How to prune a young apple tree in autumn + diagram

In order for young apple trees to bear fruit well, it is necessary to properly care for them. The measures taken should help strengthen the immunity of fruit trees. If the apple tree has enough nutrition, then the plant will have a healthy trunk, roots. In addition to nutrition and watering, pruning of young apple trees in the fall is also needed.

Thanks to this procedure, the plant becomes frost-resistant, and in the spring it quickly starts to grow. But young apple trees are pruned in autumn in a completely different way than adults, since even the purpose of the work is different. The rules for working in the garden in the fall will be discussed in the article. In addition to pictures, your attention will be presented with video material that is given to help novice gardeners.

Why pruning

Beginning gardeners are afraid of the onset of autumn, because they have to prepare young apple trees for wintering. In addition to top dressing, you will also have to cut the branches. As we have already noted, pruning in the fall has different goals. One of them is to increase the yield of a young apple tree in the future.

It’s all about the internal biology of the plant. It is so arranged that the apple tree always reaches for the sun, and with maximum shading, the yield decreases. Once on the site, the young apple tree begins to settle down, therefore, it creates the conditions necessary for growth:

• the crown is maximally compacted;
• the trunk and most of the branches remain in the shade.

If you do not pay attention to the formation of the crown, then as a result, a lot of extra shoots and branches will appear on the apple tree, which will pull nutrients for their development, and fruiting will fade into the background. Fruiting in itself is stressful for fruit plants. The apple tree “thinks” that its time is running out, and therefore gives the harvest.

Beginning gardeners should keep in mind that pruning a young apple tree in the fall is the same stress that stimulates the tree to lay flower buds and return the crop next summer.

Pruning tools

Pruning a young apple tree in autumn is a serious operation. Beginning gardeners should understand that they should be carefully prepared for it: pick up the necessary tools and clothes:

• ladder or stepladder;
• glasses, gloves;
• garden pitch;
• secateurs or sharp scissors.

If you have to work with apple trees for 4-5 years (they are still considered young), then it is better to cut the branches with a hacksaw.

Beginning gardeners need to know that tools for pruning apple trees in the fall must be sterile, since infection through the cut not only increases the healing time of the wound, but can also cause the death of young fruit trees after pruning.

When to prune apple trees

When to prune a young apple tree – in spring or autumn, the gardener himself decides, because there are no uniform criteria in this matter. In some cases, even in the summer it is necessary to carry out a similar operation. Although it is the autumn pruning of apple trees that is considered the most successful.

How to prune young apple trees in autumn video for beginners:

It is also necessary to determine the timing of the work. Early pruning can greatly harm the tree, and late pruning will not give the desired result.

Therefore, the question of when to prune young apple trees is very important not only for beginner gardeners, but also for those who have extensive experience. As a rule, work on the preparation of fruit trees begins after the yellowed leaves fall off. At this time, the state of rest begins at the apple tree, sap flow stops. Consequently, the sections will be tightened faster, the infection will not have time to penetrate into them. And the air temperature at this time is already low, which also reduces the risk of infection.

Experienced gardeners begin the procedure at the end of October and complete in early November. The main thing is that the cut branches do not freeze.

General rules for pruning apple trees in autumn

Cuts and saw cuts should be even, so we choose sharp tools so that the bark and tissue of the apple tree along the edge of the saw cut does not bulge or peel off. This can lead to suppuration, in which case the wound does not heal for a long time.

Stages of pruning apple trees

1. Apple trees up to the age of five are considered young. It is during this period that it is necessary to form a crown for the proper development of the tree and successful fruiting. Before pruning a young apple tree, it is necessary to conduct an audit.

   

   If you notice broken branches or cracks in the bark of young trees, then you need to start with sanitization. The bark is carefully protected with a spatula, and the branches are cut or cut with secateurs.

2. After that, proceed to the formation of the crown. It is performed in different ways: either thin out or shorten the branches. Each of the methods pursues its own goals, based on the age of the apple tree. The scheme for pruning apple trees of different ages in the fall is shown in the picture.

   

3. Thinning the crown of fruit trees, you can achieve uniform sun exposure to all parts of the plants, improve air circulation. In addition, the load on the root system is reduced, therefore, the plant will work to lay fruit buds, for the future harvest.

With any method of pruning, it is necessary to remove last year’s shoots. All other actions will depend on the age of the apple tree.

We cut one-year-olds

After planting an annual seedling, you must immediately do pruning. The top part is removed first. It should be borne in mind that the lower part must be at least a meter. Such pruning stimulates the formation of lateral shoots – the basis of the future crown.

Why pruning a young apple tree in the fall is necessary, novice gardeners are often interested. The fact is that no matter how carefully the tree is planted in a new place, the root system is still damaged and cannot cope with the load coming from the top of the plant. Such an operation will make the apple tree stronger, strengthen the roots, create a reliable base for further growth and fruiting.

Pruning an apple tree in autumn forms a strong trunk and a small crown, which means that strong winds cannot damage it. And the harvest from low cultivated varieties will be easier to harvest.

Proper pruning of annuals, video for beginner gardeners:

Tips

If numerous side shoots have formed on the seedling over the summer, then they are cut off by about 40 cm, taking into account the length.

1. Long shoots that form an acute angle with the trunk are removed altogether, because they are the first contenders for scrapping in strong winds. In addition, they will thicken the crown.
2. Branches growing in relation to the trunk at an angle of 90 degrees are left, but cut to a height of 3-5 buds.
3. Twigs growing inside the crown must be cut.
4. Branches and shoots affected by diseases are also subject to removal.
5. In addition, it is necessary to blind part of the kidneys so that there is no rapid growth of branches.

Rules for pruning a two-year-old apple tree

On a two-year-old apple tree, several side shoots grow on the main trunk during the summer. If some of them are not cut out in the fall, then the crown will turn out to be thickened. It is enough to leave from 3 to 5 branches that stand out for their strength and grow at right angles to the main trunk. The rest do not need to be sorry, they are subject to mandatory removal in the fall.

At this age, apple trees continue to form a crown. It will largely depend on the angle of inclination of the pagon to the main trunk. Sometimes you have to forcibly tilt the branches during pruning. In this case, a load is tied to the branches or they are tied to a peg, and an appropriate slope is set.

At a two-year-old apple tree, the main conductor is also cut in the fall. Its height is adjustable: by 4 or 5 buds, it should rise above other shoots. To form the correct crown, one should take into account the fact that the lower branches should be 30 centimeters longer than the upper ones. A two-year-old apple tree should have a rounded crown.

Often over the summer, lateral shoots grow on the main trunk of an apple tree. If they are located below 50 centimeters from the ground, they must be removed.

Pruning apple trees in the fall in the following years will be similar. The only difference will be the thinning of the crown. All branches directed inside the crown or up and down must be cut. In addition, young shoots already on the side branches are subject to such a procedure. Otherwise, the crown will be very thickened, the branches will rub against each other, damaging the bark.

Actions of gardeners after pruning

It is clear that novice gardeners should not get carried away by cutting branches and shoots on an apple tree in the fall. The fact is that our winters are severe, some of the shoots can freeze. You always need to leave a reserve for spring. In early spring, you can continue pruning. In addition, strong pruning provokes the active growth of young shoots, which will thicken the crown again.

Upon completion of the pruning of the apple tree in the fall, it is necessary to clean the area, and even small pieces of twigs need to be collected. They are burned so that possible pathogens cannot damage the apple trees in the spring.

Pruning is followed by top dressing of young apple trees. As a fertilizer for apple trees, you can use rotted manure. In addition to top dressing, it will work as a “warmer” for the roots. In addition to manure and compost, you can use mineral fertilizers. Before top dressing, apple trees are well shed.

It is clear that it is not enough for beginners to read recommendations or look at pictures or diagrams, they want to see everything with their own eyes. Therefore, we offer them a video instruction for pruning young apple trees in the fall:

To summarize

So, we talked briefly about how to properly prune young apple trees in the fall. This procedure helps:

• the formation of a powerful root system and the proper development of the plant as a whole;
• the formation of the crown, therefore, in the future you can count on an excellent harvest of apples;
• the resistance of the apple tree to the upcoming wintering, strong winds, and in the spring and summer to various diseases;
• fruit tree rejuvenation;
• access of light and heat to all parts of the plant, free air circulation.

In fact, pruning apple trees in the fall is not such a difficult operation. The main thing is to study the materials, watch the video, then novice gardeners can cope with the upcoming work.