In the spring, summer residents begin to prepare for the new season. This is the most stressful time of the year, which requires gardeners and gardeners significant attention to their sites. Pruning trees in spring allows you to form the crown correctly, creating the conditions for a plentiful harvest of fruits in summer and autumn. Features of this procedure will be discussed later.
Procedure value
Every gardener dreams of getting stable high yields of fruits for a long time. To do this, plants need to provide proper care, the most important part of which is the correct pruning of fruit trees in spring.
By and large, such a procedure can be carried out not only during the preparation for the new summer season, but also in the fall. Sometimes, if an urgent need arises, such work is carried out in the summer. However, pruning garden trees in spring is especially important for regulating fruiting and improving crop quality. The procedure should be carried out extremely carefully, taking into account all the subtleties and following all the rules, otherwise the tree may weaken, cease to bear fruit, or even die.
Proper pruning of trees in the spring promotes the rejuvenation of plants, their rehabilitation (getting rid of sick and dried branches), the rational formation of the crown, in which each shoot receives maximum air and light.
The presented procedure allows you to grow trees of the right size with strong healthy branches that can withstand the heavy weight of the fruit.
Event Dates
To achieve the maximum effect from the procedure, it is important to know when to start pruning trees in spring. After all, if you start it too early, in a period when severe frosts can still return, the tree may not be able to bear them. And if you tighten with the implementation of this work to sap flow, it will "cry" for a long time. Next, you can watch a video about pruning trees in the spring. For beginner gardeners, this information is definitely useful.
Ideal conditions for starting such a process is clear weather with an air temperature of at least -5 º. Usually this weather sets in late February. In some regions, this opportunity is provided only in March. In the more northern regions, the timing of pruning trees in the spring is adjusted depending on climatic conditions.
If the trunk is split, there are broken or diseased branches, you will have to cut them at any time. In the absence of such extreme circumstances, it is better to carry out the procedure in accordance with all the rules, bearing in mind that such actions cause injury to the plant, which means that they must take place with minimal discomfort for the tree.
Instruments
That is why a very important issue in the procedure for pruning fruit trees in spring is the correct selection of tools and their quality. In order for the plants to recover after pruning as quickly as possible, the cut must be perfectly even. Therefore, experienced gardeners are advised to carry out all actions with a sharpened garden knife.
In the process of work, you will need a pruner. It is advisable to buy a tool without a ratchet mechanism.
For pruning trees in the spring and not only need a garden saw. This is a hacksaw, which is characterized by a special profile, tapering at the end. It is strictly forbidden to use an ordinary construction saw instead of it.
And another indispensable tool is a secateurs for trimming the upper branches. It is mounted on a long cane and actuated from a distance.
All tools must be well sharpened and sanitized. For better sharpening, you can pre-soak them in salt water by dissolving one tablespoon of salt in a glass of water. After each trimming, the tools must be cleaned and wiped with a cloth moistened with technical oil.
Knowing when to prune trees in spring, you can prepare everything you need in advance. You should also stock up on garden var. This is a special substance for processing slices.
Varieties of techniques
Depending on the purpose that the gardener pursues, pruning fruit trees in the spring can be directed:
- On the formation of the crown. As a result, it acquires the necessary silhouette, and the density of shoots decreases.
- To preserve the already formed crown, free it from extra shoots.
- On the rejuvenation of old trees. Such a procedure is carried out if the growth of new shoots per year is less than ten centimeters. It stimulates the renewal and growth of new branches.
- To restore the ability of the affected trees to bear fruit.
- To reorganize the plant, release it from dry and diseased branches.
In this case, different methods are used. Shoots can be shortened in different ways. The listed methods are chosen in accordance with the goals that the gardener has set for himself. These are effective treatments that help keep trees healthy and strong.
Young trees
Pruning of young trees in the spring is aimed at the formation of their crown. This procedure is carried out in the second year of life of the plant and continues for several years. How to do it? Further in the video about pruning trees in spring, beginner gardeners will find all the necessary information.
The central shoot is cut off at a height of approximately 0.8 m from the base, leaving at least ten eyes on it, from which young twigs subsequently grow. Thus, the first level is formed.
The next year, leave up to four strong branches, and the rest are removed. This will be the second level. They do the same for the next year, forming the third layer. When the tree reaches four meters in height, remove the extra trunk. It is higher than the upper lateral branches. This will stop the growth in the vertical direction, and the crown will be fully formed.
Mature trees
Need the correct formation of crowns and adult garden trees. First of all, diseased and dried branches are removed. Thinned crown of trees is thinned out, which contributes to improved illumination, more even distribution of fruits.
Carrying out such work will help to correctly form the crown of the tree. For example, in a pear, branches grow up. So, the growing shoots need to be directed down. To do this, cut shoots, the direction of which is determined in the direction of the sun. Those branches that bend to the ground leave. With trees, whose branches are directed downward, do the opposite.
In addition, pruning fruit trees in the spring promotes their rejuvenation. To do this, cut out the part of the trunk that forms the apex. At the same time, the crown is thinned out, removing the old, twisted shoots. If the tree is very dense, you do not need to remove many of its sprouts at a time. Otherwise, the plant is seriously injured. It is better to do this for several years.
Apple tree
Start pruning trees in spring with pome crops. These primarily include apple trees. The first such procedure is carried out immediately after planting. The young seedling is shortened to a height of slightly less than 100 cm.
From the side shoots, several of the strongest are chosen. They are usually directed in different directions. Such branches are shortened by a third or a quarter. In the absence of such branches, this operation is postponed to the next year.
Subsequent similar work is aimed at removing all dried and defective shoots, as well as branches that grow inward. Skeleton-forming branches are cut so that they are 23-28 cm shorter than the central column, and the lower branches are longer than the upper ones.
Pear
The pear formation pattern is similar to the procedure used for the apple tree. Immediately after planting, the young trunk has a shortened main trunk. This removes all branches that are located on the sides. Starting from the second year, the young plant is treated so that it turns out several tiers. Each of them includes several skeleton-forming branches. They diverge with a lush fan around the center. Each of them should be 23-27 cm below the main shoot.
Performing the presented procedure for an old pear, you need to remove not only all frozen, defective shoots, but also all branches that are on the sides and grow in a vertical plane or bend inward.
Peach
Following the pome crops, it is time to process stone fruit species. For example, for a peach, correct pruning at the time of planting is very important, designed to form a crown in the shape of a bowl with a very low strain. This is necessary so that the fruiting shoots are low and during severe winters are under a layer of snow to avoid freezing.
Therefore, immediately after planting a young seedling, it is shortened to a height of about 18-22 cm. A year later, during spring pruning of trees, all its young shoots shorten to three eyes.
In subsequent years, the structure is formed, leaving several skeleton-forming branches. A feature of the peach is that it bears fruit on shoots that are no more than one year old. Therefore, in the process of thinning out the structure, one should not spare last year’s branches. Strong prolific shoots cut to twenty-five centimeters. During the season, several young new shoots will grow from them, on which the fruits will be tied.
To make the peaches larger, the annual growth on which they are tied should be shortened by one third. Skeleton-forming branches are shortened to the kidney to direct their growth in the right direction. And of course, the spring procedure involves the removal of damaged, frozen and defective branches.
Cherries
The creation of the correct structurality of the branches in cherries and cherries is allowed exclusively in the spring. In young plants leave up to six strong branches growing in different directions. The main trunk should be twenty-five centimeters longer than the rest.
Shoots need to be thinned out. All dry and bare shoots are cut into a ring. To form the correct structure, strong shoots are shortened to a growing bud. On a properly formed tree, skeleton-forming branches grow at an angle of at least 45 ° to the trunk. By following the recommendations on the procedure for pruning garden trees in the spring, significant results can be achieved.
Recommendations from experienced gardeners
Pruning fruit trees in spring requires some theoretical knowledge from the gardener. Experienced summer residents say that you need to cut branches at the trunk itself, without leaving hemp. The cut should be smooth. It is necessary to leave a trace of a neatly overgrown ring.
If it was not possible to remove the shoot correctly, without damage, the cut should be cleaned and treated with garden varieties. When removing thick branches, you must first make a file below, and then on top, so that the falling branch does not damage the tree bark.
If the plant froze over the winter, it is better to postpone the procedure until next spring. It is impossible to drill drainage holes in the trunk, as well as to seal hollows. When pruning trees in spring with secateurs, you need to keep it in a narrow part to the branch.
These simple tips will help even a novice gardener to complete the procedure correctly. Productivity will be high, and trees will feel healthy.