SHELBYVILLE, Mo. — Winter is still here. But spring is only a few weeks away. There is still time to get some needed pruning of your fruit trees, grapes and brambles.
You want to prune fruit trees as late in the dormant season as possible. Pruning too soon in the dormant period may cause some winter injury to your fruit tree. So you need to be pruning apple and pear trees first. Then wait until March to prune cherry, peach, apricot and plums trees.
The first thing to do when you start to prune your fruit trees is to determine what type of pruning style you need to use. There are 4 basic training methods-Open center, central leader, modified central leader and multiple central leader.
Use the central leader form of pruning on apple and pear trees. You can also you the modified and multiple central on them too. Use the open center form of pruning on cherry, peach, apricot and plum trees.
They all have several things in common. You prune to get the most fruit production that you can from your fruit trees. There are some other reasons, about looks, uniform tree size, easy to mow around and stimulate more growth. But I think the main reason is still to get the most fruit you can from your fruit trees.
Something you need to know is that fruit on fruit trees only grows off of new growth. So remember this as you start to prune your fruit trees.
When pruning any type of fruit tree there are several things in common.
First stand back and get a good look at what the tree looks like. Then decide where you need to start to prune first. I think you should start out by pruning all broken and damaged branches. Then go and prune root and crown suckers coming out of the tree root.
Prune any low hanging and branches growing downwards. If you can remember from the past year, prune any diseased branches. Now you can move on to pruning branches that will harm your fruit tree growing. Like branches crossing over each other. Branches growing too close to each other and branches growing out from the main trunk of the tree hurt fruit production.
Once you get these branches pruned stand back and look at what you have done. When pruning it is better to be slow and right. Then fast and make mistakes. It takes a few years for fruit trees to grow back what you have removed.
Next you need to start to prune any branches that will make it hard to harvest any fruit that the tree produces. I like to stand back and look up into the tree and decide how I would begin to harvest fruit from it. Standing on the ground, looking at where I will start to pick fruit. With this year’s fruit only growing on new growth and branches you need a good way of getting up high in the tree. Also how are you going to pick the fruit on theouter limbs and branches?
So every year when I start to prune fruit trees I will stand back and see how to get all the fruit picked. Sometimes after you get all the broken, diseased, damaged, limbs and branches rubbing each other. You may not need to do anymore pruning. But stand back and take a good look.
After cleaning up what you pruned, you might decide to prune some more. I know I usually prune some more. Mostly to make it easier to get into the fruit tree to harvest the new fruit for this year’s crop.
Once you do some pruning of your fruit trees you will realize how easy it was. Just start slow and after pruning for a few minutes stand back and look at what you have pruned. Then what you will need to prune to finish your pruning for this year.
I appreciate all your questions. Call me at 573-588-2040. Shelby County Implement Shelbina, Mo. Email [email protected] Facebook Greenwell’s Greenhouse Group. Ask me anytime you see me. Hope you enjoyed this issue of The Hort. Report.
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