Training and pruning 101

[Maya]

J-bird and others, I got this link from Umass. Real good easy to understand training and pruning tips. This spells out exactly what I've tried to say in other threads far better than I can....

http://www.boyernurseries.com/files/Fruit Tree Pruning Guide.pdf

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Thanks Maya for putting up the link. I've been reading this word by word and have learned a ton about how to balance a tree by using it's own growth characteristics in combination with pruning. It explains how to stimulate growth where you WANT it, vs. " cut & hope for the best ". And it's from Boyer Nursery - in South-central Pa. !! Very near ACN. This is a great read for the non-pro home grower / deer grower. The simplified " how to apply " section on pruning/training is easy to grasp. Very cool !! Thanks again, Maya.

 

[Natureboy]

Maya,
great article, thanks for posting. It looks like I have been doing way too much pruning in the late winter when the apple trees are dormant which has just caused a lot of new growth & suckers. Time to shift some of my pruning to July/August.

 

[Maya]

Maya,
great article, thanks for posting. It looks like I have been doing way too much pruning in the late winter when the apple trees are dormant which has just caused a lot of new growth & suckers. Time to shift some of my pruning to July/August.

I do 95% of my pruning during the winter, you may have branches trained to low if you have a lot of uprights. Most of the summer pruning is to take out uprights for better color on apples. The first year or two I do very little pruning, so yes you can over prune. Also if you have to much growth, less fert.

 

[Freeborn]

Great read Maya and perfect for us beginners. I Have about 20 trees that were planted 3 years ago that I have never trimmed. I was planning on pruning off some of the excess limbs this spring but based on what I am reading I think I should wait until summer. In my case I have 6-7 foot trees that have excess limbs that will crowd each other. I don't want to stimulate additional limb growth so it looks like it's better for me to wait until summer.

Does this sound correct? There was not An example for my situations.

Thanks!

 

[Maya]

Great read Maya and perfect for us beginners. I Have about 20 trees that were planted 3 years ago that I have never trimmed. I was planning on pruning off some of the excess limbs this spring but based on what I am reading I think I should wait until summer. In my case I have 6-7 foot trees that have excess limbs that will crowd each other. I don't want to stimulate additional limb growth so it looks like it's better for me to wait until summer.

Does this sound correct? There was not An example for my situations.

Thanks!

Make good flush cuts now. You do want growth on the young trees, just be sure to not over prune, no heading cuts and properly train branches. You want good growth, just in the right places. You want to have 3-5 branches on a tier. Now is a perfect time to get out excess limbs, w/ flush cuts at the leader. Youll be fine. Again most pruning is in late winter/ early spring. They should look roughly like this Freeborn, give or take a few branches. This one has the branches spread out quite a bit, but you could have a few more branches and side branches.

 

[Maya]

The moose have pruned most of mine back the past 4 years but, I think they are finally above moose browse height now.

That sucks NH!

 

[Freeborn]

Thanks Maya for the clarification, appreciate the help.

I feel sorry for you fellas with Moose and bear trying to grow Apple trees. Maybe 10' electric fences.

FB

 

[j-bird]

J-bird and others, I got this link from Umass. Real good easy to understand training and pruning tips. This spells out exactly what I've tried to say in other threads far better than I can....

http://www.boyernurseries.com/files/Fruit Tree Pruning Guide.pdf

Thanks for looking out for "butchers" like me.

"Train or remove" - that is my new apple tree motto!

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Maya - I read limb spreaders are wooden sticks w/ sharp nails driven into the ends or sharpened metal rods. Do the sharp ends cause any damage / let bugs or disease into the trees ?? What effect does strong wind have on them ?? I can only imagine big wind vs. young trees with sharp-ended rods embedded from leader to limb. How does that all work ??