How correctly to cut a sweet cherry?

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Fruits of sweet cherries are tasty and useful. However, not everyone can get a good crop: the plant is quite demanding in nursing. One of the mandatory activities is pruning.

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Table of contents

  • Dates and its purpose
    • Why cut in the spring?
    • Do you need crown formation in the summer?
    • Correct trimming in autumn
    • Rules for conducting
  • Types of trimming
    • Forming: from the first to the sixth year
  • During the fruiting of the tree
    • Hygienic or sanitary
    • To limit growth upwards
    • Supportive
  • Errors
  • Cherry pruning scheme with step-by-step explanations

Dates and its purpose

Cherries are cut off literally from the first year of growth of the seedlingon a permanent place. And they do it in spring, summer and autumn. Each manipulation implements certain tasks.

Why cut in the spring?

It is held in several receptions:

  • in the beginning of March, immediately after the snow falls, sanitary pruning is carried out, removing the branches damaged during the winter;
  • in April, before the active movement of woody juices and the swelling of the kidneys, begin to form pruning, designed to adjust, and in the case of young trees, to begin the formation of the tree crown.
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Spring is carried out sanitary and shaping pruning cherries

Do you need crown formation in the summer?

On the need for summer pruning the views of gardeners are ambiguous.

Some domestic experts doubt the feasibility of its conduct. Western people consider summer pruning necessary, arguing that this is possible for the formation of crowns for themselves.

Stages of summer pruning of sweet cherry:

  • in late May, early June, after flowering, but before the ripening begins, in order to stimulate the growth of horizontal branches and correction of the direction of their growth, are pruned by the method of pinching (prischipyvaniya) still neodrevesnevshih shoots. At the same time, the main trunk is shortened;
  • in the middle of July and before the beginning of August, after harvesting, grown after the first pruning shoots shortened by 10 cm.

Correct trimming in autumn

Conducted after the fall foliagewith the aim of:

  • thinning: removing broken, old and weak, as well as growing at an irregular angle branches and branches;
  • shortening the length of shoots by a third.

Autumn processing should be completed in September. In autumn, the wounds from the slices are prolonged more slowly. The tree should be restored before the arrival of cold weather.

Pruning of cherry:

Rules for conducting

Forming pruning is mandatory in the first year after planting. It will allow to form a compact, regular shape and good density of the crown.

The growth of young shoots at an acute angle relative to the fruiting branch is corrected with the help of a load or a garter to the growing branch below. This eliminates the risk of scrapping the fruit tree.

Every 5 yearsthere is a rejuvenating pruning.

These simple rules will allow you to avoid mistakes, grow a sweet cherry with the right crown and achieve a perfect harvest.

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Types of trimming

Forming: from the first to the sixth year

It is carried out with the purpose of formation of the correct crown, consisting of 2 or 3 tiers.

Ideally, the lower tier form 3 or 4 basic (skeletal) branches, growing on different sides of the trunk. The upper one is a similar number of branches growing half a meter higher, at a distance of 50 cm from each other.

Forming pruningis carried out in the spring for the first 6 years after plantingcherries.

Works in the first, after landing, in the spring:

  • on the seedlings, note the height of the stem. Usually it is from 30 to 60 cm;
  • we put a mark, we count upwards on an escape a maximum of 6 kidneys;
  • we make a cut.

Next spring:

  • select 3-4 young shoots, growing in the lower part of the crown on different sides of the main trunk. They will form the basis of the first tier. We trim these branches, leaving half a meter in length;
  • among the shoots of the lower tier, choose one that grows higher than the rest. On its length we measure on length of 70 sm, then we count out 4-6 kidneys and we will make a cut.

On the third springcontinue forming the trimming from the lower tier:

  • the upper branches are cut to the level of the lower knot;
  • remove branches that grow at an acute angle or inside the crown.

It is important not to touch the lower, often poorly developed, branch.

Processing of the branches of the second tier:

  • select strong, less than 30 cm long, shoots. We spend them pruning. The length of the branches of the second tier should be 10-15 cm less than the length of the branches of the first tier;
  • among shoots of the second tier, we distinguish growing above the rest. We measure on its trunk about half a meter and, counting 4-6 kidneys, we make a cut;
  • we correct the length of the remaining branches of the second tier: it should be 20 cm shorter than the central trunk.
Forming pruning is carried out in spring during the first 6 years after planting cherries

Formation of the crown in the spring of the fourth year:

  • select and shorten one of the weak lateral shoots to half a meter;
  • cut the center conductor, making a cut above the shortened shoot.

If there are branches on the cherry tree, located above the second tier, then we will form 3:

  • cut the branches a length less than the length of the main trunk by 20 cm;
  • We remove short branches together with the central conductor, making a cut below the departure of the thinnest shoot.

We finish the work by adjusting the length of branches 1 and 2 levels:

  • shortening the shoots growing outwards and long (over 80 cm) shoots of the first and second orders by a length not exceeding 75 cm;
  • Cut the shoots growing inside the crown.

In the spring of the fifth and sixth yearcontinue the work on the formation of the crown according to a scheme similar to the previous one:

  • shorten shoots longer than half a meter;
  • get rid of weaving and directed branches inside the crown;
  • among short, up to 50 cm, shoots, remove all growing at an acute angle;
  • along the central trunk, we cut off all the large elongation shoots, thereby transferring them to short lateral branches.
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During the fruiting of the tree

Hygienic or sanitary

Plants, like humans, are characterized by aging. Its signs:

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  • decrease in the number of fruits and berries;
  • deterioration of gustatory qualities of berries;
  • frequent plant diseases.

All these manifestations of aging sayon the need for rejuvenating trimming.

It consists in a considerable, to the length of a two-year-old plant, shortening of all branches and is carried out after fruiting.

Radical pruning of sweet cherry - why and why:

To limit growth upwards

What to do, iffor some reason, the cherry rose very high, carrying fruit beyond their reach by man?

Even in this case, the height and shape of the tree can be corrected by forming the so-called non-leader or cup-like crown.

Correction of the crown beginWith the removal of all the branches that are strongly elevated and grow directly from the crown. This activates the development of external branches.

The grown branches will be located at a large angle away from the skeletal shoots and weaker than the previous ones. But that's exactly what we need.

After removing the growing branchesthe crown will become lighter, wider and lower. As soon as the cherry will recover from the slices, its active growth will begin. On the site of remote shoots, only minor bends remain.

Important in the futurenot allow a common thickening of the crown, in time tracking the growth of directed shoots inside the crown.

If the cherry tree is very extended upwards, you need to adjust and shape the tree

Supportive

After carrying out the forming trimming on the treewill replace the conductor shoots. It's unavoidable. They are subject to unconditional removal.

The earlier you notice such an escape, the easier it will be to remove it and the more painlessly it will transfer this procedure to the sweet cherry.

You will be interested in these publications:

  • How to plant a sweet cherry in autumn.
  • Top of the best varieties of cherries for the Moscow region.
  • Correct planting and care for the columnar cherry.

Side branches will also give increments, which are removed after fruiting. They are cut from bottom to top, decreasing, forming tiers and giving the crown a pyramidal shape.

Otherwise, the upper shoots will darken the lower ones, leading to their weakening.

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Errors

External manifestations of trimming errors Causes
Instead of the expected intensified development of the outer branches, an intensive growth of the tops occurred. The translation of the gain is translated into a too weak lateral branch.
The appearance of a large number of tops, leading to thickening of the crown, late fruit bearing and the shifting of fruits to the periphery of the crown. Excessive shortening of shoots during pruning.
Dying off weakened lower branches, leading to the denudation of the stem and placement of fruits on the upper tier. When forming tiers, the branches of the lower tier were weaker than the upper tiers.

Nuances of pruning:

  1. When trimming the trunk and shoots of any age, do not make too low cuts, but do not leave stumps.
  2. Spinning 3-5-year branches, gradually loosen the pressure of the hacksaw by the time the process is completed. This will reduce the risk of barking.
  3. When removing the lower massive branches, make the deepening cuts from the underside of the shoot. This will save the branches from falling, if you do not retain them, preserving the integrity of the bark.
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Cherry pruning scheme with step-by-step explanations

Step 1.Formation of the skeleton of the crown and planning its height.

Is the main stage of the formation of the crownby reducing its height. It is convenient to hold works in the spring, before appearance of foliage:

  1. Selection of skeletal branches of the lower (first) tier: carefully consider the tree, going around it from all sides. Visually determine the choice of the basic (skeletal) branches.
  2. Trimming the lateral branches of the lower tier: select 3-4 lower branches, growing horizontally in different directions from the trunk. The annual lateral pruning of these branches, you can achieve expansion of the crown.
  3. Formation of the basis of the following tiers is carried out in a similar way.
  4. Plan the desired height of the tree and make a mark on the main trunk.
The formation of the skeleton of the crown and the planning of its height are conveniently carried out in the spring, before the emergence of foliage

Step 2.Gradual removal of the main trunk.

Is the complement of the firstand held immediately after it:

  1. We do the saws above the mark placed on the main trunk (Step 1, point 4) and the third tier. It should pass approximately 1/2 of the length of the segment to the horizontal line of the 3 tier left by us (Step 1, point 3).
  2. We are waiting for the appearance of new shoots-leaders. We cultivate them for 20-30 cm. As soon as this happens (tentatively in July), the tree is ready for the final procedure.

Step 3.Removal of the main trunk.

We end the gradual shortening of the leader, making him asleep on the previously made label (Step 1, point 4).

The process of pruning a strong cherry:

The phased cutting tactic reduces the likelihood of a large number of tops, and those that appear will be weak. The tree will direct the saved forces to development and fruiting.

As you can see,pruning is not a very complicated procedure. Proshtudirovan relevant literature and figuring out the schemes, with it will cope and beginner.

It remains to be recalled that regularity is the main condition for effective pruning. According to experienced gardeners, if a tree is regularly shown what you want from it, it will understand you, and will not run up.

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