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Pruning crops in the garden in the spring season is a serious undertaking. To perform manipulations, you need to choose the right time, the appropriate tools, and then get to work. What are the features of performing competent pruning of garden plants, how to remove branches from different types of crops? We will talk about this in this article.
Principles of correct pruning
In order to carry out competent pruning of trees and shrubs in the spring, you should follow some rules. You will have to remove shoots that will not be useful in the future. In many fruit trees, the main crop ripens on regrown branches. If the crown is too thick, unproductive and old branches are removed. The shoots growing downwards are also removed during spring pruning.
Cropping methods on the diagram
Since they account for the least amount of light, and they are considered unpromising. In the spring, it is also necessary to prune branches that have managed to grow up. Although the degree of their productivity is lower than those located horizontally, they are productive. Harvesting from such branches is more difficult. When pruning trees and shrubs, young shoots that are an obstacle to the growth and development of the rest should be removed. At the end of the pruning, the place of the cut is smeared with garden pitch. To remove small and large branches in the spring, it is recommended to use a sharp pruner.
For thicker branches, a file or a lopper is suitable, and for very large ones, a manual or chainsaw. The formation of fruit trees and shrubs is carried out at a time when the air temperature is stable at more than -4 degrees. After spring pruning of diseased branches or shoots, do not forget to disinfect the tool with alcohol. The spring formation of the crown of trees is carried out before the start of the sap flow period. After the pruning procedure, you need to control that the branches grow in a horizontal position.
How to process fruit trees
Pruning fruit trees in spring depends on their species. Unnecessary branches are removed from apple trees so that the main trunk remains intact, in relation to which the remaining branches will grow at an obtuse angle. In the process of crop development, the upper part can change direction under the weight of the crop, give a shadow, or press down the lateral shoots with weight. If this happens, the top of the main trunk will have to be cut off. This is how the illumination of the crown is achieved, and new shoots will begin to grow vertically from the main trunk. Plum is similar in shape to shrubs, since it does not have a main trunk.
When pruning, such trees form a cupped crown. The central conductor is removed; annually in the spring, old branches and shoots are cut out if they are located close to each other. It is necessary to shorten branches that are too long and hang down to the ground. The formation of cherries is different from other fruit trees. Its buds are located at the ends of the branches, so they cannot be shortened. If you cut off the tip, the branch will dry out. Cherry branches are cut out completely for the purpose of thinning. Peach and apricot grow intensively, cutting young fruit trees is advised carefully. These tall crops have their tops removed. It is also necessary to remove the branches that are located low.
Video “Pruning an apple tree in spring”
Berry bushes
Shrubs that are pruned in the spring are treated in the same way. The exception is grapes. Old branches are removed, as young shoots will produce more yield. Branches infected with dangerous diseases and attacked by pests are removed under the main trunk. The branches remaining after the work is thinned out. Berry crops are processed to form a bush with branches of different ages that will not interfere with each other’s normal growth.
For example, consider the scheme for the formation of a bush of a popular garden crop – blackcurrant. A year after the first pruning of a young plant, a couple of basal shoots can grow from the roots. They are also called zero, new shoots appear on them every year. At a seedling of 2 – 3 years, no more than 4 zero branches should be left. To stimulate the appearance of a large number of branches, the tops of the basal shoots are also cut off. In weakly branching bushes, it is permissible to remove shoots up to half of the entire length. Within 4 – 5 years, the same procedure is carried out to remove zero branches and shorten them. Both sick and weak branches are removed.
By the 5th year of the life of the bush, it will have 2 – 4 basal shoots from each year, and the process of crown formation will be considered completed. Old bushes must be thinned out to remove unproductive branches.
They are easy to find – they have a brown tint, grow no more than 10 cm annually, in places of fruiting they look dry and dying. Pruning gooseberries is carried out in the same way as currants. Here one should take into account the features of growth – the formation of zero shoots is more intense. When properly caring for gooseberry bushes, you will have to remove hanging branches more often than currants.
They are cut at the root or heavily cut into lateral shoots. It is also necessary to cut raspberries, taking into account some features of the culture. After planting, the shoots are completely cut to ground level. This allows you to form viable shoots, which is the key to a good harvest next season. When the bushes bear fruit, all fruiting shoots are removed under the root and annuals are thinned out. The thinning density is 12 – 15 first-year shoots per linear meter. The distance is left at 25 cm. Viable shoots with sufficient height are cut into 3-5 buds.
Useful Tips
When performing work to remove branches from trees and shrubs, you should meet the generally accepted deadlines – you can not perform manipulations with the beginning of the sap flow period. At this time, the wounds received by the crops in the process of forming the crown with the help of sharp tools will be tightened heavily and for a long time. The processing times for different types of horticultural crops are different, which allows you to easily manipulate each tree on the site.
Procedures should be carried out at a temperature close to 0 degrees. At the end of the work, do not forget to treat the cut with garden pitch, a mixture of yellow clay with cow dung or paint. Berry bushes, in which buds form on one-year-old shoots, cannot be cut at this time of the year. Processing is recommended to be carried out, taking into account the age of the tree and its size.
Video “Pruning fruit trees”
How to properly prune trees so that they give a good harvest? Do not know? Then don’t miss the next tutorial in the video below.
