All garden trees require a lot of attention and care, which will surely guarantee a diligent gardener high levels of harvest.
Today we will talk about pruning apple trees. Let us examine all the pros and cons of spring and autumn pruning, schemes for correct trimming of tree branches, and also when it is better to prune apple trees.
Also, consider the features of care for young and old apple trees.
Everything you need to know about pruning an apple
Regular pruning of apple branches not only stimulates proper growth wood and forming a beautiful crown. Also, thanks to the annual cutting of a young apple tree, we can stimulate the formation of large and beautiful fruits.
Thus, thanks to pruning apple trees, we can achieve various goals. It is worth noting that the pattern and directional characteristics of pruning depend significantly on the age of the tree, and can be directed to:
- pruning the crown of an apple tree, which would be not only beautiful and correct, but also convenient for harvesting;
- strengthening and proper growth of young branches of a tree, removal of competitors;
- an increase in the number of branches that can bear fruit, the removal of dry and unnecessary branches;
- crown dilution to provide the fruits with the right amount of sunlight;
- pruning old, damaged and dried branches that hinder the development of new ones;
- preparation of the apple for the onset of the cold winter period.
It is important to note that pruning apple trees usually spend autumn or spring less in summer. The choice of the season for the implementation of this type of care for the fruit tree will depend on what goals you want to achieve through pruning.
Autumn pruning of apple trees: benefits, rules, terms
Autumn pruning is carried out in late autumn., after all the leaves have fallen off and the tree begins to move to a period of winter calm. The main purpose of pruning is to remove old, rotten, or damaged branches.
This allows you to prepare the tree for the winter. It is important to know that after the onset of frosts, it is not necessary to start removing apple branches. Otherwise, you will create a wound in the place of the cut (the place of cutting may freeze and begin to rot), which will recover for a long time.
Apple tree pruning scheme in autumn
To effectively remove unnecessary apple branches, you need to adhere to the following scheme:
- first of all, it is worth removing the largest branches that were broken or damaged for various reasons;
- where a large number of branches grows, the crown should be thinned out, leaving only the strongest and smoothest; weak and competing branches should be removed;
- cut also need those branches that depart from the trunk at an acute angle; This should be done because, firstly, with a heavy crop, such branches can quickly break under the weight of the fruit, and secondly, they will interfere with the harvest very much and thicken the crown, hiding the sunlight from the fruit;
- the pruning sites must be carefully processed, otherwise the first frost can damage the bark; used for processing garden var; it is also possible to gloss over damages with oil-based paint;
- all the branches that you cut should be collected and burned; This is done in order to destroy possible pests and fungal diseases that could have been formed on weak and damaged branches.
Pruning young apple trees
From trimming young apple tree will crown shape dependent adult fruit-bearing tree and also its productivity.
Also, in this way we create optimal conditions for the proper distribution of sunlight on the fruit. It creates a harmonious relationship between fruiting and tree growth. Proper care in the form of pruning apple trees gives strength.
How to form the crown of a young apple tree?
Apple crown can be of different types. In particular, as a result of targeted pruning you can get spindle-shaped, combined or mid-standard crown shape.
The easiest way to form a sparse-tiered crown. For it costs to cut off on a sapling all branches except 4-6 skeletal, leaving between them a distance of 30-40 centimeters.
Another simple way to form a crown is the medium-stem form. For this all branches below 80 or 110 centimeters from ground level are cut off. All branches that are higher than the lowest skeletal branch remain intact and develop independently.
When do you need to prune the young apple trees?
The most optimal time for pruning seedlings apple trees and young trees is spring. At what, you need to prune the trees before the onset of the growing season, that is, before budding.
It is also interesting to learn about pruning apple trees
We prune one-year-old apples
Directly when planting his one-year sapling the top branch is trimmed so that the remaining height of the tree was about 1 meter. Thanks to this procedure, in the first year of growth of a seedling, side shoots can form on it, which later will become the basis of the crown of an adult tree.
If the seedling has many branches, it is worth prune all side shoots about 40 centimeters, depending on the length of the shoot itself.
Tallest shootsthat grow at an acute angle to the main trunk of the seedling it is recommended to remove it altogether. Branches that form a right angle with the stem of the seedling are shortened to 3 or 5 buds.
It is important to know that the wider the angle of escape, the stronger the crown will then be formed from it and such trees enter into the fruiting period much earlier.
Correct pruning of a two-year-old apple tree seedling
Apple at the age of two has, in addition to the main stem, a few more side shoots. When pruning worth leave only 3-5 shootswhich in your opinion look the strongest and which depart from the trunk at right angles. All unnecessary branches are removed without sparing.
The main conductor is also pruned, but in such a way that it is about 4-5 buds higher than the rest of the branches. The rest of the shoots, too, need to be shortened so that the correct form of the crown is formed - the lower ones should be longer than the upper ones by 30 centimeters.
In this way, you will form a solid, rounded crown for your two-year-old apple tree.
Gardeners advise in the next 2-3 years do not prune the saplingotherwise you risk delay the start of fruiting. But still, do not forget to remove damaged and broken branches.
It is also necessary to monitor the formation of the crown constantly. If the side branches start to grow very rapidly, they should be shortened in such a way as to give the crown a rounded shape, leaving the necessary distance between all the branches described above.
Rules for pruning old apple trees
Besides that pruning an old apple tree will improve fruiting your apple tree, thanks to her you can properly distribute the space of the garden. Pruning old apple trees not in vain called anti-aging - it allows the formation of new fruit-bearing branches and prevents various diseases.
It is recommended to trim an adult tree only if it has a damaged trunk and many strong skeletal branches.
Basic guidelines for pruning an adult apple
Start pruning the old apple is better in the fall. Firstly remove everything follows damaged and dried branches. Also, those that are directed inside the crown and are an obstacle to the young shoots from the middle of the crown are trimmed.
We must act radically - do not be afraid saw off large but not fruiting branches. In this way, you will achieve a much more positive effect than by cutting off the many young fruiting shoots.
Delete follows several skeletal branches, especially if they grow incorrectly, hindering you, when harvesting, and the growth of other branches. Also, in an adult apple, about 20 years old, it is important to open the crown. This is done by cutting the top of the trunk at a height of about 3-3.5 meters (depending on the variety of apple).
Spring pruning apple - all you need to know
Early spring pruning recommended before the branches swell. Many people think that the best pruning of apple trees in the winter, in the period of frost. This choice naturally has its advantages:
- cutting off unnecessary branches in winter is much easier and thus you will damage apple trees much less;
- minimizes the likelihood of scorching of the bark of the apple tree, which very often occurs during spring pruning;
- if you use sharp tools for trimming, the possibility of freezing a large diameter of the trimming area is minimized if you cover them up with a pitch.
But still, the best and most well-established way is spring pruning of apple.
Basic rules and advantages of pruning apple trees in spring
- Spring pruning not only protects the places of cuts from frostbite, but also thanks to a quick start after the implementation of the sap flow pruning, cuts are quickly tightened.
- Places of cuts should be covered with garden pitch, as well as it is recommended to do in the fall.
- Pruning shoots is above the eyes, so that on the one hand the edge was at the level of the eye, and on the other it was slightly higher.
- Do not forget about the formation of the crown - the middle and lower branches should be longer than those that are above them; the tip should be the longest.
- Shoots, which were formed last year, must be cut.
- The length of pruning should depend on the type of tree growth: for undersized and dwarf apple trees, only 2-3 peepholes should be cut; for medium-sized apple trees, the shoot is cut by about 5 eyes; shoots of tall apple trees pruned by about 7-8, and even more, eyes.
