Pruning of fruit trees in autumn is done to prepare these plants for wintering. Many have doubts about whether it is possible to trim fruit trees in autumn. Experienced gardeners argue that by cutting, you can increase the yield of the garden, promote the rejuvenation of plants, their better growth and development.
In some ways this is true, but you can not overdo it with a pruner or saw. So, for apple, plum and cherries, annual pruning is harmful and even dangerous. It can lead to a decrease in their fruiting and "fading" at the same time.
What are the main ways of pruning fruit trees?
There are two main types of trimming:
- Thinning , when all the branches are cut off at the base. The purpose of the event is to improve the air and solar nutrition of the tree. Thinning pruning of young fruit trees in autumn is performed once a year, until their crowns are formed. All shoots are removed except for a few basic branches, even and evenly distributed. For adult trees, this measure is taken less often - about once in a couple of years, removing shoots that grow in the middle of the crown, at an acute angle or upward, or downward, intertwining with each other.
- Shortening , when the upper segment of the shoot is removed, going after the kidney, after which the shoot will grow in the right direction. This method is designed to control the growth of branches, stimulate better yields and develop a large number of lateral branches. It is especially important to shorten the shoots of two-year-old seedlings: their central branch is cut at a distance of twenty-five centimeters from the upper bud, and all the lateral branches at a distance of thirty-five centimeters from the extremities of the kidneys.
Both these types of pruning contribute to the formation of the crown of trees. All work on pruning is best done when the sap flow is over in the trees or has not yet begun.
Terms of autumn tree pruning
It should be said that autumn pruning is more suitable for residents of southern regions, where the climate is characterized by the absence of long and severe frosts.
In the northern regions and regions of the central belt, the autumn pruning can turn into a freezing of the crust at the site of wounds, the drying up of wood and even the death of trees. So all the work on renewal, pruning, thinning, especially of young plants, is better to be postponed to early spring, until the juice has started to flow in the trees.
Autumn pruning of trees should be done with the beginning of the fall leaf - it is the true sign that the time has come. In the autumn, you can cut apple trees if they are old and neglected. This is done with a sanitary purpose and with the aim of rejuvenating the garden.
Correct trimming of fruit trees in autumn
Since the main purpose of the autumn pruning of the orchard is sanitary cleaning, your task is to rid the trees of old and damaged branches and branches, where all kinds of harmful insects can winter.
How to properly trim fruit trees in the fall: you need to remove from the tree all the diseased branches and branches, damaged by a fungus and lichen. In addition, you need to rid the tree of all interlocking shoots and twigs, as well as an excessively thick sprout.
Old and diseased trees remove all dry branches and dried tops. Trim them with part of a living tree or near the bottom. Affected shoots are cut either completely, or to the place where the
Cropping order: first remove the large dried and broken branches growing in the direction inside the crown, then cut out the weakest of rubbing and closely growing branches, as well as branches growing at the wrong angle. Then all the cuts should be greased with either a garden paint or oil paint. All cut branches are removed from the garden and burned.
Such sanitary cleaning contributes to the improvement of ventilation and illumination of the crown, in addition, eliminates the risk of spreading diseases and pests.