No matter how we love the natural and pristine beauty, we realize that fruit trees and shrubs need special care. Their function in the garden is fruiting. And they will be able to fulfill it fully if the gardener remembers how important the pruning of fruit trees is in autumn, winter and especially in spring. This procedure allows you to correctly form the crown of the plant so that each twig receives enough light and air. With the help of pruning, a tree is sanitized, protecting it from the spread of numerous diseases to which it can be exposed. Pruning and features of this procedure for different seasons is the main topic of the article.
Choosing Garden Pruning Tools
And the gardener's arsenal must include the appropriate tools for pruning fruit trees and various shrubs. Here's what we need:
- Secateurs. You should not choose a tool with a ratchet mechanism, which will have to be pressed several times to make a cut. Secateurs should be normal and comfortable.
- Garden hacksaw. This is a saber-shaped instrument, tapering towards the end of the panel. In the teeth of the hacksaw there should be special spaces that will not allow sawdust to accumulate. No need to resort to the use of hacksaws for construction work. For pruning fruit trees, you need to take exclusively garden tools with a specific profile and angle of the blade for ease of work.
- Air pruner. It looks like this: on a long bar, possibly telescopic, secateurs are secured, driven by a rope and levers. Using such a tool, it is possible to trim those branches that are difficult to reach in another way.
You can learn more about how to choose a hacksaw from the material: //diz-cafe.com/tech/kak-vybrat-nozhovku-po-derevu.html
It is important that the blades are clean and sharpened. Only using sharp tools can prevent the formation of torn wound surfaces into which microorganisms dangerous to trees penetrate. Upon completion of work, the tool’s cutting surfaces are thoroughly cleaned and wiped with an oiled cloth.
Together with the tools for the work, you must purchase a garden var. This is a kind of ointment, prepared on the basis of petroleum products and having a plastic consistency at plus temperatures. With this product, it is necessary to cover the wounds on the surface of the tree, having a diameter of 1-2 cm. However, not under all weather conditions, the var is well laid on the wood. Its role can be played by oil paint, i.e. paint based on drying oil.
A high-quality tool is very important for the pruning procedure to be as painless as possible for plants. Do not use construction tools instead of garden tools
In addition to garden var, oil paint based on drying oil and yellow clay can be used, mixed with cow manure
Various cutting techniques
The cutting process uses different cutting techniques. The choice of a specific technique depends on the purpose of the work.
Method # 1 - a cut on the kidney
Using this type of pruning, you can, for example, change the direction of growth of a branch and set it as we need. To do this, take a one-year growth shoot. On it we select a kidney growing in the right direction.
The correct cut on the kidney should be approximately at an angle of 45 degrees to the branch. Correct cut No. 1. In other cases, either a large stump is left, or the kidney is “stabbed”, or the cut angle is incorrect
The pruning shears should be held so that the cutting insert is turned not to the cut, but to the left part. The cut should be done at a slight angle so that the kidney does not appear to be stabbed, but the hemp above it does not form. Mentally drawn from the base of the kidney, the perpendicular should not fall on the cut.
If the cut is too sharp, the kidney will not receive the nutrition it needs and will dry out, and we need it to be alive and to escape. The large stump left will also dry out, and the kidney may not wake up. A hemp slice can be used on shrubs.
Method # 2 - cut to ring
With this type of pruning, an entire branch is deleted, which grows incorrectly, for example, inside the crown. It takes food from the tree, and from the point of view of fruiting the tree is absolutely useless. If the thickness of the branch allows, then you can cut it off with a pruner.
The right cut is the last No. 3. It is necessary to cut on the outer surface of the ring, then there will be no sticking out hemp, as in the first case, or “cutting” will not occur, as in the second
At the junction of branches there are peculiar bark inflows. These are the rings. The cut should be made on the outer edge of the ring.
Method # 3 - slice to the side branch
This type of cut is used if you want to transfer the growth course from one branch to another. We delete an unnecessary branch. In relation to the left branch, the slice will be as if its continuation. So we made the side branch the main one. And when cutting to the ring, we removed the side branch.
If the lateral branch is subject to removal in the cut to the ring, then in this case it is the lateral branch that remains so that the growth continues in its direction
Different types of cropping
By pruning, the gardener can pursue various goals. Accordingly, different types of trimming are distinguished.
- Formative. Helps to create a crown of the necessary density and silhouette of a tree. Thanks to it, a properly formed skeletal part acquires resistance to stress. Forming pruning in February makes the growth more intense, and in March-April inhibits the growth process.
- Regulatory. It is necessary to maintain the formed crown, helps maintain good illumination of the branches, and prevents overloading the skeletal part with young shoots. Such pruning is relevant in February-April and August-September.
- Anti-aging. Allows the old tree to regenerate, as it stimulates the growth of new branches. If the annual growth of shoots is 10-15 cm, you need to shorten the branches to awaken the accessory and sleeping buds. This should be done in early autumn, late winter and spring.
- Recovery. This measure allows affected plants for various reasons to regain the possibility of development, flowering and fruiting.
- Sanitary. If the plant contains dry, diseased, broken or damaged branches, they must be removed. This can be done year-round, but not on frosty days. After trimming diseased shoots, it is necessary to disinfect the instrument with alcohol.
When sanitary pruning, it is necessary to take into account the size and age of the tree. Very intense work can lead to thickening of the crown.
With cropping, amazing results can be achieved. For example, this trellis is formed from apple trees that have been trimmed for decorative purposes.
Features winter pruning
The only limitation of pruning fruit trees in winter: it is undesirable in the cold, when the wood becomes particularly fragile. Branches at this time are easy to damage, but they heal poorly. If the air temperature drops below 8 degrees below zero, trim work should be postponed.
Pruning in the winter has its advantages, since there are no leaves on the tree and the crown with all its defects is clearly visible
Benefits of winter pruning:
- trees at rest will experience less stress;
- slices are obtained better and more accurately.
The complete absence of foliage allows you to more objectively assess the condition of the crown, identify its imperfections and draw up the correct work plan.
To shorten the thick branches, you need a saw. In order not to injure the branches by scoring, the branches are pre-filed from the opposite side. Thin branches are cut with secateurs.
Features of spring pruning
Spring mass pruning of fruit trees, according to many, can only be done at a time when sap flow has not yet begun. In fact, for spring pruning, you need to choose a moment when there is no sap flow, but it is ready to begin just about.
What is it for? In order for the wounds on the tree to grow faster and give him less trouble afterwards, the tissues need to be in a state of readiness. The pruning dates of various fruit trees in spring differ from each other. Thanks to this feature, you can plan this procedure in time for sap flow.
If, after pruning, cover the wound with garden varieties, yellow clay mixed with cow dung or oil paint, then in 12-15 days after the start of sap flow, the calyus will increase. The trimming procedure must be done on a warm day, when the air temperature is from -5 ° C.
And spring is considered the most favorable time for grafting fruit trees, read about it: //diz-cafe.com/ozelenenie/kak-privivat-plodovye-derevya.html
You can not prune shrubs in spring that will bloom in spring. This is especially true for plants, flower buds on which are formed only on last year's branches. Otherwise, you can deprive yourself of their wonderful spring bloom.
Features of autumn pruning
Autumn pruning of fruit trees is poorly tolerated by most of them. Cherries, pears or plums that are pruned in the fall may simply die. If there is no pure necessity, it is better to postpone this procedure until spring.
Fall pruning may also be fatal for newly planted plants. If a one-year growth has been shortened, then not only the cut-off site can freeze, but also a significant area around it, including cadmium and bark. In such conditions, it is not necessary to talk about successful overgrowth of the wound.
Also, material on the rules for autumn whitewashing of fruit tree trunks will be useful: //diz-cafe.com/ozelenenie/pobelka-plodovyx-derevev-osenyu.html
In autumn, predominantly sanitary pruning of trees should be carried out, because ahead is a long winter, which the plant is best to meet without unnecessary injuries
A sapling-covered tree is unlikely to winter well. Buds remaining on the shortened branches of a seedling planted this year may not open well in spring. These warnings are especially relevant for those who live in the middle lane. Autumn pruning is permissible to do at an air temperature of -5 ° C and warmer.
However, all of the above does not apply to sanitary pruning. If the tree has branches affected by the disease, they must be removed immediately. You can not wait until the disease covers the whole tree or several trees. The branches removed during such pruning must certainly be burned.
