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

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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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Why Do We Have To Prune Our Fruit Trees?

Why Do We Have To Prune Our Fruit Trees?

We need to prune our fruit trees every year to ensure a good production of fruit and help the tree to keep its shape. Dead wood needs to be cut away and space needs to be provided for good air circulation and light to enter the tree. This in turn helps to prevent disease from attacking the tree or plant. Pruning also allows room for the fruit to grow without rubbing against branches or other fruit, thus causing damage or bruising to the fruit.

So how do we prune. Not all fruit trees or bushes need the same style or method of pruning, but basically, there are several guidelines which are applicable to most plants. The tools you require are a pair of secateurs, small hand held type for small trees and bushes and a heavy-duty type with long handles for the thicker or bigger trees. The long handles provide the leverage to snip easily through the branches.

Whichever type of cutters you use, they must be sharp enough to provide a good clean cut, at about a 45 degree angle to allow water to run off and not settle in the new cut and cause rot or disease to enter before the wound has healed over. Make all cuts close to the bud – but do not cut through the bud. Pruning is a specialised subject. It is important that you should prune each variety of tree to the recommended standard to maximise fruit cropping. You can only get the knowledge you require by buying a dedicated fruit cultivation gardening book. If you cut in the wrong place, you may be removing the trees ability to flower and produce fruit. For example, it is normal to snip off the tips of branches to prevent the tree from growing too big or bushy, but some types of fruit tree only produce their flowers on the tips… You have to know which.

Shaping the tree or bush

Pruning allows us to give the tree or bush a good shape. For example, we can selectively prune an apple tree to keep it small enough to keep it manageable in a container, rather than in the open ground. This can just as easily be applied to peaches, apricots and nectarines for patio production.

Such trees can be trained and cut to produce main branches that grow outwards (espaliered) at about 90 degrees, rather that upwards, which limits the space available for the tree and makes it awkward for collection of fruit. Others can be grown as cordons with the upward growing branches coming from horizontal branches and supported by a frame. A new idea is to grow the tree into a tube shape. This is ideal for patios or those with limited space for fruit production. They look good too, whether in flower or in fruit. Another shape to look closely at is the fan shape. These can be ideal for growing your tree against a wall.

There are many ways to describe the shape of your fruit trees and full instructions can be found in most good gardening books, especially those dedicated to fruit growing. There are twelve common types or shape which are used by home fruit producers, whether against a wall, in the open ground or indeed, like us, in containers on the patio. These are; Bush, standard, semi-standard fan, dwarf pyramid cordon, double cordon, spindle bush, multiple cordon, pole, stepover and espalier.

My personal preference is for the multiple cordon. This tree is pruned in such a way as to produce two horizontal branches from opposite sides of the main trunk. The trunk itself is cut above the two horizontal branches and then four vertical branches are allowed to grow up from the horizontal. This has the effect of giving you four miniature trees on one plant. Careful training and pruning will give you a good shaped tree in a few seasons. If you are growing in a container, be careful as to how the container is anchored. High winds can easily cause the tree to fall over and damage or even break off some of the branches. The container needs to be heavy and fixed down by either bolts if standing on concrete, or deep spikes if on soil or lawn.

Rootstocks

It is important to mention, that if you are planning to grow your fruit trees in containers, which I recommend you do (especially if you have been following our Budget Cookery series), you should buy trees that are grafted onto miniature rootstocks. Here in Spain, these miniatures are known as ‘nanos’. Nano(a) is the Spanish word for ‘dwarf’. I have just planted out four new ‘nanos’ ready to train into double cordons. These are apricot, nectarine, yellow peach and standard peach. Any good nursery or Garden Centre can supply what you need, but if you are looking for a dwarf apple look for an M27 or M9 rootstock. If you are planning on training a pear tree look out for a quince C rootstock. St Julien is about the best for peaches nectarines and apricots.

Shaping your new tree by pruning

When you first purchase your new tree, it will be in maiden whip form. That is, a tall thin sapling about four or five foot tall with no side shoots (usually). You can also buy your trees in feathered whip form, which will have eight to ten side shoots formed. Start training your new tree right from day one. If you decide that the double cordon is the way you want to go, you must snip out the central trunk above two shoots, which you will develop and grow out sideways. Tie the new branches down if necessary to ensure that they grow out horizontally. They will try to turn upward, which is of course the natural shape of the tree. Once the branch has settled into its growing phase it will require less attention to keep it in the horizontal position. Once you have the two horizontal branches at the desired length (about three feet), you can let the tip of the branches start their climb skywards. These provide your two outer trunks for the double cordon. Midway along each horizontal branch, select one bud on each branch to allow to grow skywards. These are your 3rd and fourth cordons. Remove all other buds on the horizontal branches. Now, it is all down to time and careful attention by you to encourage your tree to give you what you want – a good shaped tree and an abundance of fruit. (eventually).

It is beyond the scope of this article to demonstrate how to train your tree into the eleven other popular shapes. Any good Garden book will give you pictures and step by step instructions on how to shape and prune your fruit trees. Some trees need to be pruned twice a year to keep them in top condition, while others are quite happy with a springtime pruning. Here in Spain, the orange growers have a major task each year in ensuring that their orange trees, nectarines and peaches are pruned perfectly to maximise the crop – it is their livelihood after all – they know how to prune.

How to prune is part of the Budget Cookery Series of articles, which teaches you how to grow your own fruit and vegetables in a limited space.