Why do experienced gardeners drive a Rusty nail into an Apple tree? Last year I did the same, I share the Result

The apple orchard requires a special attitude - careful care, the ability to timely notice and satisfy the needs of each tree. Therefore, I was quite surprised and even shocked when I learned that experienced gardeners hammer rusty nails into delicate apple trees!

Why, excuse me, barbarism? But as it turned out, an extraordinary action has a completely clear justification and not even one.

The first and almost scientific version says that a tree experiences shock and stress from a nail, activating a "sleeping" program in it, that it is urgent to leave offspring in this world, that is, to start bearing fruit.

The second is more mystical. After all, this is a popular tale about how a barren cherry that does not want to bear fruit with a peach, pomegranate or any other fruit tree, once they threatened that they would cut it down if they did not begin to bring a rich harvest. And in the same season, according to the story, luxurious fruits ripened on it.

As for the nuances of driving a nail into an apple tree, it turns out that there are rules for this undertaking:

1. You can do this in early spring, even before flowering, or in late autumn, on the eve of frost.

2. The iron product must correspond to the age of the tree, that is, the younger the apple tree, the fewer carnations and vice versa.

3. Since driving in a nail is stressful for the tree, after this stimulating procedure it is better to add some kind of dressing.

4. To reduce the risk of introducing infections into "live" wood, cloves must be disinfected before driving in the same way as they do with pruning shears before pruning. If there is no special antiseptic for this purpose, you can simply wipe it with alcohol.

5. If there are no plans to destroy the tree, it is allowed to drive a nail only into an apple tree that has fruited well in the past for at least 4 years, as well as densely leafy.

For maximum efficiency, you can drive not even one, but 3 nails at once. Each is 2-3 cm deep and at an angle of about 45 degrees. The first one should be at a height of about 70 cm from the ground, the next two - with an interval of 30 cm from it and from each other.

But I do not believe in the theory that a tree is supposedly fed with iron through a nail. Too little of it can enter the apple tree along with rust, in addition, in difference from conventional mineral fertilizers, it appears in some kind of completely indigestible for the tree form.

I found an apple tree on my site that almost did not bear fruit. And last year, I drove a carnation into her by all the rules. And what is surprising - in the fall a little more than expected, delicious, just honey fruits ripened!