January is time to prune fruit trees – but how do you do it?

DEAR JACK: Would you please address the pruning of apricot, lemon, apple and orange trees in your column. Thank you.

May Parks – Email

DEAR MAY: OK, here goes.

January is the traditional time to prune deciduous fruit trees, such as apricots, apples, nectarines, peaches, and plums. I prefer to prune my deciduous trees twice a year – once in the winter – lightly, then in summer just after the fruit ripens. Deciduous fruit trees are the kinds that drop their leaves in autumn and have bare stems all winter.

Pruning allows you to control the height of the tree. It also assures even distribution of fruit in the best positions – and proper pruning helps to produce the sweetest-possible fruit. You are free to determine the height of your fruit trees, so don’t let them “think” they are in charge. I arbitrarily top my deciduous fruit trees at a height that is comfortable for picking the fruit – about 8 feet. So I always start by cutting off all the branches as high as I can reach. I hardly even look to see how they are growing. I simply cut them off. This keeps the trees lower and the fruit pretty much within reach for harvesting.

Apricots, apples and plums form their best fruit on small side twigs called spurs. Even so, these trees tend to send out many long branches. The spurs generally develop near the top and sometimes near the bottom of the long branches. For most of us these long stems are wasted growth. Cut all the long stems down to the lower clusters of spurs, or to only about three inches in length.

For those who are interested in peaches and nectarines, they form their best fruit on what are commonly called “hangers,” the long, healthy pencil-size stems that tend to hang downward on the tree. To prune, top off the tree at the desired height, then cut off the “water sprouts,” the vigorous shoots that grow straight up from a major branch. Remove all but the strongest spurs. Leave the hangers. If there are lots of hangers, or if there are lots of forked hangers, thin them out by removing some. Prune so the fruit that forms later can be “kissed” by sunlight filtering through the foliage as it develops. Those little kisses of sunlight during the day help to sweeten the fruit.

The next instructions apply to all kinds of deciduous fruit trees.

Eliminate “narrow crotches”-branches that start near the same point and grow closely together in a V-shape. Fruit-laden branches often split at narrow crotches. Cut off one side of the V. Keep in mind that the strongest branches form at right angles to the trunk.

Next, where branches are crossing over or touching each other, remove at least one. Crossed branches also eventually become weak spots.

Try to open up the center of the tree by pruning out enough of the interior branches so that sunlight can glimmer through at times during the day and occasionally shine on the fruit.

This much winter pruning is generally quite adequate for deciduous fruit trees.

Summer pruning reduces the amount of heavy pruning required in winter. You may have noticed that after fruit ripens, the tree puts out a flush of strong summer growth. This growth forms the stems that produce the next year’s fruit. Summer pruning allows the trees to grow in a more productive manner. As soon as the fruit ripens, cut back the top of each tree to the desired height. Then remove all the water sprouts, which are vigorous shoots that grow straight up. Remove dead branches. Then prune a little more, if necessary, to maintain the shape of the tree, but be sure to keep a good quantity of foliage on the tree to support the new growth that will produce next year’s fruit.

It’s a lot easier than it sounds, especially if you keep the trees below 8 feet tall. When you finish pruning, in both winter and summer, feed the trees with a balanced plant food, such as 10-10-10 or 15-15-15, and spread a cup or so of Epsom salt (magnesium sulfate) around the tree early each spring to promote optimal uptake of the nutrients in the balanced plant food.

Now to your lemon and orange trees. In general, citrus trees should be pruned in late February or March and again in mid-to-late September. The major pruning is done in February or March. Keep mandarins and lemons at about 7-8 feet tall, and all other citrus varieties between 8-10 feet tall so fruit will be easier to reach. Dead branches should be eliminated. Branches that form a V-shaped crotch should be trimmed by removing one side of the V. Some stems may need to be removed to allow sunlight to trickle through the tree. When sunlight reaches more leaves and dapples on the growing fruits, the fruits become sweeter. However, be careful not to expose large branches or the trunk to direct sunlight, since sunburn could kill or seriously weaken the branches. If pruning or breakage exposes large branches, paint them with white latex paint as a sunscreen. Citrus trees require an abundance of year-round foliage, so don’t just whack away.

I hope that helps.

Five things to do in your garden

1 Help your avocado trees set fruit this year. They will only set fruit if night temperatures remain above 58 degrees during flowering time, and the forecast is night temperatures below 50 degrees. The best (and simplest) way to get some fruit is to spray the blooms each evening with just plain water. It acts as insulation against the cold so the Avocado Matchmaker can do her job.

2 Rose leaves that make it through the winter start diseases earlier in the season. And the diseases take a stronger hold on new leaves, spreading quickly to other plants. So if you haven’t pruned your roses, do so this weekend. Be sure to remove all the old rose leaves in order to have healthier plants and prettier roses this spring and summer.

3 Prune old flower heads off hydrangeas. Remove the upper third of each stem along with the dead flowers, but don’t cut any lower if you want good blooms this spring. The best new blooms come on growth that arises from last year’s healthy stems. To get the largest possible blossoms, reduce the number of flower stems. Otherwise you’ll get more numerous blooms of moderate size.

4 Fall-planted carrots ought to be at their peak for harvesting now. Warm weather makes leafy vegetables go to seed, so pick lettuces, cabbages and spinach as soon as they are ready unless we get a significant dip in temperatures for several weeks. If you planted onion sets an inch apart, harvest green onions as needed, leaving one every four inches to develop into globes. Continue picking peas, because the more you pick, the longer they will keep producing.

5 Plant deciduous fruit trees, grapes, and other deciduous plants, including apples, apricots, nectarines, peaches, plums, boysenberries, and any fruit varieties that drop their leaves in winter. Watch out for withered stems, however. Our dry winter has drawn moisture out of some bareroot stock and could weaken their growth or even cause premature death. Select plants with a plump (not shriveled) trunk. Hold off on planting citrus and avocados until March, just in case Mother Nature sneaks in a late freeze.

Gardening questions may be sent to Jack Christensen at P.O. Box 1231-DB, Ontario, CA 91762-1231 or via email at jchristensen.garden@gmail.com. In the subject line type “Garden Question” and add your subject. As many responses as possible will be included in this column but may not be acknowledged individually due to the number of requests.

Fruit with Bill & Sheila
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