For a blooming and fruitful garden - when to prune fruit trees?

To have a good harvest, it is not enough just to plant a fruit tree. It is necessary to constantly keep it in shape. To do this, the branches are cut, giving them the right direction and removing unnecessary and sick ones. In this material, we will consider the question facing the gardener - pruning fruit trees: pruning timing.

Tips from the seasoned about when to prune apple trees in the fall. Choosing the best time

Almost every gardener has apple trees in his garden.
There are a huge number of varieties of this garden culture, apple trees grow almost everywhere, on any soil and bear fruit well.

But to achieve high productivity, apple trees need to pay a lot of attention and provide proper care..

This article will help clarify when you can prune your apple trees in fall.

This includes not only watering, spraying and adding essential nutrients to the soil. An important condition for abundant fruiting is also timely removal of unnecessary branches, in other words, pruning.

Apple trees, deprived of the correct formation of the crown, thicken, the leaves, trunk and roots are deprived of access to sunlight, air ventilation, and this, in turn, affects the quality and quantity of fruits.

Also, old plants are pruned for the purpose of rejuvenation., because over the years, old branches cease to bear fruit. As a result of pruning, such branches are replaced by young ones.

Compliance with the peculiarities of the apple pruning procedure will guarantee the creation of a beautiful crown and an excellent harvest.

Why prune in the fall

Autumn pruning, unlike spring pruning, is not aimed at crown formation and is carried out for sanitary purposes: old, depleted and diseased branches are removed. For an apple tree, bacteriosis (bacterial "burn", as a result of which the apple tree loses flowers) is dangerous, black cancer is a fungal disease, due to which the bark of the tree exfoliates and falls off.

Photo gallery: apple diseases

With bacteriosis, the whole tree is in black spots

An apple tree with black cancer looks like it is covered in soot.

Mosses and lichens do not harm the apple tree directly, but create conditions for the development of diseases

Can apple trees be pruned in the fall?

It is permissible to prune apple trees in autumn, spring and even summer... The purpose spring pruning is the removal of branches frozen over the winter and the formation of a crown to increase yields.

Moreover, this procedure must be carried out before the start of sap flow and before the buds appear on the tree. In summer the upper part of the crown is removed to thin out and provide access to sunlight for the fruits. In winter apple trees are pruned only in warm southern regions.

During autumn pruning, old, rotten, dried branches, broken from fruits, are removed from apple trees. Branches that are incapable of development take a lot of energy from the tree and it becomes less productive.

Young tree branches growing vertically upward, the so-called "tops", are also subject to pruning in the fall.

They are sterile and do not produce flowers or fruits. Such branches only thicken the crown and weaken the tree. In this way, removing unnecessary branches in autumn will increase the resistance of fruit trees to severe frosts and they will winter well.

How to properly prune the branches of fruit trees?

There are 8 types of branches that must be deleted:

Dried, diseased and broken branches:

• Bark beetles leave a characteristic pattern.
• Woodworms are easily recognizable by the drill meal poured out of the holes of the passages.
• The appearance of fruiting bodies of mushrooms is a dangerous symptom. The threads of the mycelium have entangled the entire tree, and its lifespan has been significantly reduced.
• Tinder fungus is one of the most dangerous parasitic fungi; it usually takes only a few years from the appearance of fruiting bodies to the death of a tree.
• An old rift. It is better to treat it right away - remove the broken off branch by pruning for translation, level the cut surface as much as possible and “apply a bandage” from a garden varnish or similar compounds.

A weak branch of two located side by side and going in the same direction:

• Approximate large branches going in the same direction interfere with each other. To make the pruning of a fruit tree properly, you will have to leave only one - which is stronger.
• If the branches are approximately equal in strength and you still need both, you can redirect them, "spread" in different directions by pruning for translation.

Branches that pose a threat to the safety of people and property.

Root growth and all shoots growing below the grafting site:

• The root shoots must be cut out in a timely manner, without waiting for the apple tree to turn into a multi-stem tree

Branches extending from the trunk at an acute angle:

• These are potential fault locations, and the sharper the angle, the more dangerous. The optimal angle of the branch of a fruit tree from the trunk is about 60 degrees, the allowable range is -45-80 degrees
• The consequences of sharp corners. Such a huge wound will remain until the end of the tree's life.

Branches directed downward, that is, attached to the trunk at an obtuse angle. The exception is the branches of weeping forms:

• Downward branches receive less power and are in poorer lighting conditions. And although at a certain stage, the branches directed downward can give more yield, they die off faster, thicken the crown and are loosely attached to the trunk.
• Sharp corners in the crown. Despite the fact that the branches look strong and durable, a rift can occur at any time

All intersecting branches rubbing against each other or one of them:

• With constant friction of the branches, significant damage is imperceptibly formed
• Intertwining and intersecting branches interfere with each other. They need to be "untwisted" by cutting off one or more branches

Branches growing inside the crown. Weak branches. Tops:

• Weak branches, branches growing inside the crown, several tops. Pruning of such a neglected tree should not be done in a "short time", it is better to stretch it over two or three seasons. And you will avoid many mistakes, and you will have to injure the apple tree less.
• Tops. It is impractical to get rid of everyone, of those that are relatively well located, you can try to form fruiting branches by systematic pruning.

The photo "Pruning fruit trees" shows which branches should be removed:

When are apple trees cut in autumn?

In order not to make mistakes during autumn pruning timing is important... The most favorable period is the time when the foliage falls from the apple tree and the growth of shoots stops.

There should be more positive temperature air, but there should be at least two more weeks before the first frost.

In order to correctly answer the question of when to prune apple trees in the fall - in what month, you need to take into account several factors. Much depends on the climatic conditions of the area.

For central Russia this is mid-October - early November. The tree is already entering a dormant period, but it can still cope with pruning wounds.

Importantto trim on a dry, sunny day.It is undesirable that the processing of the tree took place during the rain or immediately after it.

A few days after pruning, the apple tree should be inspected and watered abundantly.

TIP: You can add organic, phosphorus and potash fertilizers to the trunk circle. This will increase the resistance of the tree to frost. Read more about fertilizing apple trees in autumn here.

Care for strawberries after pruning

After you have cut all the leaves and whiskers from the strawberries, remove them from the pruning area and burn them if they are affected by diseases or pests. Then, after weeding, treat the beds from diseases and pests. Be sure to apply fertilizer to the soil. It can be organic or mineral complex. If the weather is dry, water the area regularly so that the soil is slightly damp all the time: under such conditions, young leaves will grow faster.

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Pruning schemes

The pruning scheme for apple trees is not very complicated. You just need to know a few rules to get the maximum effect.

Depending on the age of the apple tree, there are the following autumn pruning schemes:

• Weak pruning carried out for young trees, while cutting off a fourth of the branches that have grown over the summer.
• Medium cut carried out for apple trees at the age of 5-7 years, a third of the grown branches are cut off.
• Strong pruning carried out for old trees, half of the branches that have grown in a year are removed in order to thin out the crown.

Pruning Scheme Option # 1 for trees 1-4 years old.

Option pruning scheme No. 2.

In the figure, branches for pruning are marked in red.

Correct pruning techniques for fruit trees: pruning and cutting technology

Fruit tree pruning technology

There are two main methods of pruning fruit trees - pruning (shortening) and cutting (removing). When thinning - removing a certain number of branches - the volume of the crown changes little, but in appearance it becomes more delicate. As a result, the illumination of the crown improves, and, consequently, more generative buds are laid. In many cases, when deleting a branch, you have to think about replacing it. Removing a large number of large branches upsets the balance between the aboveground and underground parts, the tree seeks to replenish the lost volume and reacts with rapid growth, most often - the formation of tops, and if the situation gets out of control, then after a couple of seasons the crown will be even more thickened than before trimming. It is wiser to stretch radical thinning over several seasons, or to shorten the branches first and then gradually cut them out.

When pruning fruit trees correctly, you need to be very careful. The more the shortening, the more branching in the next year. If the tree is prone to branching strongly (it depends on the variety), it is not recommended to shorten it, it is better to cut the whole branch. With a short pruning (about 1/3 of the branch removed), a few shoots will grow in the upper part. With a strong pruning of fruit trees (1/3 of the branch remains), few shoots are formed in the remaining part of the branch, they will be powerful and will diverge at sharp angles. In most cases, growths less than 40 cm long are not shortened. On the other hand, if it is necessary to stimulate growth, then you have to prune heavily.

Some varieties have long annual growths, but low bud awakening - branching occurs only in the upper part, and the lower buds remain in reserve, as a result, the crown becomes "ankle" and voluminous. In this case, strong shortening stimulates branching and makes the crown more compact.

Observing the technology of pruning fruit trees, it is important not to overdo it when shortening the shoots of a young tree.Excessive zeal can delay the entry into fruiting - the tree will need to restore lost shoots, spending a lot of energy on this.

The video "Pruning fruit trees" clearly demonstrates how pruning and cutting of branches is performed:

When to prune apple trees in the fall: in which month

If the apples in the neighboring garden are larger, and the trees themselves are more beautiful, then the owner needs to learn the basics of correct pruning of apple trees. Garden trees should not grow uncontrollably: every year it is necessary to revise the branches, inspect the shoots and remove all unnecessary. The gardener must understand that an overly thickened crown draws juices from the tree, the plant simply does not have enough strength to form and ripen beautiful and fragrant fruits. Not all summer residents know how to properly prune an apple tree in autumn and spring, according to what scheme to prune apple trees, what tools to use for this.

This article will tell you when to prune apple trees: in autumn or spring, what is the best way to prune young apple trees, and how to rejuvenate old trees.

What else does a gardener need to prune fruit trees

Before properly pruning fruit trees, prepare the following clothing and accessories:

• Comfortable clothing according to the weather, which does not restrict movement and does not cling to branches.
• Comfortable low-heeled shoes with non-slip soles.
• A headdress, preferably with a visor.
• Gardening gloves (knitted or leather) for a tight grip on the tool.
• Goggles or a mask that you use, for example, when working with a saw or lawn mower. They will protect your eyes from accidental movement of branches or sawdust.

Also, for pruning fruit trees in a summer cottage, you will need a stepladder that stands steadily on the ground, or a stable and sturdy table.

And last but not least, in such a responsible matter as pruning garden trees with your own hands - this is a reliable assistant!

Why pruning apple trees in the fall is necessary

Some summer residents believe that pruning fruit trees is not at all necessary. At the same time, the owner expects high yields every year and wants his garden to be healthy and beautiful.

Unfortunately this is not possible. In order for apple trees to bear fruit tirelessly and delight the eye, they must be pruned regularly. Pruning goals are directly related to the age of the fruit tree, so they may differ.

Read also: Walnut jam: benefits and harms: properties, recipes with photos

Basically, the branches of the apple tree are cut in order to:

• form a crown of the correct and beautiful shape;
• to strengthen young shoots;
• select fruiting branches and increase their number every season;
• provide the crown with ventilation and access to sunlight;
• get rid of old or damaged branches in order to replace them with new shoots;
• prepare the apple tree for wintering, reducing the load on the root system and the entire plant as a whole.

Choosing tools for pruning fruit trees: tips for beginners

Tools for pruning fruit trees in the photo

Choosing a tool for pruning fruit trees should be carefully and meticulously, like a cold weapon. A considerable part of the price is the cost of metal, so a high-quality tool is never cheap. Buy the most expensive one that you can afford to buy. Saving will do more harm than good. A quality pruner cannot cost as much as a kilogram of apples. A hacksaw for pruning, a grafting knife, a pruner must necessarily have bright details so that it is easy to find it, leaving it in the grass or in the snow. Another useful detail is the loop that fits around the wrist and prevents the pruner or hacksaw from falling off if you accidentally unclench your fingers.

For pruning fruit trees, when choosing a tool, novice gardeners can be given the following advice: in the store, take the tool in your hand, listen to your feelings - does it fit comfortably in your hand? If not, give up the purchase right away - during the season you will make at least several hundred cuts a day, and you can wipe your hands bloody, working with an inconvenient pruner, in just ten minutes. If so, move your hand as you would during work, squeeze and unclench the handles several times, make several imaginary cuts at different heights. Did you have the feeling that you were born with this instrument in your hands, that it is an extension of your hand? Take it without hesitation!

When is the best time to prune an apple tree: in spring, summer or autumn

In fact, garden apples are pruned throughout the year:

• in the summer, the top of the tree is thinned to provide all the fruits with a sufficient amount of light and to protect the branches from fungal infections;
• cutting the apple tree in spring is necessary in order to rejuvenate the plant, form its crown, cut out frozen or rotten branches;
• during the pruning of apple trees in the fall, branches broken by the wind or too heavy fruits, diseased or dried shoots are removed - the tree is preparing for wintering;
• some gardeners believe that it is possible to prune apple trees in the month of December and January, only it is necessary to make sure that the spring sap flow does not begin.

The gardener determines the timing of pruning the apple tree on his own, but it is better to do this when the tree stands without foliage, and the juices in it do not move. To decide when to prune apple trees in the fall, you should look at the tree itself: there should be no leaves on it. The weather is also important: there should be no rain or frost outside.

What beginners need to know

Basic rules for pruning apple trees in the fall:

1. For young trees of the varieties Ranetki, Currency, Malinovka and others, regulating, forming pruning is usually sufficient. If you shorten the branches of a young plant too much, the shoots will grow vertically, which will cause the crown to thicken. The result is crushing of fruits, a drop in yield.
2. During active fruiting, the fruiting branches in the crown area are replaced every 3-4 years. If there are too many shoots in the center of the trunk, the tree becomes more susceptible to various diseases, pests, and the taste characteristics of the fruits deteriorate.
3. Inspect all branches carefully before pruning - you need to remove those that interfere with the tree, do not form ovaries, and so on.

An apple tree at the age of 2-3 years cannot be cut off strongly - minimal interventions in the growth of branches will be enough.

Purpose of the procedure

When buying seedlings, their characteristics are always taken into account. Depending on the time of fruiting, varieties are distinguished:

They differ in such characteristics as the shape and height of the trees, the color and size of the fruits and their taste.

The apple tree is considered a simple and affordable crop that any gardener can grow in his personal plot. To do this, it is enough to buy a two-year-old seedling and plant it on your own territory. Such a tree is unpretentious and requires minimal maintenance. The main groups that are distinguished among apple trees are the following:

• columnar;
• dwarf;
• highly ripe;
• average.

The apple tree grows well in southern latitudes, but even if you place it in the middle lane, you can hope for a good harvest. This will be achieved through proper maintenance, timely filing and regular watering.

Why do you need to cut the branches of the apple tree? This allows you to get fruits of good taste. Also, thanks to this, the trees themselves grow large and have the correct shape, since there is no lack of minerals.

Among other things, regular pruning procedures ensure the formation of the tree's crown.

The longest shoots are located at the bottom. As you move to the top, they should be shortened.But not only for visual appeal is the formation of the crown. This is very convenient for later harvesting. In addition, the tree gets better ventilation capacity.

Older crops are pruned for rejuvenation when the branches stop bearing fruit. To increase yields, old branches are removed or shortened. In their place, new shoots appear. To understand when to prune apple trees in the fall, you should determine the goals that are pursued by this procedure. It is from her that they are repelled when choosing the timing of the procedure and the pruning scheme.

How to prune old and young apple trees: shaping and rejuvenating pruning

Depending on the age of the trees, the options for pruning them are different - the formation of a young apple tree and the rejuvenation of the old culture.

How to shape an apple tree: pruning a 1, 2, 3, 4 year old tree

As a rule, a young apple tree is formed every spring, but autumn formative pruning is also allowed.

Note! Which branches to delete, and which ones to leave, exactly how to prune them - everything is described in the previous paragraph "Pruning Rules".

Pruning an apple tree by year in autumn or spring is performed as follows (discharged-tiered formation):

Advice! During the formation period, do not forget about sanitary and thinning scraps.

• the next year after planting (or immediately after planting) - the main branch (central conductor) is cut off, or rather the top is 3-4 buds (leave a height of 80-100 cm) so that lateral branches are formed near the tree, in other words, the first tier is formed.
• for 2 years - lateral branches are formed near the tree, which should be cut off by 1/4 of their length (to the outer bud), and only 3-4 of the strongest should be left, growing horizontally in different directions, and the rest should be cut into a ring. You should also cut the top of the central trunk (conductor) to a height of 50-80 cm from the branching of the first tier, so that the next (second) tier of skeletal branches begins to form.

Worth knowing! The distance between tiers of skeletal branches should be approximately 50-80 cm between the first and second tier and 30-50 cm between the second and third. Between the branches themselves in one tier - 10 cm.

• for 3 years - the lateral branches are again cut by 1/3 of the length, as well as the young growth (branches of the second order) on these branches, again by 1/3, “per bud”. In addition, you need to leave 3-4 branches of the second tier, cutting them by 1/3. The top of the central trunk is trimmed again, but already 30-50 centimeters from the second tier, so that the next (third) tier is formed.

The central conductor (main trunk) should be one, therefore all its competitors should be cut off "on the ring".

• for 4 years - the last year of the apple tree formation (if you form in 3 tiers). Everything is done similarly to the previous year (the continuation shoots are shortened and the lateral branches are cut off), with one exception - if 3 tiers are enough for you, then the top is cut "into a ring" and transferred to a side branch.
• For 5 years and beyond it is already necessary to carry out anti-aging pruning, also do not forget about sanitary and thinning.

Advice! The optimum height of a tree from which it is convenient to harvest is no more than 3.5-4 meters.

Important! Don't forget in the fall whitewash apple trees, especially young people, because they still have a thin bark and it can easily burn. They are whitened to protect against sunburn, especially at the end of winter, when trees on the south side receive an increased dose of solar insolation directly from the sun, and besides, it is reflected from the snow. You can, of course, not whitewash, but shade on the south side, for example, with a wide board, or wrap it in nonwoven material (spunbond).

Rejuvenating the old apple tree

The essence of rejuvenating apple pruning is that old branches are replaced with new, more fertile ones.

Important! Moreover, the rejuvenation of old trees (over 5 years old) should be carried out gradually, over several years.In other words, pruning should be moderate; you don't need to cut out everything listed below in the first year.

Step-by-step instructions for pruning an old apple tree in the fall:

1. First of all, all broken, dry and diseased branches are subject to removal.
2. Get rid of the lower branches that literally hang off the ground.
3. Cut all unnecessary and interfering branches that obscure the crown (growing inside the crown, crossing, competing, growing with a "fork") completely cut out "on a ring".
4. Get rid of tops (vertical branches), again "on the ring".
5. Pinch (cut to the "bud") all young shoots, the height of which is more than 40-50 cm.

Remember! It is only necessary to prune "for a ring" by removing "for transfer" (for lateral branching), this is how old branches are replaced by younger ones = rejuvenating pruning.

Video: how to reduce the crown of an apple tree by pruning for lateral branching

Video: how to prune an old and neglected tree (apple tree)

By the way! However, there is the cardinal way to rejuvenate a very old apple tree... The tree is cut completely at a height of about 1 meter (cut obliquely). Further, lateral growths begin to appear, which in the future will become skeletal branches and make up a new crown.

Time spending

Speaking about whether it is possible to prune apple trees in the fall and when, more often you have to stop at the time when the sap flow stops. It's spring or fall. This is because the trimmed parts will take longer to recover.

For all other purposes, both spring and autumn are suitable. In the first case, branches frozen in winter can be eliminated. Also, in the spring months, the formation of the crown is carried out. The dates for pruning apple trees in the fall are in September. During this period, there is an active preparation for wintering.

Pruning branches in the fall is carried out according to certain rules. Here are the basic tips:

• You need to start pruning after the foliage has fallen.
• It is necessary to complete the procedure before the onset of the first frost. If the cut point does not drag out until frost, then its freezing will negatively affect the general condition of the tree. This is why you should avoid pruning during the winter months.

Read also: Melon varieties with photo, name and description

In winter, crops are dormant. Even small injuries are not able to heal on their own. Several pruning methods are practiced, in accordance with the age of the apple tree.

Low pruning for young crops. The branches that have grown from March to September are selected and a quarter of the total volume is removed. For crops aged 5 to 7 years, medium pruning is recommended. They analyze how many branches were purchased for the entire season and devote one third. Old trees are heavily pruned. They need crown thinning. Half of all children who have grown in a year are removed.

The calendar

The pruning schedule is recommended to be consistent with the lunar and stellar cycles. So, it is known that the intensity of sap flow increases with the waning moon, and when the Earth passes through the zodiac signs of fish, Aquarius and cancer, it decreases.

In the fall of 2018, the following days are considered favorable for tree pruning:

• in September: 1, 6, 7, 15, 16, 26, 27, 28;
• in October: 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 12, 13, 25, 29, 30, 31;
• in November: 4, 5, 9, 10, 25, 26, 27, 28.

The periods of the change of the lunar cycle, that is, the new moon and the full moon, are considered unfavorable for pruning. The same applies to the period of the rising moon: at this time, the places of the cuts have increased sensitivity.

In the fall of 2018, it is undesirable to engage in pruning on such days:

• in September: 2, 9, 25;
• in October: 1, 9, 24;
• in November: 1, 7, 23.

Table: fruit tree pruning calendar:

Month	What to trim
	Southern regions	Middle lane	Northern latitudes
January	Pears and Apple Trees
February	Apple trees and pears (if the air temperature is -50C and above)
March	At the beginning of the month - old trees	All fruit trees (beginning of the procedure)
April	Cherries, apricots, cherries and other stone fruits		Spring pruning begins
May	Completion of spring pruning
June	Pinching the tops of the shoots (green pruning)
July	Completion of green cropping
August	Sanitary pruning (as needed)
September	Inspection of branches after harvesting the first harvest and removal of diseased and broken ones
October	After complete harvesting, sanitary pruning with preparation of trees for wintering
November	Sanitary pruning, preparation for winter

It is important not to forget to process large sections (more than 2.5 cm in diameter) with oil paint or garden varnish, and even the smallest in young apricots and peaches. The healing rate of a treated wound (a bark roll grows from the edge) is 2 - 3 cm / year, while without treatment this figure is only 1 cm / year.

December for the gardener is a month of rest.

Pruning in spring

In spring, pruning is carried out before the juices begin to move. It is also necessary to do this at a time when buds and new shoots have not yet appeared. This period falls on the last decade of March and early April. When pruning, it is recommended to remove broken knots that are directed inward to the crown, non-fruiting, weak shoots, branches that touch and do not allow the rest of the shoot to develop normally.

In summer, branches are rarely pruned. This usually carries a preventive purpose. Correction of the crown is also good. When all the branches are covered with leaves, you can see exactly which shoots are growing incorrectly and shading the crown.

How to properly prune fruit trees: safety precautions

To comply with safety precautions when pruning fruit trees, the tool must be well sharpened. Paradoxically, when working with a blunt instrument, the likelihood of injury is incomparably higher.

From the moment when at least one of your feet is off the ground, you need an assistant who will insure you when you are on the stairs or table, and serve you everything you need. Again, one head is good, two is better.

If the legs of the ladder dig into the ground, take two wide planks and place the ladder on top of them to reduce the pressure per unit area. Make sure the ladder is stable and level before climbing. Do not neglect this important measure: pruning is a combination of surgery and acrobatics, carried away and reaching for a branch, you risk falling along with the stairs. You cannot use the ladders on which the builders work - the crown of the tree is very fragile, it is not a reliable ‘wall of the house.

Make sure you always have a bottle of water and medicine close at hand. Keep in mind that when pruning trees, you will have to spend a lot of time with your head thrown back.

Next, you will learn when and how to properly prune fruit trees in spring, summer and fall.

Work algorithm

In order for the tree to be pruned correctly, you must have the appropriate tools and garden pitch. It is also important to have an idea of ​​how to do the job correctly. As for the tools, you will need a pruner, a hacksaw and a garden knife.

The dimensions of the retainer are selected in accordance with the thickness of the branches. The tools are sharpened in advance so that the cuts are perfect. Uneven surfaces will take longer to heal.

Garden var is necessary in order to accelerate the tightening of damaged areas. It is sold ready-made. You can also make it yourself. It contains vegetable oil and drying oil, grease, beeswax and even lard. It can include alcohol and resin.

For self-production, you can use various recipes. Let's say you can take a pound of rosin and turpentine, 250 g of flax oil. The resulting composition will be semi-solid. It is applied warm to the tapes.They are used to treat damaged areas and sections. As for the paint, it is better to give preference to ocher on drying oil. It must be diluted with linseed oil in the amount of 500 g. White must not be used.

The option of cold liquid vara is also suitable. For this, 10 g of melted lamb fat, wood resin, 250 g of rosin are heated. As soon as the mixture heats up, slowly add half a liter of medical alcohol to it.

Removing dead branches

Removing dry twigs is a separate type of pruning of Marble pears and apple trees of all varieties. The main thing is not to cut the branch right at the trunk, as a dried branch can fall out of the tree, and you get a hollow. Hollow is the main cause of death of many mature trees. The branches are cut down to the point where the first point is formed. Then, with a file (take a thin one with small teeth), file the stump so that the saw from the trunk goes towards the bitch that you are sawing. It is advisable to process the place of the cut with garden varnish, and not with paints. In general, use paints very carefully, since many chemicals are quite aggressive and can cause burns. Read about growing and caring for glandular cherries in this article.

If, after pruning, you treated the wound with garden pitch, and it rained, the treatment will need to be repeated.

Cutting technique

The main thing to pay attention to in this case is the ring structure. And if an angle is marked with respect to the parent branch by more than 30 degrees, an influx can be noted at the base. It has a ring shape in which connective cells are actively multiplying.

They provide fast tissue healing. If you prune above this level, the wound will not heal. Moreover, the surface will be open to the entry of parasites and infections. As soon as the pruning is carried out, the cut site is treated with garden varnish.

There are cutting techniques for the external or internal kidney.... In the first case, they resort to a procedure to expand the crown. The branches are pruned, leaving the upper bud, which is directed outward from the trunk. The inner bud is pruned to strengthen the central region of the crown. A part of the branch is left with a bud, which is directed towards the trunk.

According to the pruning scheme, it is necessary to remove branches located inside the crown or containing branches growing at an angle. It is necessary to remove all parts of the branches that are intertwined with each other or in contact. The main stage will be the selection of dry and old processes of the apple tree, which must be removed without fail. They can be identified by how their structure has dried or the bark has cracked.

After that, the top of the apple tree is divided in order to remove damaged branches and twigs. The choice of a specific pruning scheme depends on the age of the apple tree. At the age of five, the culture is fully formed, and therefore fruits appear on it. First of all, this is true for older children who are strong enough to bear fruit. They must be treated with special care. Remove damaged and dry branches.

It is not recommended to cut the lower part of young apple trees. Take a pruner and adjust only the top to allow the crown to develop properly. The cut site is processed a day after the end of the process. Full processing is required only for old copies. If the seedling was cut directly after planting, for the next 5 years this process may not be repeated.

As an exception, branches that have grown a lot, are damaged, or have begun to dry out are used. After the manipulation, the location of the branches is treated with garden pitch. It seals the cuts, prevents sap from flowing out and allows the tree to adapt quickly. Large areas with cuts are wrapped with polyethylene and secured with electrical tape.As soon as the tree slowly adapts to the new conditions, these materials are removed, leaving only the garden pitch on the cut.

Necessary equipment for pruning fruit trees

Bar Loppers exist for work at height, if there is no possibility or desire to climb stairs. In the recent past, the lopper was put on a stick on the farm and pulled by the rope; now there are comfortable and light telescopic rods. In modern models, you can adjust the angle of installation of the cutting part.

A hacksaw is necessary for working with large diameter branches

Hacksaws in the photo

Some hacksaw models may also have a telescopic handle. A hacksaw is necessary for working with large diameter branches. For trimming, you cannot use tools from the arsenal of carpenters and joiners, which are adapted to work with building materials. Hacksaws should be designed for living wood and have smaller teeth, sharpened on both sides, which ensures a smooth cut - and the higher the quality of the cut, the faster it will overgrow. Folding models are very convenient, besides, they are safer in work and storage. And it is categorically impossible to use a chainsaw for trimming - making an accurate, neat and smooth cut with this worthy unit is absolutely unrealistic, and the cuts made with a chainsaw, in the overwhelming majority of cases, will remain huge non-growing wounds until the end of the tree's life.

You will need a garden knife to clean the cuts. It must be perfectly sharpened - after all, you have to cut wood. Old craftsmen skillfully cut branches with a garden knife, but the pruner for these purposes is much more convenient and safer.

To keep your garden tree pruning equipment working for a long time, pay attention to it after work. Wipe the blades with a soft cloth, if necessary, lubricate and check the quality of sharpening. Many pruning shears have removable blades for easy sharpening. If the pruner is biting into the cut, it is likely that the blade gap needs to be adjusted.

To cover the cuts and wounds, a garden pitch is needed.

To cover the cuts and wounds, you need a garden varnish or similar compounds (for example, Ranet paste). Material costs are small, and in the current state of industry there is no need to make a var yourself, as recommended by the old manuals. In extreme cases, you can use oil paint (strictly on natural drying oil, all other bases will not "stick" to living wood).

The right pruning shear for garden tree crown pruning

Pruner for pruning fruit trees in the photo

The fruit tree pruner is the safest and most convenient tool. It appeared only two hundred years ago, but now it is in the arsenal of every gardener. Some manufacturers claim that they can cut fairly large branches with their pruners - up to 3 cm in diameter, but for a woman's hand this is almost always an overwhelming task, so it is better to use a hacksaw. A good and properly sharpened tool makes smooth cuts, the pruner cuts both branches and paper equally easily, smoothly and evenly (of course, cutting paper is more convenient with ordinary scissors, but you can make a couple of cuts to check).

There are also pruners for left-handed people, special pruners for florists, for those who practice the art of bonsai, and so on. If you only need one pruner for all occasions, take a look at the versatile models.

If several family members use the same pruner, it makes sense to pay attention to models with adjustable opening widths of the handles (you can turn the adjustment knob only when the pruner is closed!).

Bypass pruner in the photo

Bypass secateurs are the most common curved blade models. They work like scissors. The upper sharp blade is working, cutting, and the lower one is supporting, it is offset relative to the upper one.The pruning shears' blades are designed to minimize trauma to plant tissue and are optimal for working with live wood.

Pruner with anvil in the photo

Anvil pruning shears are easy to recognize by their straight blades, the working blade falls directly onto the anvil blade like a guillotine knife. They outperform bypass pruners in terms of accuracy, but gain in strength - they can remove thick branches, and they are optimal for removing dead branches. Some pruning shears have a ratchet or gear train - they reduce muscular effort and are much easier to work with. Pruning shears with long handles (including telescopic ones) are convenient for working with thorny bushes.

How to whiten trees in autumn

For the autumn painting of trees, a variety of mixtures are used: water-based paint, water-based paint, as well as well-known lime solutions. The main requirements for whitewash compositions are the coloring of the surface in white, the ability of the skin to "breathe" under them, as well as the duration of stay on the bark.

The modern industry offers a wide range of tree whitewash. But you can also cook them yourself. In this case, the composition used for staining should include the following components:

• white clay, lime or chalk - to make it white;
• glue, milk or soap - for better adhesion to the bark;
• fungicide - for disinfection.

Attention!

When using commercial paint, be sure to make sure that it is intended specifically for whitewashing living trees, and not for any other wood.

But whitewashing itself is only the final step in a four-step process. It is preceded by cleaning the barrel, disinfecting it, and healing wounds.

Pruning ornamental shrubs in the fall

Autumn pruning of ornamental shrubs directly depends on the time of their flowering. And if sanitary pruning is carried out in the fall to all shrubs without exception, then shaping (with shortening of the shoots) will not harm only the crops blooming on the shoots of the current year.

In order not to be mistaken, you need to remember that in the fall you can only cut shrubs, the flowering of which occurs in the middle of summer, for example:

• some types of spirea blooming in summer;
• panicle hydrangea;
• hydrangea;
• buddley of David;
• fieldfare;
• goose cinquefoil and many others.

I have listed the most common ornamental shrubs that bloom on the shoots of the current year. But in fact, their list is much more impressive. If you have ornamental shrubs growing that you do not know how and when to cut it off, in the fall it is better to limit yourself to sanitary pruning, and carry out the main haircut after flowering.

During the autumn pruning of roses, at least all branches growing inside the bush, damaged, weak and immature shoots are removed. <>

Features of pruning rose bushes

In most of the territory of our country, roses winter under cover, so autumn pruning is simply necessary for them. Pruning is carried out in mid-autumn in dry, clear weather. First, remove all branches growing inside the bush, damaged, weak and immature shoots. In grafted varieties, all root growth is removed.

There are several ways of pruning roses - with strong pruning of branches, medium and low. Most often, gardeners use the second method, cutting off the shoots above the fifth or sixth bud. An important nuance - the bud must be outside, otherwise a new shoot will grow inside the bush.

Climbing roses in the fall should not be greatly shortened, it is enough to carry out sanitary pruning and remove flowers and buds.

Dear Readers! Autumn pruning of trees and shrubs is a necessary stage in plant care. Correctly executed pruning in compliance with the terms contributes to good development, preservation of immunity, increased productivity and well-groomed appearance of plants.Therefore, do not ignore this event when it is necessary.

Trimming rules

When pruning, it is useful for a gardener to adhere to these recommendations:

1. The work is carried out carefully to damage as few leaves as possible. This essential element of the tree supplies carbohydrates to the roots and fruits.
2. After removing the branch, the cut is treated with oil-based paint or garden varnish. Solvent-based paint is not allowed - it will harm the plant.
3. Pomes are cut first in the spring. The apple tree has the greatest endurance, and they start with it. They start trimming stone fruits later.
4. Strong cherries or cherries are pruned after harvest. Weak representatives of these breeds are pruned in winter, then new shoots will grow more intensively in spring.
5. Pruning injures the tree, so it is advisable to resort to it as little as possible. An alternative way to increase fertility is to bend the branches to a horizontal position by tying them to a support. The growth force of shoots on such a branch decreases, but they become more productive. Many experts consider this technique of crown formation as the main one. They recommend cutting a branch that interferes or causes thickening only if it is not possible to deflect it into free space on the side or below.

In contrast, radical pruning is beneficial for some types of fruit trees. So, she transfers the apple tree to fruiting: the tree gives many large apples.

Pruning a fruit tree is a responsible operation. With a lack of knowledge, the plant is easy to harm. A novice gardener, in addition to studying the materials, is recommended to consult with experienced colleagues.

How to prune an orchid after flowering at home

In order not to damage the flower, the cutting conditions are observed. To properly prune the orchid after flowering, skill, disinfection and sharp knives will help.

Pruning tools

Sharp scissors are prepared for cutting orchids. Poorly sharpened knives, when squeezing the stem, damage plant tissue much further from the cut. Incorrect pruning can damage the peduncle. Infections can enter the cavity of the branch.

The garden pruner has a sharp blade that will not damage the stem. After flowering, the orchid must be cut carefully because the plant is too capricious. If you decide to use a sharp knife, then you need to cut the twig very carefully.

Disinfection

Disinfection is important after cutting flowers. If the procedure is not done, there is a high probability of infection with fungi. A diseased plant will not develop and grow well, buds may not appear.

Before starting work, the scissors are thoroughly wiped with alcohol. If alcohol is not available, the pruner is held over a fire or placed in boiling water. Process the knife with a steep solution of potassium permanganate, dipping the tool into the liquid for 10 minutes. Chlorine solution is also suitable for disinfection; after the procedure, the scissors are washed in boiled water. Work is carried out with gloves so as not to injure the skin of the hands.

Determination of the cut point and its processing

Orchid pruning is carried out over a developed bud by 2 cm so that it does not completely dry out. Sometimes the arrow is cut over 2 or 3 buds. The closer the bud is to the leaf rosette, the more buds there will be on the side branch. The next buds appear in the third month after cutting.

If the upper root has rotted or dried out, then cut it off with the capture of the green part by 2 cm.The plant is moved to another container with a new substrate in order to exclude the fungal infection again.

Can orchid leaves be trimmed? Orchid leaves are cut off when dry, diseased or yellowed leaves appear. They are cut off with the capture of healthy tissue; only the dry part should be cut. Then you need to process the orchid cut with cinnamon or charcoal.

To process all the trimmed parts, use coal (crushed), dry cinnamon, cover with brilliant green or iodine solution. Concentrated iodine must be diluted so as not to burn the flower.

If the stem is hollow inside

Some phalaenopsis varieties have a hollow peduncle. Such a trunk is thick and the stem must be cut carefully. It can break or flatten. The slice cannot be left open.

After cutting during watering, water enters the cavity, it stagnates, a mass of bacteria and fungi multiplies in it. If the cut is not covered, the stump may rot. Lubricate the stem after cutting with beeswax.

Pruning orchid roots

The plant has two types of roots - air roots and those that are in the substrate. Aerial shoots serve for additional nutrition and water absorption. Trim the roots after they begin to dry out or fester. The rest of the rhizome is cut off only when transplanted into another container. The dead roots are cut off with sharp scissors. It is necessary to process the cut of the roots of the orchid with crushed coal.

The roots can dry out due to a lack of moisture or with an excess of dressings. Overfeeding plants causes a chemical burn at the roots. If there are few dried roots, then this may be natural dying off. Usually they are cut off when transplanting. It is better not to rush with cutting the root system. Perhaps the roots need to be restored.

Recovery process:

• the flower is removed from the container, the roots are shaken;
• the roots are washed with water and soda;
• you can leave the plant in solution for half an hour;
• prepare the pruner, disinfect it;
• cut only dried roots to a healthy area;
• the cut is sprinkled with charcoal.

When the rhizome remains in water, the roots become elastic and turn green. The dried out processes are no longer restored, they are gray or brown in color, it is they who are removed. New roots grow in 50-60 days. When the roots grow 5-7 cm long, they are transplanted into a new container and a new substrate.

Attention!

Do not disturb the orchid during budding, it is better to cut the rhizome after it has faded.

Additional recommendations

The following guidelines are useful to follow in order for the pruning to be done correctly and to be beneficial:

1. It is recommended to burn infected branches after pruning, which will save the tree from recurrence and prevent disease of other plants.
2. Plants that have been found to be infected with glass or black crayfish need rest. Therefore, pruning is carried out carefully, since excessive thinning or shortening can lead to death.
3. After pruning, young seedlings are fertilized and watered abundantly. This helps the tree endure the procedure more easily and recover sooner.
4. After the autumn pruning of branches that are more than 1 cm in diameter, the cut must be processed. If the procedure was carried out in spring or summer, then it is not necessary to protect the cut. Due to the abundant movement of the juices, the tree itself will create a protective film.
5. Before pruning, tools are disinfected with which they plan to remove branches so as not to infect a healthy tree.
6. It is useful to place feeders on trees that attract birds that exterminate pests.
7. It is advisable to cover the tree trunk with a lime mortar in order to protect the plant from forest dwellers who like to gnaw bark in winter. For added protection, some growers use burlap or paper to wrap the trunk.
8. To protect young seedlings, a cut plastic bottle is wrapped around the trunk after planting.

If pruning is carried out correctly, then the garden will overwinter without damage to itself and will subsequently please with a bountiful harvest.

Common mistakes beginners make when pruning in the fall

When doing this kind of work, beginners often make the same mistakes. It happens that even experienced gardeners make mistakes. Below we have indicated a list of the most common mistakes made when pruning an apple tree in the fall.

Pruning by kidney

Not all people correctly perform this operation on an apple tree. Often, farmers are careless and cut below the bud or leave a stump that is too long.

• In the first case, the bud will freeze in winter and an shoot will not grow out of it in the spring.
• And in the second version, the stump left will begin to rot and because of this, the infection will hit the tree. The cut should be made slightly above the kidney so that the top of the kidney is at the same level with it.

Trim to ring

When performing this operation, inaccuracies are also allowed. Novice gardeners often leave a stump that is too long, from which then useless shoots grow, consuming expensive food. Over time, this stump also begins to rot, infecting the entire tree.

Another group of inexperienced gardeners cut too low to remove the ring - an even more serious mistake.

Not optimal pruning time

A number of farmers perform pruning when it is recommended, and when they have free time to carry out this operation. Those who do this work at the zenith of summer greatly weaken the apple tree and inhibit its development.

Pruning should be done in autumn, after leaf fall, and even better in early spring, before the buds awaken.

Violation of cutting technology

Not all gardeners remove what they need when pruning an apple tree in the fall. In inexperienced people, after performing the procedure, diseased, withered and broken branches may remain on the tree. Other farmers may leave a lot of extra branches shading the crown. All these branches are subject to cutting.

The futility of filling

Hollows can form on old apple trees over time. Those people are mistaken who clean the hollow to a healthy tissue, and then fill it with foam, concrete or fragments of brick. Because of this, decay processes are accelerated and the life of the apple tree decreases.

Pruning moss-covered skeletal branches

Some dacha owners, having barely seen such a picture, begin to cut out rather thick skeletal branches covered with moss, believing that this is harmful to the apple tree. Mosses do not harm the apple tree, but, on the contrary, are beneficial.

And when thin branches are completely covered with moss, then you need to start rejuvenating pruning.

Errors on a columnar apple

When pruning a columnar apple tree, one of the most common mistakes is leaving a large number of fruit-bearing branches. If these branches are not replaced with younger ones within 4 years, then the yield will drop sharply and the apple tree will become susceptible to diseases.

Natalya, specialist of the Garden World channel, talks about the correct pruning of an apple tree in autumn for beginners. And first of all, about frequent mistakes during the procedure. Watch in the video below:

During the season, only one old skeletal branch can be removed on an apple tree.

Features of pruning an apple tree depending on the season

At different times of the year, apple pruning is carried out for different purposes.

Spring pruning of apple trees

In spring, apple trees of all ages are pruned until there is no sap flow and the buds begin to swell. Pruning in the spring in central Russia begins in late March, in the northern regions - in April.

The sequence of actions for spring pruning is as follows:

1. In the spring, you can clearly see which branches are frozen. Cut them out because they will no longer bear fruit. If you are in doubt whether a branch is frozen, cut a small piece from it. If the branch is alive, then on the cut it is white and a green cambium is visible near the bark. If the cut is dark, the branch is frozen.

   

   A living branch of an apple tree from a frozen one can be distinguished by the color of the cut

2. Then cut off any branches growing at an acute angle to the center of the tree. They will take energy on themselves, and the fruits will be of inferior quality.
3. Also cut the branches that have grown inside the crown. After sanitary pruning, the thinned crown will receive more sunlight and air.
4. Cover the cut off places with varnish-based paint.

In the spring, you should not use garden var. At low temperatures, it loses its plasticity and is difficult to apply to the cut area. Even if it turns out to apply garden var, it can fall off and the apple tree will remain without protection from infection. It is best to paint over the cut area with paint in the spring.

Video: pruning an apple tree in spring

Summer pruning apple tree

In the summer, they carry out sanitary and corrective pruning of the plant:

1. In summer, the tree is covered with foliage and you can see which branches shade the crown. Either cut out the shading branches completely or shorten them to the desired length.
2. In summer, many shoots appear, taking away nutrients from the fruiting branches. These are short, non-lignified lateral shoots. To slow down the growth of such shoots, pinch them with your fingers at the base.

   

   Young, non-lignified shoots can be pinched with fingers at the base

If young shoots are left, then next year they will turn into real branches. After they are cut off, many new young shoots will appear. As a result, to thin out the crown of the apple tree, you will spend more time and effort.

Sometimes in the spring it is difficult to determine the boundaries of frozen branches. And in the summer, frozen branches are clearly visible, which have no foliage. In addition, pruning of an apple tree in summer is carried out when it was not possible to carry out spring pruning.

Summer pruning has several advantages:

• if the pruning of branches was carried out in the summer, then during the winter thaws, flower buds do not wake up;
• the flowering of the tree begins a week later, which prevents the death of the ovaries during recurrent frosts;
• removing branches that shade the crown of a tree, improves ventilation and prevents fungal diseases from developing;
• in summer, the twigs are not yet lignified, and they can be cut off with a garden knife or even broken by hand.

Often overgrown crowns of fruit trees growing nearby do not allow each other to develop. The crown of one tree shades the other. It is in the summer that you can correct the relative position of the branches.

Autumn pruning of apple trees

Young trees are pruned in the autumn for proper crown formation and to obtain a good harvest for the next year. In addition, pruning in the fall prepares the tree for a successful wintering. Old trees are rejuvenated in autumn, which prolongs their life and increases the number of fruits. More about this is written in the previous paragraphs of the article.

Start autumn pruning when all the leaves fall on the apple tree. In central Russia, autumn pruning begins in late October and ends in mid-November. It is necessary to complete pruning before frost so that the wounds have time to heal and not frostbite.

For autumn pruning, follow these steps:

1. Remove the large branches that are cracked under the weight of apples - they freeze out most often in winter.
2. Thin the crown. Remove all damaged and twisted branches.
3. Prune branches that have grown at an acute angle to the center of the tree.

   

   Pruning apple tree branches growing at an acute angle to the center, allows you to reduce the thickening of the crown

4. Cut out branches that did not have fruit or the apples were small and misshapen.
5. Cover the cuts with garden varnish or paint.
6. Collect and burn the cut branches.

Prune the apple tree on a fine sunny day. If pruning is carried out in the rain, the cuts will take a long time and the tree will hurt.

Pruning in the fall comes in varying degrees of intensity:

• weak pruning is done to young trees when the branches are pruned to 1/3 of the length. Of these, new shoots forming the crown of the tree will grow next year;
• medium pruning is done on trees five years old or older. Strong branches are cut 1/3 of the length to increase fruiting and further crown formation;
• heavy pruning consists of cutting the branches in half.

Do I need to whitewash trees in autumn

For experienced gardeners, the answer is definitely positive.And the main reason here is far from aesthetic appeal, which is often motivated by spring whitewashing. The fact is that such a procedure helps the tree more easily withstand sudden temperature changes, and, accordingly, get out of hibernation with less losses.

Otherwise, gardeners have to deal with frost cracks. These lesions of wood, most often, occur at the very end of winter, when the sun is already shining with might and main during the day, and frosts return again at night. Such crevices themselves practically do not heal. It is necessary to treat them for a long time and persistently. If this is not done, the tree weakens, and eventually dies.

Contrary to popular belief, trees of all age groups, without exception, need to be whitened. But in the case of young seedlings, it is necessary to avoid solutions containing lime or limit its amount in whitewash mixtures as much as possible. With respect to old trees, the painting process becomes much more complicated due to the large amount of pre-painting work.

Advice!

It is advisable to carry out painting work before the very frosts, so that such a coating lasts as long as possible on the tree trunk.

The stem and skeletal branches are to be stained. Moreover, the higher the tree is whitewashed, the better.

High whitewashing of the garden is most conveniently done with a sprayer.

Autumn pruning of berry bushes

Berry bushes spend a lot of energy during the growing season and fruiting. To help them prepare for the new season and prolong their life, it is necessary to pay special attention to them in the fall. Top dressing after fruiting, combating diseases and pests, loosening and timely watering are very important measures for caring for berry bushes, but autumn pruning is an indispensable element of agricultural technology for these crops.

Many fruit shrubs wake up quite early in the spring and you may simply not have time to carry out the necessary pruning in the spring. Therefore, in addition to sanitary, the berry farmers carry out thinning and, if necessary, and rejuvenating pruning in the fall.

When pruning berry bushes in autumn, several rules must be followed:

• Do not shorten the shoots - it is better to do this in the spring.
• Cut old or dead branches as close to the ground as possible.
• When cutting branches, do not leave stumps, but make a cut "for a ring".
• Cut out all unripe shoots, since they will not withstand severe frosts and can harm the winter hardiness of the shrub.
• With rejuvenating pruning, make sure that the number of cut shoots does not exceed the number of remaining ones.

Repaired raspberry varieties are cut off completely after the fall, at the root. <>

Features of raspberry pruning

Everyone's favorite raspberry is the first contender for autumn pruning. And here you don't even have to wait for the leaves to fall. The fact is that fruiting in this culture occurs on two-year shoots, which will no longer yield next year. Therefore, it is advisable to cut them out immediately after picking the berries.

Then the young shoots will receive more air and sun this year, which means they will mature better and be able to prepare for wintering and subsequent abundant fruiting. Fruiting shoots are easy to distinguish from young ones - they are brown in color and break easily.

Repaired raspberry varieties are cut off completely after the fall, at the root. In the spring, young shoots will grow, on which berries will subsequently appear. Repaired raspberries, unlike ordinary ones, bear fruit on annual shoots.

Features of pruning honeysuckle

Honeysuckle is one of the first to please us with its harvest, so autumn pruning is simply necessary for it. In addition, with age, this bush grows strongly, covered with a large number of branches.

When pruning honeysuckle, you need to remove all shoots and shoots lying on the ground, and thin the bush itself, cutting out all weak or just extra shoots.Do not shorten the remaining branches, since the main fruiting of this culture falls on powerful annual shoots.

Features of currant pruning

Escapes black currant reduce yields at the age of 4-5 years, therefore, starting from this age, it is necessary to remove old branches, allowing young shoots to mature and gain strength.

Red and white currants are able to please with a good harvest a little longer than black, however, starting from 6-7 years of age, and old shoots must be cut out of these varieties. This is best done in the fall.

Features of gooseberry pruning

Gooseberry fruiting begins at the age of 2–3 years, and up to 6–7 years of age, the bush pleases with a friendly return of fruits. From about this age, the aging of the bush begins.

When carrying out autumn pruning, it is necessary to annually remove old branches and fattening shoots that do not produce berries. For gooseberries, pruning is very important - a neglected bush begins to hurt and stops bearing fruit.

For gooseberries, pruning is very important - a neglected bush begins to hurt and stops bearing fruit

Features of autumn pruning of fruit lianas

Fruit vines have long ceased to be a rarity in our gardens. Today, gardeners successfully grow grapes, lemongrass and actinidia. All these crops are distinguished by strong sap flow in the spring, so they are cut off only in the autumn. At the same time, sanitary pruning is combined with shaping and thinning.

For more information about the forming clippings of grapes, see the articles Formation of grapes in the middle lane and to the north and Formation of a grape bush on a high trunk.

How to increase yields?

The fertility of the plant is directly related to:

1. With the freedom of space... It is believed that the more branches, the less space for fruits. Therefore, you should regularly monitor the density of the branches by timely cutting them.
2. With the health of the tree... Various crop diseases contribute to the dysfunction of the supply of nutrients to the branches, where the fruits should be located. The presence of pests can endanger the already set fruits, which is guaranteed to prevent the owner of the crop from using them for food.

Do I need to prune my orchid after flowering

After the buds appear, the orchid builds up biomass. There is no photosynthesis, but the process requires an increased supply of nutrients, fluids and an increased load on the plant.

Branches with dry flowers do not need to be cut off for all varieties of phalaenopsis orchids. There are hybrids that use flower stalks for further flowering. Some species have annual flower branches. They bloom longer by growing flowers. After flowering, such an arrow dries up by itself, the plant sheds withered flowers. The arrow is cut off, leaving a small stump at the base. The flower begins to grow a stem from a dormant bud for future flowering. When this does not happen, then the orchid dries the entire shoot to the base, it is cut off. Pruning prolongs the life of the plant and increases the time it takes to bud.

Cutting of peduncles is carried out:

• the stem turned yellow, became lilac or brown;
• the flower branch is dry;
• there are no flowers on the green twig for half a year.

Important!

If the arrow is partially green, buds may appear, the branch is removed when it is completely dry.

Phalaenopsis is also pruned for the sake of beauty. After the orchid blooms, dried branches do not look aesthetically pleasing, harmful insects can settle on them. Pests move to neighboring plants.

Additional measures

Additional measures to increase yields include fertilizing tree roots. Fertilizers are of two types:

• natural, such as manure and ash from burnt dry twigs;
• artificialmanufactured at the manufacturing plant as a result of certain chemical transformations.

Important factors affecting the crop yield indicator are:

• the influence of drafts;
• wind protection;
• exposure to sunlight;
• regularity of watering.

Step-by-step instructions for pruning

It is important to master the pruning technique, since mistakes in this matter are fraught with unpleasant consequences. Below we will tell you about pruning an apple tree in the fall for beginners in pictures and photos.

Pruning tools

For the production of work, you will need the following tools and substances:

• secateurs;
• sharp knife;
• hacksaw;
• secateurs with extended handles;
• stepladder;
• oil paint or garden var.

Be sure to sharpen the tools thoroughly before starting trimming work. It is impossible to carry out the procedure efficiently with blunt accessories.

Pruning rules

When performing work, you must strictly adhere to the rules of autumn pruning. Why you need to know the structure of the fruit tree.

Here are the branches of the apple tree to be removed when pruning:

1. All broken, broken, diseased and dried branches should be cut out (sanitary pruning). You need to trim them to healthy wood.
2. You should also remove all vertically growing upward shoots, which are also called tops. They are completely useless because they do not produce fruit.
3. It is necessary to annually remove all shoots growing below 1 tier of skeletal-type branches. They spoil the appearance of the apple tree and shade the fruiting branches.
4. It is imperative to get rid of crooked shoots, from branches growing at an intersection with others, as well as from branches with the growth direction towards the inside of the crown.
5. Branches growing at an angle of less than 45 degrees are completely useless. With a good crop load, they can break off. They should also be cut out.

To summarize the above, it turns out that with thinning pruning of an apple tree in the fall, it is necessary to remove all branches that interfere with other promising branches, shading them and interfering with air exchange inside the crown.

To ensure good branching and stimulate fruit formation, all continuation branches should be shortened by a bud.

Do not shorten branches that are less than 40 cm long and if generative buds are formed at the ends. So you will reduce the harvest next year. Only branches with a length of 50 cm or more, which have vegetative buds, are cut off.

It is also important to cut out competing branches. In this way, the age branches are replaced with new ones, cutting them off for translation.

Apple pruning technique

To correctly perform the operation to remove unnecessary branches with garden tools, you need to own the pruning technique.

When cutting a branch, the pruner or delimber blade should be at the bottom. If you hold it the other way around, then it is misuse of the tool.

Trim to ring

When you prune a whole branch, this is how you prune into a ring.

When pruning into a ring, an unnecessary branch is completely removed in the place from which it grows. Over time, this place will be covered with the bark of the tree and it will seem that there was no branch there.

Special care must be taken when cutting thick branches onto the ring. In this case, the cuts should be done in 3 steps, only with this approach the branch will be neatly cut off, without scuffing the bark.

• They start from the bottom of the branch, sawing through it by a third of the diameter.
• The second cut is made on top and slightly higher than the first.
• The stump remaining, after two gash cuts, is removed with a third pass. Cut from the top, along the ring, leaving a cambial nodule.

Pruning by kidney

In the case when only part of the shoot is removed, then this is called pruning.

The point of pruning for a bud is, in some cases, when it is useful, not to cut out a promising branch entirely, but to cut it off to an external bud, changing the direction of growth.

It is also important to understand that more than 33% of the crown cannot be removed in one warm season, especially when it comes to old trees on which anti-aging pruning is performed.

When forming the crown, adhere to the principle of subordination of branches.According to him, all lateral skeletal branches cannot be higher than the main branch.

Video: pruning a young apple tree seedling

Rules for smearing slices

To prevent dripping moisture from getting on the cut, causing rotting, it is covered with special means.

In the fall, oil paint is considered an effective remedy for coating wounds on apple trees. If you use garden var or special "RanNet" paste instead, then with the arrival of severe frosts, they can lose their state of aggregation and peel off. These remedies work very well for spring pruning of apple trees.

If the cut is less than 3 cm in diameter, then it is not necessary to process it. And on sections with a larger diameter, you can limit yourself to coating only the edges in order to protect the cambium from drying out. It is imperative to handle the sections that are made on the ring on the trunk or skeletal branches well.

How to prune currant bushes in the fall

All types of currants are pruned during the dormant period, when the shrubs have no leaves or buds on them. At the same time, no more than 10 large branches are left on young bushes. On those that have already entered fruiting, about a third of the oldest shoots are removed.
This is done at the root, at the very ground. By the way, in a similar way, they get rid of unripe shoots, which, when frozen, significantly reduce the immunity of the plant as a whole. The remaining branches, for better branching, are shortened to the first bud.

Branches of black currant bear fruit best at 3-5 years, and white and red - 2-5 years. Then they gradually lose their yield. Therefore, all aged branches are subject to mandatory removal. But at the same time, it is imperative to take care of new ones, leaving 3-5 ripe replacement shoots every year.

Advice!

After removing shoots from currant bushes, they need hilling. After all, new branches must sprout from the roots.

Everything related to pruning red and white currants can also be used for gooseberries.

Why is it better to turn to professionals

Grafting trees in spring, ways of grafting fruit trees for beginners

At first glance, crown planting of horticultural crops is a simple procedure that you can handle on your own. However, for an inexperienced person, there are certain risks in carrying it out: falling from a height, breaking off a heavy branch, the danger of a branch contacting an electric wire, working with a sharp tool. Therefore, if a novice gardener does not know how to properly prune trees, it is better to seek help from arborists. These are specially trained people who know the correct pruning technique and all the skills necessary for this.

Important! In addition to the necessary knowledge and skills, professionals have all the necessary equipment. This makes pruning in their hands a quick and safe procedure.

Why is the procedure needed

We talk so much about the timing of pruning fruit trees, and novice gardeners may quite reasonably ask the question: why is this procedure needed at all. After all, no one cuts wild apple trees, but they live normally and bear fruit.

They also say that some gardeners, not wanting to injure the trees, refuse the pruning procedure, and then they are sincerely surprised at the low yield of apples. Subsequently, they then have to saw off thick branches, inflicting even more significant wounds on the tree.

Thus, pruning is a must and should be started on the day the seedling is planted. The procedure for pruning an apple tree in autumn has the following goals:

• correct crown formation;
• giving the tree a certain height;
• strengthening the branches;
• increased productivity;
• optimization of lighting for all branches;
• cutting out old, diseased and non-fruiting branches;
• increasing the size and quality of apples;
• ensuring air exchange inside the crown;
• facilitating the work of care and harvesting;
• rejuvenation of mature trees;
• prevention of common diseases;
• increasing the winter hardiness of apple trees;
• extension of the life of the tree and its fruiting.

Important! If you neglect pruning, the apple tree will bloom every year, but the harvest will be defective or will consist of small fruits.

Timing of pruning trees in spring

An important question in tree pruning is when to do it. If this procedure is carried out too early, while the temperatures are still low, the tree may not tolerate frost. If you tighten the pruning before the start of sap flow, the plant will "cry" for a long time.

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The ideal weather for "cutting" the garden is clear, slightly frosty, with an air temperature of at least –5 ° C. In the middle lane, the timing of pruning trees in spring is usually limited to the period from mid-March to mid-April.

Types of pruning

For a long period of growing pome trees, a lot of experience has been accumulated in pruning apple trees in the fall. The crown of an apple tree can be formed by various methods, for example:

• bladed;
• oblique palmette;
• sparse tiered;
• fusiform;
• horizontal palmette;
• Taganrog boat.

This list can scare any novice gardener, so we will not describe in detail the above methods, but will limit ourselves only to the general principles of pruning and forming apple trees. This stock of knowledge will be sufficient to independently form a healthy and fruitful tree.

Diagram of the formation of the crown of an apple tree and a pear

Pruning methods

When trimming, usually 2 options are used:

• shortening - cutting off part of a branch;
• thinning - removing a branch completely.

Shortening always leads to increased growth of new shoots and branching. After strong pruning, as a rule, 3-4 strong shoots grow. And as a result of poor pruning, fewer short branches grow.

Thinning optimizes the illumination of the crown, allows the sun's rays to penetrate and illuminate all branches that grow inside the crown.

Cropping rates

Practitioner gardeners distinguish 3 degrees of pruning of fruit trees:

1. Strong. With this procedure, at least half of the annual growth is made shorter by half their length. The rest of the shoots are cut out completely - on the ring. After such pruning, a large number of vertical shoots, called tops, appear.

   
   Spinning tops

2. Moderate. This pruning involves cutting about half of the young branches by a third. The other half of the young branches are cut out completely - into a ring. Tops with such pruning will not form.
3. Short. In this version, 25% of young branches are shortened by a quarter of the length. Another third of the growth is removed completely. After a year, the shoots will only lengthen by 10 cm.

Usually well-groomed mature apple trees are pruned moderately or lightly. Heavy pruning, which removes many branches, is necessary for neglected apple trees.

Advice! If the seedling that you started to cut is less than 90 cm long, then just pinch the top of it.

Types of trimming

In practice, they usually resort to one of the following types of pruning:

1. Formative. It starts immediately after planting the seedling and lasts for about 5 years. The purpose of this procedure is to form a skeleton of the required shape from the branches of the skeleton.
2. Regulating fruiting. As a result of such an operation, a balance is achieved between the annual growth of branches and yield.
3. Sanitary. The goal is to remove dry, diseased and broken branches.
4. Revitalizing. Such pruning is resorted to when it is necessary to restore the crown of an apple tree, damaged after frostbite or mechanical damage.
5. Anti-aging. It is carried out to prevent the termination of shoot growth and the continuation of fruiting.With this pruning, shoots can be made to grow even on very old apple trees.

The annual pruning of an apple tree in the fall, which is performed by gardeners, usually combines all of the above types. We form a young apple tree to a greater extent, we rejuvenate an old tree, and in a middle-aged apple tree we regulate fruiting.

There is a cardinal way of rejuvenation, when the old tree is cut completely, obliquely at a height of 1 meter from the ground. Then lateral shoots will appear, which can become skeletal branches.

At what age should fruit trees be pruned

This procedure can be started. annual shoots for crown formation.

If the tree has already reached 10-15 years of age, it is considered old. In such a tree, the number of growths and yield decreases. He needs a rejuvenating pruning.

For this, branches are cut for 3-7-year-old wood. Thus, the crown is reduced. But by next year, young shoots will thicken it. It is important to make sure that the number of cuts on one side of the branch does not exceed three.

How circumcision affects fruit growth and formation

The growth energy of buds on a branch is different: there are weak buds, there are strong ones. The bud under the pruning site becomes the main one for the growth of the shoots (apical).
That is, the growth strength of the continuation shoot depends on which bud remains under the pruning site.

In this way, growth is regulated:

• when circumcised on a weak kidney: the continuation shoot grows back poorly;
• when pruning to a strong one or without pruning at all: intensive regrowth of the shoot.

In the one-year shoot, the apical bud has a great vigor of growth. Also, strong buds are located in the middle of the shoot, and between them and the apical ones are weakened. The distribution of buds by strength depends, among other things, on the grade. In some varieties, the buds located at the base have low growth vigor.

Therefore, to enhance the growth, it is necessary to leave the apical bud or cut off the shoot in the middle, to weaken it, remove the terminal bud or cut the shoot above the bud at the base. The pruning time also affects the growth rate. If it is produced in February, the growth becomes intense, if in March, it slows down.

Removal of some shoots leads to a more rational redistribution of juices and, as a consequence, an increase in fertility. Thanks to pruning, the productive branches receive more light, and the shaded low-performance branches, which only take away the vitality of the plant for nothing, are removed. It also promotes faster growth and higher yields.

Crown formation

Formation of the crown of fruit trees

The main purpose of tree pruning is to shape the crown in such a way that the tree has enough strength to keep the crop. In this case, unproductive branches, old, diseased or damaged, basal shoots are cut out. Pruning must be carried out both to limit the height of the trunk and to improve winter hardiness. In addition, with the help of pruning, plants are rejuvenated. This procedure is carried out only on trees with a healthy stem and well-developed skeletal branches.