Nothing is sweeter and more satisfying than harvesting home-grown fruit from your own garden. Every time you pick a fruit from your tree, you inevitably wish there were more of it! This is where tree trimming comes into play. Pruning fruit trees regularly ensures that sunlight reaches all parts of the tree. The result is more and higher quality fruit. Now the million-dollar question: When should you prune your fruit trees? Do you have to prune fruit trees in summer? Read on to find out.
Why should you prune fruit trees in summer?
Can you prune fruit trees in summer? The short answer is: yes, you can fruit treescut in summer. In fact, you can prune many fruit trees, including apple and peach trees, year-round without causing damage. You can prune your fruit tree in summer if your tree:
- bears too much fruit
- becomes too big
- poses a danger due to unsafe branches
- is hindered by older, non-fruit-bearing branches
If this is the case, you should prune your fruit tree back a little. When pruning fruit trees in summer, limit yourself to smaller cuts. Save the extensive pruning for the dormant phase.
Which fruit trees are suitable for summer pruning
- Apples
- apricot
- cherry
- Plum
- Mulberry
- Nectarines
- peach
- Pears
- Exit
- Dwarf fruit trees
When should summer pruning be done?
Summer pruning is best done in August-September when most branches have formed a terminal bud. Note that on actively growing branches, the tips have a vegetative bud that continues to produce leaves and elongate. This is visible - you see new leaves forming at the tip of a branch. When a branch stops growing, it sets a thick terminal bud (often the beginning of a fruit bud) and stops growing that year. It has physiologically shut down for the season and pruning no longer stimulates growth (or at least not much). When actively growing, 1-year-old side shoots will have at least 12 inches of new growth and will have an audible snap when broken at the base.
Pruning fruit trees in summer: tips and instructions
- Shorten the leader at the end of each branch to half its length. Only cut the current season's growth this way and only to just above a leaf. This encourages the formation of side shoots and helps limit the tree's spread.
- Prune the remaining side shoots back more heavily on each branch, down to two or three buds at the base of the current season's foliage, cutting just above a bud. This promotes the formation of short fruit shoots.
- Do not cut into the woody growth. Leave all developing fruit intact andcutnot in the woody growth.
Treatment of side branches
When deciding which side branches to keep and which to thin (remove), keep the side branches with moderate or weak vigor. Overly vigorous side shoots tend to grow too long and shade neighboring branches. Your hormonal “impulse” is not to bear fruit. It is best to completely remove upright and strong side branches. Allow weaker branches to grow at an angle (90º) to the main stem. This can be done with cords or V-notched swivel spreaders. There are the following options for treating side shoots:
- If they are short and flat, leave them alone. They will stop growing and start fruiting on their own.
- If they are moderately strong, you should direct them downwards towards horizontal.
- If they are longer and stronger, they should be pruned in summer.
Do not cut the side shoots in winter. This causes them to grow and branch profusely, causing compaction and shading, both reducing the quality of the fruit. If the side shoots are longer than 20-22 cm, they can be pruned in the summer:
Determine the current season's growth and cut back to 3 buds of new growth. Ideally, the top bud will resume growth and expand, but only minimally. The next 2 buds can form fruit buds and bear fruit within a year. This is called the 3 bud system. An additional benefit of pruning side shoots is that they become shorter and therefore thicker, and are better able to support the weight of the fruit without sagging or breaking.
Tips for cutting stone fruit
All drupes must be cut in mid-summer to avoid infection with fungal diseases.Cutnot in wet weather and keep cutting to a minimum once a framework has emerged. Always disinfect the scissors with rubbing alcohol afterwards to avoid infection.
