Autumn pruning of the garden. When is the best time to prune trees?
No matter how summer residents love the natural pristine beauty, they are well aware that if fruit types of trees and shrubs are not pruned in time, then their main function, such as fruiting, will not be performed to the maximum.
Note!
With the help of pruning, the plant is sanitized, which makes it possible to reliably protect it from the spread of a huge number of various diseases that can threaten it.
The pruning procedure allows you to correctly form the crown, so that each branch of the tree receives a sufficient amount of light and air. But about when to cut garden trees and how to do it correctly, we will talk in the framework of this article.
Choosing the right tools for pruning garden plants
Any gardener's tool kit should certainly include pruning equipment.
To do this job, you may need:
- Secateurs. Experienced experts do not recommend purchasing one equipped with a ratchet mechanism, which must be pressed several times in order to make only one cut. It is advisable to choose ordinary and more convenient models;
- Wood saw. For the garden, you should choose saber-shaped models that taper towards the end. Gaps should be observed in the teeth of such a hacksaw, which will avoid the accumulation of sawdust. Do not use hacksaws used in construction work;
Note!
For the garden, you should choose a specialized tool that has an original profile and an angle of curvature of the canvas, making gardening easy and convenient.
- Air pruner. This tool looks like this: a pruner mounted on a long rod, which can also be telescopic. It is driven by levers and a rope. With the help of this type of tool, it becomes possible to trim even in those places where it is simply not possible to reach in the usual way.
In the photo - air secateurs
Note!
It is very important that the garden tool is clean and its blades are well sharpened.
If you use such a tool, then exclude the possibility of the formation of wound torn sections, into which microorganisms dangerous to trees can easily penetrate.
After all work in the garden is completed, all cutting surfaces of each tool should be cleaned and wiped with an oiled rag.
Together with garden tools, you should purchase the so-called "garden pitch". It is a kind of ointment made on the basis of petroleum products, and has a fairly plastic consistency in conditions of positive temperatures. Garden pitch should cover up wounds on the crown of a tree that have a diameter of 1 cm or more.
Note!
Var does not adhere well to wood under all weather conditions.
In some cases, the role of this product may well be performed by ordinary oil paint due to the fact that it is created on the basis of drying oil.
Choosing a cutting technology
Experienced gardeners in the process of pruning trees can apply various techniques. The choice of one or the other is made depending on the purpose of this procedure.
On the kidney
This type of pruning can help change the direction of the branch and set it in the way you want.
In order for the procedure to be performed correctly, adhere to the following instructions:
- Choose a one-year-old shoot;
- Choose a bud on the shoot that grows in the direction you need;
- Take the pruner so that its cutting surface is turned towards the part of the branch that will remain, and not towards the part that you will cut;
- The cut is made at a slight angle, so that the previously selected kidney is not slaughtered, and there is no hemp left above it.
Advice. Draw a mental perpendicular from the base of the kidney.
It shouldn't get cut.
If you make a cut that is too sharp, then the left kidney will not receive the nutrition necessary for its growth and will dry up, and it is important for us that it remains alive and further escapes.
If you leave a large stump, then it will certainly dry out, and the kidney may not even wake up for further growth.
Note!
A cut leaving a hemp is quite often used in the processing of shrubs.
cut on the ring
This technique allows you to answer the question of how to properly prune the trees in the garden, or rather their branches, if they do not grow correctly, for example, if the growth of the branch is directed inside the crown. Such a branch will take food from the tree, and from the point of view of the main function fruit plants- fruiting, will be completely useless.
Advice. If the thickness of the branch allows, then it is better to make a cut with a pruner.
In places where the branches are connected to the trunk, nodules are usually formed, which are called rings. A do-it-yourself cut is made along the outer edge of the influx or ring.
Side branch cut
How to properly prune garden trees if you need to correct the direction of growth from one branch to another? In this situation, the unnecessary branch must be removed.
If we consider this cut from the side of the left branch, then it will be its continuation. Thus, the gardener can make the side branch the main one, while when cutting into a ring, we removed this very side branch.
Existing types of cuts
Taking up the pruning of trees from his own garden, the gardener can pursue completely different goals and solve certain problems.
Accordingly, the following types of tree pruning are distinguished and:
- Formative. With their help, it becomes possible to create a crown of the required density and control the silhouette of the plant. Thanks to this type of processing, it is possible to correctly form the skeleton, providing the tree with resistance to various types loads. By carrying out such work in winter, it is possible to ensure intensive growth, and in March or April, on the contrary, to freeze the growth process;
- Regulatory. This type of processing allows you to form a crown in such a way as to preserve the illumination for each branch and at the same time not overload the skeletal part with young shoots. This type of work is relevant from February to April and from August to September;
- Anti-aging. This type pruning allows a fairly mature plant to rejuvenate and renew itself by adjusting the growth of young branches. If the branches on your middle-aged tree grow only 10-15 cm per year, then you need to make a similar pruning in order to awaken dormant and adnexal buds. Similar procedures are performed in spring, early autumn or late winter;
- Recovery. This type of treatment allows an old or damaged plant under various circumstances to regain the opportunity to grow, bloom and bear fruit;
- Sanitary. If dried, damaged, diseased or broken branches were found on the plant, then they must certainly be removed. It is necessary to carry out such processing all year round, but not on cold and frosty days.
Advice. After pruning diseased branches, all tools involved in this process must be disinfected.
When making sanitary pruning, do not forget about the age of the tree. Excessively intense work can cause thickening of the crown.
Features of winter work
The only limitation for pruning in winter, which every gardener should certainly be aware of, is the undesirability of its production on frosty days, when the wood becomes especially fragile. In such weather, it is enough just to damage the branches, and the healing process will take a very long time.
Note!
If the thermometer outside the window shows a temperature below minus 8 degrees, then work in the garden should be postponed until warmer weather.
Let's find out when to prune trees in the garden.
Many people think that this should not be done in winter, but winter pruning has the following advantages:
- Winter trees are at rest, which means they experience less stress from this process;
- Sections in winter are more accurate and of high quality;
- The complete absence of foliage allows you to accurately assess the condition of the tree, identify shortcomings and draw up a competent processing plan.
Note!
In order to shorten branches of considerable thickness, you need a saw.
To avoid injury to the branches by the tearing method, they must first be filed from the opposite side.
Thin branches simply need to be cut with a pruner.
Features of pruning in the spring
When to prune garden trees in spring? Many believe that mass pruning can only be done when sap flow in the crown has not yet begun. In fact, the most successful time will be the period when the sap flow is about ready to begin.
Why exactly? This is necessary so that the wounds you created can quickly overgrow, delivering a minimum of inconvenience to the plant.
Depending on the type of fruit tree, the timing of its pruning can be completely different. Thanks to this factor, the gardener can thus plan the work schedule in order to have time to prune all the trees at the right time.
After the production of work, you need to lubricate the sections:
- garden pitch;
- Yellow clay with manure;
- Oil paint.
In the photo - cutting processing
The pruning instruction prohibits the processing of shrubs in the spring that will bloom in autumn. This is especially true for those plants whose buds appear only on last year's plants. Otherwise, you may deprive yourself of the opportunity to contemplate the beautiful flowering.
Features of pruning in the fall
Autumn pruning of trees in the garden is not well tolerated by many of them. If you cut a plum, cherry or pear in the fall, then the tree may simply die by spring. If there is no special need for pruning, then it is better to postpone this procedure until spring.
Autumn processing for recently planted plants can be disastrous. If a one-year growth is cut off, then when the temperature drops, not only the place of the cut itself will freeze, but also a significant area around it, including the crown itself and cadmium. In such conditions, one should not even mention the successful healing of the wound.
Finally
Timely and competently pruning fruit trees in the garden will prevent a huge number of problems that can affect the growth and fruiting of plants. It is very important to determine the need in a timely manner and carry out all the necessary work.
After reading this article, even a novice gardener will be able to cope with the task on their own, without resorting to the services of hired workers, the price of whose services is quite high. And the video in this article will be another informative and visual aid garden maintenance.
Any fruit tree requires constant and careful care. Only in this case it will give a rich harvest.
Tree pruning is the key to success and a mandatory procedure which every experienced gardener knows about.
Such fruit trees like apple, pear and stone fruits need pruning. They are very picky about pruning. Why prune fruit trees?
Pruning gardeners solve several problems at once:
- Growth and fruiting.
- Reducing the size of the crown.
- The phytosanitary task is to create conditions unfavorable for pests and diseases.
The procedure for pruning trees prolongs their life and leads to a rich harvest.
If little light enters the crown, then the branches inside the crown do not bear fruit and eventually die. Fruits are formed only on those branches of the tree where the light hits.
And if tree pruning was done rarely or not at all, then the fruits will be on hard-to-reach branches, located, as a rule, high.
Thanks to the pruning process the crown of the tree is formed correctly. This leads to the growth of side branches and allows you to get more fruit on the available branches.
When and what kind of trees in the garden can be pruned
Pruning fruit trees in a particular season depends on the following factors:
- what goal the gardener wants to achieve with this procedure;
- in what climatic conditions is the garden located;
- from the type of tree.
When is the best time to prune: spring, summer, winter or autumn?
In the central and northern regions of Russia not recommended for autumn pruning, because due to severe frosts, the wounds on the trees will not have time to heal.
This also happens because the movement of sap in the tree slows down, as it goes into a state of rest. As a result, the tree can become sick and die.
Therefore, in these regions, it is best to prune in early spring rather than autumn. It is important to bear in mind that the procedure can be carried out as soon as the air temperature has risen above 0℃.
Besides it is important to start pruning from old trees, since the buds swell faster on them than on young ones, it is recommended that pruning be done strictly before the buds swell.
Pruning fruit trees in spring:
In the southern regions of the country, pruning can be done in winter.. This is due to the fact that in the south the frosts are not as severe as in the north.
Winter pruning is primarily carried out in order to rejuvenate old trees and create the correct crown for young seedlings.
Also winter pruning is often done to reduce the fruiting of young trees. It is believed that a tree that gives rich harvests for 2-3 years in a row should be given a rest.
In addition, thin branches of a young tree can break from a high yield. Therefore, it is important to cut off excess branches in winter. In winter, gardeners prune first pome rocks, and then stone fruits.
The ideal dimensions of a fruit tree are 3 m high and 3 m wide. They will allow you to harvest most of the crop without the help of stepladders or ladders.
Some gardeners believe that summer is the best time for pruning.. But in this case we are talking about trees from 3 years and older. They claim that pruning during the summer months results in a thriving growth of new shoots.
In addition, if pruning is done during the fruit filling, the quality of the fruit is noticeably improved.
Another advantage of summer pruning is the juice secreted by the tree. It covers the wound, which leads to rapid healing and also acts as pest control.
Majority experienced gardeners It is believed that pruning is best done when the tree is resting. Therefore, they prefer early spring.
At what age should fruit trees be pruned?
This procedure can be started annual shoots for crown formation.
If the tree has already reached 10-15 years of age, it is considered old. In such a tree, the number of growths and productivity are reduced. He needs a rejuvenating pruning.
To do this, cut branches into 3-7-year-old wood. Thus, the crown is reduced. But already to next year young shoots will thicken it. It is important to ensure that the number of cuts on one side of the branch does not exceed three.
Which plants to do and which not
The pruning procedure is required for almost all fruit trees. Since it is it that leads to an increase in yield, allows you to accelerate the growth of a tree, and also protects its many pests and diseases.
Trim, apricot, cherry plum only when leaves appear on the trees. If this is done while the tree is dormant, then pruning can lead to fungal and disease damage to the trees.
In summer, you can remove dried branches, also shorten new shoots and remove branches that interfere with the crown.
Features of the procedure
Trimming trees is important to do carefully and follow the basic rules so as not to harm.
Timing
First of all, you need to decide on the appropriate pruning season. It will depend on the type and age of fruit trees, as well as on the location of the garden and the climate.
Preparing garden tools
The presence of all the tools necessary for carrying out this procedure will play a large role as a result of pruning.
In order to avoid an increase in the diameter of the damaged area on the tree Use only sharp tools for cutting.
- garden hacksaw;
- secateurs;
- air secateurs - secateurs on a long rod, for trimming branches at the top;
- stairs;
- glasses;
- garden pitch or paint on drying oil - the means necessary to process the cut point.
Do not trim with a rusty tool. Otherwise, the tree may get sick and die as a result.
Scheme and technology
Before proceeding with the pruning itself, it is necessary to determine why it is necessary and draw up a plan of action.
Below are the main goals that gardeners achieve with this procedure:
- form the correct crown of the tree;
- strengthen thin young shoots;
- remove crossing branches, defuse the crown to penetrate it sunlight;
- remove diseased branches, making it possible to grow healthy;
- increase in the number of fruiting branches;
- prepare the tree for the winter.
If it is necessary to achieve the fastest possible growth from a fruit tree, during the pruning period it is necessary to reduce the main number of fruiting buds.
Once the goal is determined, it is important to learn pruning techniques. Several techniques are known, among which the most popular are three:
- Cut on the kidney. This technique helps to set the correct direction of branch growth. You should find a branch with good growth. The cutting plastic of the secateurs should be turned towards the remaining part of the branch. The cut is made at a slight angle of 5 mm. in front of the kidney. The new branch will grow in the direction the bud is facing.
- cut on the ring. This technique is used when it is necessary to remove a full-fledged branch that grows inside the crown, interferes with other branches and creates density. The scheme is as follows: in the place where the branches are connected, it is necessary to cut exactly along the outer ring.
- Side branch cut. This technique allows you to change the direction of growth from one shoot to another. Incapacitated branches are cut off, and the side ones take on the function of the main branches.
Good post-care
If the cut diameter is more than 1 cm, the wound should be treated without fail. To do this, you need to buy or cook your own garden pitch and treat the wound on the tree with it.
If for some reason garden pitch does not lie on the wound, you can use paint on drying oil.
Young fruit trees should only be pruned to form a regular crown. Otherwise, pruning can lead to a deterioration in fruiting properties.
People who take care of their trees and prune correctly and on time always receive gratitude in the form of a good harvest.
If a person first decided to do this procedure, it is very important to follow the recommendations of knowledgeable gardeners, since this process only at first glance seems simple.
But in fact, carelessness and ignorance can lead to the death of the plant.
If you have started your summer cottage recently and just planted a garden with several fruit trees and shrubs, you are faced with many new questions regarding the care of them.
In particular, in the absence of proper experience, it is difficult to figure out when it is better to prune trees - in autumn or spring, and how to properly carry out this procedure.
In fact, even experienced gardeners are still arguing when it is worth thinking about forming a crown and removing excess shoots from trees and shrubs. Someone actively advocates doing this with the approach of winter, someone considers it more rational to carry out all the manipulations before opening the kidneys.
- Some experts do not even try to decide when it is better to prune fruit trees - in autumn or spring: they insist on performing these actions twice a year, without choosing one of the options.
In fact, both seasons are suitable for this purpose, but each of them has its own conditions and nuances. Therefore, in order for you to be able to decide exactly when to start forming the crown, you need to find out what requirements each of the terms puts forward. And, of course, you need to remember the main rule - the tree / shrub must be at rest at the time of these manipulations.
This method is mainly used in middle lane. Pruning is carried out at the end of winter, when the air temperature is close to -5 and does not fall below -8 degrees. This condition is set because of the fragility of wood at lower temperatures (it freezes). At the same time, it is important to have time before the start of flowering, so as not to cause injury to shrubs and trees. If your garden is large and the winter is not too cold, you can prune even in January-February.
- Keep in mind that these manipulations cannot be carried out on stone fruits on wet days.
- If the tree / shrub is young, it is also better to cut them in the spring.
If your garden crops should bloom soon, you cannot cut them off - you will have to wait until autumn, otherwise there will be no harvest, or it will not be plentiful. This is especially important for those trees / shrubs in which flower buds formed only on last year's, and not on young shoots.
If you grow winter-hardy varieties, it is better to start forming their crown (or the entire silhouette) in the fall, when the foliage is almost all on the ground. However, this moment cannot be delayed, since it is necessary to prune before the first serious frosts. Autumn is held mainly in the southern regions, since in the middle lane cold often sets in even at the moment when the trees are completely covered with foliage that has barely begun to turn yellow.
- Autumn pruning is sanitary in nature, when diseased areas are removed, as well as those that have not given fruit this season or withered.
- In the fall, mainly apple, plum and pear trees are pruned.
- The main plus of autumn pruning is that the cut comes out smoother, heals faster, the tree does not experience stress, as it retires. In addition, the gardener can clearly and clearly see the condition of the crown that has lost leaves.
- If you haven't had time to prune before the start of frost, leave your trees and shrubs alone and wait until spring.
Why do some gardeners have apple trees every year delicious apples, and in others, the yield of trees decreases for unknown reasons, branches break, apple trees die? To avoid such troubles, you need to learn how to properly care for the apple orchard, not forgetting to regularly trim the branches.
Do you know how prune an apple tree properly And what is the best time of the year to do this? Are you sure that you are forming the crown correctly? If not, our article contains the main recommendations on this topic, and the attached video clearly shows how apple trees are pruned in the fall.
Pruning serves different purposes depending on the age of the tree:
- the formation of a beautiful crown of the correct shape;
- strengthening young branches;
- increase in the number of fruiting branches;
- ensuring good access of sunlight to apples;
- removal of old branches to replace them with new ones;
- preparing the tree for winter.
Pruning an old apple tree in most cases allows it to be saved, and young trees grow and bear fruit better thanks to a similar procedure.
Apple pruning video
When to prune apple trees - in spring, summer or autumn?
Young trees are pruned every year in autumn and spring. Pruning apple trees in spring is necessary to remove branches frozen in winter, to form a crown and to increase productivity. Spring pruning begins before sap flow, until buds appear. In late autumn, as the leaves fall, they prune old, damaged, broken, rotten branches to prepare the tree for winter. In rare cases, apple trees are also pruned in summer to ensure the best access of light to the fruits. Winter pruning by apple trees is easier to tolerate, since they are at rest, but it can only be carried out in warm southern regions, otherwise the tree bark, fragile from frost, will be damaged.
Is it possible to prune an apple tree in the fall, after frosts? It’s better not to, otherwise the bark around the place where the branches are cut will freeze, and the wound will overgrow for a long time. Try to finish all work with the apple tree before the first frost.
Young trees are pruned every year in autumn and spring.
Held autumn pruning in the following way:
- first, large broken and dry branches are removed;
- the weakest branches are cut out of those that are too close to each other;
- cut branches growing at an acute angle;
- all damage caused to apple trees during the pruning process is carefully smeared with garden pitch or oil-based paint;
- cut branches are collected and burned.
Branch pruning methods
Pruning apple trees in the fall is of three types: weak, medium and strong. Weak pruning make young apple trees - new branches that have grown during the year are shortened by one quarter of the length. In the spring, fresh shoots will sprout from the cut branches, and a beautiful crown will form. Medium pruning used on 5-7 year old apple trees and old trees also to increase the number of productive branches and crown formation. Fortified branches are cut to a third of the length. Strong pruning necessary for thinning branches so that apples ripen better under the sun, for this the branches are shortened by half.
There are three types of pruning of apple trees in autumn: weak, medium and strong.
A separate type of pruning apple trees - removal of dead branches. It is important here not to make a mistake by cutting the branch right at the trunk of the apple tree, otherwise the dried knot will soon fall out of the tree, and a hollow will form, which can eventually lead to the death of the apple tree. Cut the branch down to where the first bud appears. Then, with a thin file with fine teeth, file the stump in such a way that the saw cut from the trunk goes towards the branch you are sawing. The place of the cut in this case is recommended to be treated not with paint, but with garden pitch. If after this treatment it rained, do it again.
A separate type of pruning of apple trees - removal of dried branches
Pruning of young apple trees with thin branches is carried out with a secateurs, and the strengthened branches are cut down with a saw. The tool must be clean and very sharp, sharp like a razor. Dull garden shears or a hacksaw will greatly “shatter” the bark, and the wound will heal longer. Paint for processing is suitable only for oil, based on drying oil, other types of paints will burn the bark like acid. Some gardeners use a disinfectant solution of lime with copper sulphate in a ratio of 10:1 to treat wounds after pruning. Please note that instant processing is only necessary for old dry branches, and when pruning young branches, you need to wait at least a day, and even then cover the cut with paint or pitch.
Video about autumn pruning of apple trees
Pruning of apple trees begins after planting in the first year in order to restore balance between the reduced root system and the sprawling above-ground part of the tree, which will require more water and nutrients than the roots can provide. In the next 3-5 years, it is better not to prune young apple trees - remove only broken and dried branches. Shoots should be shortened if the tree grows up too quickly.