Good afternoon, my reader. The standard maintenance of the orchard includes annual pruning of trees, incl. apple trees and pears. The health of the plants and the quality of the crop depend on the correctness of this event.
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The perfect time to trim
The timing of this event depends on the climatic characteristics of the region in which you live. The main condition: the threat of recurrent night frosts should be avoided and stable warm weather should be established. In temperate climates, this period usually falls in mid-March, and in the northern regions, 3-4 weeks later.
Pruning should not be carried out at sub-zero temperatures. In cold weather, the wood becomes fragile, so the plant can be injured. And due to the fact that sap flow has not yet resumed in early spring, wounds inflicted on the tree will provoke disease or death of the plant. However, it is impossible to delay this procedure: it is important to catch the moment before the buds begin to bloom.
Preparing for pruning
For this event, experienced gardeners prepare the necessary tools in advance:
- hacksaw;
- lopper;
- secateurs;
- garden knife.
All cutting objects must be sharpened and disinfected. In addition, you need a garden varnish or oil paint on linseed oil to cover the place of the cuts. If neither one nor the other is at hand, you can prepare a clay chatterbox with dung.
Pruning apple and pear trees
Before pruning, trees are carefully examined to determine the scope of work. First of all, old, dry shoots damaged by disease or pests are removed. Large branches are cut down close to the trunk, leaving no stumps. Thinner shoots are removed with a lopper or secateurs.
Branches growing vertically inside the crown must be cut out. In this case, you should not remove too many shoots at a time, even on mature trees. And trees younger than 3 years old do only sanitary pruning: they cut out broken and damaged by pests or disease shoots.
From the age of 3, young trees begin to form a crown. This procedure is aimed at strengthening the skeletal branches on which the future harvest will be formed. In addition, moderate removal of excess shoots has a positive effect on fertility.
Crown formation
This event is carried out after sanitary pruning. Most often, apple and pear trees form a semicircular crown. With this pruning, skeletal branches are placed on the trees in tiers.
At the same time, at each level, 4-5 powerful shoots are left at a distance of about 30 cm from each other. A gap of 50 to 80 cm is left between the tiers. Such a crown is provided with normal air exchange. In addition, all shoots are evenly illuminated by the sun.
In order not to injure again fruit trees, branches growing at the wrong angle are not always removed. They are fixed in the direction necessary for correct growth with stakes and twine.
Attention! It is recommended to prune pear trees twice a year, as they, unlike apple trees, are more prone to thickening of the crown. Autumn pruning of pears is carried out 2-3 weeks before the onset of frost.
Spring trimming of the orchard is a must-have procedure that rejuvenates trees and prolongs their fruiting period. Well-groomed apple trees, pears are less likely to get sick and are more likely to delight with generous harvests.
Do you do spring pruning of fruit trees?
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