What plants can be planted under the crown of an apple tree?

The crown of an adult apple tree covers a significant proportion of the usable area of ​​the site, which is especially noticeable in the conditions of six acres. Experienced gardeners know what can be planted under an apple tree in order to rationally use the trunk circle.

Rules for planting plants in the trunk circle

When choosing planting material for placement in the tree trunk circle of an apple tree, one should take into account plant compatibility, their influence on the soil, features of the root system. If the apple tree has begun to bear fruit poorly, then you can pick up crops that will form an excellent symbiosis with it: they will heal the roots of the fruit tree by affecting the composition of the soil, scare off pests, and the apple tree, in turn, will create partial shade for plants favorable for their growth.

Fundamental rules:

• the free radius from the root collar of the tree must be at least 20 cm;
• you do not need to densely plant the tree trunk circle, since you will have to step into it in order to collect the fallen apples;
• if apple trees are treated with chemicals, then it is better to plant flowers or green manure plants under them;
• the earth of the trunk circle is dug no deeper than half the bayonet of a shovel, it is preferable to use a pitchfork;
• plants with a powerful root system, as well as shrubs, cannot be planted under an apple tree.

Advice

Top dressing of fruit trees is not done in the near-trunk circle, as many mistakenly believe, but along its contour, where the suction roots are located. To do this, several plastic bottles with a cut bottom are dug in with the neck down along the perimeter. Top dressing is done in them. After a couple of years, the bottles move, and the pits are filled with turf.

The following plants should not be planted under the apple tree:

• mint;
• parsley;
• onion;
• carrot;
• white cabbage.

The choice of crops for growing under an apple tree is also determined by the shape of the crown, which is useful to thin out periodically.

Flowers, ornamental plants

If the area has an unfavorable infectious background, as a result of which the apple trees during the growing season need to be periodically sprayed with chemicals, then it is safer to fill the near-stem circle with ornamental plants and flowers.

Wild

Some flowers do not need to be purchased or grown as seedlings - they can be dug up on the side of the road or in the meadow.

Tansy belongs to the popular decorative “savages”. This is a tall, unpretentious perennial flower that forms lush openwork bushes that grow well in the shade. Its main value lies not in the beauty of the original yellow inflorescences, but in the ability to scare away aphids and moths from the apple tree. Tansy reproduces by self-seeding, therefore, its habitat will increase every year.

The apple tree trunk circle can be sown white clover... It forms soft beautiful gasn, on which it is convenient to relax in the summer heat, and as the harvest ripens, the falling apples will remain clean and will not be beaten. In addition, white clover is an excellent honey plant, attracting a large number of bees, which is necessary for high-quality pollination of the apple tree. Another bonus when planting this plant in the trunk circle is its ability to saturate the soil with nitrogen and protect the roots of the tree from the attack of larvae.

Celandine grows in many areas. Gardeners prefer not to completely destroy it, since this medicinal plant is a natural iodine: for disinfection, it is enough to burn the wound with juice from a broken branch.Celandine and apple will come in handy as an effective remedy for aphids. These insects lose activity (fall asleep) from substances secreted by the plant.

Advice

After flowering, celandine quickly loses its decorative effect, so it is advisable to dilute it with other plantings.

Some summer residents in their plots stubbornly struggle with thickets of lupine, which is actively sown and sprouting literally everywhere. But it is this flower that can significantly increase the yield of an apple tree if it is planted in a near-stem circle. The main thing is to remove fading peduncles in time to avoid uncontrolled reproduction. Lupine is a green manure that actively accumulates nitrogen. In the fall, these plants can be crushed and mulched (but not digged in).

The apple tree trunk circle can be sown and white mustard, which is a good honey plant and green manure at the same time.

Advice

You should not plant lilies of the valley in the near-stem circle of an apple tree: the root system of these plants will oppress the roots of the tree, and it is rather difficult to find fallen apples in the thickets.

Cultural flowers

You can effectively decorate the apple tree trunk circle using marigolds... These unpretentious flowers not only protect the soil from fungus and nematodes, but also scare away many unwanted insects with their smell. Summer residents note that after planting marigolds under the apple tree, the ants stopped nesting, respectively, and the aphids they carried disappeared.

The apple tree will look beautiful and surrounded by a lush carpet of nasturtium, which will cover the trunk circle until the first frost. This flower shades the soil well, serving as a living mulch, and also scares off bedbugs, leaf beetles, and whitefly.

Will revive the space under the apple tree and calendula. During the flowering period, this medicinal plant will drive away many pests and attract ladybirds - the main exterminators of aphids.

Develop well in openwork partial shade aquilegia, daylilies, irises... You can also plant a swimsuit, liverwort, primrose. Many summer residents plant spring flowers in the tree trunk circle of apple trees, decorating the site until the tree is covered with foliage: daffodils, tulips, crocuses.

Popular shade-tolerant plants with highly decorative leaves are host and brunner... With their help, you can create spectacular compositions. Stonecrop, tenaciousness also feel comfortable under the apple tree, astilba.

Advice

Do not plant periwinkle under the apple tree. According to the observations of gardeners, this ground cover oppresses the fruit tree, taking away a lot of nutrients.

Garden crops and herbs

If the apple tree during the summer does not need to be periodically sprayed with chemicals, then plants for food can be planted in the trunk circle. Many of them do well in partial shade.

Garlic is one of the apple-tree-friendly neighbors. Planted before the winter, it keeps the root system of the tree from being eaten up by rats, and in the summer it releases healing phytoncides into the soil. At the same time, the heads are formed standard, and the greens are much richer than in the sun.

You can plant peas in the trunk circle and curly beans (except for the "Vigna" variety - it is very capricious). These crops look spectacular when tied to the lower tier of branches. By adding a little peat and sand to the soil, you can successfully grow wild garlic.

A rich harvest can please sorrel placed under an apple tree and spinach... These crops in partial shade form powerful, spreading shrubs with succulent leaves, provided the soil is sufficiently nutritious and well moist. Various types of lettuce will also grow well.

Cucumbers

Many gardeners are actively sharing their experience of successfully growing cucumbers under apple trees. This is quite realizable if the crown of the tree is correctly formed, thinned out, and the lower branches are high enough from the ground.Planting cucumbers is done no closer than a meter from the trunk, but better - closer to the edge of the trunk circle. Rotted manure is preliminarily introduced into the soil. But it is best not to disturb the roots of the apple tree by digging, but to place several cisterns or buckets without a bottom around the tree. Coarse compost is poured down, then good humus mixed with soil, where cucumber seedlings are planted.

The lashes of cucumbers are light, so they can be tied to the lower branches of the apple tree. This is useful not only from the point of view of the purity of vegetables, but also for prolonging fruiting: directly at the ground, the air temperature is lower than at a distance of 1-2 m, therefore, the autumn night cold snaps will not be terrible for the whips for some time.

Cucumber whiskers willingly cling to the tree, making their way into the crown. The foliage of the apple tree protects them from cold dew and partly from rain, so the lashes are much less likely to be affected by downy mildew.

Advice

Cucumbers under the apple tree will produce more female flowers if they are fed with “fermented water”: several moldy pieces of bread are soaked in a bucket of water that is exposed to the sun. When bubbles appear, the solution is mixed several times, then used to water the cucumbers.

Pumpkins and squash

Pumpkins and zucchini can also be placed under an apple tree if the trunk circle is well open and is illuminated by the sun for several hours.

Landing option example:

1. the area under the apple tree is mulched with a thick layer of rotted manure mixed with shavings;
2. holes are made in the mulch, which are filled with fertile soil;
3. germinated seeds are laid out in the holes or seedlings are planted.

Important!

You should not plant both pumpkins and zucchini under the same tree.

Tomatoes

Resourceful summer residents attach rooted stepchildren of tomatoes under the apple trees, which it is a pity to throw away after processing the bushes in greenhouses. Some initially plant several tomatoes in the near-stem circle to scare off pests (the moth cannot stand the smell of the tops), but they also get a decent harvest of fruits as a bonus.

It should be noted that growing tomatoes in unprotected soil is the prerogative of the southern regions. In most regions of Russia, such experiments may end in failure: the growth of the bushes will be inhibited, late blight will overtake them early, there are few fruits, they ripen slowly. But in a good summer, the harvest may well please.

Berry plants

Strawberries or strawberries can be planted in the apple tree trunk circle. Wild strawberries from the forest are best suited, several bushes of which, with the help of a mustache, soon form a living carpet under the tree of light green carved leaves, flowers and very useful berries. To prevent the strawberries from being threatened by nematodes and rot, it is enough to plant a few cloves of garlic between the bushes.

Almost analogous to strawberries is Indian dusheney. But it blooms not with white, but with yellow flowers, berries are unsuitable for food. This plant can be planted exclusively for decorative purposes and to protect the soil from drying out.

There is no universal list of crops that would grow equally well in the shade of apple trees in all areas of any region. Every gardener creates ecological niches in their land through trial and error. In some cases, the structure of the soil, the shape of the crown of the fruit tree, and the weather fail.

In the first year, you can try to plant several dissimilar plants at once in the near-trunk circle of an apple tree with one goal - to check the degree of their comfort. Then use proven crops in subsequent seasons. You should also not forget about the timely thinning of the apple tree crown and soil fertilization.