Pruning fruit trees in the fallis a topic many inexperienced amateur gardeners ask about. See why most fruit trees are not pruned in the fall, which trees will benefit from such pruning and how to properly perform anypruning of fruit trees in the fallto bring benefits to our orchard crops. Here's everything you need to know before we startpruning fruit trees in the fall !
Pruning fruit trees in autumn
Is pruning fruit trees in the fall recommended?
Fruit trees in autumnrequire many care treatments, the task of which is to minimize the risk of disease, to prepare plants well for wintering and to ensure abundant fruiting in the next year of setting.
Fruit trees grow most intensively in spring, while in summer this growth is slower. Stone trees stop growing first, and pome trees slightly later. From September to November, all fruit trees must enter a winter dormant state and gradually harden before frost sets in.
Thereforein autumn fruit trees are not fertilized with nitrogen , which stimulates plants to grow. In a similar way to growth, it stimulates pruning the branches. This, in turn, reduces the frost resistance of fruit trees. Therefore, usuallypruning fruit trees in the fallis not advisable. However, are there any exceptions to this rule?
Pruning fruit trees in autumn - apple, pear and plum trees
Basicpruning of fruit treesapple, pear and plum trees are done in spring. After the intensive cutting of these trees in spring, a lot of vertical growths, called wolves, grow in the summer, which must be cut in summer. This treatment improves the ripening of the fruit and allows the apples to obtain a characteristic blush on the skin.
For early apple, pear and plum varieties, additional pruning can also be done after harvesting the fruit. Its task is to x-ray the crowns of trees. Thispruning of fruit trees after harvestingcan be done from August to early September. Later, it is not done anymore, because the trees would be exposed to frost.Later varieties of apple, pear and plum trees are not pruned in autumn at all. This treatment is performed only in the spring.
Pruning fruit trees in autumn - sour cherries
Cherries are pruned differently than apple, pear and plum trees, because the basic term for their pruning is not spring, but summer, after the fruit is harvested.Pruning of cherry and cherry fruit treesis done after the fruit is harvested, usually from August to early September. This is a term for pruning to illuminate the canopy of trees and to keep plant growth in check. In spring, we do not cut cherries due to the high risk of infecting these trees with fungal and bacterial diseases.
As you can see, allpruning of fruit treesmust be completed by the beginning of September and therefore still at the end of summer.Pruning fruit trees in the fallis not recommended, whether we are thinking of apple, pear, plum, cherry or sweet cherry trees.
Pruning fruit shrubs in autumn
It is a bit different in the case of pruning fruit shrubs, which in many cases is done in the fall.Currant and gooseberry bushes go to rest already in August, and therefore very early. Thereforepruning these fruit bushes in the fallno longer stimulates their growth and does not affect their frost resistance. They can therefore be trimmed throughout the fall.
For raspberries, the pruning date depends on the fruiting date. Raspberries bearing fruit on last year's shoots, harvested from June to July, are pruned in summer, after the harvest is finished. On the other hand, autumn raspberries, which bear fruit from August to October, are pruned in November or in spring, after wintering. Pruning the raspberry shoots after harvesting prevents the growth of the fungus causing the dieback of the raspberry shoots.
Some people also dopruning vines in the fallin October or November. During this period, the base can be pre-trimmed to make it easier to protect the vines for the winter. Thorough cutting of the grapevine, leaving a few buds on each stem, is performed in the spring, after the grapevine has hibernated.
Become confident in pruning fruit plants
"If you are unsure how to make a cut or are just afraid to do it, the fantastic book "Cutting School 2" ontrimming fruit trees and shrubs
This is the second part of the best-selling book "Cutting School", in which the authors Lucyna and Alicja Grabowskieexplained in a simple and clear way the secrets of cuttingornamental plants. The first book The School of Cutting for its simple language and clear, accurate drawings was loved by garden owners all over Poland.The book quickly became a bestseller- 20,000 copies sold! "
"Cutting School 2" will make youconfident in pruning fruit trees and shrubsand learn to cut plants so that they grow according to your expectations and bear fruit abundantly. After reading this book, your approach to pruning plants will probably change completely!
