Summer Fruit Tree Pruning
Summer pruning is an integral function of keeping the trees small. Two or
even three times a year side limbs should be cut back severely to promote new
growth. By pruning when there is fruit on the tree it is easy to see what to
prune and what not to remove.
Summer Backyard Orchard Culture
Cut back new growth by half in the spring and
late summer.
The easiest way to manage a fast-growing variety is to prune more often, perhaps
even three times each year.
Keep the center of the trees open to allow the
sunlight to come in. Prune the foliage into the shape of a vase.
Remove broken limbs. Diseased branches should be removed
immediately when noticed, and as low
as possible to eliminate the disease entirely. Disinfect the tool used to
remove this limb to prevent spreading the disease.
By the third year, decide how high you'll allow your tree to be.
If there are vigorous shoots that want to dominate, cut them back or
remove them. Keep cutting back all new growth by half at least in
the spring and again in the fall.
Prune fruit-bearing branches so a bird can fly through the tree.
When branches cross or are too close together in the same direction,
remove one of them.
While you're pruning, thin the fruit. Allow a hand's width between apples that are on
the same branch, otherwise you'll just end up with a bunch of little
stunted ones.
But Everything That I Prune Dies!
Um, no. We all have a natural fear of pruning, but don't let that bother
you. It's practicably impossible to kill a tree by pruning it wrong, and
if it doesn't turn out right you can always do it over the
next year.
Reading a pruning book or researching it on the Internet will
instruct you in one way of doing it, but remember, no two people will prune a tree in the same way
and there are always multiple solutions.
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