A garden in the country or in the courtyard of a private house is the dream of many people. It is pleasant to spend time on a bench among the trees with a book in hand. But people want to see not only nature, but also have a good harvest to pick fruit. The garden needs care. You need to know exactly how and when to prune fruit trees, what time of the year it is better to carry out these actions, because the quality of the crop will depend on proper care.
What is pruning for?
Many amateur gardeners believe that it is easy to do without pruning fruit trees. According to them, the crown itself will grow, earlier fruits will appear, there will be a high yield. No, this assumption is erroneous, the correct pruning of trees is the key to a long fruit life. Also, with each season will increase the yield.
If a person does not know how and when to prune fruit trees, and will do everything at his discretion, then soon the fruits are chopped. With each season, there will be less and less fruit, but in the end a year will come that will not bring a harvest at all.
Pruning fruit trees and shrubs is important. Every gardener must understand this and take the right action. Pruning is needed for young, old and aging trees. Thus, the wood is rejuvenated and bears fruit better. And many valuable varieties bred by breeders especially need pruning. There are specialists who offer their professional services in the garden.
When is pruning done?
Gardeners often do not pay much attention to the timing of rejuvenation of the garden plot. Let's see when the spring pruning of fruit trees should be done.
The best time is the end of February or the beginning of March, when the danger of the return of severe frosts passes. Pruning begins with young pomegranate gardens. First, these are pears and apple trees, black and red currants (if the thickness of the snow allows).
In late March or early April, most crops are trimmed. First it is pome, then stone fruit trees. Young crops should be trimmed before the sap flow begins, since at a later date, the plants weaken with each lost branch.
In May-June, pruning is carried out during the flowering of trees and shrubs. Adult plants can be rejuvenated even after sap flow, so reduce the recovery processes of growth.
Care in the warm season
In the summer, some crops are also trimmed. This procedure allows you to delay the flowering of the tree for the next year, which helps to minimize yield loss during early frosts (for example, this is important for apricot). They also break and pinch unwanted shoots. Ornamental plants are pruned in the summer season. To resume flowering, inflorescences and flowers are removed.
How and when to prune
fruit trees and shrubs in the fall? Is it possible to carry out such procedures this season? Yes, to restore and rejuvenate neglected apple trees,
gooseberries, black and red currants, raspberries and many others.
If gardeners know how to prune fruit trees in spring, then the harvest of the garden will always delight the owner with healthy and juicy fruits. The plant will live for many years.
Existing species
To rejuvenate trees and shrubs, different types of pruning are used, there are about five of them, a combination is also possible.
The first type is formative. Initially, it is required to give the desired shape and size to the crown. But you need to know how to prune fruit trees. All excess branches are cut off at the trunk itself, large ones - by a third, thin - twice.
The second type is regulatory. It is aimed at maintaining a balance between crown growth and fruiting. All vertical, skeletal branches and processes inside the tree are cut. Such actions will give the crown a pyramid shape.
The third type is anti-aging. Such pruning is carried out to maximize the growth of all branches (old and young).
The fourth type is restoration. If the tree or its branches were subjected to frost or mechanical damage, then partial pruning is performed.
The fifth type is sanitary. This is the pruning of damaged, painful, dry or broken branches. In practice, gardeners often combine all types of rejuvenation.
Decent care extends plant life
In order to understand how and when to prune fruit trees, it is enough to study the literature and try to apply the acquired knowledge. Often people turn to specialists for help. Pruning fruit trees differs from pruning ornamental shrubs, because pears, apricots, apple trees, currants, cherries are grown to produce delicious fruits and berries. When inexperienced gardeners do the pruning themselves, then often shoots grow a little later. They need to be removed, perhaps several times. If you properly care for trees that have large roots, they can live up to thirty years. Vegetation, whose roots are short, bears fruit much earlier (three years after planting).
Pruning apple trees
Each fruit tree needs a separate care. The apple tree in our country is quite popular. It grows in almost every garden. Pruning apple trees depends on the general condition of the tree: age, structural features, crown. In a separate period of time, different actions are performed. At the time when the apple tree bears fruit, prune it in a regulatory manner. During aging, rejuvenation is performed. During the growth and development of the tree, forming pruning is performed.
If the apple tree is quite old, then she needs special care. As a rule, on such trees there are many small fruits located at the very top. Apple trees are tall and have many dying branches. Trimming such a tree should be done gradually, over a period of 2-3 years. Start on the south side. For apple trees, a low and narrow crown is suitable.
Pruning of fruit trees and berry bushes
Gardeners want to make the most of their land. For this purpose, fruit trees and berry shrubs cut as much as possible. In pears, the crown itself is similar to a pyramid, therefore it does not require constant adjustment. One problem: the tree quickly launches vertical branches, some need to be removed, the rest turned into fruiting.
Stone fruit plants form from two to four years of age. For a long time it is impossible to tighten with pruning, as cherries, plums and cherries are very difficult to bring into the desired shape. Fruiting stone fruits are difficult to tolerate the removal of large branches.
In spring, currants, gooseberries, raspberries, blackberries require anti-aging pruning.
Shortening and thinning
There are two ways to prune fruit trees. The first is called shortening - partial shoots and branches are removed. This approach stimulates kidney growth. You can shorten strongly, by half of the branch, medium - by one third, and weakly - a quarter of the shoot is removed. Using this method, trees are rejuvenated. If the branches are large and long, then strong pruning is performed.
The second method is called thinning (cutting). In this case, branches and shoots are removed completely. The method is suitable for fruit trees whose crowns are too thickened.
If you properly care for the garden, then fresh and juicy fruits will always be present on your table!