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Pruning peach in the fall causes serious battles among gardeners. It is often convenient to prune trees in the fall, when the flow of sap has stopped and the plants have hibernated. But among the other part of the gardeners there is an opinion that the peach is the only tree that can neither be cut nor replanted in the fall. All procedures with him should be carried out only in the spring.
In the southern regions, where peaches are grown on an industrial scale, pruning is carried out in the fall. This is more beneficial from a practical point of view. There is plenty of time for the operation and you can take your time.
When to prune a peach: in autumn or spring
Due to differences of opinion, the question “is it possible to prune a peach in the fall or is it better to wait until spring” is not at all idle. There is no big trouble in the south, even if the tree dies. When breeding peaches in the north, it will be difficult to come to terms with the death of a seedling.
The main argument of opponents of autumn peach pruning is that the tree will not have time to heal the wounds inflicted, and they will be damaged by frost. Even peach pruning videos in autumn are very few on the net. Basically there is a spring pruning operation.
But with proper preparation of the tree for the winter, it is more profitable to cut the peach in the fall:
- the movement of juices has already stopped;
- the wound will have time to dry before frost;
- in spring, the plant will not waste energy on the redistribution of juices through other channels after pruning and the yield will be higher;
- all juices will immediately go to the development of the remaining kidneys;
- an already cut peach is easier to cover for the winter along with the crown than an “overgrown” one.
The peach is one of the trees that during the summer can produce whips up to 3 m long. This is another reason why in the south they prefer to cut peaches in autumn. In the spring, through the muddy mud, these whips will be impossible to take out of the plantations. If at the same time it is good to insulate the seedling for the winter, then frost will not be able to damage the places of cuts.
The crown must be formed so that the plant remains 1,5-2 m high. In this case, it will be easy to cover the peach for the winter completely, and not just the trunk.
Why Autumn Pruning Increases Yields
The peach wakes up early enough and pruning is usually carried out on an already flowering plant. This procedure causes the plant to abruptly redirect the juices to other buds after pruning. The pressure of juices at this time is very strong and the tree is under stress. The result of any stress is a decrease in crop yields in plants.
If you “pity” the plant and leave it without pruning, the tree will set many fruits that will be small. And horizontal skeletal branches under the weight of leaves and fruits can break. This situation is well shown by the video on how to cut a peach incorrectly in the fall, or rather, the video just explains why it is necessary to cut the peaches in the fall and what happens if this is not done.
When to prune peaches in autumn
Pruning of peaches in the fall begins after picking the fruit, when the sap flow has already stopped, but before the onset of cold weather. On average, this is the end of September – the beginning of October. In the south of this cold comes much later than this time and the tree will have time to recover from the procedure. In the north, depending on climatic conditions, pruning is carried out earlier, and the plant itself is insulated for the winter.
Preparation of tools and materials
For proper peach pruning in autumn (and not only in autumn), tools must be sharply sharpened and cleaned of rust. Secateurs and loppers should not loosen the branches when pruning, but leave an even cut. Therefore, they are used only on branches of relatively small diameter.
In autumn, in parallel, not only pruning is carried out, which forms the crown of the tree, but also sanitary. When sanitary, dry and diseased branches are removed. Trees are infected not only with pathogenic fungal microorganisms, but also with a full-fledged tree fungus. If the first peaches can be cured by spraying them with fungicides in the fall, then the second is guaranteed to kill the plant.
Tree fungus mycelium can be placed on a healthy plant if, after removing the diseased branch, immediately cut off the healthy one. The spores of the fungus also “sit down” well on fresh sections.
Therefore, in order to properly cut a peach in the fall, you will need not only tools, but also disinfectant materials:
- a solution of potassium permanganate or Bordeaux liquid;
- alcohol;
- composition for smearing sections.
Tools before trimming are soaked for half an hour in a strong solution of potassium permanganate or 3% Bordeaux mixture. Then the tools are taken out and wait for natural drying. After drying, the cutting edges are wiped with alcohol. After the alcohol has evaporated, you can begin to trim the peaches.
Of the tools for trimming you will need:
- secateurs with long, tightly closing blades. Used for cutting branches with a diameter of not more than 2,5 cm;
- brass – an analogue of a secateurs, but with long handles that act as a lever. Use for branches with a diameter of not more than 5 cm;
- garden knife;
- wood scissors. Should be all-metal, with rounded ends of the blades. Used to cut thin branches that thicken the crown too much;
- garden saw. For some reason, it is often called a hacksaw. It has the shape of an arc and is designed to cut the thickest branches.
After finishing work, all sections are treated with Bordeaux liquid or a weak solution of potassium permanganate and covered with beeswax or garden pitch. If there is neither wax nor var, oil paint will do. The main task is to create an airtight barrier between the environment and the fresh cut and prevent pathogenic microorganisms from penetrating into the wood. The video for beginners shows peach pruning in the fall.
Peach pruning in autumn: schemes
Peaches should not be allowed to grow in height, otherwise the harvest will only be at the top of the tree. For good fruiting and ease of harvesting crown fruits, two types can be formed:
- bowl-shaped;
- in the form of a bush.
The latter is more difficult in pruning and crown formation, but more convenient for harvesting.
For beginners, this fall peach pruning scheme is not very suitable. It will be much more convenient to form a bowl-shaped or improved bowl-shaped crown.
The bowl-shaped crown is based on two tiers of branches: in the lower 4 skeletal branches, in the upper 5. The total number of fruit-bearing branches is not more than 80.
The principle of forming an improved bowl-shaped crown is the same as the first. But the branches are located closer to each other. The distance between the branches is 10-15 cm. This crown is more resistant to weather adversity. It is especially beneficial for farmers in the industrial cultivation of peaches.
With a bushy crown formation scheme, the tree does not have a central shoot. The base is formed from 3-4 shoots extending from the lower part of the trunk. The advantages of this form are uniform illumination of all branches, high yields and good frost resistance.
In the video, a diagram of how to cut a peach in the fall.
How to prune a peach in autumn
In order to properly prune a peach tree in the fall, you must first figure out which of the shoots are important for the further life of the plant, and which ones only interfere. Peach can only bear fruit on last year’s shoots. Therefore, some of the old branches and some of the new ones are completely useless:
- growth. They do not produce fruits; when pruning, these shoots are removed;
- mixed. Buds are tied on these shoots, from which both fruits and new shoots will grow next year. These shoots are not removed, but sometimes they need to be shortened. They are thicker than others of the same year;
- bouquet. These are short (25-30 cm) fruit-bearing shoots with clustered vegetative buds. They produce small peaches and a significant part of the ovaries crumble. Remove from seedlings younger than 3 years. Leave on older peaches;
- fruit. In short bouquet. Length 15-20 cm. Contrary to the name of the crop, they almost do not give, the ovaries crumble. If something accidentally ripens, it will be small and tasteless. The life span of these shoots is 1 year. After one fruiting, they usually die off in winter. It’s not worth leaving them.
- tops. Lateral shoots coming from the trunk. They don’t bear fruit. They only interfere with a healthy plant and take away juices, so in the fall the tops are removed. But if the tree froze last winter, the tops are left to restore the crown;
- summer Grow on mixed shoots in late summer. Ties are not given. Since the shoots are very thin and tender, they freeze out in winter.
Taking into account these features, they form the crown of peach trees.
Pruning young seedlings
A peach is considered young until the age of 4, that is, before fruiting begins. At this time, all operations to form the crown are carried out.
bowl crown
Formation begins at an annual seedling. If the peach was planted in the spring, then the first pruning should be in the fall of that year. The trunk of a one-year-old tree is cut to a height of 50 cm. But at the same time, they make sure that two strong healthy branches are below. The minimum requirement is well developed kidneys. The branches should be directed in opposite directions from each other.
The branches are tied to the slats so that they later grow at an angle of 45 ° to the trunk. From the side shoots cut off the upper kidney. If next year the branches have grown by 50 cm, the tree trunk remaining between them is cut to the junction of the branches with the trunk. If the branches are shorter, they are cut to the first triple or growth bud located as far as possible from the trunk. On the remaining site, another 2-3 well-developed shoots are selected and also tied to a rail. The remaining branches are cut off, leaving only the leaf closest to the main branch.
In the third year of the seedling’s life in autumn, the skeletal branches are shortened by another third. From the remaining two-thirds, 3 shoots are selected and those growth buds that are directed downwards are removed from them. These shoots are again tied to the rail, and the rest are cut off to the 1st sheet. In the fourth year, they are already harvesting.
bushy crown
In an annual seedling, all excess shoots are cut off in the fall. Only 3-4 lower branches should remain with 5 growth points on each shoot. The following year, these future skeletal branches are cut to ¼ or ⅓. The length of pruning depends on how much the branches have grown over the summer. New shoots pointing down are cut off completely. Pointed upwards do not touch.
In the third year, 6-8 shoots are selected on the main branches, which will bear fruit next year. The rest is cut to 1-2 sheets. The shoots that gave the main trunk in the center of the bush are also cut to 1 leaf.
How to prune fruiting peaches
When forming a cupped crown in the fourth year, from the side shoots that have formed in the current growing season, 3 of each last year’s branch are selected: at the base, in the middle and at the top. It is on these shoots that the ovaries will form next spring.
The one at the base acts as a substitute; in the middle – reserve for the first; at the top – lengthens the main branch. All other shoots are cut: directed upwards to the second leaf, downwards – to the point of growth.
When forming a bushy crown, new fruit-bearing shoots are selected from those that grow at the right angle to the trunk. Horizontal and downwards cut off completely.
In the fifth year of life, the tree is fully formed. After every year, you need to carry out sanitary pruning and maintain the desired shape of the crown:
- remove dry and diseased parts;
- shorten fruiting shoots by a third;
- do not allow the peach to grow above 3 m;
- remove all thin branches if they promise a cold snowy winter.
That is, you only need to maintain and thin out the already formed peach crown.
Rejuvenating peach pruning older than 10 years
5 years after the peach reaches full development, the yield of the tree decreases. Therefore, after 10 years, every five-year peach is rejuvenated pruning:
- skeletal branches are cut to the length they were 3 years ago;
- mixed branches are also cut in the same way;
- the young shoots remaining on the branches are not touched, leaving them for the future formation of a new crown.
Such pruning has a very good effect on increasing the yield of peach.
Further care for peaches after pruning
After pruning, peaches need to be prepared for wintering. To do this, they dig up the soil under the peaches, make the last autumn watering to charge the soil with water by spring. After that, peaches are treated from pests and covered for the winter.
Conclusion
Pruning a peach in autumn is less painful for the plant and allows you to pre-remove those parts that would still freeze in winter. Proper autumn pruning helps to increase the yield and longevity of the peach.