When is the best time to prune trees in autumn or spring? Pruning trees in spring: how to do it right
In the fall, not at your place, but at your neighbor's apple trees were bursting from fruits? And all because he was not too lazy to perform such a procedure as pruning trees in the spring. This event should be included in your personal gardener's desk calendar. Of course, if you want to use the fruiting potential of the trees by 100%.
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According to reputable agrarians, the stipulated procedure is mandatory. Thanks to a simple "operation", the yield increases, and the fruits become larger. They also perform pruning for an aesthetic purpose, forming the crown of a tree, preventing its growth beyond the desired height.
It is noticed that thinned branches are less susceptible to pathogens and pests.
You can hear from gardeners that it is a pity to cut branches in the spring, pouring with the juice of life. Some are simply afraid of harming the tree, for fear of losing at least some kind of crop. This opinion is wrong! The procedure is extremely simple, and the harvest will surprise even an experienced gardener.
By the way, there are several types of the stipulated procedure. For the purposes of fruiting, primary, shaping and renewing in the spring is important. Below you will learn about their importance and application features.
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During the primary procedure, the seedling is mercilessly processed, removing unnecessary shoots that are too low, while the rest of the branches are shortened. This makes the plant easier to accept. Obviously, the harvest will have to wait a year.
Did you know that the shape of the crown, by default, is given once every five years. Special attention give to the removal of strong shoots - "competitors" of the main trunk. Do not feel sorry for them, because fruits are not tied on such vertical branches. Spring pruning will prolong their life: the shape is also important in order for the trunk and branches to withstand the load of fruits in the fall.
Spring pruning of mature trees involves the removal of branches with signs of disease, broken, twisting, etc. Such intervention has a beneficial effect on fruit trees: the quality of the fruit improves, the yield increases. This type of procedure is applicable for plants older than three years. Old shoots are cut off, often no longer fruiting.
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As emphasized above, for such a procedure as pruning trees in the spring, the scheme is simple. The timing of such manipulations depends on the type of ward tree and weather conditions. It is better to clean up the garden in sunny weather, so as not to increase the risk of infection of the plant with pathogenic organisms. IN spring period they work with pear, apple and plum when you can not be afraid of the return of severe frosts. Until the beginning of May, cut and. But cherries and cherries are left alone until harvest.
Branches are cut in two ways: under the base or by shortening. In the first case, it is necessary to use a special garden tool - pruner or saw. When shortening, it is convenient to use a knife with a sharp blade: the incision is made at an angle, slightly above the kidneys. As a rule, a shoot 10-15 cm long is left, although this parameter may vary depending on the variety. After the procedure, "sleeping" kidneys will surely wake up!
The resulting cuts are necessarily protected by garden pitch, available at special retail outlets. At primary form procedures when working with seedlings, additional processing is not required. The fact is that the "wounds" in young twigs are not so great that they are threatened by pathogenic organisms. So pruning garden trees in the spring, it will not only allow you to get tasty fruits in sufficient volume, but also prolong the life of plants. Trees in the garden, planted by grandfathers, with proper care, can bear fruit abundantly for many years.
spring pruning fruit trees best done in late February - mid-March, when the tree is still sleeping, but not so cold. In any case, you need to be in time before the time when the tree begins to form buds.
Pruning rejuvenates the tree, increases yield, stimulates the growth of new branches.
Pruning can be: shortening, improving, post-planting, thinning.
Shortening pruning carried out in order to stop the excessive growth of branches, to exclude blocking one stronger branch from another. Shortening the main shoots stimulates their branching. Such pruning is carried out on young trees for the correct formation of their crown and the general skeleton of the tree. The branch is cut so that a bud remains at the tip, from which a new branch will grow. The cut site in this case will heal quickly. If you leave a piece of a branch after a kidney, it will dry out and the tree in this place may rot. On adult fruit trees, the skeleton is already, as a rule, formed and not shortening, but thinning pruning is carried out.
At thinning pruning branches growing inside and down the crown, weak branches are removed, and the most promising ones are left. With such pruning, the crown of the fruit tree becomes more ventilated and lighter, and, therefore, less susceptible to damage by moss and scab.
this is what a well-formed tree looks like
Postplant pruning needed to restore balance between the root part damaged during planting and the above-ground. In order for the roots to take root faster, and at the same time to begin to form the crown of the tree, such pruning is carried out.
At wellness pruning all damaged and diseased branches are cut off, as well as branches affected by rot, scab, frozen. Branches affected by any disease must be burned, they cannot be used for compost.
When removing side branches, you need to leave a stump of at least a centimeter. This will help keep the barrel from damage. If, however, a branch is cut flush with the trunk, then a shell is formed at the cut site, which will develop into a hollow. The stump should also not be left more than 1 cm, as it will dry out and become a breeding ground for diseases.
Pruning crops in the garden in the spring season is a serious undertaking. To perform manipulations, you need to choose the right time, the appropriate tools, and then get to work. What are the features of competent pruning garden plants how to remove branches from different types of crops? We will talk about this in this article.
In order to carry out competent in the spring, you should follow some rules. You will have to remove shoots that will not be useful in the future. For many, the main crop ripens on regrown branches. If the crown is too thick, unproductive and old branches are removed. The shoots growing downwards are also removed during spring pruning.
Since they account for the least amount of light, and they are considered unpromising. In the spring, it is also necessary to prune branches that have managed to grow up. Although the degree of their productivity is lower than those located horizontally, they are productive. Harvesting from such branches is more difficult. When carrying out and shrubs, young shoots should be removed, which are an obstacle to the growth and development of the rest. At the end of the pruning, the place of the cut is smeared with garden pitch. To remove small and large branches in the spring, it is recommended to use a sharp pruner.
For thicker branches, a file or a lopper is suitable, and for very large ones, a manual or chainsaw. The formation of fruit trees and shrubs is carried out at a time when the air temperature is stable at more than -4 degrees. After spring pruning of diseased branches or shoots, do not forget to disinfect the tool with alcohol. The spring formation of the crown of trees is carried out before the start of the sap flow period. After the pruning procedure, you need to control that the branches grow in a horizontal position.
How to process fruit trees
Depends on their types. Unnecessary branches are removed from apple trees so that the main trunk remains intact, in relation to which the remaining branches will grow at an obtuse angle. In the process of cultural development top part under the weight of the crop, it can change direction, give a shadow, or press down the lateral shoots with the weight. If this happens, the top of the main trunk will have to be cut off. This is how the illumination of the crown is achieved, and new shoots will begin to grow vertically from the main trunk. Plum is similar in shape to shrubs, since it does not have a main trunk.
When pruning, such trees form a cupped crown. The central conductor is removed; annually in the spring, old branches and shoots are cut out if they are located close to each other. It is necessary to shorten branches that are too long and hang down to the ground. different from other fruit trees. Its buds are located at the ends of the branches, so they cannot be shortened. If you cut off the tip, the branch will dry out. Cherry branches are cut out completely for the purpose of thinning. Peach and apricot grow intensively, cutting young fruit trees is advised carefully. These tall crops have their tops removed. It is also necessary to remove the branches that are located low.
Video "Pruning an apple tree in spring"
berry bushes
Shrubs that are pruned in the spring are treated in the same way. The exception is grapes. Old branches are removed, as young shoots will produce more yield. Branches infected with dangerous diseases and attacked by pests are removed under the main trunk. The branches remaining after the work is thinned out. Berry crops are processed to form a bush with branches of different ages that will not interfere with each other's normal growth.
For example, consider the scheme for the formation of a bush of a popular garden crop - blackcurrant. A year after the first pruning of a young plant, a couple of basal shoots can grow from the roots. They are also called zero, new shoots appear on them every year. At a seedling of 2 - 3 years, no more than 4 zero branches should be left. To stimulate the appearance a large number the branches of the basal shoots are cut off and the tops. In weakly branching bushes, it is permissible to remove shoots up to half of the entire length. Within 4 - 5 years, the same procedure is carried out to remove zero branches and shorten them. Both sick and weak branches are removed.
By the 5th year of the life of the bush, it will have 2 - 4 basal shoots from each year, and the process of crown formation will be considered completed. Old bushes must be thinned out to remove unproductive branches.
They are easy to find - they have a brown tint, grow no more than 10 cm annually, in places of fruiting they look dry and dying. Pruning gooseberries is carried out in the same way as currants. Here one should take into account the features of growth - the formation of zero shoots is more intense. When implementing proper care behind gooseberry bushes, it will be necessary to remove hanging branches more often than for currants.
They are cut at the root or heavily cut into lateral shoots. is also necessary, taking into account some features of the culture. After planting, the shoots are completely cut to ground level. This allows you to form viable shoots, which is the key to a good harvest next season. When the bushes bear fruit, all fruiting shoots are removed under the root and annuals are thinned out. The thinning density is 12 - 15 first-year shoots per linear meter. The distance is left at 25 cm. Viable shoots with sufficient height are cut into 3-5 buds.
When performing work to remove branches from trees and shrubs, you should meet the generally accepted deadlines - you can not perform manipulations with the beginning of the sap flow period. At this time, the wounds received by the crops in the process of forming the crown with the help of sharp tools will be tightened heavily and for a long time. The processing times for different types of horticultural crops are different, which allows you to easily manipulate each tree on the site.
Procedures should be carried out at a temperature close to 0 degrees. At the end of the work, do not forget to treat the cut with garden pitch, a mixture of yellow clay with cow dung or paint. Berry bushes, in which buds form on one-year-old shoots, cannot be cut at this time of the year. Processing is recommended to be carried out, taking into account the age of the tree and its size.
Video "Pruning fruit trees"
How to properly prune trees so that they give good harvest? Do not know? Then don't miss the next tutorial in the video below.
Trimming trees and shrubs - a necessary step garden work. If you want to get excellent harvests of apples, pears, cherries, currants and any other berries and fruits every year, trees and shrubs need to be looked after very carefully. And not only apply fertilizers on time, fight pests and weeds, but also competently remove old, broken or unnecessary branches that interfere with crown growth.
When to prune
Autumn pruning is quite complicated and can seriously injure a tree, so if you are just starting to master this wisdom, it is better to trust professionals in this matter. In autumn, pruning is carried out during the period when the foliage falls off, and the plants go into the so-called dormant state. The difficulty of such pruning lies in the fact that due to the lack of sap flow, wounds at the site of cuts and cuts will heal for a long time. Besides, low temperatures can adversely affect such trees, as a result of which they will be sick for a long time and will not give a bountiful harvest.
Spring pruning of fruit trees and shrubs is the most optimal and gentle option. Even if you have never performed these procedures, having necessary knowledge, you can do it quite well and put your fruit trees and shrubs in order. You can start spring pruning at the end of February, when the thermometer will approach zero. Usually, these works are carried out until the end of April, when trees or shrubs begin to actively bud. But it all depends on your region and weather conditions, so these dates are quite approximate.
Tools
To prune correctly and less injure plants, you will need special tools:
- Garden secateurs - special garden scissors, without which no gardener can do. They can be purchased at any store that sells garden supplies. The main thing to pay attention to when buying, the secateurs should be sharp, fit comfortably in your hand. Do not buy a pruner with a newfangled ratchet mechanism: in order to cut even a not very thick branch, you will have to press it many times, which is both inconvenient and takes extra time, which is so valuable in the spring.
- A hacksaw is a special hacksaw for pruning trees. It has a very sharp blade that tapers towards the end. Between the teeth of such a hacksaw there are gaps designed to ensure that the sawdust does not get stuck and does not interfere with sawing. Do not use ordinary construction saws - you will cause unnecessary damage to the trees.
- The air pruner is an indispensable tool when you need to cut branches that are high up on a tree. This is, in fact, an ordinary secateurs with long (sometimes retractable) handles. It is equipped with a special lever, to which a rope is attached, which drives the entire mechanism.
- Stepladder - also indispensable when it comes to pruning tall trees. You will also need work gloves and even goggles to protect your eyes from branches and sawdust.
- Garden var or any other means with which you will cover up the places of cuts and saw cuts of branches.
Trimming methods
There are 3 main ways to trim trees and berry bushes:
- Method number 1 "on the ring": they resort to it when it is necessary to remove the entire branch, for example, if it grows inside the crown. In the place where the branch connects to the trunk, a specific outgrowth of the bark is formed, which experts call the “ring”. To remove an unnecessary branch, a cut or saw cut must be carried out along the outer edge of such a ring. Be careful not to damage the bark of the tree. It is also unacceptable to leave too large a process. Ideally, the cut should go almost along the trunk.
- Method number 2 "on the kidney": such pruning is carried out when they want to set a certain direction for the growth of the selected branch. For these purposes, a young annual shoot is chosen and a cut is made with a pruner at an angle of 45 degrees above the selected bud. This method of pruning is quite complicated and it is better not to use it without experience: if, for example, the cut is made at an excessively sharp angle, then the desired kidney will not have enough nutrition, and if too large a process is left, the kidney will not bloom at all. Therefore, for the first time, it is better to entrust such work to a professional or a more experienced neighbor, who will clearly explain all the intricacies of a “kidney” cut.
- Method number 3 "to the side branch": this method is used when it is necessary to change the direction of tree growth from one branch to another. The unnecessary branch is removed, thereby the tree will grow along another branch.
Trimming types
Depending on the purpose for which pruning is carried out, 5 types of pruning are distinguished: shaping, sanitary, regulating, rejuvenating and restorative.
Gardeners' mistakes when pruning trees and shrubs
First and most main mistake many gardeners is that they do not prune at all. As a result, they deprive themselves of abundant harvests of fruits and berries, because the trees put all their strength into the development of new branches, and not into fruiting. Trees and shrubs in such areas look neglected, with a dense crown in which old dried branches stick out.
The second mistake is the complete removal of all last year's shoots. On the one hand, this leads to the fact that young shoots are actively growing and developing, and on the other hand, a huge number of tops form on a tree or bush. Such a tree will either not bear fruit at all, or the yield will be very small.
Another extreme is when the gardener shortens literally all the branches that he can reach. The result of such pruning will affect in the coming years: the plant will turn into a cluster of knots, the bark will gradually peel off, and bark beetles will freely live under it. The end result is the death of the tree.
It is also necessary to take into account the fact that different types trees require different pruning: for apple trees, one standard, for plums and cherries - completely different.
For novice gardeners who are not sure that they can properly prune and not harm the tree, it is best to have 1-2 simulator trees on the site, on which they will hone their skills. Better yet, invite a specialist who will clearly and intelligibly explain all the principles and show all the techniques of this necessary garden procedure. Then pruning fruit trees in the spring will bring you joy, and you will definitely get abundant harvests of fruits and berries on your site.
Pruning of trees in spring begins in March, when the garden is still covered with snow.
What is it actually for?
So that the crown of the tree is healthy and beautiful, so that fruiting improves.
First, let's deal with the terminology.
- A stem is a tree trunk, starting from grafting to the first skeletal branches.
- Skeletal branches are first-order branches that determine the crown dimensions and shape of the tree.
- Branches of the second order or overgrowing wood are shoots growing on skeletal branches, more vegetative.
- Ploduhi are short fruit branches of the third order, growing on branches of the second order, or overgrown wood.
- The conductor is an apical shoot growing along the axis of the trunk, located in the center.
- Tops or fat shoots are rapidly developing vegetative shoots that appear when pruned incorrectly or inside the formed crown of an old tree; they do not appear in young ones.
Having decided on the terminology, let's get to work. We will choose good dry weather, sharpen the tool and prepare a garden pitch.
Suppose we planted a seedling a year ago and took care of it during the season. What do we see now? The hares ate the above-surface part of the stem until it snowed, or the mice gnawed the bark to the ringing - an unsightly sight. But don't despair! If the trunk is gnawed above the graft, then new shoots will grow again from the dormant buds and the seedling will recover.
Well, if everything is all right, we proceed to the spring - we form the skeleton of the future tree. When choosing a crown, we will focus on a simple spherical low standard or medium standard crown. But why low standard? Imagine your fruit-bearing tree in 10 years. In a form with a high trunk, the branches of the first row, skeletal ones, grow from the ground at a height exceeding a meter, and the best fruits hang at a height of three meters. This is a beautiful sight, but there are problems with caring for the crown and harvesting. But back to our seedling.
Pruning trees in the spring can be in two ways for young seedlings.
Option one. The tree did not produce a single shoot of the first order last year at all, or it is very unsuccessful. So, we will shorten the seedling to 70-90 cm and stop there for now.
Option two. The tree has grown good side shoots. skeleton of the future tree. Such an operation is carried out only once and is not repeated. For an apple tree, we leave 4-5 lateral branches, for a pear 5-7, evenly distributing them in a circle and along the trunk. We choose stronger and larger branches, deviated from the trunk, this is the future skeleton of the tree. All other branches are cut into a ring, i.e. where they depart from the trunk, trying not to damage the bark.
The remaining branches must be shortened by three quarters, and the central conductor by a third. When we shorten the branches to the kidney, you need to pay attention to where the kidney is looking. This is where the escape will grow. So you need to cut to the kidney that will grow outward, and not inside the crown. If the cut diameter exceeds 1.5 cm, it must be covered with garden pitch.
A year has passed and it's March again. continues with new growth, because all summer agrotechnical measures were taken to care for the young tree. Skeletal branches lengthened and expanded in diameter, branches of the second order appeared on them. Those that look inside the crown should be removed, the remaining ones should be moderately thinned. You can leave a small number of internal branches, shortening them by 4 buds. During the season they will grow into fruit twigs.