Pruning fruit trees is the key to stable yields. How to prune fruit trees correctly, says the candidate of agricultural sciences Anatoly Mikheev.

Basic principles of tree trimming Orange County

There are two main methods of pruning fruit trees: shortening annual growth and removing perennial branches

Tree trimming Orange County: Shortening

Pruning is used when pruning young trees, which give strong annual growth (80-120 cm), and the crown is rare. The shortening of annual growths causes the lateral buds to awaken and branching increases. In this case, the leader (central shoot) and lateral growths are shortened by one third in order to cause lateral branching and form the crown faster. A branch running at an acute angle is cut completely.

Tree trimming Orange County :Removing perennial branches

Fruit-bearing trees most often have a thickening of the crown, which needs to be thinned out. When entering fruiting (at the age of 5-6 years), the central conductor is removed by transferring to a strong lateral branch. This is done to limit upward growth. You can remove a perennial branch completely (on a ring) or partially (on a side branch or transfer).

Removing a part of a perennial branch enhances growth of adjacent branches. Naturally, you should also cut out all sick, dried, rubbing branches against one another. Such pruning improves the illumination inside the crown, contributes to the even distribution of the fruits over the crown. Thinning the crown of an adult tree.

tree trimming Orange County: When to prune fruit trees?

In some countries, pruning of fruit trees is usually carried out in the winter-spring period, when the plants are at rest. Pruning of fruit trees in spring is carried out from the moment the severe frosts stop until the beginning of the growing season, that is, from about the end of February to April. At this time, there is no longer any danger of frost damage to the cut trees, but the plants do not lose their supply of nutrients.

How to properly prune fruit trees depending on the shape of the crown?

With a pyramidal crown (like many varieties of pear), the branches grow upward at an acute angle. In this case, it is desirable to direct the growing branches down. Therefore, cut branches growing upward, leaving growing downward. Conversely, a drooping crown can be raised by cutting out branches that go down and leaving those that go up.

Anti-aging tree trimming Orange County

Old fruit trees are pruned to rejuvenate. To reduce the crown and improve its illumination, "open the center" - cut out the upper part of the trunk, cutting it off above the nearest strong branch at a height of 3-3.5 cm. Then the entire crown is thinned out - old, inconveniently located, crossing branches that go inside the crown are cut out.

If the fruit tree has a strongly thickened crown, then pruning it needs to be stretched for 2-3 years, otherwise it will grow Pruning many so-called "tops" (strong vertical shoots) that will have to be removed. Avoid applying close wounds, as they do not heal well. Cover large wounds after pruning with garden varnish. Remove the cut branches from under the crown and burn. Remember that pruning weakens the tree. Therefore, it needs to be supported by good care - fertilizing, watering, removing weeds, loosening the soil.