Pruning cherries in the spring is the most important agricultural measure on which longevity and yield of cherry trees depend. We will find out why spring pruning is so important, and how to do it correctly.
Why do I need spring pruning for cherries?
Among the qualities that attract gardeners in cherries is early maturity. This culture is rapidly growing and bearing fruit. But this advantage turns into a minus - cherries no less rapidly losing in yield. This rapidly aging tree needs regular pruning - if you ignore it, the cherry dies ahead of time.
Spring pruning goals:
- Crown formation. The plant must be symmetrical. Its crown is shaped and thinned out to avoid thickening.
- Productivity regulation. Proper pruning significantly increases the productivity of cherries.
- Removing old and damaged branches. Together with sick and dry branches, the sources of infection are removed, and its spread is prevented.
- Improving the characteristics of the fruit. Having removed the extra branches, it is possible to improve the taste of the fruits and increase their size.
- Rejuvenation. The special pruning technique significantly extends the life time and fruiting of the plant.
Exact cropping time
Spring pruning is not tied to a specific date, but is carried out taking into account the regional climate and weather conditions. Even within the same region, the timing varies - under the influence of specific weather conditions. The task of the gardener is to finish pruning before the sap flow begins. About the activation of the latter learn by swollen and opening kidneys.
In warm areas, pruning is carried out around the end of March, in the north - a month later. In the coldest areas, the procedure can be performed in early May.
If the winter was especially cold, and it is likely that the tree was frozen, pruning is postponed to a later date - in order to assess the extent of the lesion by opening buds and eliminate the branches affected by the cold.
The best time for pruning is quiet, calm weather. It is advisable that the day be warm - then the risk of gum-detecting (leakage of resin from the wounds) is minimized.
Pruning
Many inexperienced gardeners ignore pruning cherries. After all, this culture bears fruit well. Unwillingness to pruning is understandable - this is one of the most time-consuming and responsible agrotechnical measures when growing any fruit crop. You need to stock up on luggage of knowledge, time, tools and equipment.
Agricultural regulations
Inept pruning will not only not benefit the tree - it can do much harm. Before you begin, learn the general rules for pruning cherries:
- The very first to cut the branches, which are in close contact with each other, interfere with the access of light to the trunk and fruits of the tree.
- In the second place, branches intertwined with each other are removed. Having appreciated the qualities of both branches, they leave them denser and stronger.
- If the branches are too intertwined, they saw off both.
- Saw off obsolete, diseased and damaged shoots. Getting the nutrients from the tree, these branches do not bring any benefit.
- Thin out the crown from the extra shoots. The crown should be such that the tree is well ventilated, and thickening prevents this.
- Pruning is usually done once a year. But if necessary, it is repeated in the fall season.
- 5 years after planting, the seedlings begin to form a crown.
- If the cherry is bushy, leave 7-9 skeletal branches, if the tree-like - 4-6 pieces.
- Shorten only young cherries, not older than 3-4 years.
- Annual shoots, longer than 0.5 m, are reduced by 1/3.
- The annual growth of the fruiting tree is not worth trimming - you can provoke its drying out.
- In grafted trees, root growth is removed - it reduces yield.
- If the annual increase in branches is up to 15 cm, anti-aging pruning is performed.
- Wounds that appeared during the removal of branches are treated with garden varieties or oil paints.
The branches of the cherry affected by the disease are removed at any time of the year. They are burned immediately - to prevent infection of the garden.
What tools are needed?
To easily remove a branch of any thickness, prepare these tools:
- secateurs - they cut thin branches up to 25 mm;
- knife - they clean sections, apply for other purposes.
- delimbers - they cut branches with a diameter of up to 2.5-3 cm, located in the depth of the crown.
- garden saw - with its help it will be possible to saw off a branch of any thickness.
Before using the tool, it is disinfected in one of the available ways:
- calcined on fire;
- rubbed with alcohol;
- treated with 5% solution of copper sulfate.
Other inventory
- Ladder - you can not do without it when pruning high cherries.
- Gloves - to protect hands from damage.
- Goggles - save your eyes from litter and chips flying around during pruning.
- Spacers - with their help change the angle of departure of the branches.
- Ropes - to fix the branches, which change the degree of deviation.
Step-by-step instructions for pruning cherries in the spring
The pruning order is determined by the type of cherry and its age. For young, adult and old trees - a separate pruning technique. There is also a separate procedure for creating crowns for bush and tree cherries.
Young tree
Young cherry pruned immediately after planting a tree. The purpose of pruning is the formation of a regular crown and the promotion of root engraftment. The procedure for pruning a young seedling:
- They are determined with the purpose of the shoots. One vertical shoot will be a trunk, the “skeleton” of a tree will form from the rest.
- It is required to leave 5-6 shoots growing in different directions - these will be skeletal branches. The distance between them is 10-12 cm.
- Shoots growing inside and at the wrong angle are cut off.
- Remove shoots that intersect and interfere with each other.
- Cut off the shoots at the base of the trunk.
- Smear the slices with garden var.
To increase the productivity of the crop, the seedling is sequentially cut, forming and thinning the crown for 4-5 years.
Typically, sparse-tier crowns form in cherries. Begin this work from the 2nd year after planting. The cropping procedure is as follows:
- Second year:
- shoots directed to the center are cut off, dry, sick, etc .;
- cut down branches that grew between skeletal branches;
- shorten the side shoots so that they are 30 cm down from the apex;
- branches thickening the crown are removed to the ring - to the base.
- Third year:
- shoots grown 60 cm or more shorten by 9-10 cm;
- from the branches that have grown over the past year, two or three are found, they will be used to create the second tier, and all the others are not needed.
- Fourth year:
- remove branches that thicken the crown and look inward;
- they trim the branches, forming a crown “herringbone” - the lower branches should be longer than the upper ones, and the upper ones 10-15 cm lower than the top.
- leave 2-3 shoots - for the third tier.
By the fifth year, the tree should have about 15 frame branches. On both sides of the skeletal branches are semi-skeletal branches.
How to prune a young tree can be seen in the video below:
Fruit tree
Pruning cherry fruit:
- After sawing off and cutting off the branches that thicken the crown, only horizontal branches are left.
- Branches are cut that interfere with the proper growth of the main branches.
- If necessary, reduce the height of the main trunk - if it is higher than skeletal branches by more than 20 cm.
- Annual growth is cut to a minimum length.
- Skeletal branches are shortened to the place where the new lateral branches stopped growing. In the future, every 2-3 years perform anti-aging trimming.
The technology of pruning cherries is largely determined by its varietal affiliation. The culture may look like a tree or bush, for each option - its own order of pruning.
Old cherry
Rejuvenation is necessary for cherries, older than 10-12 years. "Rejuvenation" pruning extends the life of the tree and its fruiting. Spend it in parallel with sanitary pruning. If the growth of shoots per year is less than 15-20 cm, and the yield has fallen - it is time to conduct anti-aging pruning. The essence of the latter is the replacement of obsolete, “empty” branches. The main thing is not to rush, to go towards the goal gradually.
If the cherry has a root shoot, the old trunk is cut down, replacing it with a root shoot.
There are several options to restore the productivity of cherries:
- Rejuvenation of an old cherry by cutting the top:
- The top of the head is sawn off at a height of 2.5-3 m. Such pruning activates the lower side buds - new side shoots will grow from them.
- When new branches appear, leave those that are located most successfully. Others clean.
- During the time that new branches grow, 1-2 old branches are removed every spring.
- Creating a new skeleton from tops - branches located perpendicular to the surface:
- To stimulate the appearance of tops, cut shoots in the crown so that there are stumps.
- The tops are tilted at a certain angle, tied to stakes.
- The method of shortening skeletal branches. On the old skeleton, the branches are shortened to the side branches pointing up. There are two options for anti-aging pruning by cutting skeletal branches:
- Easy. The slice is localized where the wood is 2-3 years old - in front of the second-order branches, in the center of the frame branch.
- Deep The skeletal branch is cut off near the trunk - where the wood is 4-5 years old.
If the plant is running, you can not remove many branches at a time - the cherry does not tolerate any pruning. It is advisable to remove the branches in stages.
Tree cherry
In tree-shaped cherries, the fruits are located on special bouquet branches. On each flower buds are located - a few pieces, and at the top - one vegetative. Bouquet branches bear fruit for several seasons. To enhance the formation of bouquet branches, last year's shoots are shortened. In tree varieties, for the formation of the crown, 5-6 skeletal branches must be left.
Features pruning tree varieties:
- If the annual growth is less than 15 cm, and the skeletal are bare at the base, the tree should be rejuvenated. For this, the processes are cut off, which are 3 years old.
- If the branches dry at the ends or in whole, it is necessary to cut off the side branches on the branches of 5 years of age.
- In a tree with a height of 3-3.5 m, it is necessary to limit growth. For this, the skeletal branches are shortened - their tops are cut off, transferring growth to the side branches.
Bush cherry
In bushy cherries, flowers and fruits are formed on the branches of last year. Shrub-like varieties, unlike tree-like varieties, produce fruits only on annual shoots. An shoot grows from the apical buds of the growth, which bears fruit for the next year - it is called the shoot of substitution. Fruits give predominantly the ends of annual branches. That is why young shoots are never harvested from bushy varieties so as not to be left without crops.
Shrub-like varieties need powerful thinning. The plant is prone to thickening, so in the spring it is important to thin it well, otherwise the fruits will be small, and the yield will be low.
Features pruning bush cherries:
- The angle between the trunk and the lower branches is a maximum of 40 degrees. If the angle is large, the tree may subsequently fall apart.
- To create a powerful skeleton, cut branches competing with the main trunk.
- When forming the crown, 7-8 skeletal branches are left.
- Cut down shoots looking down.
- At two years old, 1/3 of the seedlings are cut off branches that have reached 50 cm in length.
- Cut off the ends of the skeletal and semi-skeletal shoots - to a sleeping kidney.
- Only shoots of plants that grow to a height of 80 cm are left.
Features of pruning felt cherries
In felt cherries, fruiting occurs on the 2nd year of planting. The culture is characterized by high productivity. A properly trimmed cherry bush has 10-12 skeletal branches. It requires regular sanitary and anti-aging pruning. It is also necessary to control the height of felt cherries, maintaining it at a level of 2-2.5 m.
The plant tends to thicken, so pruning is done every spring. Berries are formed mainly on annual shoots.
Features of pruning felt cherries:
- Annual shoots are the main source of fruit, reduced by 1/3 if they are longer than 60 cm.
- All old, diseased, damaged, dry and inward branches are removed.
- On old felt cherries, the side shoots are removed onto the ring without affecting the central part of the crown and skeletal branches.
Sanitary pruning of different types of cherries
A type | What to do? |
Tree-like |
|
Bushy |
|
Felt |
|
Annual pruning
When the crown of cherry is formed, the tree gained strength and brings a crop, enough once a year, in the spring, to carry out sanitary and stimulating pruning. Work requires accuracy and consistency. First, adult fruiting trees are served - they bloom first, then young seedlings are pruned.
Trimming Order:
- They clear the crown, remove excess and thickening branches.
- Give the tree the desired shape.
What mistakes can be made?
What mistakes gardeners make:
- Pruning is carried out after the start of sap flow.
- They refuse to trim, believing that the cherry will do without it. Without pruning, the tree runs the risk of getting a thickened crown, chopping fruits and low yields.
- Trees weakened, frozen, not forming new processes do not cut. Pruning favors the quickest restoration of fruit trees.
- An attempt to “revive” a cherry with a damaged main conductor and a cracked bark on the trunk. The tree should be replaced by a young one.
Practical recommendations
What you need to remember when proceeding with pruning cherries:
- Be sure to sanitize the tool, moving from one tree to another.
- Scrub the sections with a garden knife so that no stumps remain - when dried, they provoke a risk of infection.
- When pruning, consider the features of the tree - its age, type and condition.
- Destroy cut branches immediately - to prevent the spread of diseases and pests.
To cherry in your garden was beautiful and gave a good harvest of cherries, she needs competent pruning. The procedure is carried out taking into account the age of the tree, its condition and variety. Thanks to the annual spring pruning, you can significantly extend the productive life of cherries.
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Russia. City Novosibirsk
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