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The apple tree is the main fruit crop in the countries of the former Soviet Union and occupies about 70% of the area of all orchards. Its wide distribution is due to economic and biological features. The apple tree is durable, there are many varieties that are well adapted for growing and fruiting in various climatic zones. Even in Siberia it is cultivated in slate form. You can talk endlessly about the benefits of apples, their culinary properties.
But in order for the tree to bear fruit well from year to year, it must be looked after as it should be. The list of necessary measures for the maintenance of apple orchards includes fertilizing, watering, indispensable water charging for the winter, complex pest and disease treatments, mandatory crown formation and pruning. For some reason, recent events scare inexperienced gardeners the most. Today we will look at pruning an apple tree in the fall for beginners.
Why prune apple trees
It is not uncommon to meet apple trees that the owners “sorry” and do not prune, and then they are surprised that the harvest is bad. In the end, in order for the tree to bear fruit normally, it is necessary to remove large branches, inflicting sensitive wounds on it. Pruning is a mandatory event, it is better to carry it out from the moment the apple tree is planted. Its purpose is:
- the formation of a crown of the correct shape;
- tree height adjustment;
- strengthening branches;
- regulation of fruiting;
- ensuring optimal illumination of the crown;
- improvement of fruit quality;
- removal of old, diseased, unproductive branches;
- facilitating tree care and harvesting;
- increase the life span and fruiting of apple trees;
- rejuvenation of old trees;
- increase in winter hardiness.
If pruning is not carried out, the apple tree can bloom profusely every year, but the harvest will be poor or consist of a large number of small fruits. Without access to sunlight, they will not fill with sweetness, and thickened branches will become a breeding ground for pests or diseases. All the forces of the apple tree will be spent on the development of useless shoots.
The scheme proposed by us shows the structure of an adult tree.
When to prune apple trees
It is believed that fruit trees are best cut in the spring, before the start of sap flow. For cherries, plums, apricots, or other stone fruits, there is no other option. But pome trees – apple, pear, can be cut in the fall. This is even preferable, because spring, especially in the southern regions, can come suddenly, and you simply do not have enough time to remove the branches.
In winter, fruit trees are pruned only by professionals in extensive gardens – they have no other choice due to the large amount of work. For beginners, it is better not to even take it. After the onset of frost, the bark around the cut often peels off, freezes and heals for a long time. Even cracking of wood is possible, especially after abundant fruiting or a dry summer. It is easier to perform all the necessary operations at a positive temperature.
You can prune apple trees in autumn in all regions. In hot or temperate climates, this is done after leaf fall. In the northern regions, it is better to start pruning in September – early October, after harvesting, so that the tree has time to close the wounds before the onset of frost. It turns out that late varieties in cold climates will have to be groomed in the spring.
pruning apple trees
There are many ways to form the crown of apple trees, for example:
- sparsely layered;
- bladed;
- spindle-shaped (spindelbush);
- oblique palmette;
- horizontal (Hungarian) palmette;
- Taganrog boat.
In order not to scare novice gardeners, we will describe the principles that give an idea of uXNUMXbuXNUMXbhow to cut and shape apple trees. This will allow you to grow a healthy, regularly fruiting tree and fill your hand. As skills are acquired, pruning techniques will also improve.
Apple pruning methods
When pruning fruit trees, there are two main ways:
- shortening – cutting off part of the branches;
- thinning – their complete removal.
Any shortening activates growth and branching. With heavy pruning, 3-4 strong young shoots usually grow. Weak causes the development of fewer short branches. Thinning – brightens the crown, makes it possible to gain strength and normally bear fruit for existing shoots.
Apple pruning degree
In practice, there are three degrees of pruning fruit trees:
- Strong, when 50-60% of the annual growth is shortened by more than half the length. The rest of the overgrown branches are removed to the ring. Usually, after a strong pruning, a large number of vertically directed fat shoots (tops) grow.
- With moderate pruning, 40-50% of young branches are shortened by a third or half of the length, the same amount is cut into a ring. The result will be the absence of tops, normal growth.
- Short pruning – shortening 20-30% of young branches by 1/5-1/4 of the length and completely removing a third of the growth. At the end of next year, the shoots will lengthen by only 5-10 cm.
Well-groomed adult apple trees that have received a sufficient amount of moisture during the growing season are pruned lightly or moderately. Running trees need to remove a large number of branches.
Types of pruning apple trees
There are the following types of pruning apple trees:
- Formative. It starts from the first years of the life of an apple tree and continues for several years. It aims to form a frame of the required shape from skeletal branches (of the first order and leader).
- Regulating fruiting. Provides a balance between branch growth and yield.
- Sanitary. Provides removal of dry, diseased, broken shoots.
- Restorative. Restores the crown of a tree after severe frostbite or mechanical damage.
- Rejuvenating. Designed to prevent cessation of growth or fruiting. In very old apple trees, vegetation can resume.
In fact, annual pruning, often referred to as maintenance pruning, combines all of the above. For a young apple tree, it is more formative, an old tree is rejuvenated as much as possible, and in an adult, fruiting is regulated.
Required Tools
In order to prune apple trees, you will need:
- ratchet secateurs – for trimming branches thicker than 2 cm in diameter;
- ordinary secateurs – for trimming thin shoots;
- secateurs with long handles – for cutting high-lying branches;
- garden saw – for cutting thick branches that cannot be cut with secateurs;
- garden knife – for stripping wood or bark.
Sections that do not exceed 1 cm in diameter are usually not treated with anything. The wound surface of a large area is covered with a mixture of mullein and clay or oil paint. If you removed a thick skeletal branch on a tree, it will have to be processed in spring and autumn until it overgrows.
apple pruning technique
Depending on the thickness of the branch and the purpose of its removal or shortening, pruning is distinguished into a kidney, a ring, a lateral branch. Let’s get to know them in more detail.
Pruning an apple tree
To give the shoot the desired direction of growth, it is shortened by a bud, which must necessarily be located on the outside of the branch. The cut must be made at a 45 degree angle. It should not be too close to the kidney, so as not to damage it, but the left stump should not be longer than 1 cm.
Pruning an apple tree for a ring
The ring is called a woody influx at the base of a thick branch. To remove it, a cut is made along the outer edge. Over time, it will drag on the bark, and we will not cause much damage to the tree. If you make a cut close to the trunk, touching the ring, the wound surface will grow poorly, perhaps a hollow or shell will form there. This will not benefit the apple tree, as well as the left stump, which will peel off the bark, rot the wood.
Before removing a thick branch, be sure to make a small cut at the bottom of the ring, and only then saw it completely. Thus, it will not collapse under its own weight, breaking off the bark and injuring the trunk. Clean the cut with a garden knife so that the influx forms faster, treat the wound surface with oil paint or a mixture of mullein and clay.
Watch a video detailing how to remove thick branches from apple trees:
Pruning an apple tree on a side branch
If two branches grow from the same place, that is, they form a fork, and one of them needs to be removed, they are pruned to a side branch (for translation). Depending on the thickness, a pruner or a saw is used, the wound surface with a diameter of more than 1 cm is treated.
How to prune an apple tree
A young, just planted apple tree is not pruned in the same way as an adult fruit-bearing or old one. We will look at how to carry out this operation in the fall for beginners, depending on the age of the tree.
Pruning an apple tree when planting
Shorten the apple tree to a height of 90 cm, and the side branches (if any) – by 2/3. Remove all shoots below 40 cm completely. This is done in order to subsequently form an apple tree, which will be easy to care for. As the trunk grows, it will stretch out, and the lower branches will be just at such a height that it is convenient to walk or harvest.
Pruning a 3-5 year old apple tree
After the tree takes root well and spends 2-3 years on your site, you need to start forming the crown. Keep in mind that branches directed vertically upwards almost do not produce a crop. Most fruits ripen on shoots located almost parallel to the ground level.
As skeletal branches, leave 3-4 of the strongest, growing horizontally and looking in different directions. Cut the rest of the shoots into a ring. If you have already formed the second tier, do the same. Now cut 1/3 of the skeletal branches to the outer bud.
Pruning a fruiting apple tree
Prune off any broken, dry, or diseased branches first. Then remove the tops – shoots going vertically up, they still will not bear fruit. Now take a close look at the tree and cut out the weak branches pointing inwards, crossing over. Shorten the remaining shoots. The apple tree should be well lit and ventilated, only then it will give a good harvest.
Pruning an old apple tree
Old fruiting apple trees are pruned as described above. The difference is that the time has come to change the unpromising, that is, the skeletal branches that have practically stopped producing crops. They are removed in turn, but not on the ring, but leaving a small stump cut at an angle of 45 degrees.
Grown tops are removed, leaving 1-2 best ones. With the help of a twine, they are gradually bent, transferring them to a horizontal plane, and new skeletal branches are formed by pruning.
Sometimes an old apple tree grows on our site, which practically no longer bears fruit, but it’s a pity to lose the variety, and the place is good. You can cut the entire trunk of a tree at an angle of 45 degrees, and form a new crown from the branches that have grown around it.
The video we offer for viewing for beginner gardeners will help you make the right pruning and avoid many mistakes:
Conclusion
Of course, pruning apple trees is not the easiest operation. But in order to get a decent harvest, it is simply necessary.