How to prune cherries
Many gardeners do not know how to prune cherries, so they try not to touch the tree at all and let it grow on its own. But this opinion is incorrect, because timely pruning helps to give the correct shape to the crown, increase the yield, make the berries sweeter and larger, and also significantly increase the vitality of the tree.
How to prune cherries correctly
Before you start pruning, you need to learn how to distinguish growths from vegetative branches. This is necessary in order not to mistakenly remove the fertile parts. It should be understood that on tree-like varieties, they can appear on annual growths and bouquet branches. On the bush cherry, only annual growths are productive.
You can learn how to prune cherries from the video
Early spring is the best time to prune your cherries. This must be done before the first buds appear. Then the plant will be able to get stronger enough during the period of flowering and active growth.
You should start pruning cherries annually from the very beginning of planting. This way you can avoid thickening the crown, leading to the weakening of the tree. And only a strong cherry can give a rich harvest of sweet and large berries. If you decide to give shape to a neglected tree, then in no case do not cut everything out in one go. This will lead to severe weakening and even death of the plant. In this case, it is best to start forming the tree gradually.
After planting a seedling, you should immediately set it in the right direction for growth. To do this, leave 5-6 of the most viable and strong shoots. The rest should be completely removed and the damaged areas should be treated with garden pitch. Try to keep the remaining shoots at least 10 cm apart. In addition, it is desirable that they look in different directions. Further pruning consists of the following stages:
- crown formation and prevention of tree thickening. To do this, you need to remove all branches growing inward, and also break off the shoots that appear on the trunk;
- remove branches that are too long to control the height of the tree;
- shorten shoots that exceed 0,5 m in length on bushy tree varieties;
- form new skeletal branches as the cherry develops. In the end, there should be about 12-15 of them;
- remove all dried and damaged shoots every year.
Cherry pruning is an important process. With the correct formation of the crown, you can significantly increase the viability of the tree, as well as improve the quality and quantity of the crop. The main thing is to pay at least a minimum of attention to the tree every year.