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It just seems that the orchard is almost no trouble. In fact, trees need to be looked after: protected from pests, sheltered from frost on cold days, and crowned correctly. Tree pruning helps.
What is winter pruning for?
Winter pruning has a positive effect on tree growth and subsequent fruiting. A plant whose crown is not formed, and the branches are not thinned out, sooner or later begins to produce small crops of small, ugly fruits. And vice versa, large fruits grow on the branches cut in the right way. Pruning in winter is also more convenient because the tree stands without leaves and everything is visible, even the smallest branches, and it is easier to notice those that grow in bad directions.
Circumcision in winter
You can prune trees almost at any time from late autumn to early spring – that is, before the start of sap flow. However, it is pruning in February that is most favorable for the garden. Trees that have been pruned since autumn (“wounded”) have a harder time surviving the winter. In addition, the weather is not always conducive to successful pruning. This procedure is not recommended at temperatures below five degrees below zero – as in such conditions the wood becomes very fragile and the branches are too easy to damage. Obviously, it is most convenient to prune in winter, at the very end of February.
For those who check the favorable days for gardening according to the lunar calendar, we inform you that in February 2022 garden pruning can be carried out on the waning moon, starting from February 26.
Video “Pruning fruit trees”
The right technique
It is preferable to prune trees annually, and not once every two or three years, but very intensively. Trees that are accustomed to regular light pruning are much easier to tolerate this procedure. Small plants should be pruned in proportion to their size, that is, not too much. The maximum possible, but still safe pruning for a tree is the removal of no more than a third of branches and shoots per season.
Pruning depends on the type of tree. On apple trees, it is recommended to leave a strong central shoot and horizontal branches. If the plant is old and the fruits on the lower branches began to receive insufficient sunlight, you need to cut off the upper part of the central shoot. Peach and apricot trees tend to grow upwards and need to be pruned harder, removing the top of the crown. In berry bushes, it is customary to completely remove old branches.
Pruning the garden should only be done with sharp tools. In the household of every self-respecting gardener, there should be secateurs, garden shears and a garden hacksaw (namely, a garden hacksaw with a special blade, an ordinary home hacksaw is not suitable for such delicate work). Usually the cutting part of the tool is placed towards the part of the branch that will remain. The tool should be positioned at an angle of approximately 45 degrees. The cut should be made almost next to the kidney, and do not leave a large stump above it.
The pruner blade should be in the direction of the tree
The first thing to do is to remove dry leaves, dry, dead and diseased branches, if any are present on the tree. Important! After working with diseased branches, the tool should be disinfected, and the branches themselves should be burned, as they are dangerous for the garden. Although there should not be such branches for winter pruning – an attentive gardener carries out sanitary pruning of trees immediately, when the first signs of tree disease appear.
Next, you should completely remove the branches growing inside the crown and down. If the branch is too thick and broke when sawing, the procedure will have to be repeated and the branch cut below the break. Branches that grow vertically upwards should be cut off at the point of branching.
Thus, horizontal (conditionally horizontal, growing at an angle of 45-60 degrees) branches remain on the tree, growing outward – the most promising for fruiting. Branches with shoots need to be shortened by about a quarter or, at most, by a third.
Lastly, thin twigs growing in uncomfortable directions (up, down, inward) are removed. Sections with a diameter of more than 2 centimeters must be treated with a special ointment – garden pitch. Sometimes in winter the var does not fit well, then the cut point can be smeared with varnish based on drying oil. Numerous small shoots may appear near the cut, stretching upwards – they also need to be removed.
Advantages
Properly carried out pruning allows you to form the crown shape that is optimal for fruiting. If the tree is pruned slightly, then this stimulates the growth of new shoots. When the branches are thinned out, more sunlight enters the crown, which has a positive effect on fruit ripening. Finally, the fruits in the formed crown are more evenly spaced, which protects against broken branches.
If we talk about the benefits of pruning in winter, then this is a convenience for the gardener. The branches freeze through and it takes much less effort to trim them. In addition, the risk of damaging the bark these days is minimal. In addition, parasites wintering under the bark are removed from the plant along with cut branches. Gardeners recommend sanitary, shaping and rejuvenating pruning in winter.
Video “Spring fruit pruning”
To know when and what operations with branches are required on frosty days, do not miss this video. Here is the latest information for 2022.
