When and how to prune. Appointment and timing of autumn pruning of coniferous trees

Foreword

annual pruning fruit trees– the surest way to increase yields and improve taste characteristics and appearance fruits. However, even experienced gardeners do not always realize when pruning fruit trees will be most painless for them - in winter, autumn or spring.

Necessary tools and materials

Start pruning fruit trees - the best timing

In fact, pruning does not have a clear beginning and end, an experienced gardener no-no, and even cut off a branch with a hacksaw or pruner that violates the fruit tree pruning scheme conceived for a particular plant. However, the goal is not only to comply with the branching pattern, in this way the growth of new, young branches is stimulated, and the fruiting period is extended. It is impossible to say unequivocally that pruning increases the yield of a tree, but we can safely say that the quality of the fruit increases significantly. It is not surprising - after pruning, the balance between the root system and the crown of the tree is disturbed, as a result of which powerful roots saturate fruits and branches with nutrients in excess.

It is most correct to start forming a tree from the moment it appears I am a sprout. However, most often, gardeners fall into the hands of a plant that grew completely freely and without any shaping, which means that the first pruning should be done immediately after planting. Post-planting pruning has another task - to restore the balance between the affected root system and the ground part, which often remains intact during transplantation. root system will not be able to fully "feed" the rapidly growing young crown, so some "freeloaders" need to be removed with pruners, at the same time forming the first skeletal branches.

Competent pruning - when to use which?

During health pruning, all branches affected by rot or scab, frozen and weak shoots are removed. When removing them, part of the healthy wood should also be hooked in order to certainly stop the spread of the disease. In no case should the removed branches be laid on the compost, the only correct solution- burn them immediately! But the ash after burning - what you need fertilizer! Such procedures must be carried out constantly throughout the growing season.

Shortening pruning is carried out in order to tame over-growing branches that interfere with each other and obscure neighbors. Ideally, each branch should receive at least a few hours of direct sun per day, which is achieved through thinning and shortening. Thanks to the latter, the growth of shoots located below the cut is also stimulated. Shortening pruning, first of all, is needed by young trees, which are very actively developing the crown.. On a mature tree, pruning becomes a minor operation that only keeps the tree from growing too large.

But the formed crown needs constant thinning - this removes branches that compete with each other, growing down or inside the crown, shading more promising branches. Thinning provides good ventilation - such a tree will be better able to resist diseases, since it dries out faster from moisture, and does not become overgrown with mosses and scab.

Proper pruning of fruit trees in winter and autumn

Thinning and shortening pruning is carried out during the sleep period - and this is the whole winter and the beginning of spring. In autumn, the tree is only preparing for sleep, so it is better not to disturb it. Yes, and in winter it is still better not to stick your nose out of warm room- according to the observations of many gardeners, the tree tolerates frost worse. In addition, you can never know with certainty which branch will survive until spring, but in the spring you will definitely make your choice.

Therefore, shortening and thinning operations are best left for the end of February - the beginning of March.

At this time it is no longer cold, but the tree is still sleeping. When shortening, it is necessary to cut the branch in such a way that the bud, which is located closest to the cut, reaches the cut point with its tip - in this case, the new branch will slightly change the direction of growth, and the cut will heal many times faster and almost without a trace. If the cut is made at the base of the last bud, then there is a high probability that it will dry out, and instead the bud below will wake up, which, as a rule, grows in the other direction. The cut points must be lubricated with garden pitch immediately after cleaning.

When sawing side branches, at least a few millimeters of wood should be left, because with a full saw cut, you can damage the main trunk, and then a shell will form at the site of the wound, which can develop into a hollow. You don’t need to make a stump that is too high either - it will dry out and become a “home” for pathogenic bacteria. When removing branches with a hacksaw, always keep a sharp knife- before cutting, make a circular incision in the bark, otherwise the branch may tear off a long flap of bark. And this is a very serious wound for the tree.

Fruit tree pruning scheme - using cut branches

You don’t need to get carried away with pruning, otherwise there will be only stumps on the tree. If the tree is neglected, has grown as it wanted for several years, first of all, clear the center of the branches growing inside, shorten the top, but do it as sparingly as possible. Better stretch

Recently, in a hardware store, I met my gardener friend, Sergei Ivanovich Stepashin. I talked to him. He bought garden pitch and two new pruning shears. A woman stood nearby and asked: “Why are you going to the garden so early? There is snow up to the waist!” Sergei Ivanovich answers her that it is time to do pruning, otherwise the juices in the trees will wake up.

But the woman again objected in disbelief: “What juices? Apple trees will bloom only in May, there is still a lot of time before that, you will have time. It's hard to cut in the snow. I come to the garden in mid-April, so there are still snowdrifts behind the house.”

Expressing her concern about the inconvenience associated with the snow, the woman was surprised that Sergei Ivanovich chose the most expensive tool. “They would take that secateurs over there, cheaper.What's the difference than to cut the branches? It’s good that my apple trees are young, they don’t need to be cut at all.”

And then an experienced gardener read a “lecture” to a talkative customer. All advice was very valuable, and at my request, he allowed them to be published.

Sergey Ivanovich is an experienced gardener. Everyone goes to him for advice, because in any year he is with the harvest. pruning fruit crops he considers very important. It ensures the health of the tree and good, stable yields. There are three main conditions that must be met.

1. Let's start with the timing. Pruning is carried out in late winter or early spring, when the threat of frost with temperatures below -15C has passed (in Central Russia, usually from late February to mid-late April). Therefore, dear gardeners, if you come to the garden only by mid-April, then this deadline for cutting!

Apple trees bloom really late and do not show signs of life for a long time. But hidden processes take place in them, including sap flow. If pruning is carried out during this period, then the wounds do not dry out for a long time and the branches flow through them with juice. stone fruits awaken much earlier, they must be cut first.

2. Pruning of fruit trees should be carried out from the first year after planting. Young apple trees also need pruning, like any other. You can not wait until the crown is overgrown and it will have to be thinned out a lot. This is no longer a pruning, but an execution for a tree. Proper pruning involves the formation of a crown from a “childhood” age, that is, a gradual, annual removal of unwanted branches and shortening, changing the shape of selected skeletal branches.

3. You need to trim only with a sharp tool. You should be aware that not every tool is suitable for trimming. Cheap secateurs and loppers are made of soft metal that quickly becomes dull and burrs. Their blades severely injure tissue. good tool Made from high quality steel that holds a sharp edge very well. This pruner also lasts much longer. Naturally, their price is higher.

Why form a crown

When forming the crown, special attention is paid to the choice of future skeletal branches. They must meet the following requirements: departure angle - 40-60 degrees; in one tier - no more than three branches.

Compliance with the departure angles is necessary so that in the future the tree, without installing supports, holds a crop of up to 500 kg. At acute angles of departure, the connection between the branch and the trunk is weak, and the stress “to tear” is quite large. In especially fruitful years, even large branches break. Sometimes the tree breaks in half.

Branches with an acute angle of departure are either cut out or bent back by installing spacers (Fig. 2.).

It is also necessary to observe the condition that there should be no more than three branches in one tier. Otherwise, the crown thickens, and in low light, the yield decreases, the taste qualities fruits, shoots ripen worse and diseases begin to develop.

Pruning young seedlings

Pruning begins in the first year after planting. seedlings of spring and autumn planting cut the same way. The point of this pruning is to balance the roots damaged by digging and above-ground part. Sometimes this is done in the nursery.

Annual seedlings without branching are pruned at a height of 80-100 cm above the soil level (Fig. 1, a). This stimulates the formation of lateral shoots from which skeletal branches will be formed.

In a branched seedling 1-2 years old, all side branches are removed at a height of 60-70 cm (Fig. 1, b). Often, gardeners feel sorry for the seedling, believing that "he still has nothing to cut." But such pruning forms the stem of the future tree. All branches below 60 cm are simply not needed. Below, they are poorly lit and produce a small crop. Over time, they will still have to be trimmed, but the wounds will be larger.

Branches located above 70 cm are shortened by 1/3-1/4 part. Usually this is done over the 3-5th kidney, counting from the base of the shoot (see Fig. 1, c). At the same time, the principle of subordination of branches is observed. The central shoot (leader, or conductor) should be 15-20 cm higher than the side branches, and the shoots located higher along the stem should be shorter than those below. Usually, a two-year-old seedling has 3-4 side branches that are shorter than the conductor. In the case when all branches are developed approximately equally and the central shoot is not the leader in growth, a strong pruning of the side branches is carried out in order to achieve the principle of subordination of tiers. Sometimes a seedling has duplicate shoots (if two adjacent buds have developed on the stem). Leave one, the most well-located branch, and the second is cut into a ring.

Principles of crown formation. The angle of origin of the skeletal branches is 40-60 degrees; in one tier - no more than three branches; the leader should be higher than the side branches; the branches of the upper tiers should be shorter than the lower tiers.

After the winter, it may turn out that the leader is broken or very cold. In this case, it is replaced by the most powerful, closely spaced shoot, tying it vertically to the stump left by the conductor, or to a peg stuck in the ground.

The same pruning rules are followed for a three-year-old tree and older. Moreover, the principle of subordination of branches is also observed for lateral skeletal branches. Overgrowing branches on them should be shorter than the side conductor. Figuratively speaking, the principle of subordination can be represented as a kind of “rounded triangle”, into which the tree itself must fit after the formation of the crown and its skeletal branches (Fig. 3).

In the future, pruning of a young tree is carried out in order to create a light, sparse crown. This should be done not only in spring, but also in summer. For example, already in the summer you can see which shoots grow inside the crown. They are removed immediately while they are still green. Young shoots growing down, pinch. Duplicate shoots are cut or transferred to another position using stretch marks. "Green pruning" is the most forgiving form of pruning.

You can find this article in the newspaper "Magic Garden" of 2011 No. 6.

Security proper care behind the trees and shrubs in the garden will guarantee fast growth and their bountiful fruiting. The gardener is required to prune the trees in the garden every year, which will not only allow the formation of the correct crown, but also prevent the crown from thickening, which can lead to the development various kinds fungal and infectious diseases. We will tell you in more detail how to properly prune trees in the fall, which will greatly simplify the care of plantings in the garden.

What is pruning for?

Fruit trees should be pruned in autumn in two ways.: thinning and shortening. This improves the growth of perennial plantings, preventing their mechanical damage by snow, strong wind, forms the correct growth of the crown, and also allows you to remove branches that no longer bear fruit, but are able to take food from the tree, which in turn worsens the yield.

Such works are not particularly difficult, so everyone, even a novice gardener, can handle them. It is only necessary to correctly determine the time when this work is performed, as well as correctly determine those branches and shoots that need to be removed and shortened. Having understood the principles of this work, you can easily carry out such an annual autumn pruning of trees and shrubs in the garden, simplifying your garden care and improving its fruiting rates.

Varieties of the procedure

To date It is customary to distinguish three types of pruning perennial plantings in the garden:

• Sanitary.
• Formative.
• Anti-aging.

Sanitary pruning involves the removal of broken, dried and diseased branches. Such pruning can be carried out in spring and autumn or at the beginning of winter.

Formative pruning of trees and shrubs in autumn is necessary for young and adult plantations, especially during the period active growth. Such work involves thinning and shortening the shoots, which in turn improves the penetration of light inside the crown, the gardener gets the opportunity to control growth, stimulates the development of side shoots and fruit formation. Most often, formative pruning is carried out in the spring, but such work is allowed to be done in the fall, which allows you to remove all incorrectly growing shoots and form the correct crown.

Anti-aging pruning is performed on old trees that are beginning to bear fruit poorly and require special attention. When performing this work, the top of the tree is cut off, the crown opens, old shoots and branches are removed. All this allows you to improve fruiting rates, which in turn prolongs the lifespan. garden trees.

Tool used

To complete this job, you will need next tool:

You should also take care of the presence of a garden pitch, which is used to process and disinfect the cut site. You can buy such a garden var in most specialized stores or make it yourself on the basis of drying oil.

Step-by-step instructions for pruning young trees

For correct pruning necessary:

Scheme for beginners

Pruning mature trees in autumn for beginners is not particularly difficult and is performed using the following technology:

Rules for caring for old trees

Usually, by 15–20 years after planting trees, their yield indicators are significantly reduced. You can solve this problem by carrying out appropriate rejuvenating pruning of the garden. Such work is carried out in September or October, after the leaves have completely fallen. With such a rejuvenating pruning, the top is cut off and the lateral processes are removed, which are already five or more years old.

Extra shoots inside the crown are removed, which can interfere with the growth of young shoots. Also, when performing such work, all broken, dry and diseased branches should be removed. Proper conduct Such a rejuvenating pruning will allow you to get excellent yields in a year and a half, which will last for 4-5 seasons.

Common Mistakes

Common mistakes include the following:

Such spring and autumn pruning is performed and fruit trees in regions with temperate climate. But in the northern regions in the fall, when there is already a possibility of frost, it is not recommended to carry out such manipulations with trees and shrubs.

Deadlines autumn pruning will directly depend on the climatic features in your region. It is best to do this work in October, when the trees shed their leaves, the harvest will be harvested, but there will still be 2-3 weeks before frost.

It is necessary to carry out autumn pruning of apple trees after the foliage has completely fallen off and harvested. Usually this work is done by gardeners in October and November. All broken, rotten and old branches are removed. Experienced gardeners it is recommended to remove shoots growing close to each other, which leads to a significant thickening of the crown. All shoots that grow at an acute angle or are directed inside the crown are removed.

All cuts after such pruning of the apple tree should be treated with paint based on drying oil or garden varnish. Existing wounds on dry branches should be treated immediately, but hemp from young shoots is covered with var only a day later.

At right choice the time of this procedure, the apple tree will easily endure such pruning, and next year growth will improve significantly, numerous new shoots will appear, the correct crown will be formed, and subsequently the gardener will be able to get apple orchard excellent harvest.

One of the features of pear trimming is that it is recommended to perform such work in a year. Sanitary autumn pruning of such fruit trees is allowed only with a stable plus and no danger of frost in the coming weeks. Remember that pears should not be pruned in cold weather, since such trees do not tolerate frost well, subsequently they get sick a lot and bear fruit poorly.

With formative pruning, the top is shortened and no more than five main lateral skeletal branches are left, forming a pyramidal crown. Every five years, it is worth performing a rejuvenating pruning, which avoids thickening and maintains yields at the proper level.

Correct autumn pruning plum

Plum and other stone fruit trees will require appropriate attention from the gardener. Proper autumn pruning will ensure high-quality preparation for winter sleep, and subsequently such trees grow actively and bear excellent fruit. This work should be done immediately after the leaves fall no later than the first of November.

Pruning plums in the fall is not particularly difficult:

pruning fruit trees

Autumn pruning of fruit trees will significantly improve the fruiting of the garden. It is necessary to perform such work with cherry plum, shadberry, sea buckthorn, quince and viburnum only after the leaves have fallen. We can recommend that you limit yourself to only necessary measures, remove damaged branches and shoots growing at right angles to the main crown.

If rejuvenating pruning of fruit trees is necessary, then one or two skeletal branches are allowed to be removed, and all branches that are already 5 years old and which practically do not bear fruit are cut off. In the subsequent planting, after performing such a rejuvenating pruning, they quickly restore their yield indicators, which persist for 5-7 years.

Shrub pruning technology will depend on specific type planting in the garden. So, for example, two-three-year-old raspberries should be cut to the very bush, leaving only the rhizome in the ground, after which the soil is mulched and high-quality thermal insulation is performed. But red and black currants should be cut in winter using a different technology, removing only old two-three-year-old branches, while forming a powerful bush with several skeletal shoots.

When it is necessary to remove not only the old fruit-bearing branches, but also the young shoots that appeared in spring and autumn can reach a height of 2-3 centimeters. Such young shoots will subsequently bear fruit poorly, so they should also be removed, leaving only one rhizome. A strong raspberry, even after such a serious pruning, will be able to quickly increase its green mass next year, delighting the gardener with a magnificent harvest. delicious berries.

Trimming methods

Pruning fruit trees has a variety of purposes. Gardeners distinguish several main methods of pruning:

1. Formative. considered the most important. Promotes proper formation crowns and determines general form trees in the area. Held in early spring before the juice begins to flow.
2. Regulatory. Needed to correct an already formed crown. Extra shoots are removed, overloading the tree and preventing good lighting. The period is during the summer.
3. Recovery. It is carried out if the plant needs rehabilitation. Dry, damaged branches are removed. This increases the flow nutrients to updated escapes.
4. Anti-aging. Allows old trees to renew, increase the growth of young fruit-bearing shoots. Promotes the awakening of dormant buds, activates flowering. Held in early spring.
5. Sanitary. It is intended for the prevention of diseases and the improvement of trees damaged by exposure to external factors. Plants can be infected with a fungus. The branches begin to dry, the bark turns black and flakes off. To prevent the tree from dying completely, all diseased shoots are removed. Some branches are broken under the influence weather conditions and begin to die off, they should also be removed.

Wood processing after pruning

In order not to weaken the vital functions of the plant, after pruning, it is necessary to immediately treat the wounds. On the healthy trees cut points, especially large ones, can be covered with garden pitch. It prevents cracking and remains on wood for 2 years.

Small sections up to 3 cm in diameter can be coated with water-based acrylic paint. Also suitable for this purpose Oil paint on natural drying oil or minium. In the absence of such funds, you can use ordinary clay. When cutting diseased plants, treat the tools with alcohol or a solution of manganese.

The surface to be treated must be dry, smooth and even. All protruding particles must be removed. Overgrowing of the wound starts from the bark, it should not exfoliate.

Tightly adhering to the cut surface, the putty provides protection against leakage of juice and drying of the branch. It is necessary to process even small sections, since the juice flowing down them is a favorable environment for the reproduction of harmful microbes.

Pruning fruit trees is one of the very first spring activities in the garden. It's March now, which means it's time to make an audit, take a closer look at the trees, outline the scope of work. According to the terms, 2 main prunings are distinguished: spring and autumn.

Pruning fruit trees in spring

Main rule spring pruning- be in time before the swelling / budding begins. The trees are still at rest, sap flow has not begun.

Deadlines: second half of March - April

When to start:

The ideal time to prune fruit trees in spring is the second half of March. Starting from the middle of the month, you can start. But! Temperatures are expected to drop below -10 degrees. This period is recommended for the northern regions and middle lane. In the south, pruning can be done throughout the winter.

The dates can be shifted if the winter was frosty and the fruit trees in the garden were very cold. Then it is better to cut them off during bud break to see all the damaged shoots and remove them.

It is recommended to remove old, broken, sick, and simply superfluous branches every year. Without pruning, the crown thickens, the branches prevent each other from growing, gradually the leaves and fruits become smaller.

The advantages of early spring pruning are that without leaves, the branches are clearly visible, and it is easy to outline a pruning plan. In addition, in the spring it is necessary to cut out the frozen parts of the tree. And the risk of infection of cropped areas in early spring before the start of sap flow is very small.

Pruning of young trees in the spring is minimized, and the old ones are worked out more thoroughly. But you shouldn’t get too carried away either - pruning weakens the tree, so it is recommended to thin out heavily thickened crowns gradually, over 2-3 years. First, old trees are processed, and then young ones.

Broken in early spring, extra branches are removed from berry bushes: currants, gooseberries, raspberries (if you didn’t have time in the fall). Also - starting from the second half of March, and also - before the start of bud break.

Should I prune in the fall?

Many authors of gardening books do not at all recommend pruning fruit trees in the fall, since the places of cuts in harsh winters can freeze slightly. But! These recommendations are more about shaping, thorough pruning of apple, pear, cherry, plum. Sick and broken branches should always be removed as soon as they are found. It turns out that sanitary pruning of trees is relevant in the fall.

Deadlines: until the end of September

But for berry bushes (currants, gooseberries, raspberries), autumn pruning is considered mandatory. In raspberries, shoots are cut off at the level of the soil (repairs bend down), in currants and gooseberries - selectively. Autumn pruning is safe for shrubs, because for the winter they are covered with snow, which means they are reliably protected from freezing.

Deadlines: September - mid-October

In autumn, for fruit trees, whitewashing the trunks, cleaning them of old bark, and treating cracks is considered a mandatory event. A thorough pruning is best left until spring.

Trimming trees and shrubs in diagrams

There are a huge number of nuances of pruning fruit trees and shrubs, and in this article we did not go into the technique of its implementation. We were interested, first of all, in terms of when it is better to cut. Nevertheless, in the process of searching for information about the timing, I came across interesting pruning patterns that will certainly be useful to amateur gardeners 😉

To give a fruit tree or shrub bountiful harvest it needs not only to be watered and fed, but also cut off. Why are some plants pruned in the fall and some in the spring?

Shrubs also need pruning. You need to pay attention to:, blackberry,. The main purpose of pruning is to form a crown to allow enough light to pass through. This in turn will lead to active growth of the shrub and an increase in yield. Pests will attack the bush in smaller numbers.

Blackcurrant pruned:

• During the dormant period, that is, while there are no leaves and buds on the tree. Also, the operation can be carried out during the harvest.
• Berries appear not only on mature, but also on young shoots. But on old branches, the harvest is not so plentiful, and the berries are not so juicy. You can identify old branches by color, they are darker.
• On the young bush there should be up to 10 large branches. The rest can be removed.
• When the bush matures, only the oldest shoots are removed, their number will be 1/3 of all.
• The remaining shoots are shortened either to the very base, or to the first bud.
• New branches should be added from the roots, so after pruning, the bushes spud.

Raspberries and blackberries trimmed:

• . This period begins at the end of summer.
• Pruning is sanitary in nature, that is, diseased or dried branches are eliminated.
• The fruits appear on the shoots of the second year.
• After harvesting, they can be cut to the very base, and up to 10 branches are left for the new season.
• Fruiting on the remaining branches will come next year.
• Young branches themselves are weak, so they need a garter. If the region has a cold climate, then the garter is done in the spring, when the shelter is removed.
• If the bush did not give a visible increase, then only the strongest shoots should be left, and the lateral processes should be shortened.

Gooseberries and currants are cut:

• During the dormant period, when there are no leaves and buds on the shrub.
• You can also carry out additional pruning in the summer. This is necessary for the formation of new growth in order to get more yield.
• These shrubs produce berries on old branches, so you need to leave only 5 mature branches no more than 25 cm.

In summer, young branches are pruned, leaving only a few leaves. Thus, the shrub will give all its strength not to the formation of new greenery, but to the ripening of berries.

Bilberry (blueberry) pruned:

• In winter or spring, before the period of active growth. Fruiting occurs on last year's lateral shoots.
• Young shrubs are pruned only lightly or not touched at all.
• Mature shrubs form, leaving equally mature branches, medium and new growth.
• After sanitary pruning, young shoots are cut to 2 buds, which bore fruit last year. If the bush is too thick, then 1/3 of all old branches are cut off at the root.
• After pruning, the bush must be mulched and sulfate fertilizers are applied.

Young and mature plants. In most cases, pruning is carried out in the spring to rejuvenate the tree and stimulate the growth of new shoots that will bear fruit in the future.

More information can be found in the video.