.C.TM.D.C.harvesting. To make it well fruited and not sick, you need pruning of fruit trees. Make it in the spring and autumn. Let's talk about spring. About planting a plant, you injure him. Therefore, it is very important to choose the type and quality of the tool that you use. It depends on them whether the tree is quickly restored.
Need:
- garden knife;
- pruner;
- hacksaw.
It is recommended to trim the branches with a knife. The pruner is lighter, but it does more damage: it squeezes the wood hard, and then the wound heals longer. In order for the garden to recover faster, the cut must be even. This can be achieved only with a garden knife.
Spring pruning of fruit trees
Amateur gardeners often have a question: when to prune fruit trees in spring, is it possible after the start of sap flow? It all depends on the condition of your garden. Trunk split, branches broke under the weight of snow? Of course, pruning is inevitable. When there is nothing like this, then you should not injure the trees. After all, pruning is not an end in itself. If you build trees by the rules, you only need a minimal corrective operation, without which you can do without.
Pruning of fruit trees is an important factor for a healthy and fruitful garden. And you need to do it skillfully. First of all, the shoots should be removed:
- , which are at an acute angle from the trunk;
- directed to the center of the crown;
- that do not bear fruit( top).
There are several rules that professional gardeners always adhere to:
- Pruning should start as soon as the great cold has fallen( most often it is the end of January, the beginning of March).Thus, the wounds will not freeze slightly, and when the sap flow begins, they will heal quickly. The cuts should be smooth, smooth. They need to grease the garden pitch.
- Pruning shoots need above the eyes that grow outward from the crown. Carry out the cut from the inside to the outside.
- Branches that are a continuation of the trunk should be longer than the others.
- On short trees make short pruning. Cut over the second and third eyes.
- With strong growth they make medium pruning. The branches are cut over the fifth eye.
- For vigorous trees, they carry out a long pruning, leaving eight or more eyes.
Read also: Garden work on summer pruning of apple trees
Formation of the crown
You can start forming the crown of a young tree in the second year of its life and continue for several years. Fruits on apples, pears appear on perennial shoots, and plums, cherries bear fruit the next year after planting. Knowing this, the spring pruning of fruit trees can be done without much damage to the future harvest. Span-less and sparse-tiered crown forming systems are common. The latter is ideal for cherries, plums, cherry plums. The basis of such a crown - the trunk and up to a dozen side branches, which grow from the trunk in tiers at a distance of up to twenty centimeters from each other.
And so, how to properly prune fruit trees in the spring and form a crown? Proceed as follows:
- Conductor is a central shoot, cut off about 80 centimeters from the base. The main thing: on the conductor should remain up to a dozen kidneys. From them will go new shoots, side branches. This is the first tier.
- Next year, remove the branches damaged during the winter, select three or four strong ones. Delete the rest. This is the second tier.
- For the same principle, form the third tier already in the fourth year.
- The tree has reached four meters in height( undersized fruit trees - maximum), remove the conductor above the upper branch. Thus, stop the growth, fully form the crown of the tree.
Cut trees regularly: once a year or in spring and autumn. At any time, as necessary, produce sanitary or corrective pruning.
Pruning of fruit trees in spring. Dates for it are the end of winter or early spring. This is especially important for apricot, cherry, peach, cherry plum. In the summer, they do pruning only in order to remove the tops and twigs that contribute to the excessive density of the crown. 
Read also: Attention to gardeners description and photo of winter varieties of apple trees
Description: a - shortening of shoots in the first year;b, c - forming pruning of crown shoots along a given contour;d - sanitary pruning( removal of dry branches);e - pruning and thinning in order to improve aeration( before and after);e - rejuvenation of old trees.
Pruning of adult fruit trees
Your garden is already bearing fruit. But he, as well as young trees, requires care and removal of dried or diseased branches. How to prune fruit trees in spring?
Thickened crown of the fruit tree should be thinned. After five years, the conductor is removed. This will limit the growth upwards. Delete the branch in whole or in part. Partial removal contributes to the growth of the branch, which is located nearby. It is also necessary to cut off diseased, dried branches - the illumination of the crown is improved, the fruits are distributed evenly.
Pruning is best done when the tree is at rest until sap flow has begun.
If the crown is pyramid( pear - the branches grow up), the growing branches should be lowered down: leave those that are directed down, and those that are up, cut. In other fruit trees, the branches are directed down - they need to be lifted: remove the downward ones.
To rejuvenate a tree, you need to cut the upper part of the trunk and thin the crown. To do this, remove the old, going inside the crown, branches that are intertwined. A very dense crown, in order not to injure the plant badly, should not be thinned overnight, stretch the operation for two or three years.
Schemes of pruning pears, cherries, apples
Pruning fruit trees in spring scheme for pears:
- In winter, branches freeze and spinning tops. They are completely removed or pruned.
- If you cut it hard, it will weaken the tree, the fruit will appear much later than expected. Better to do moderate pruning.
- Year branches are useful to shorten slightly. This will only strengthen them.
Read also: Cultivation of cucumbers in open ground
For cherries, sweet cherries:
- In young trees, leave five to seven strong branches, "looking" in different directions. The distance between them is up to 10 centimeters.
- All weak branches are removed.
- Explorer should be 20 centimeters longer.
- Cherry and sweet cherry cut only in the spring.
For apple trees:
- Before you start pruning, you need to clean the trunk, the main branches from the shoots.
- Rejuvenate the old plant, increase the yield removal of a third of the branches and shoots - the main thing is not to overdo it.
- It is necessary to carry out pruning for several years.
A few tips from experienced gardeners
While working in your garden, consider the experience of other gardeners and don't forget:
- When removing branches, do not leave hemp, cut near the trunk itself.
- A correctly made cut leaves a trace of a neatly overgrown “ring”.
- To remove thick branches, first fill the bottom and then the top. Thus, the crust will remain intact if the branch falls.
- They removed the escape wrong, there is damage - clean, treat the cut with a twist.
- With pruning frozen trees it is better to wait until next spring.
- It is impossible to fill the hollows, it is impossible to drill drainage holes.
- If there is a danger of branches breaking off under the weight of fruits, do not put props. It is better to partially tear off the fruit. Otherwise the plant will get used and will not be able to hold branches on its own.
How to cut the plant and not damage, learn by viewing the video at the end of the article.
Tips from experienced gardeners
- Pruning pruners need to keep a narrow part of the branch.
- Want to create a lush young tree crown, shorten the conductor by ¼.
- Explorer should be only one. There are competitors - eliminate.
A year after planting the plant, shorten its trunk by 20 centimeters and branches to 7 centimeters. Please note: the branches below should be longer.
Spring pruning of fruit trees video
