bed. These are hostas, ferns, kupenas, pansies, nasturtium. Among the bulbous plants, snowdrops, scillas, crocuses, and muscari are perfect. We try to choose plants whose root system does not penetrate deep into the soil.

Properly selected “neighbors” will not only retain moisture, they will also become a biological protection for the trees. So, lilies of the valley in a flower bed near the trunk will protect cherries and cherries from fruit rot and moniliosis. Marigolds, calendula and nasturtium will protect apple and cherry trees from aphids and nematodes. Properly prepared soil under the tree will allow all plants to feel comfortable.

Before planting, tree trunk circles need to be processed, dug, weeded and fertile soil added. You cannot dig up the soil under plants with a shallow root system. Even loosening under coniferous trees should be done especially carefully. The roots of conifers should not be disturbed. We find free spaces between the roots of the tree and make marks.

Remove with a spatula upper layer soil, up to 10 cm deep, making peculiar niches, which we then fill fertile soil. After abundant watering, plant the plants and water again. Gaps of soil without plants can be mulched with bark. Fruit trees, especially modern varieties on dwarf rootstocks, have a well-developed surface root system. Therefore, it is better to plant plants under them that do not require deep digging of the earth and frequent replanting.

These can be spring bulbs: daffodils, kandyki, scillas, muscari, spring anemones. In summer, ground cover plants can grow here, which, covering the tree trunk circle with a continuous carpet, will also retain soil moisture. In autumn, leaves and fallen fruits must be removed under these trees to avoid various infectious diseases.

It is better not to plant shrubs under apple trees at all, since their root system can compete with the root system of apple trees. The following beautiful spring flowers grow well under the trees: May lily of the valley, common and spring primrose, bathwort, liverwort. summer beautifully flowering: aconite, aquilegia, jagged and Przhevalsky buzulnik, astilbe, broad-leaved bellflower. ferns: ostrich, male shield, female nocturnal. ground cover: yellow green grass, European hoofweed, small periwinkle, creeping tenacious.

Be that as it may, the plants in any tree trunk circle will have to be watered more often than in a regular flower garden, and they need to be fed more, not forgetting about the tree. Sometimes the dense crown provides such dense shade that it is best not to bother with planting perennials. You can then simply pave the area under the tree, however, stepping back from the trunk to allow the roots to breathe. Absolutely any plants can be placed under any trees if they grow in containers.

Mulching with cones

Mulch is great way protect plants, retain soil moisture and even fight weeds. The importance of mulch really cannot be overestimated.

However, gardeners often have questions about the best mulch materials. Some even decide to buy special mixtures for mulch in stores. Today we will talk about the features of mulching the soil with ordinary cones. In fact, many organic materials that are easily found in the garden are suitable for mulching the soil.

If you have a pine planting nearby, then you don’t have to worry about mulch at all - you will have plenty of it. Cones are a really great option for all-purpose mulch in the garden, but let's first remember the main jobs that mulch performs in the garden. So, what is mulch for? First of all, in order to make life easier for you, gardeners.

Instead of spending a lot of effort on weed control and plant protection, it is better to use mulch, which is much more convenient and simpler. Mulch performs a whole spectrum at once important functions in the garden. First of all, it should be noted that mulching allows the soil to retain moisture much longer. The earth is not exposed to the sun, which means that moisture evaporates from it more slowly.

In turn, this is only a plus for plants, because they have the opportunity to receive moisture when it is needed, and not have to wait a long time for watering or rain. Mulch also acts as a protective barrier that prevents roots from overheating during the hot season. Instead of heating the soil and plant roots, the sun warms the mulch, which takes the brunt of the damage.

In winter, on the contrary, mulch acts as a protection for the earth, and with it the roots of plants from the cold. The soil does not freeze so sharply and deeply if it is generously covered with a blanket of mulch. Mulch also protects the soil from leaching out nutrients. The soil especially needs such protection in the spring season. As you can see, mulch is useful all year round, in any season. If you have a source of buds nearby, then it would be a shame not to take advantage of this opportunity. Cones are great for mulch. They further protect the earth from the hot rays of the sun in summer, cover the soil even more with a dense ball in winter, and at the same time, mulch from cones does not become an obstacle to high-quality watering of plants.

A layer of mulch allows moisture to pass through without any delay, but in the ground it already holds it securely, preventing the water from quickly evaporating. Thus, the efficiency of irrigation increases several times. At the same time, the cones become an excellent barrier against weed growth. If before winter, that is, right now, you cover the tree trunks, the ground under bushes and other places with mulch from cones, then it is likely that most of the weeds, having never seen the light in the spring, will not be able to break through to the surface.

Ready-made schemes for arranging flower beds

There are many options for creating spectacular plant compositions on the tree trunk. These can be multi-level round flower beds, the outer edge of which is decorated with low-growing plants, and inner space filled with taller flowers.

Upon registration tree trunk circles trees placed along a building or fence, which are visible only from one side, semicircular and asymmetrical flower beds are more suitable.

When arranging multi-tiered compositions, it should be taken into account that the trunk circle fruit trees You can fill it to a height of no more than 10-12 cm. Filling the root collar of a tree with soil can lead to rotting of the trunk.

Option 1 - spring kaleidoscope

1. Lesser periwinkle (Vinca minor).
2. Cyclamen narcissus (Narcissus cyclamineus).
3. Chionodoxa luciliae.
4. Spring crocus (Crocus vernus).
5. Tulip (Tulip ‘Burgundy Lace’).
6. Corydalis bulbosa (Corydalis bulbosa).

To arrange such a flower garden in the fall, you should clear the trunk area around the tree of small stones and roots weeds. You can enrich the soil by adding compost and organic fertilizers.

Bulbous They look spectacular in small groups: they sparkle in the sunlight like scatterings of multi-colored kaleidoscope glass.

Daffodils, crocuses and tulips are planted in groups, placing them at a distance of 15-20 cm from each other.

In the foreground of the flower garden, small tubers of corydalis are planted - a herbaceous plant that got its name due to the bizarre shape of the flower.

The empty spaces between the bulbous meadows are filled with periwinkle bushes creeping along the ground.

To protect the bulbs from frost and provide them with conditions for growth and full flowering in early spring, before the cold weather it is better to cover them with spruce branches or leaves.

Option 2 - contrast of primroses

1. Siberian blueberry (Scilla sibirica).
2. Narcissus (Narcissus ‘Tahiti’).

It is not at all necessary to give the flower bed an even round shape. A worthy frame for contrasting flowering meadows will be decorative tiles, with which the flower garden can be given any shape.

Daffodil bulbs and scillas are also planted in the fall, placing them in small groups around the tree trunk. After the daffodils fade, in their place there remain cute herbaceous “bushes” collected from elongated smooth leaves that remain decorative until mid-summer.

Option 3 - solar paints

1. Winter spring grass (Eranthis hiemalis).
2. Crocus Tommasini (Crocus tommasinianus).
3. Crocus (Crocus ‘Ruby Giant’).

Early spring eratis, decorated with tiny golden-yellow flowers, is most decorative only in the sun. Fortunately, in early spring the crowns of trees do not provide dense shade, giving these unusually beautiful herbaceous plants the opportunity to express themselves in all their glory.

When arranging a flower garden, first think through the design of the composition. Crocus corms are planted along the outlined contours, and winter spring rhizomes are used as a background. After the spring flowering of crocuses, faded flowers are not removed, thereby allowing the plants to reproduce using seeds.

Sep 30, 2016 Galinka

A stylishly designed tree trunk circle can become a real garden decoration! There are several design options for this area. For example, you can arrange a flower garden there, sod it with cereals, green manure, or fill the space with decorative mulch. Each method has its own characteristics and aims to improve the soil structure, retain moisture, provide protection from weeds and some pests, and fit harmoniously into the overall style of the landscape.

The trunk circle is an area around the tree trunk, which is equivalent to the projection of the crown. Until the age of five, a tree is considered young, so it is not advisable to cover the area around the trunk with anything, so as not to interfere with the development of roots. During this period, the soil around the trees must be watered, loosened, fertilized, and ensure that it remains moisture- and breathable. But by 6–7 years the tree becomes mature and no longer requires constant loosening of the tree trunk, so it can be decorated. Let's look at the main options.

Cultural sodding

Cultural sod will be useful in areas with excess moisture, such as under fruit trees that are frequently irrigated. Tree trunk circles located on slopes or terraces are also best covered with sod. A dense carpet of grass will protect tree roots from freezing, strengthen the slope, protect the soil from washing out nutrients by rain streams, and also prevent weeds from breaking through.

Ground cover plants or cereals are suitable for cultural sod.

Smooth emerald grass under trees always looks very impressive, laconic and elegant in the garden landscape.
You can sod the trunk circle with grasses such as fescue, bentgrass, white clover, and for a long-lasting and lasting effect you can use a grass mixture of meadow fescue and meadow grass in a ratio of 60:40. The grass under the tree trunk must be mowed periodically, leaving a height of up to 12 cm.

Lupines are the best green manures

Tinning

Low-growing, shade-tolerant groundcover plants, such as Indian duchesnea, green grass, tenacious, bentgrass and small periwinkle, can be used for planting tree trunks; these plants do not require mowing. Aboveground part and the root system of such ground covers is consistently small in size, and the shoots spread along the ground and take root in the soil layer at a depth of 7 cm, without interfering with the development of tree roots.

To improve the structure of the soil and enrich it with useful substances and microelements, green manure can be sown. These are legumes: lupine, phacelia, vetch, peas. They enrich the soil with nitrogen and inhibit the growth of weeds. On sandy and clay-sandy soils good results are obtained by sowing lupine, and for heavier ones - mustard or phacelia.

Growing green manure crops is especially useful for small summer cottages, where the soil gets tired faster, leading to lower yields.

Decorative mulching

If your garden contains mainly fruit trees, the tree trunks of which periodically need to be dug up, watered abundantly and fertilized, then mulch is more suitable for decorating it. It does not block air access to the trunk and root system, while nourishing, protecting from drying out and protecting from pests and diseases.

There are many mulching materials available, both organic and inorganic. Let's look at some of them.

● Sawdust. Excellent environmentally friendly mulch. Sawdust will prevent pests from appearing, and the soil underneath will retain moisture. However, as sawdust decomposes in the soil, the level of nitrogen required for the tree is reduced, so before using this material, it is necessary to apply a sufficient amount nitrogen fertilizers, dolomite flour and sand. Sawdust acidifies the soil, which makes it useful in the tree trunk of conifers or rhododendrons that love an acidic environment. You need to choose old sawdust, not fresh ones. This material will last longer as a coating if you put black spunbond underneath it.

The material will last longer as a coating if you put black spunbond underneath it.

● Mulching with pine needles useful for trees that grow in soils with low acidity. This coating is good protection against small rodents, but in some cases the presence of resins in the needles can negatively affect the composition of the soil.

● Coconut fiber. IN Lately began to use coconut fiber. It looks beautiful, is practical to use, absorbs moisture well, and has bactericidal properties. Suitable for plants that prefer soil with neutral acidity.

● Pine bark. Pine bark is an environmentally friendly natural material. It disinfects the air, improves aesthetic appearance space. The microclimatic conditions that arise under the bark are favorable for the development of earthworms, which increases soil fertility, improves its structure and air permeability.

Mulching the soil with a layer of bark 5–8 cm thick protects it from colonization by cockchafers. During prolonged rains, pine bark does not allow excess moisture to pass into the soil, and during drought, it prevents its intense evaporation. It also protects plants from erosion by surface water runoff and reduces splashing of plants with dirt during rain.

● Gravel and pebbles. This type of mulch is durable, practical and extremely beautiful. It is necessary to lay pebbles on agrotextiles and secure the edges with plastic borders or stones so that the fill does not fly apart or fall out of the boundaries of the tree trunk circle. The palette of this material will not limit your imagination, but rather whet your design appetite. Stone chips create a favorable level of humidity and heat exchange around the root zone.

Arrangement of a flower bed in a tree trunk circle

Garden appetites grow with each season, and there comes a time when there is no longer any free space left for planting on the site. In this case, I advise you to pay attention to the area around the tree trunks. Why not a place for a flower garden? In addition to the beautiful live cut of the trunk, the flower garden provides a number of advantages. Namely, plants form additional protection tree roots from freezing, overheating, weed growth, loss of moisture and nutrients. In autumn, during the natural process of wilting, litter from the flower garden creates an additional nutrient medium for the roots of the tree.

coleus in the shade of a tree

When choosing plants for a flower garden in this area, you need to consider two main factors:

1. All trees provide shade!
2. The root system of a tree can be taproot or superficial.

Trees with a taproot system: Siberian larch, pedunculate oak, common ash, horse chestnut, rowan, linden, common hazel. Fruit trees include pear and apple. Their roots go deep into the soil, allowing a fairly large assortment of plants to be placed around the trunk.

Trees with a shallow root system: silver birch, bird cherry, maple, willow, spruce, thuja. Fruits include plum and cherry. When placing plants in their trunk circle, be careful not to damage the roots.

For a flower garden, it is necessary to maintain a tree trunk height of at least 60 cm.

Again, tree differs from tree. Much also depends on the height of the trunk (for a flower garden it is necessary to maintain the height of the tree trunk at least 60 cm), the spreading and density of the crown, which is different for each tree. But general principle in the selection of plants for a near-trunk flower garden still exists - these should be shade-tolerant plants with a superficial root system.
The classics of shady gardens are all kinds and varieties of ferns and hostas. However, we will consider another possible assortment.

From the beautifully flowering ones you can choose following plants: aquilegia, Japanese anemone, astilbe, astrantia, bergenia thick-leaved, dotted loosestrife, lily of the valley, oak anemone, lady's slipper, Volzhanka, red-brown geranium, mountain weed, loosestrife, apical pachysandra, Rogersia concochestanifolia, hybrid tradescantia, buzulnik. As well as daylilies, monarda, bluebells and pansies.

From ground cover plants: loosestrife, duchesnea, creeping tenacious, periwinkle, round-leaved saxifrage, European hoofweed, heart-shaped tiarella, heuchera, sedum, spurge.

Cereals and herbs: fescue, reed grass, cocksfoot, blue molinia, bulbous ryegrass, meadow foxtail, blue sesleria, Morrow's sedge, forest grass, soddy pike.

All bulbous and spring primroses: lungwort, scillas, lilies of the valley, crocuses, tulips, daffodils, muscari, primroses, hellebore.

How to organize a flower garden in a tree trunk circle

First, you need to carefully loosen the ground, remove all weeds, debris, and stones. Determine where which plants will grow and make holes in those places. You can lay non-woven material or a thin special mesh on the bottom to prevent the roots from intertwining later. Then add drainage in the form of pebbles or sand. Now you can half fill the holes with fertile soil and plant the plants. Enclose the tree trunk circle with a decorative border made of any materials - logs, plastic or stone. You can leave conditional boundaries, marking them with low-growing perennials.

Everything in the garden should be beautiful, even the tree trunks! After all, little things add up to big things. Follow the wisdom of nature, which does not leave a single uncovered piece of soil in a forest or grove, thereby improving its structure, nourishing, protecting from erosion, freezing, washing out, and drying out. Good luck!

In order for trees to grow quickly, be strong and tall, they need care. This applies to both decorative and fruit species. If earlier the trunk circles around trees were left in the form of open areas of soil, which were dug up and fertilized in the fall and spring or covered with mulch, then in our time an increasing number of summer residents plant flowers, herbs and vegetables on them or sow lawns.

This not only decorates the garden and benefits the trees themselves, but also allows you to save area in favor of other types of plants.

To dig or not to dig?

For many gardeners, the pressing question is how to properly care for fruit trees and when to dig up the ground around them, whether to do it at all, or whether it is better to sow this area with grass. Each method has its own advantages and disadvantages. Among the advantages of digging are the following:

• There will be fewer pests or they will disappear altogether.
• Since the tree trunk circle of fruit trees expands as they grow, this makes it possible to use this land profitably, for example, to plant a flower garden.

Since there are more disadvantages to digging up soil around trees, many summer residents have abandoned this practice. This is due to the fact that:

• When digging up the soil in the fall, not only pests are destroyed, but also beneficial microorganisms. For example, aerobic bacteria living on the surface require oxygen. When digging, the top layer of soil turns over and they end up underground. Deprived of oxygen, they die, and since it is aerobic bacteria that supply plants with basic nutrients, the trees are thereby deprived of elements important for life.
• When digging there is always a risk of damaging the roots. This is especially true for those that are closer to the surface and receive the necessary nutrition from it.
• Autumn digging reduces the frost resistance of trees, as the soil becomes open to the cold.

Each summer resident decides for himself how to care for his garden, but everything more people tend to believe that the soil around trees is an area that can be used wisely and beneficially both for the plant and for themselves.

Flower beds and beds around trees

In light of the above, gardeners prefer to use tree trunk circles and sow them with either forbs, flowers, or healthy vegetables and spices. This has its advantages:

• Gradually, the untouched soil is enriched by the plants growing on it, which, having outlived their useful life, become natural nutrition for the tree.
• It is especially useful to sow tree trunk circles for additional insulation of the root system. The roots of the “neighbors” create a kind of cushion that prevents frost from penetrating into the soil.
• In summer, the lawn or flower garden protects the roots from the sun, and the tree needs less watering.
• Tree trunk circles filled with vegetation do not require digging or special weeding, which not only frees extra work, but also contributes to the preservation of the fertile layer of the earth.

Considering all the advantages, more and more gardeners are using the soil around trees to plant beautiful or useful plants.

It is important to know: plants do not always combine with each other. Before planting something, you need to make sure that the “neighborhood” will be mutually beneficial. This is especially important for fruit trees, since their harvest can be significantly reduced by satellites that will have a depressing effect on them.

Types of tree trunk circles and care for them

The design and care of the soil around the tree begins with its planting. So, when he is 2-3 years old, he is 2 m, by the age of six he reaches 3 m, and by 10-12 - 3.5-4 m. Along with the growth of the crown, its trunk circle grows, the design of which as the tree matures can change.

Soil care depends on how the soil around the seedling looks:

• If the soil remains fallow, then it needs regular weeding and light loosening after each rain or watering. In the presence of heavy soil, autumn digging should be carried out annually, while on loams this can be done once every 2-3 years.
• Although mulching is the best way preserving moisture, improving soil quality and protecting from cold, is nevertheless considered by many gardeners to be a waste of land space. Mulching methods are described below.

• Decorated tree trunk circles are becoming increasingly popular, as they simplify their care and allow you to create beautiful flower beds, lawns or mini-vegetable gardens.

It is important to know: if you plant plants around a tree, you should take into account that its trunk should already be quite high (from 75 cm), and the branches should be raised above the ground.

Materials for decorating tree trunk circles

Long gone are the days when the design of the tree trunk circle consisted only of mulching or “bare” soil. Today, landscape designers use natural and artificial materials, flower and herb seeds for this purpose.

Summer residents are not far behind them and are improving their gardens:

• decorative stone;
• crushed stone and pebbles;
• glass;
• fabrics made of synthetic fiber, for example, agril;
• lawns;
• beds with spices;
• medicinal herbs.

Important to know: the soil around trees is effective area when used correctly. What is permissible on large landscaped lawns does not make sense on a plot of 6 acres, where every meter of land counts.

Stone decoration

The use of small pebbles or gravel to decorate tree trunks is especially popular among summer residents who cannot devote much time to their garden. These “helpers” are capable of:

• retain moisture;
• protect roots from hot sun rays and severe frosts;
• prevent weeds from growing;
• keep pests away.

This decor of the tree trunk circle frees the gardener from weeding, loosening and digging up the soil. Stones are a natural material that is durable, does not fly apart from gusts of wind and looks impressive.

Mulching

In regions where rain is rare and frost is not, summer residents use dry manure, straw, peat or leaves with reeds in the form of mulch. There are reasons for this:

• this is a natural fertilizer that is dug up in the spring and gives the roots additional nutrition;
• such mulch warms the soil;
• retains moisture well.

It is important to know: such mulching should be done not only 10-15 cm from the trunk, as many gardeners do, but throughout the entire circle around the trunk.

However, in warmer regions, an increasing number of summer residents prefer not only to mulch the circle of fruit trees, but also to decorate it. Pine cones, for example, are great for this. They look beautiful, hold heat well, transmit and retain moisture, are not blown away by the wind and do not give weeds a chance to grow through such a barrier.

In any case, the choice of which natural material to use for mulching remains with the summer resident, based on weather conditions and the needs of the tree itself.

Lawn around trees

A beautiful, well-groomed lawn always looks impressive. It is no exception when it covers the trunk circle of an apple tree, for example, or other fruit trees. Owners of large plots can afford this luxury. As the grass grows, it is cut with a lawn mower and removed. As practice has shown, a lawn in tree trunk circles is beautiful decoration, which provides the tree with additional care:

• protects from the sun;
• protects from cold;
• retains moisture well;
• The roots of the grass themselves loosen the soil, and it breathes.

It is important to know: the lawn requires constant maintenance, otherwise the garden will look overgrown and abandoned. Trees also need regular spring feeding, which is best applied directly under the roots.

Seedling of tree trunk circles with forbs

The lawn is not suitable for the owners of the coveted six acres, so the best solution is to create cultural sod, for which grass seeds are used. It is better to sow perennial grasses, for example, a cereal mixture of meadow fescue (up to 60%) and meadow bluegrass (40%).

As the grass grows, it needs to be mowed and stored under the trees, as this is the best natural fertilizer that frees the gardener from additional organic fertilizers. Such turf serves as a natural “carpet” that protects tree roots from scorching sun, severe frosts and drought.

Flower garden

Before you start creating a flower garden, spice bed or medicinal herbs, you should find out which plants in the trunk circles will bring the tree maximum benefit. For example, the following flowers are combined with an apple tree:

• daisies;
• daffodils;
• lungwort;
• pansies;
• forget-me-nots;
• bells;
• nasturtium;
• periwinkle.

They will not only decorate the tree trunk, but will also have a beneficial effect on the yield of the tree. Among the spices and vegetable crops The apple tree gets along well with:

• dill;
• radishes;
• feather bow;
• salad;
• sorrel;
• basil

Today, cultivating tree trunks is a widespread practice, and not a tribute to fashion. When the land can not only be used wisely, refined and decorated, but also its composition can be improved without much effort, this is a chance to make your site ideal.

Proper design of tree trunk circles of fruit trees is one of the options landscape design in the garden, and does not require a lot of time, effort and money.

Tree trunk circles in the garden: care features

The trunk circle is the nutritional area occupied by the root system of the plant, located in the projection of the crown. When planting seedlings on permanent place The diameter of the planting hole is considered as a near-trunk circle, but as the plant grows, the dimensions of the near-trunk circle increase. Most often, the root system of a crop spreads over a considerable distance, so it is necessary to design or decorate the tree trunk circle around the trunk correctly.

Care of the tree trunk area should be carried out in accordance with the following recommendations:

• in early spring, it is necessary to free the tree trunk circles from the snow mass, which will allow the soil to quickly dry out and warm up well;
• in order to delay the growing season and flowering, you can use such simple techniques as trampling snow within the radius of the crown, mulching with peat, manure and humus, which allows you to slow down the heating of the soil;
• the soil around the trunks should be kept under the so-called “black fallow”, so it is necessary to loosen it three times;
• you need to dig up the soil to the depth of half a spade bayonet very carefully, while simultaneously loosening and removing weeds;
• in dry weather, the soil needs to be sufficiently moistened, and irrigation measures are best supplemented with mulching with peat, humus, rotted manure or compost;
• It is very important to control the appearance of wild growth, which should be systematically removed at a certain depth from the ground surface.

Throughout the entire period of active growing season, garden plantings must be fed with fertilizers. The main application of fertilizers is used, as well as fertilizing the soil with liquid or dry fertilizers, and a foliar fertilizing option. For the main refueling in spring and autumn, organic and mineral fertilizers are used. For one square meter in the tree trunk zone, about 6-8 kg of organic matter is added in the form of manure or peat compost, as well as 60-70 g of superphosphate, 25-30 g of ammonium nitrate and 15-20 g of potassium chloride or potassium salt.

To embed dry fertilizers, pitchforks or hoes are used. At the stage of active growth processes, in order to increase yields and improve winter hardiness, complete complex fertilizers are used. When preparing for winter, preference should be given to wood ash, superphosphate and potassium chloride.

How to form tree trunk circles (video)

Design options for tree trunk circles of fruit trees

In home gardening, several options are used for designing the soil around fruit and tree trunks. berry trees, including creating a flower bed or decorative mulching special materials.

Decorative mulching

The main goal Mulching, from the point of view of agricultural technology, is to improve soil characteristics and conserve moisture by reducing its evaporation. Decorative mulching also allows you to:

• minimize the development of weeds;
• prevent soil compaction;
• provide good air mode root system;
• mask drip irrigation systems and lighting supply;
• contrast the plants against the background of flower beds;
• give garden plantings the most neat, well-groomed and attractive appearance.

The most commonly used mulching is colored loose materials in the form of colored sawdust and bark or wood chips. Good result allows the use of decorative pebbles. The layer should not exceed 10 cm. A layer of agril, lutrasil, spunbond or other water-permeable materials is laid under the loose decorative mulching material, due to which the norms of irrigation measures should be reduced by about a third.

Flowerbed around trees with shade-tolerant flowers

Usually, a round or polygonal flower bed is formed in the tree trunk circles, on which many shade-tolerant flowering ornamental crops grow quite successfully:

• lily of the valley– a perennial shade-tolerant, unpretentious, drought-resistant plant from the lily family;
• bear onion– an ornamental, early-flowering plant, distinguished by edible vitamin-rich petioles and leaves;
• liverwort- a popular perennial plant, very attractive in April, immediately after the snow melts;
• fragrant violet– forms a continuous low-growing decorative cover, and blooms profusely in the first ten days of May;
• host– perennial, shade-tolerant, very decorative crop, perfect for any garden compositions;
• Heuchera– a perennial herbaceous plant from the Saxifraga family, with long-term preservation of external attractiveness;
• fern– a relatively rare category of plants that do not have seeds, and have recently been widely used in landscape design;
• astilbe– a perennial from the Saxifraga family with long, lush flowering, shade tolerance and resistance to high soil humidity;
• astrantia– a wonderful shade-tolerant perennial with very attractive and unusual inflorescences;
• Brunner- a herbaceous rhizomatous plant from the Borage family that does not require special care.

Horny goat weed, garden irises, phlox and lungwort can also be grown.

How to decorate an area under a tree with ground cover plants

In small areas, in the area of ​​trunk circles, It is recommended to give preference to decorative ground cover crops:

• hoof– retains its decorative effect in the shade all year round, but prefers fairly loose soils;
• tenacious– a fairly quickly growing crop capable of forming a good ground cover;
• periwinkle or “witch’s violet” - a creeping subshrub or perennial herb from the Kutrovaceae family;
• sedum– belongs to the genus of succulent plants and the Crassulaceae family, and is also known by such popular names as “hernia grass” and “fever grass”;
• euonymus– a highly decorative perennial low shrub is most often planted in the trunk circles of large trees;
• cuff– a perennial herbaceous plant from the Rosaceae family, which has medicinal properties and is absolutely unpretentious.

Somewhat less commonly, the very attractive and unpretentious carnation grass is grown in tree trunk circles.

Green manure: decor and benefits for the orchard

Many experienced gardeners prefer to use tree trunk circles for sowing with forbs or green manure:

• there is a gradual enrichment of the soil with nutritional components and improvement quality composition;
• creating a kind of plant cushion from green manure plants does not allow weeds to actively develop;
• V summer period Such crops serve as very good protection of the soil in the tree trunk circle from excessive evaporation of moisture.

Thus, the tree trunk circle of fruit trees, filled with properly selected green manure vegetation, practically does not require digging and loosening, and also allows you to preserve fertile layer land.

How to decorate the tree trunk circle with decorative elements

To give your garden plantings an original and stylish appearance, Lately, special decorative elements:

• low fences can be made from natural materials, plastic tapes, improvised means, as well as early bulbous crops, represented by crocuses, chionodoxes, pushkinias, galanthus, erantis, dwarf anemones, primroses, daisies or violas;
• ready-made typesetting structures made of modern polymer materials, resistant to adverse external factors, have a very high decorative effect and durability;
• natural stones belong to the category of the simplest design. Decorating a tree trunk circle using decorative borders made of cobblestones, bricks or stone slabs is very important in modern landscapes. The border is not laid out close to the stem part, but if properly designed with moisture retention holes, it is possible to obtain durable and original decors.

Containers and baskets with flowers are quite popular, but are not always suitable for decorating plants that have a shallow root system, due to their heaviness and reduced air flow to the roots.

Bosquets as a decorative option

Correctly created round or square bosquets look very attractive and neat. This design can be continuous, reaching the trunk of the tree and is a kind of wide border, inside of which the space is mulched with wood chips or pebbles.

How to mulch trees with sawdust (video)

The most optimal crops to create a low bosquet can be:

• Thunberg barberry;
• common barberry;
• common privet;
• hawthorn monopolyta;
• felt cherry;
• steppe cherry;
• sand cherry;
• brilliant cotoneaster;
• spirea;
• blackthorn;
• viburnum-leaved bladderwort.

Particularly popular is the western thuja, which is incredibly shade-tolerant and allows you to create dense hedges.

Rules for planting plants under trees

Before you start planting ornamental crops in the area around the trunks of garden plantings, you need to make sure that the tree does not have a superficial root system. The average depth of digging and loosening the soil should not exceed 10-12 cm. This depth is quite enough to prepare planting holes for planting shade-tolerant perennials.

During the digging process, complex fertilizers for decorative deciduous or abundantly flowering crops can be added. Plantings must be watered abundantly with water at room temperature. It is recommended to mulch between flowers, which will retain moisture for a long time and improve the survival rate of seedlings.

How to care for fruit trees (video)

With the help of flowering crops, ground cover crops and natural materials even empty plots of land garden trees easily turn into very picturesque and attractive recreation areas. Spectacular and original, hand-made compositions that frame tree trunk circles allow you to decorate your garden space and fill it with special charm.

Mulching is one of the simplest and most inexpensive agricultural techniques that is used to increase the yield of fruit trees.

Mulch is a material that is applied to the top layer of soil to protect it. Mulch can be organic - grass, compost, manure, peat, straw, pine bark, wood chips, shavings, dry leaves, pine needles and other similar materials. And inorganic - polyethylene film, pebbles, crushed stone, lutrasil, fragments of bricks.

Both organic and inorganic mulch have a number of beneficial properties:

• Prevents soil erosion;
• Allows you to retain moisture, which eliminates the need for frequent watering;
• Eliminates the destructive effects of heavy rains;
• Stabilizes soil temperature at the same level;
• Inhibits the growth of tree trunk weeds;
• Prevents the formation of dirt after rains;
• Keeps the garden in a “marketable” form.

Organic mulch also helps improve soil composition. Since such mulch decomposes slowly, it releases some of the nutrients to the soil in the tree trunk. The result is increased root growth, soil permeability and ability to retain moisture. Organic compounds contained in mulching material contribute to the growth of trees, attracting earthworms and other organisms useful for the garden.

Inorganic mulch also has a number of advantages, in particular, high decorative qualities. However, such mulch does not improve the quality of the soil; in addition, it can be quite difficult to remove it from the site in the event of a radical change in the garden's layout. Therefore, the use of organic mulch remains more feasible in many cases.

Where to get material for mulch

Certain types of mulch are used in different conditions, depending on what goals are set: to cover the surface of the tree trunk from the sun, to improve the structure of the soil around the tree, to increase the content of nutrients. Whatever the gardener’s goal, the available variety of mulching materials can satisfy any of his needs. And as a rule, these materials are widespread and more than accessible.

Most of them can be found in your own garden! For example, cut grass is perfect as mulch; in fact, it is what is most often used.

Excellent and very available material- ordinary newsprint. It is used in combination with other types of mulch, and in itself has the ability to dry out the soil.

Coniferous bark and tree leaves are not only accessible materials, but also an excellent option for improving the structure of the soil - increasing its aeration and drainage. The same can be said about compost, if it is in sufficient quantity, then this material will not only improve the structure of the soil, but also supply it with nutrients.

Tree bark mulch can be used as decorative covering. Depending on the size of the bark pieces, it can last a very long time, but this mulching material is better used for trees that prefer an acidic soil reaction.

Depending on where you live, a variety of materials can be used as mulch. Hay and straw - work great in the garden, although they can become a source of weed seeds. Mulch made from seaweed or pine needles is also a good material. Although pine needles also increase soil acidity.

The best type of mulch

In most cases, the best type of mulch for trees is wood chips. This mulch, gradually decomposing in doses, supplies the roots of fruit trees with additional nutrients. At the same time, wood chip mulch is an excellent barrier to weeds, which also helps improve the microclimate around the tree's root system.

Thickness of the mulch layer, depending on the material used

Mulch type	Layer thickness, (cm)	Note
Conifer bark	5 - 10	Enough good material for mulching the soil around trees and bushes. It prevents moisture evaporation well.
wood chips	5 - 10	Like bark. Combined with a large number of leaves and pre-composted, it is an excellent material.
Leaves	7.5 - 10	It is better to compost before use. Dry leaves are effective when used in a 15 cm layer.
Cut grass	5 - 7.5	Adds nitrogen. It is better to dry before use. Do not use grass from lawns that have been treated with herbicides.
Paper	0.5	Sheets of newsprint or cardboard are used in combination with other materials, and the layer of these materials can be made smaller.
Compost from woodchips and sawdust	7.5 - 10	Excellent material for mulching garden trees.

More the best solution, from a nutritional point of view, is compost made from wood chips and sawdust. Over a long period of time, wood chips are subject to decomposition, during which the soil is supplied with nutrients. But in the struggle for these nutrients there are quite a lot of competitors, represented by various microorganisms. As a result, the soil around the tree trunk does not receive all the nutrients it could. The solution to this problem is compost made from wood chips and sawdust. Preparing this mulch is quite simple. The main thing is to ensure that the container for preparing compost is well ventilated and its contents are mixed often enough.

Video: How to properly mulch trees

Other types of organic mulch, such as conifer bark, may also be suitable for mulching fruit trees. It is important to periodically renew the mulch as the old one decomposes, thereby improving the soil structure. The layer of mulch coating should be 5 - 10 cm. When processing tree trunk circles, there should be a distance of 1.5 to 3 m between the tree trunk and the edge of the mulch treatment area.

Fruit trees are an essential part of almost any garden plot, but taking care of them is not as simple as it seems at first glance.