As much as we love the natural and pristine beauty, we are aware that fruit trees and shrubs need special care. Their function in the garden is fruiting. And they will be able to fully fulfill it if the gardener remembers how important it is to prune fruit trees in autumn, winter and especially in spring. This procedure allows you to properly shape the crown of the plant so that each branch receives enough light and air. With the help of pruning, the tree is sanitized, protecting it from the spread of numerous diseases to which it can be exposed. Pruning plants and the features of this procedure for different seasons is the main topic of the article.
A gardener’s arsenal needs to include suitable tools for pruning fruit trees and various shrubs. Here’s what we need:
- Pruner. Avoid choosing a ratchet tool that will have to be pressed multiple times to cut. The pruner should be casual and comfortable.
- Garden hacksaw. It is a saber-shaped instrument tapering towards the end of the panel. There should be special gaps in the teeth of the hacksaw to prevent sawdust from accumulating. No need to use a hacksaw for construction work. To prune fruit trees, you need to take exclusively garden tools with a specific profile and blade angle for the convenience of work.
- Air secateurs… It looks like this: on a long bar, possibly telescopic, a pruner is fixed, which is set in motion with a rope and levers. Using such a tool, you can prune those branches that are difficult to reach in any other way.
You can learn more about how to choose the right hacksaw from the material:
It is important that the blades are clean and sharp. Only by using sharp instruments can the formation of torn wound surfaces, into which microorganisms dangerous for trees penetrate, can be prevented. Upon completion of work, the cutting surfaces of the tool are thoroughly cleaned and wiped with an oiled cloth.
Together with the tools for work, you must purchase a garden pitch. This is a kind of ointment, prepared on the basis of petroleum products and having a plastic consistency at positive temperatures. With this product, it is necessary to cover wounds on the surface of the tree, having a diameter of 1-2 cm. However, not in all weather conditions, the var will fit well on the wood. Its role can be played by oil paint, i.e. paint based on drying oil.
A good quality tool is very important to ensure that the pruning procedure is as painful as possible for the plants. You cannot use a construction tool instead of a garden one.
In addition to garden varnish, you can use oil paint based on drying oil and yellow clay, mixed with cow dung
During the pruning process, different cutting techniques are used. The choice of a specific technique depends on the purpose of the work.
Method # 1 – cut to the kidney
With this type of pruning, you can, for example, change the direction of growth of a branch and set it as we need. To do this, you need to take a one-year-old growth shoot. On it, select a bud growing in the desired direction.
The correct cut for the bud should be at about a 45 degree angle to the branch. Correct cut No. 1. In other cases, either a large stump is left, or the kidney is “stabbed”, or the wrong cut angle
The secateurs should be held so that the cutting insert is turned not towards the part to be cut, but towards the part to be left. The cut should be done at a slight angle so that the kidney is not cut, but the hemp above it does not form. The perpendicular drawn from the base of the kidney should not fall on the cut.
If the cut is too sharp, the kidney will not receive the nutrition it needs and will dry out, but we need it to be alive and to sprout. The large stump left will also dry out, while the kidney may not wake up. The hemp-retaining cut can be used on shrubs.
Method # 2 – cut into a ring
With this type of pruning, a whole branch is removed that does not grow properly, for example, inside the crown. It takes food from the tree, and from the point of view of the fruit bearing of the tree it is absolutely useless. If the thickness of the branch allows, then you can cut it off with a pruner.
The last # 3 is the correct cut. It is necessary to cut along the outer surface of the ring, then there will be no protruding hemp, as in the first case, or there will be no “gouge”, as in the second
At the junctions of the branches, there are peculiar influxes of bark. These are the rings. The cut should be made along the outer edge of the ring.
Method # 3 – cut to the side branch
This type of cut is used if you need to transfer the course of growth from one branch to another. Delete the unnecessary branch. In relation to the left branch, the cut will be, as it were, its continuation. So we made the side branch the main one. And when cutting into a ring, we just removed the side branch.
If a side branch is to be removed in a cut on a ring, then in this case it is the side branch that remains so that growth continues in its direction
When pruning, the grower can serve a variety of purposes. Accordingly, different types of trimming are also distinguished.
- Formative. Helps to create the crown of the required density and silhouette of the tree. Thanks to her, a properly formed skeletal part acquires resistance to stress. Forming pruning in February intensifies regrowth and slows down growth in March-April.
- Regulatory. It is necessary to preserve the formed crown, helps to maintain good illumination of the branches, does not overload the skeletal part with young shoots. Such pruning is relevant in February-April and August-September.
- Anti-aging. Allows the old tree to renew itself as it stimulates the growth of new branches. If the annual growth of shoots is 10-15 cm, you need to shorten the branches in order to awaken the adventitious and dormant buds. This should be done in early autumn, late winter and spring.
- Recovery. This measure allows plants affected by various reasons to regain the possibility of development, flowering and fruiting.
- Sanitary. If the plant contains dry, diseased, broken or affected branches, they must be removed. This can be done all year round, but not on frosty days. After cutting off diseased shoots, it is necessary to disinfect the instrument with alcohol.
When doing sanitary pruning, consider the size and age of the tree. Very intensive work can lead to thickening of the crown.
Amazing results can be achieved with trimming. For example, this trellis is formed from apple trees that have been cut for decorative purposes.
The only limitation of pruning fruit trees in winter: it is undesirable in frost, when the wood becomes especially fragile. Branches at such a time are easy to damage, and they heal poorly. If the air temperature drops below 8 degrees below zero, pruning work should be postponed.
Pruning in winter has its advantages, since there are no leaves on the tree and the crown with all its defects is clearly visible
The benefits of pruning in winter:
- trees at rest will experience less stress;
- the slices are better and more accurate.
The complete absence of foliage allows you to objectively assess the condition of the crown, identify its shortcomings and draw up the correct work plan.
You need a saw to cut thick branches. To prevent injury to the branches by scoring, the branches are pre-sawed from the opposite side. Thin branches are cut with pruning shears.
Spring mass pruning of fruit trees, as many believe, can be carried out only during the period when sap flow has not yet begun. In fact, for spring pruning, you need to choose a moment when there is no sap flow, but it is ready to start just about.
What is it for? In order for the wounds on the tree to heal faster and cause him less trouble later, it is necessary that the tissues be in a state of readiness. The timing of pruning different fruit trees in spring is different. Thanks to this feature, you can plan this procedure in order to be in time before the sap flow.
If, after pruning, cover the wound with garden varnish, yellow clay mixed with cow dung or oil paint, then 12-15 days after the start of sap flow, kalyus will grow. The pruning procedure must be carried out on a warm day, when the air temperature will be from -5 ° C.
And spring is also considered the most favorable time for grafting fruit trees, read about this:
Shrubs that will bloom in spring cannot be cut off in the spring. This is especially true of plants, flower buds on which are formed only on last year’s branches. Otherwise, you can deprive yourself of their wonderful spring bloom.
Autumn pruning of fruit trees is poorly tolerated by most of them. Cherries, pears, or plums that are pruned in the fall may simply die. If there is no urgent need, it is better to postpone this procedure until spring.
Autumn pruning can also be disastrous for newly planted plants. If a one-year increment is affected by shortening, then not only the cut site can freeze, but also a significant area around it, including cadmium and bark. In such conditions, there is no need to talk about the successful overgrowing of the wound.
The material on the rules for the autumn whitewashing of fruit tree trunks will also be useful:
In the fall, predominantly sanitary pruning of trees should be done, because there is a long winter ahead, which is better for the plant to meet without unnecessary injuries
A tree covered with wounds is unlikely to overwinter well. The buds remaining on the shortened branches of a seedling planted this year may not open well in spring. These caveats are especially true for those who live in the middle lane. Autumn pruning can be done at an air temperature of -5 ° C and warmer.
However, all of the above does not apply to sanitary pruning. If the tree has branches affected by the disease, they must be removed immediately. You cannot wait until the disease covers an entire tree or several trees. The branches removed during such pruning must certainly be burned.
