Diagram of pruning pruning

Plum refers to such fruit trees that require regular pruning of .Otherwise, the amount of the harvest may significantly decrease, gum will start to stand out from the tree, and the growth of the branches will become erratic.

When to prune: tips for beginners

Plum needs an annual, systematic pruning of , which will support the health and fruiting of the tree. To carry out such work is necessary according to the scheme - in spring, summer and autumn.

The spring period is considered the most favorable for the procedure. Usually, gardeners prescribe such work at the end of March or the beginning of April, when the air temperature will be already warm, and the vegetative processes will not have time to begin.

In the spring, the young shoots that grow in the wrong direction and the old branches, which should not be expected to bear fruit, are clearly visible on the plum.

Summer, held in June, , is indicative of the branches, heavily thickening the crown, because they can best be seen with lush foliage.

Autumn is carried out for sanitary purposes .Such works are performed immediately after the leaf fall.

If the deadlines were missed, then it is better to move the pruning to autumn, because the fresh place of the cut freezes quickly and in its place there is a growth and frostbite.

Each period has its own advantages and disadvantages, which is why certain times of the year are suitable for performing certain works.

Some gardeners practice winter pruning of , but this type of work is unusual and rather specific.

“Garden head” will tell you how to properly prune the plum:

In spring: correct crown formation

The first three years of plum's life in spring need to form the correct shape of its crown, because the quality and volume of fruiting depends on it. If you skip this work, the branches will grow randomly and erratically.

Usually for plums, choose a crown, made in the form of tier. That is, 6-8 of the most powerful and thick branches that grow at a distance of 15-20 centimeters from each other should act as the basis.

They should also be evenly distributed throughout the trunk, and the ideal growth angle should be 50 degrees.

In order to obtain such a crown, the following actions have been carried out for 3 years:

1. 1. In the first year of life of the plum, it is necessary to completely remove all side branches, and cut the center conductor to a length equal to 60 centimeters.
   2. In the second year of the , the central conductor is shortened by 40-50 centimeters, including the upper bud, which should be above the cut point. The lower side branches are cut almost completely, leaving only 7-centimeter hemp. The remaining side shoots are shortened by a third of the total length.

1. In the third year of life, it is necessary to select 6-8 skeletal branches, all other shoots are removed. The remaining branches are allowed to leave no more than 4 buds.

Scheme of spring pruning of the plum tree

Further spring pruning of the plum will be in supporting the correct form of the crown :

• remove all improperly growing branches that grow inside the crown or are at an obtuse angle;
• in the presence of too lush crown, it will need to thin out, while removing the old branches, which will not be tied fruit;
• in order to help the plum to form new fruit branches, it is necessary to shorten all last year's increments;
• also examines a tree in the spring for the presence of all kinds of damage, most often at this stage, the broken or frozen-out branches that have suffered during the winter period are removed.

The branches on which birds have damaged the kidneys are subject to mandatory removal.

Spring works are considered the most important and necessary , because this period is the most favorable and safe for the health of the tree.

In the summer of

Summer pruning of plums is carried out in June or July by .This procedure is subject only to young trees, which only form their crown.

For adult plums, summer pruning can be destructive and it is recommended to perform it only as a last resort, for example, when a disease is detected.

In the first year of , all branches are shortened to a length of 20 centimeters. Starting from the second year of , the extra branches are completely removed.

In the warm season there is a huge risk of infection with infectious diseases, so by cutting the summer you can protect the tree from such problems.

In the summer pruning is carried out in case of emergency, for example, when

disease is detected. Pruning scheme in autumn

Autumn pruning is carried out after leaf fall, when all vegetative processes end and the tree is at rest. Usually, such work is done in mid-September.

Autumn pruning is divided into three types and depends on the age of the tree:

• in the first year of the after planting in the fall, the central conductor of the plum trees is shortened by one third of the total length, and the remaining branches by two thirds;
• regulating - performed for trees of all ages. In the course of it, the crown is discharged, and all rapidly growing or incorrectly growing branches are removed;
• since 4 years of life of the tree , every 4-5 years, they carry out a rejuvenating pruning, during which they remove all old and unnecessary branches, on which there is no longer fruiting.

Autumn pruning is carried out in September, after falling leaves, before the onset of cold weather.

After the first fruiting, the autumn pruning is either not performed at all, or only the most problematic branches are removed.

Also an integral part of autumn tree care will be carrying out sanitary pruning, during which all diseased and damaged branches, which can cause the death of the entire tree, are removed.

Cut branches are recommended to collect and burn , so that infection or other pathogens and insects do not spread throughout the site.

Unusual

methods. Specific methods for pruning pruning, which differ from standard works, include winter pruning and processing of old trees.

Winter pruning is rapidly gaining popularity among gardeners living in the southern regions.

The performance of such work is that all spring work is transferred to in mid-February, but the air temperature must be above 10-12 degrees.

Winter pruning is available only to gardeners who live in warm areas with a mild climate.

Winter pruning is available only to gardeners who live in warm and mild climates.

Special attention should be paid to pruning old trees, because they, like the elderly, need careful and delicate care:

• performs this work in early spring, the field of how the plant turns 12-15 years old;
• pruning is usually stretched for 3-4 years so that the tree can gradually recover;
• , to improve fruiting, each year remove all dry and diseased shoots that excessively thicken the tree crown and prevent the formation of new branches;
• throughout the anti-aging period gradually remove all excess frame branches, whose number should not exceed 8-10 on average. When performing such works, branches are filed from two sides in order to avoid unexpected breakage and make the cut-off area smoother and more even.

Winter - time to prune tree branches:

How to care for a tree after?

In order for the plum as easy as possible to transfer the trimming procedure, for the beginning of the it is necessary to learn how to make the correct cuts of the , which must be done at an angle of 45 degrees, and the last kidney must be at a distance of 5-10 centimeters.

All such work should be carried out only with the use of sharp and disinfected garden tools, which include a knife, saw and pruning lopper.

In order for the wounds on the tree to grow faster and not to undergo various diseases of the , they are initially cleaned with a sharp knife and treated with copper sulphate. After that, smeared with garden pitch, oil paint or any other regenerating agents.

Pruning is a rather complicated process only at the initial stages of , while crown formation takes place. At a later date, all work is reduced to the regular removal of old, damaged or improperly growing branches.