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Such a procedure, quite important for plants, as pruning, consists in removing part of the shoots and branches. Its implementation allows you to regulate the development and growth of trees and shrubs. In addition, it can also protect plants from the spread of certain diseases.
When is the best time to cut
The period of time from the end of January to the beginning of April is considered traditional for pruning. The timing of its implementation depends on the type of vegetation and weather, which has a rather significant impact on the condition of plants. Since weather conditions cannot be accurately predicted, it is also impossible to determine a specific date when spring pruning should begin. In different years, the time of this operation shifts by one and a half, or even two weeks.
The main reference point in such a situation is the end of the dormant period of plants and the beginning of the movement of juice in them. Pruning should be done at a time when there is no sap flow yet, but it is about ready to begin. Damage inflicted at this time overgrow rather quickly and is the least painful for plants. Since the dormant period of different fruit trees ends at different times in the spring, this allows you to plan this procedure.
In the regions of Central Our Country, in Siberia and the Urals, they start it from the end of winter until the beginning of flowering. In the Moscow region, the optimal pruning time is the time interval from mid-March to early May. Moreover, in the north and north-west it is almost two weeks longer than in the south of the region.
Fruit trees
Pruning has different purposes, depending on the situation. So for young trees in the first three to five years of life, it is carried out to form a crown and stimulate its volume. Such formative pruning is designed to create a decorative, but at the same time well-lit and easy-to-care crown, which speeds up the start of flowering and increases yield.
In the future, for mature fruit trees, regulatory pruning is carried out, which is aimed at improving crown illumination conditions and maintaining yields. On aging plants, anti-aging pruning should be carried out, which helps to maintain growth processes, activates the laying of generative buds, and stimulates yield. It should be carried out without waiting for the apical growth to fade, in which case it will be possible to preserve your favorite varieties of fruit plants for a long time.
After mechanical damage to the crown, it is brought into proper form by restoring pruning. And in the case when the branches and shoots have not been cut off for quite a long time, such a type of pruning as sanitary should be done on such a neglected plant.
What to do with tree branches in the first 4 years
Apple trees are one of the most popular fruit trees in gardens. In the early periods of their growth, they are characterized by a tendency to a strong thickening of the crown. In this regard, from the third year after planting on them, they begin to carry out shaping pruning in the spring to create a crown of the desired type. In this case, the pruning should not be very strong, since this will cause the appearance of a large number of regenerative shoots that contribute to excessive thickening.
If the apple trees have entered the fruiting period, then pruning and transferring to the side of their long branches are carried out taking into account the characteristics for each variety. So in plants of varieties with a compressed, pyramidal crown such as Parmen winter gold, Papirovka, etc. produce crown expansion and pruning to external branches. In varieties with a drooping and spreading crown such as Pepin saffron, Pepin Lithuanian, etc. carry out the cutting of branches at the bend, transferring them to growing to the top.
The pear has earned the fame of a complex plant from many gardeners. Therefore, quite often, its spring pruning is not carried out at all for fear of doing something wrong. As a result, due to excessive overgrowth, such trees have a neglected appearance and, at the same time, the yield and quality of fruits decreases. Pear should be pruned regularly, starting with thinning the crown and ending with the shortening of the shoots.
Scheme of wood processing by years (figure – the year of the tree’s life)
In young apricots, shaping crown pruning is carried out by shortening by a third or up to half of long growths. In strongly branching varieties of such fruit plants, thinning is carried out. In the case when a weakening of growth is observed, rejuvenating circumcision should be done. To increase the winter hardiness of color buds, apricots are additionally pruned from May to June. In this case, premature young shoots appear, in which fruit buds do not have time to fully form and flowering is a little late.
Cherry pruning is carried out in order to reduce the height and form a crown in the form of a bowl. Since it tends to give fairly strong growths of up to one and a half meters, they must be shortened by a third or half of the length in order to improve fouling with bouquet branches. It should be noted that sweet cherries will develop well and bear fruit even without regular pruning. To stimulate the growth processes of aging trees, they are pruned for the purpose of rejuvenation, causing the growth of young shoots.
Pruning such a representative of fruit plants as a plum depends largely on the type of tree. If the varieties are characterized by an average growth of about 40 centimeters, then during pruning, the branches are only thinned out in places of thickening, but not shortened. In varieties that are weakly branching at a young age, when strong, but poorly overgrown with lateral branches, growths appear (for example, Anna Shpet, Early ripening red, etc.), slight shortening is carried out. This contributes to the development of lateral growths and forms a compact crown. With age, when the branches begin to give weak growths of no more than 15 centimeters, they should be cut with transfer to young branches.
Cherries, especially non-branching annual seedlings, begin to be pruned from the first year of planting. In plants up to three years old, young growth is shortened by a third or a quarter of the length in order to activate the development of lateral buds in this way. In cherries, lateral branches are often observed at an acute angle from the trunk. In a plant, the wood in these places is very brittle and this type of branching is often broken. Therefore, such shoots at an angle of less than twenty degrees should be cut out, while others should be transferred to a side branch.
In quince and cherry plum, the purpose of pruning is to form it into a low tree or bush. Therefore, to obtain a compact crown, long growths are shortened. In cherry plum, with the beginning of the third year of fruiting, thickening is observed, in connection with this, it needs to thin out the crown. On aging plants, for the purpose of rejuvenation, old branches are shortened to young strong branches.
Video “Pruning fruit in autumn”
Shrubs
In the spring, shaping, regulating and rejuvenating pruning is carried out on fruit and ornamental shrubs. In this case, those plants in which the formation of flower buds occurs only on last year’s shoots should not be cut.
By cutting up to 1/3 of the branches of the total crown volume, you can significantly rejuvenate the old shrub, and increase the yield of neglected fruit plants. But in order not to weaken the shrub much, such an operation should be carried out in several stages.
Pruning of gooseberries and currants is carried out by thinning the bushes by cutting to a strong lateral branching or entirely 5-6 year old branches, the growth of which does not exceed 15 centimeters. Hanging branches are also pruned.
In raspberry spring, successfully overwintered annual shoots are shortened to the first bud, which is well developed. In the rows of raspberries, no more than 15 of the strongest shoots are left per linear meter, reaching a height of at least one and a half meters. And shrubs such as flowering derain, viburnum, cercis, tree peony and shadberry do not require pruning at all.
The secrets of proper pruning
In addition to the right timing, the cropping technology also plays an important role. It is better not to cut frozen plants in the spring at all, but to postpone this procedure to the next season, when the areas damaged during frosts will be clearly visible.
It is important to properly prune young branches. The buds remaining on them should not be directed inside the crown, but look outward, which helps to form a beautiful and regular top. Shoots growing at an acute angle are cut into a ring. I shorten branches up to a centimeter thick with secateurs, leaving a spine no more than two millimeters above the kidney.
Branches thicker than 3 centimeters should be cut in two stages. First, the incision must be made from below, and then sawed from above. This will help to avoid damage to the bark in the form of burrs if the branch separates under its own weight during sawing.
After removal of branches with diameters over two centimeters, a special treatment of the cut should be done to prevent the penetration of pests or pathogens and protect against drying out. To do this, a layer of garden pitch containing pine resin (rosin) is applied to it with a thickness of at least half a centimeter. Recently, in addition to this classic remedy, latex paints containing copper salts and artificial bark have also been actively used – Lac Balsam, which helps to accelerate the process of cambium formation.
Video “Pruning fruit trees in spring”
To know how and when to prune fruit trees in the spring, we recommend watching this video. Here are the most helpful tips.
