All about pruning apple trees in spring

Without pruning, the cultivated apple tree degenerates, runs wild... The tree directs forces and juices to the growth of wood, branches and foliage, climb, the harvest shrinks, apples become tasteless. Therefore, everyone who grows them for the sake of fruit needs to know everything about pruning apple trees. One of the most important pruning is done in the spring.

In an apple tree with a well-formed crown, each leaf is exposed to the sun. The crown breathes, no branch interferes with the other. At the same time, the apple tree is compact, occupies a small area.

In addition to saving the energy of the tree, pruning makes the life of the gardener more comfortable. Apples are easy to pick, the tree is easier to handle from pests and diseases.

There are three types of pruning depending on the age of the tree.

1. When landing. The apple tree is pruned to facilitate its survival, to balance the aboveground and underground parts. They also cut off competitors of the leading branch and branches that depart at an acute angle - in the future, they will easily break off under the weight of the fruit.
2. The tree is 3-5 years old. The apple tree is actively growing. During this period, modeling is carried out, forming the trunk and skeleton of the crown. The branches are rejected.
3. Trees over 5 years old... A critical period of pruning, which lasts until the end of the tree's life. All branches thickening the crown are removed.

Spring Pruning Benefits:

• the plant is approaching the peak of activity, the wounds will quickly heal;
• the movement of juices is correctly distributed, they are directed to the most productive branches;
• rejuvenates and prolongs the life of aged trees.

An important function of pruning is to regulate the uniformity of the crop. If you do not fulfill it, apple and pear trees come to periodic fruiting, when an almost empty year follows a year of abundant, but relatively small-fruited harvest. Pruning allows you to get a sufficient number of large apples annually.

The average time for pruning apple trees in spring is in April. General rule: the procedure is carried out while the kidneys have not yet woken up, at an air temperature of + 4 ... + 6 ° C. The term may vary slightly depending on the region:

• in the middle lane, including in the Moscow region - in March - early April;
• in the Leningrad region - the second half of April - May;
• in the southern part of Russia - February - March;
• in the Urals, in Western Siberia, Eastern Siberia, in the Far East - from April to mid-May, in some cases - at the end of May.

You should focus on the climate in the current year. Pruning is not carried out while night frosts are possible.

Small interfering twigs are pinched in any month of summer.

It is possible to carry out sanitary, shaping and rejuvenating pruning in the fall. What time is better - the gardener decides, depending on the region and his capabilities. In autumn, there is a risk of frost damage to the cut branches, therefore sanitary pruning is usually carried out during this period. And the bulk of the work is left for the spring. Also prune the apple tree in the fall, if it was not possible to carve out time in the spring. The kidneys begin to awaken at + 6 ° C.

Pruning is not carried out in winter. Through any wounds, the cold penetrates into the tissues of the tree, it may even die.

Pruning is done with quality pruning shears. A lopper is used to remove the twigs. To cut very thick ones, you need a garden saw.If desired, this saw can be replaced with a hacksaw for wood, but it is only suitable for "dead" tissue - dried branches. Living tissue must be cut with a special tool.

Use a garden knife or scissors to remove small twigs or burrs.

Oil paint is used to process the sections. It is better not to use garden pitch in spring: it melts in the sun. Small sections do not need to be processed, they will heal on their own in the fresh air.

You can trim it either into a ring or by shortening a branch.

1. On a ring - a branch is cut near the trunk. The wound heals well, nothing else grows in this place. The method is good if you need no more shoots in this place.
2. Shortening... The branch can be cut close to the trunk, but leaving a stump of 10 cm. In this case, dormant buds will wake up on the stump, several shoots will grow. They usually have the correct angle. After 1-2 years, 1 shoot is left of them, the rest are removed.

There are several ways and schemes of cropping.

1. Formative may be mild (up to 5 years old), moderate (5–7 years old), or strong (over 7 years old). The younger the tree, the fewer branches are removed.
2. Sanitary and medical pruning. Absolutely all branches damaged by frosts or diseases are removed on the ring.
3. By shortening length: branches are shortened by 1/4, 1/3, ½.

We find out which branches are cut to the ring.

1. Branches growing inside the crown or located at an acute angle, less than 45 ° (such branches will not withstand the harvest and will break off when the apples are poured). Branches that grow at a too obtuse angle, almost 90 °, are also undesirable, they do not withstand the harvest. The ideal angle is 70 °.
2. Branches blocking the light of others or in contact with others.
3. Sick, frozen, broken, damaged branches.
4. Spinning tops... They grow vertically, parallel to the trunk. These branches are always stronger than others, they have larger leaves, but there are no fruits.

Fruit twigs are very carefully removed. They are not touched unnecessarily - they are the ones that bring the harvest. These are either ringlets (branches up to 5 cm with 1 bud at the end and scars), or spears (up to 15 cm in length, located perpendicular to the skeleton), or twigs (green straight or smoothly curved shoots).

The purpose of formative pruning for an annual, two-year-old apple tree, and at 3, 4 and 5 years old is to give the tree a pyramidal shape, with tiers. The apple tree usually has 3 tiers, in rare cases - 4. The lower tiers are wider, they gradually decrease. Thus, the silhouette of the tree resembles a pyramid or a Christmas tree. If the trees are planted very close, they are spindle-shaped. All branches are no longer than 0.5 m. The distance between the tiers is 50-60 cm.

To rejuvenate an old apple tree, before filing large shoots, you should draw up a diagram on paper or take a photo of the tree.

We will find out how to cover up the sections.

1. Disinfectant composition... They treat the wound before sealing it. Use a dark pink solution of potassium permanganate, Bordeaux liquid (1.5 tbsp. Copper sulfate per half liter of water, lime per half liter of water, mix), copper or iron sulfate (2 tbsp. L. Per 1 liter of water ). The disinfectant is applied with a brush.
2. They are sealed with garden varnish, water-based paints, varnish-based oil paints, cement mortar. There are ready-made garden putties on sale.

Professionals use Lac-Balsam. It contains growth promoters and can even be applied to a wet cut.

It is important not only to process the cut after trimming, but also to do it correctly.

1. If it rains frequently, you need to wait a week after it ends. In wet weather, the slices are not smeared. If the weather is dry, it is enough to wait 2 days. On a wet cut, the solution will not fix, which will give way to infections and cold weather.
2. Be sure to process sections of at least 3 cm. The rest need not be processed.
3. Remove all burrs with a knife before applying the solution. The stump and ring should look neat. The smoother they are, the faster they will heal.
4. If on the wound there are signs of decay, they need to be cut off.

A properly processed cut on the ring will be completely tightened in the future, it will not even be visible.

Let's list the pruning rules for beginners.

1. First, diseased, dry, damaged branches are removed.
2. Then the annual knots are cut off.
3. Branches are removed that branch off at a too sharp or obtuse angle.
4. All sections are performed above the eyes - so that the upper edge of the cut recedes from the kidney by 1.5 mm.
5. The cut is not performed strictly in the cross section, but at an angle of 45 °.
6. The crown should have three tiers.
7. A mature tree should not be taller than 5 meters. In colder regions, the maximum altitude is even lower. In the Leningrad region, the height of the apple tree should be no more than 3-4 meters.
8. The height of the apple trees on the rootstock may be slightly higher.
9. If the apple tree has two trunks, you need to leave one - the strongest.

But beginners need to learn a few more important points.

1. Pruning a tree is a creative process... Each plant is unique. You need to learn to see the future crown and extra branches. The schemes are advisory in nature.
2. If you need to prune too many branches, the process is best done in 2 stages: spring and autumn.
3. Slices are wounds. They must be distributed harmoniously. They should be considered as a load on the tree. Slices should not be too frequent. In case of uncertainty, it is better not to cut - it can be done next year.
4. Prune old fruit trees more actively, but at the same time they focus on dysfunctional branches. The older the tree, the more buds need to be left.
5. If there are many trees in the garden, pruning should start with older adults and finish with younger ones.
6. It is necessary to take into account the harvest of last year. If it was small, the tree has laid few fruit buds - too much pruning is undesirable.

If the crown turns out to be too sparse and you need to direct the branches inward, pruning is carried out at the level of the buds, which "look" at the trunk. If you need an outward direction, cut off, focusing on the "external" kidneys.

Young seedlings are pruned immediately after planting. The procedure should be carried out sparingly, but not sparing all the injured, frozen or dry branches.

A period of up to 5 years is devoted to the formation of the stem and the bases of the crown. The stem can have a height of 40 to 80 cm.

The central conductor, that is, the leader branch, is pruned at a level of 80–85 cm. The lateral branches are shortened by 2/3. After that, the tree is left alone: ​​all its forces are directed to rooting. The next pruning will need to be done next year. Below the height of the trunk, all branches are removed. 4-5 of the strongest and strongest branches are left at the trunk. The central shoot should be 30 cm higher than the others.

It is very desirable to arrange the frame branches of the first tier harmoniously, from above they should look like the axes of a wheel, located at an equal distance from each other. This is the ideal to strive for. The branches should also have the same slope. The ideal distance between the branches of one tier is 15 cm. Having formed the branches of the first tier, the conductor is again shortened at a distance of 45 cm from the first - this is how the 2nd tier is formed.

It is necessary to ensure that the frame branches of different tiers are not strictly one above the other, but look through the "gaps".

Skeletal branches are shortened over 3-4 buds facing outward. A new branch will appear from this bud, deflected from the mother at the desired angle.

The terminal increments are shortened by half.

Mature apple trees are divided into two types: middle age, old trees. They are cut in different ways. For an apple tree over 5 years old, which is considered still young, but has already begun to bear fruit, the main task is to form a crown and find a balance between growth and fruiting.In addition to skeletal, 6-8 branches are chosen. They will give the earliest apples. After 5 years of fruiting, they are cut out or shortened by 5 buds. The pruning is planned so as to see the forecast for at least 2 years in advance.

All unnecessary branches are also removed: rubbing against each other, growing low, thickening the crown, fan-shaped, growing inward or vertically, sick, dead, broken.

If there is a desire to reduce pruning to a minimum, unnecessary side branches that have grown on the main ones are bent around, tying them to pegs driven into the ground. This technique allows you to slow down the growth of a branch in length and direct the juices to the growth of fruit branches and foliage. Bending around is carried out with the beginning of sap flow.

A launched apple tree is pruned so that the tree does not lose too much of its mass at a time. It is better to distribute the pruning for both spring and fall, focusing primarily on non-functional branches. Old apple trees are pruned as described below.

1. If it is a very tall tree, the trunk is shortened at a height of 2 m, choosing a place just above the largest near branch. But you just don't need to leave a stump: it will turn into a hollow, and there is a risk that the tree will rot.
2. The large branches growing inward are removed. They are cut down not in one go, but in several steps, cut it down in the middle of the length from the bottom, then from above, break off and only after that cut the rest into a ring.
3. The lateral skeletal branches are cut so that they are not longer than 2.5 m. Choose branches that look outward so that there is a lot of air in the crown.
4. After that, tops will begin to grow on the crown - active, but not productive shoots... Almost all of them are removed (except for those that look like skeletal or fruit branches). It is advisable to pinch the extra tops in a green form, until they are lignified.

All thickening branches are removed from small branches, located in unsuccessful places (one above the other), growing at an acute angle, intersecting.

Columnar apple trees are easier to cut. There is no need to strive for a harmonious pyramidal crown - it is enough to thin it out. Cutting sequence:

1. Shortening the trunk immediately after landing.
2. 2nd year - pinching of lateral shoots more than 20 cm. The upper shoot is left.
3. 3rd year - pinch the upper shoot 25 cm from the trunk. The lateral branches are shortened to 40 cm. The crown should be given special attention, several young shoots are often formed here due to the fact that the plant freezes easily. In the future, only the strongest shoot is left here, the rest are shortened to 2 buds.
4. 4th year... Thin out last year's branches, remove all weak, sick, damaged ones.
5. 5th year... The growth of the apple tree is limited at a height of 3 m, columnar apple trees do not grow taller.

The fruit link is a horizontal twig and two young shoots, it yields for 5 years, then it is removed. Such a link is formed by cutting off annual shoots to 2 buds.

On columnar apple trees, all young growth must be removed during the summer.

Rules that beginners sometimes forget:

• the trunk is never touched;
• young twigs should not be shortened by more than 1/3;
• it is important to trim harmoniously - the central branches should not be more than 40 cm longer than the lateral ones;
• branches of the same level should be approximately the same length;
• the more the branches of a young tree are shortened, the stronger the growth of their continuation from the daughter buds will be, therefore, if it is necessary to strengthen one of the frame branches, then it is shortened more strongly than others.

Let's focus on useful recommendations as well.

1. After pruning, you need to feed the tree with nitrogenous fertilizer. Introduce 5-6 kg of manure per 1 sq. m. in the near-trunk circle, watered with diluted chicken droppings (2 kg per bucket, 1.5 liters of mixture are needed per 1 sq. m.).After fertilization, the tree is thoroughly watered - at least 3 buckets of water per 1 sq. m. After that, the trunk circle is loosened and mulched.
2. It is useful to plant legumes around apple trees... At the end of the season, they are harvested, the tops are chopped and dug up along with the soil.

Over time, even beginners "get their hands on" and can immediately determine which branch should be removed and which should be left. It only takes practice. And, of course, follow the beginner's rule: it is better to delete less than more. Pruning can always be postponed until fall or spread over several years. If all unnecessary branches have not been removed this year, they can be removed next year. But too much pruned tree may even die.