Garden maintenance doesn’t stop even when it’s cold outside and there’s snow on the ground.
In fact, if you grow fruit trees, the best time to prune them is now, or in very early spring before any new growth begins, Martha explains. Pruning not only helps to develop proper shape and form, but also encourages new growth, promotes high fruit yield, and maintains good tree health.
Our founder has more than 200 fruit trees in her orchard on her Bedford farm, including peaches, apples, pears, cherries, medlars, and more. This year, she hired the experts from The Arborist Inc. in nearby Bedford Hills, New York, to handle the big job of pruning her trees.
In a recent blog post, Martha shares how the crew from The Arborist tackled the trimming.
She explains that cutting by hand gives the trees a more natural appearance and shape, which is why the workers use a bow saw, also known as a pruning saw, to trim. It cuts on both the fore and back strokes and is designed for cutting thicker, older branches. For slightly larger branches up to two inches in diameter, they use bypass loppers.
Pruning cuts should be made fairly flush to the branch from which it grew, says Martha. The idea is to leave slight stubs. By removing any more, the remaining branch has too much of an opening for disease to enter. The cuts should also be clean—something that can only be done with good, sharp tools, she says.
After cutting off the old, thick branches, you’ll want to focus on the “D’s” of pruning and remove any dead, diseased, damaged, or defective branches. Also, remove branches that are rubbing or crisscrossing each other, as this can prevent healthy new growth from happening.
Any branches that interfere with the tree’s shape or create a dense framework should be removed, Martha says. By trimming crowded branches, you’ll help let in light and promote good air circulation. Basically, the goal is to create a tree with well-spaced lateral branches.
And nothing goes to waste. She either saves the branches that were removed for kindling, or they are processed through a wood chipper to make mulch.
“There is still a lot more work to be done,” Martha says, “but I am looking forward to many lustrous green trees heavy with fruit come summer.”
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