The main function of fruit trees in the garden is considered to be their fruiting. A rich harvest is possible only if they are pruned, which is carried out in autumn, winter, and more often in spring.
This procedure allows the crown to form rationally so that each shoot receives as much air and light as possible. In addition, pruning promotes tree sanitation, protecting them from a variety of diseases that occur during active plant growth.
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Required tools
Pruning is perceived by many gardeners as one of the important elements of proper care of fruit trees. To carry out such a process, special tools are required:
Garden pruner - it should be very comfortable and simple. It is undesirable to buy a tool that has a ratchet mechanism, since due to this design feature, it is impossible to get a perfectly even cut the first time.- A garden saw is a common saber-like hacksaw that tapers off at the end. In no case should a standard construction saw be used instead, only a tool with a special profile.
- Secateurs for pruning the upper branches with attachment for a long stick. With the help of levers and a rope, it is activated. This design helps to get to the branches located at the very top of the tree.
After purchasing the tool, it must be kept clean and ensured that it is always sharpened.
Only in this case there will be no torn cuts, which can be easily penetrated by various infections and microorganisms. After each trimming procedure, the tool must be cleaned and greased with a cloth soaked in machine oil.
When to prune trees
Many gardeners do not pay attention to the timing of when fruit trees should be pruned, which is completely wrong.
It is important not to harm the plants, so this is best done in the spring. The optimal period is late February or early Marchwhen severe frosts are no longer expected.
The first to begin to trim:
- apple tree;
- pear.
The rest of the fruit trees and shrubs are subjected to this procedure at the end of the first month of spring or the beginning of the second. Cut off first seed crops, and only after that - plants with stone fruits.
If the trees have not yet matured, then this must be done before the sap begins to move, as this will subsequently weaken them and they will begin to hurt.
If necessary in early June cut off fully strengthened flowering trees and shrubs that will normally tolerate this procedure even after the circulation of the juice is over.
How to carry out cutting technology correctly
Pruning of fruit crops is carried out in different ways. Let's consider the most basic ones.
Cutting the kidney... This method allows you to choose the direction of growth of branches in the direction that the gardener needs. For these purposes, only one-year-old growth shoots are used, on which a bud growing in the desired direction is chosen.
The pruner is positioned in such a way that its cutting part is near the left part of the branch, and not next to the end it is cut off. Slice perform at an angleto keep this kidney intact. If the cut is too sharp, the kidney will lose the required amount of nutrients and dry out.
Ring cut... In this case, a complete pruning of a branch growing in the wrong direction is carried out. She not only takes food from fruiting shoots, but is also completely useless.
It is best to use a pruner if the branch is thinner. The cut is carried out along the outer edge of the rings, which form an influx on the bark at the place where the branches join.
Cut to form a side branch. It is carried out in the case when a transition of growth from one branch to another is required. In this case, unnecessary the branch is removed completely... The resulting cut, as it were, continues the left branch, as a result of which the side becomes the main one.
Types of spring pruning of fruit trees
Carrying out such a procedure, the gardener usually pursues very specific goals. Let's consider the most basic ones.
Pruning, which allows the crown of the tree to be formed, as a result of which it acquires the desired silhouette, and the density of the branches decreases. This procedure is carried out at the end of February, and it promotes the growth of new shoots. If this work is done in March, it will slow down the development of the tree.- Regulating pruning is necessary in order to preserve the formed crown. Thanks to this manipulation, the branches receive sufficient light, and the main skeleton of the plant is freed from young shoots.
- With the help of anti-aging pruning, old trees begin to renew themselves as new branches grow. The work is carried out only if the growth of young shoots per year is less than 10-15 cm. Due to pruning, adventitious and not awakened buds awaken.
- Regenerative pruning is done to give affected plants back the ability to thrive, flower and bear fruit.
- Sanitary pruning allows you to cleanse the plant of diseased, dry or diseased branches, in which they are completely removed.
Regardless of what type of trimming was performed, it is necessary take into account age and size fruit plants. With excessive pruning, young shoots begin to grow vigorously, which results in an overly dense crown.
Spring pruning specifics
Many gardeners prune trees at such a time until the sap begins to move. But it is best to carry it out at a time when the juice has not yet begun to move, but is already fully ready for this.
In this case, the wounds that the tree will receive as a result of such a procedure, will drag on very quickly, as the wood tissue is already ready for this.
If after cutting treat wounds with the help of yellow clay and garden varnish mixed with cow dung, then two weeks after the start of the juice movement, callus will grow in the place of the cut.
Forbidden to crop fruit crops that will soon begin to bloom. This is especially true for those plants in which flower buds appear only on last year's shoots. Otherwise, not only the flowers will be lost, but the entire harvest.
Features of spring pruning of old trees
Old fruit trees, especially pear and apple trees, have a pronounced frequency of fruiting and a significant reduction in crown, which occurs due to the death of skeletal branches.
If you spend light rejuvenation of such plants, these manifestations are significantly reduced, which ensures a good harvest in the future. In this case, you should know the rules for pruning old garden trees.
To restore the normal state of old plants that are in a very neglected state, it is necessary deep rejuvenation, which consists in pruning dried branches 1-2 meters from the top. It is not recommended to cut very much further than two meters, because the tree may die.
This process must be performed only over fruit branches or growth shoots, so as not to leave the edged branches completely naked.
If the branches began to die off, and fatty shoots have appeared in the lower parts, then pruning is carried out to the very tops. The more neglected the tree is, the more they are pruned. With the onset of March, the soil under the cut plants should be well fertilized for the rapid growth of new shoots.
As soon as an increase appears, all hemp formations should be finally cut out, and treat the sections with paint oil-based.
The rejuvenation of perennial plants should be carried out gradually over many years. In this case, the upper branches and branches are cut much more strongly than the lower ones.
Thus, the spring pruning of plants in your personal plot is a rather painstaking and troublesome business. But thanks to this process trees are better prepared to the fruiting period.
If the branches are not cut, they will begin to break under the weight of the fruit. Therefore, pruning trees in the spring helps not only increase yields, but also ensures their safety.
