I am looking into a cold and bare, small orchard, in the much-needed rain, knowing that I have to get in there and prune the fruit trees (when it is dry) to help encourage healthy growth and blooms in spring. It is not a job that takes too long, just a few hours, but for some reason it's a job I need to steal myself for. Maybe that is just about being out in the cold. But harden up boy, the time to prune is now, or now-abouts.
Starting by doing as I say, not as I do, clean the pruning tools using 80% metho and 20% water mix to help sterilise them.
There is pruning to be done to remove dead, diseased, damaged wood, upward growth and suckers, branches crossing over and growing in the wrong direction, and also pruning to shaping the tree. You want to control the upward growth and encourage lateral growth as that is productive growth.
If you have buds on the apple tree, notice that there are 2 types, pointy buds and round buds – rounded buds will turn into flowers and fruit, so leave them, whereas you can remove a branch with pointy buds as they will not fruit.
Undercutting – count up 3 or 4 buds from the base of the growth to an outward facing bud, and undercut at the bud immediately above that one. This, in theory, will stop the sap flowing at the cutoff point, so the small bit of growth you have above your chosen bud, will die back and trick the tree into turning the remaining bud into a fruit spur. Can nature really be so easily tricked? Well try it and see.
If you are planting a young bare-rooted fruit tree now, give it a good prune to create the right structure for it to grow into. Pruning it down to a low height will encourage lateral growth, give the tree access to more sunlight, and keep it manageable for harvesting and maintaining.
And then mulch and compost around the tree. Not too heavy, just lightly at this time of the year.
As a broad guide
Winter pruning
Promotes vigorous growth for spring, so prune in winter to encourage a good basic structure for a young tree or when trying to adjust the shape of a mature tree.
Promotes vigorous growth for spring, so prune in winter to encourage a good basic structure for a young tree or when trying to adjust the shape of a mature tree.
Late Summer pruning
Inhibit growth to maintain its size and shape
Inhibit growth to maintain its size and shape
Plenty to do, even in the dark and cold!
Enjoy
Peter