Pruning fruit trees
- Thread starter TreeDaddy
- Start date
bigboreblr
5 year old buck +
MAybe you heavy snow folks could latex paint above the vole guards. Might help out. Was thinking of doing that up in the adirondacks.
I do that. No branches below 5’ tall, and I paint up to the first branch.
I sure do enjoy my time on a nice ‘warm’ late winter day spent pruning and releasing apples. Can’t wait for it this year. I usually end up doing it on a snowmobile, but I bring a gas grill, snacks, and a couple beers for when the sun goes down and it starts getting cold again. So about 3:30 pm
I sure do enjoy my time on a nice ‘warm’ late winter day spent pruning and releasing apples. Can’t wait for it this year. I usually end up doing it on a snowmobile, but I bring a gas grill, snacks, and a couple beers for when the sun goes down and it starts getting cold again. So about 3:30 pm
CrazyEd
5 year old buck +
Any of you guys using cordless/battery powered shears? I have 2 pair of Felco hand pruners, 2 bacho loppers, 3 silky saws and 2 pair of extension pole style pruners. They all work fine but looking to go faster and save the wear and tear (and blisters) on my hands. I am looking at a pair of Milwaukee sheers but they are not released yet. Look decently light weight, can do 1000 cuts or something per battery up to 1.25” and the unit looks small and light weight to the others I’ve seen on the market.
www.milwaukeetool.com
I appreciate the opinions of this group, let me know what you are doing on this front. I have about 200 trees between the age of 5-13. Cheers! Or maybe I should say shears !
M12™ Brushless Pruning Shears | Milwaukee Tool
www.milwaukeetool.com
I appreciate the opinions of this group, let me know what you are doing on this front. I have about 200 trees between the age of 5-13. Cheers! Or maybe I should say shears !
CrazyEd
5 year old buck +
As far as my best practice pruning techniques.
1. Remove dead or diseased wood.
2. Remove poor crotch angles when possible.
3. Remove branches below the cage (5’) when apple.
4. Remove inward growing branches.
5. Minimize forking branches. I shoot for central leader style on branches too.
6. Prune to central leader and focus on pruning to a form that allows for sun and air to get to the center of the tree.
7. Look for tent worm nests/chrysalis or other pests and remove.
8. When pruning branches, prune so your branches grow outward.
9. Use angle cuts so the water rolls off.
1. Remove dead or diseased wood.
2. Remove poor crotch angles when possible.
3. Remove branches below the cage (5’) when apple.
4. Remove inward growing branches.
5. Minimize forking branches. I shoot for central leader style on branches too.
6. Prune to central leader and focus on pruning to a form that allows for sun and air to get to the center of the tree.
7. Look for tent worm nests/chrysalis or other pests and remove.
8. When pruning branches, prune so your branches grow outward.
9. Use angle cuts so the water rolls off.
bigboreblr
5 year old buck +
So, you got a few ones you planted in the fall from your tree guy. You got some ok looking laterals, but they're only 18-30 inches tall. Will these guys live their life that low, or will the tree move em up much over the years? Don't wanna play zero turn limbo.....
Bowsnbucks
5 year old buck +
bigboreblr -
If the whole tree is only 18 to 30" tall, I'd let them alone to grow and collect sunlight for photosynthesis. As the tree grows in height, you can prune off the lowest limbs as the tree gets taller. Pros call that "raising the canopy." Trees don't move the lowest limbs "up" much, but as the trees grow, they'll push out new, young branch shoots further up the tree, (if you train the trees to a central leader). As you gain more branches further up the trees, you can prune off the lowest ones - "raising the canopy."
As our camp trees have grown, I prune off the lowest limbs so that the lowest ones are at 6 ft. above ground or higher. You just want to make sure you have plenty of new limbs higher up to make leaves, so you don't weaken the trees.
As a gauge, our new trees were straight "whips" of about 3 to 4 feet tall when planted. After the first year, they were about 2 feet taller, on average. 2nd year, they grew out of the 5 ft. cages and got to about 6 to 7 feet. With new limbs higher up, I pruned off the lowest 1 or 2 limbs - which forced the trees to push growth skyward on the central leader, leading to even more new branchlets on the higher leader. Rinse & repeat until you get the tree you want.
If the whole tree is only 18 to 30" tall, I'd let them alone to grow and collect sunlight for photosynthesis. As the tree grows in height, you can prune off the lowest limbs as the tree gets taller. Pros call that "raising the canopy." Trees don't move the lowest limbs "up" much, but as the trees grow, they'll push out new, young branch shoots further up the tree, (if you train the trees to a central leader). As you gain more branches further up the trees, you can prune off the lowest ones - "raising the canopy."
As our camp trees have grown, I prune off the lowest limbs so that the lowest ones are at 6 ft. above ground or higher. You just want to make sure you have plenty of new limbs higher up to make leaves, so you don't weaken the trees.
As a gauge, our new trees were straight "whips" of about 3 to 4 feet tall when planted. After the first year, they were about 2 feet taller, on average. 2nd year, they grew out of the 5 ft. cages and got to about 6 to 7 feet. With new limbs higher up, I pruned off the lowest 1 or 2 limbs - which forced the trees to push growth skyward on the central leader, leading to even more new branchlets on the higher leader. Rinse & repeat until you get the tree you want.
bigboreblr
5 year old buck +
All my trees, atleast the ones I got so far from whitetail crabs are 5ft+ tall. Some are monster whips with no laterals at all. I plan n taking a bit off the top of them when my new shears come in. Maybe 6-8 inches.
A few trees the laterals are turning upward and almost to the height of the total tree. Not sure how much to nip them. I will enjoy these trees at home quite a bit, but some of these tree's main purpose is scion stock for other trees. So, a bit excessive pruning doesn't bother me at all. Will take is pic in a bit and post tonight.
A few trees the laterals are turning upward and almost to the height of the total tree. Not sure how much to nip them. I will enjoy these trees at home quite a bit, but some of these tree's main purpose is scion stock for other trees. So, a bit excessive pruning doesn't bother me at all. Will take is pic in a bit and post tonight.
Tree Spud
5 year old buck +
PatinPA
5 year old buck +
It's still alive. I did find a small amount of black knot on a couple of them again this year. I cut if off and burnt it. Some I had to gouge out. I sprayed them last year and it seemed to have helped. I think it'll be a never ending battle until the trees get too big that I can even reach it.
I left the crotch. I didn't see any buds below it so I didn't want to cut it off right there. I gouged out all of the black knot then sprayed it with that rubberized cover to protect it.
Bowsnbucks
5 year old buck +
This works. I didn't do it with double-sided cutting tool like the video guy did, just a sharp knife - and only on one side of the trunk - about 1/4" above a bud. I followed the advice of Penn State and other universities, and some online videos. I just pushed the blade straight into the bark above the bud until I feel & hear a "snap" as the blade breaks through the cambium layer. No sawing the blade back & forth. It worked for me.
Tree Spud
5 year old buck +
Yeah, I would be very nervous cutting like he did. A sharp Opinel knife should work.
Wild Thing
5 year old buck +
I have recently started notching on my trees also - just cutting a notch on one side with my jackknife. His method in the video does appear to work well, but, like you Tree Spud - I would likely cut the small trees in half. LOL
As I understand it from watching Steven Edholm's videos, nothing above the bud or scaffold prevents the nutrients from flowing up the stem and concentrates them and the bud or scaffold that you want to grow...
Here is a link to one of his videos:
This is the Future of Home Fruit Tree Training...
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bigboreblr
5 year old buck +
This is my crossbow I planted in the fall. Was thinking of removing the entire double leader to the right. Was debating taking off that to lateral entirely, but will trim it back and train the crotch angle. Not sure if the blue trim on the central leader is enough, should I go more towards the green considering the lack of decent laterals? What about all the 3-5 inch laterals jammed on the base of the tree?
These are my crabapples at home. A major reason they're here is to be scion donors for trees up North.
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bigboreblr
5 year old buck +
This one above is a 30-06. Got a good pair of laterals with a long whip fora central leader. Should I trim agreesive on the way tall leader? Same goes for the laterals? Likely dothat lateral cut above a bud thing on this tree.
This is a Droptine. Much like the 30-06 in growth. I do not mind being a bit aggressive with these trees. I have a ton of rootstock coming and not much scions. I got a dozen antonovka rootstocks in the ground from last spring that need either a double cleft, or a good sized piece of scion to tongue and whip. Every tree in thisand the last post is on B118.
bigboreblr
5 year old buck +
You guys trim new ones at all?
Wild Thing
5 year old buck +
Absolutely. The absolute best time to start training a new tree is the day the tree is planted IMO. By the time my trees are 2 years old they wont have any scaffold branches lower than 4 feet and likely wont have more than about 5 main scaffolds appropriately spaced, and I can remove my spreaders because all of the crotch angles will be growing at 45-60 degrees
Turkey Creek
5 year old buck +
I agree, typically the very small amount of time it takes to prune and/or train a young tree is well worth it. I dont necessarily worry about removing everything that will eventually come off the tree, but I do try to make sure the appropriate structure for my goal is taking shape early on.
bigboreblr
5 year old buck +
Sandbur,
Your collection seems a bit like mine might be someday. Don't do central leader on some of them?
Your collection seems a bit like mine might be someday. Don't do central leader on some of them?
