Summer pruning of apple trees

Experienced gardeners always pay special attention to grooming procedures. And pruning in this case is absolutely no exception. Any pruning in relation to apple trees must be carried out not only in order to form the crown, but also in order for the plant to get rid of excess damaged or dried branches and leaves. At the same time, pruning in general has a huge number of benefits for the plant. Summer pruning of apple trees: what we’ll talk about today in this article.

Summer pruning of apple trees: an introduction

The main purpose of pruning apple trees is to allow the tree to bloom later. This will allow the plant to avoid damage to the buds that have already set, but there is still a risk of recurrent frosts, and will also increase the yield and extend it to a later date, which will also help the gardener enjoy apples from his plot even before the very first frosts. There are also several advantages of summer pruning that cannot be ignored, since they become decisive when the gardener is, in principle, thinking about whether to carry out it:

- fast-growing shoots are removed during pruning, thanks to which the nutrients are immediately oriented to the fruits, and the harvest becomes even more abundant and tastier

- at this time, it is even easier to form the crown of the apple tree. Then the fruits will receive a sufficient amount of light, they will become more tasty. In addition, as a result of pruning, it is always easier to harvest, since access to even the most distant fruits opens up due to the fact that the gardener has previously removed some branches or untangled them.

- due to pruning, an old tree can noticeably rejuvenate and transform, thereby the gardener gives it a new life. Plus, pruning makes the apple tree healthier.

- pruning has a positive effect on the ovary of new buds, which become stronger. This also inhibits the growth of shoots, since sometimes it is because of this that the tree cannot receive enough light and nutrients.

Thus, in this article we will dwell in more detail on the description of pruning apple trees, we will list all the positive aspects, and also dwell on how to correctly carry out summer pruning of apple trees so that it will bring the plant exclusively benefits and no harm.

Summer pruning of apple trees and its role in fruiting

Of course, one of the most common questions that gardeners are asked today is whether it is possible to plan summer pruning of apple trees at all, and what it will give to the plant. Experienced gardeners say that summer pruning can not only be done - it is extremely necessary for the plant in order to then carry out its normal life activities, to give a bountiful harvest. It is worth remembering that the timing of the onset of fruiting largely depends on the degree to which the gardener will prune and thin out the tree, because due to this procedure and it is with its help, the timing can be significantly shifted. If the gardener decided on a weak pruning, removed a very small number of shoots and branches, then this will allow you to get a harvest even faster, but if you carry out a thorough pruning, then this can shift the receipt of a bountiful harvest by about one year, and sometimes for a longer period.

If you remove the branches, they will begin to grow even stronger, a large number of completely new shoots will appear, which will be located nearby with the cut.At the same time, pruning can drastically change the ratio between the root system and the shoots that are located on the surface.

Some apple trees can grow incredibly strong, but at the same time they will not give absolutely any fruit for a long time. Growers also emphasize that some varieties have their own specific traits, and that some varieties may respond in their own way to pruning processes. For example, there are apple trees that have an unnecessarily prolonged, long unproductive period. They have a formed upper part, an overgrown crown, but at the same time they do not give any fruit at all. Also, external factors can affect the apple tree, since unfavorable conditions also affect flowering, on the formation of flower buds, and in fact there may be no harvest at all. This is also influenced by the level of soil enrichment with mineral and organic compounds, which in one way or another affect the general condition of the apple tree, as well as whether it wants to bear fruit, or even pruning will not push it to this process. In principle, as we can see, everything is quite complicated, so it is worthwhile to understand this in more detail and delve into the issues and significance of pruning, especially for some apple varieties.

If the summer pruning of apple trees is carried out incorrectly, this can lead to the fact that the plant will not give flowering and subsequent fruiting at all, it will weaken, all the necessary substances will cease to flow to it, in principle, the apple tree will look weak, empty, hopeless, if we speak directly about the possibilities of fruiting. One way or another, if the gardener knows about the rules for pruning, then this will give the plant an incredible burst of energy, and fruiting will only increase, but after a while.

The first summer pruning of apple trees seems to gardeners a very troublesome and difficult process. In general, this is true, because without experience you can do something wrong, experience physical discomfort and fear for not cutting off the extra shoots of the plant. But this is only at the beginning. Then the tree will already begin to independently adapt to the formed formation, and the next pruning will be much easier and less troublesome. A gardener should monitor which processes he removes, in time to remove the so-called "tops" - adipose processes. By the way, it is better to break the processes, so they will heal much faster, although gardeners prefer to use pruning shears or hacksaws when pruning in order to save their time and their physical strength.

Before the gardener starts the summer pruning of apple trees, it is necessary to very carefully examine the entire tree, its shoots and branches, and only after that start pruning. It is worth adhering to the "golden mean". So, if you remove too many branches, then you can generally lose any crop, but if you leave too many extra branches, then you may not generally achieve the desired result, since pruning will be simply meaningless. Therefore, it is advisable to remove branches as needed, but still think about the fact that scanty pieces of its crown may remain from the tree, which will look bad, as well as, in general, which can harm the plant itself.

Usually, pruning begins with the fact that they begin to form the crown. This allows you to give the apple tree a neat and finished look, as well as generally improve its upper part, on which the fruits themselves will then form. Immediately after planting the cutting in open ground, it is worth gradually accustoming it to formative pruning, then the plant quickly adapts to such manipulations. Further trimming will be needed only in order to maintain the created shape, to make it healthier and more accurate.Formation can be done over several years, if necessary, for this, the gardener should closely follow the trends in the development of the plant, its external qualities and indicators, since this is very important.

The yield of the apple variety may depend on how correctly and correctly the gardener formed the pruning. Gardeners who already have experience in the formation of plants recommend starting with a neat and gentle formation, since this does not injure or shock the plant, and before the onset of precipitation and autumn, it will have time to recover, without becoming infected with any other diseases and fungi. Apple trees, which have never bore fruit, especially need the gardener to prune them, but then you can only periodically update the tree, but he does not need global and total pruning. Those plants that have already reached adulthood need pruning in order to increase the yield, so in general, pruning is a necessary mechanism and care procedure for both young and aged plants.

Rejuvenation of apple trees

Rejuvenation is another goal of pruning. Thanks to this, the plant can look like new, even if it is more than ten or fifteen years old. Also, thanks to rejuvenating pruning, even an old apple tree can re-harvest. As a rule, thanks to the most ordinary methods, fruiting branches can be renewed, and the apple tree will again feel the ability to give an excellent and high-quality harvest. The ovaries can become several times larger, and the fruits themselves become even tastier and better. But it is worth remembering that the need for rejuvenating pruning occurs only when the apple tree completely stops growing, and the upper part of the crown begins to gradually dry out. You can evaluate the result of anti-aging pruning by some signs that become even more obvious, and they cannot be ignored:

- the state of the tree, its external signs become more attractive, and this is really a fact

- the structure of the leaves on apple trees, their color becomes more healthy, which also suggests that the vitality has returned to the plant, which, of course, is an incredibly positive sign

- the bark of the trunk becomes more intact, less flaking or cracking, which also indicates that this part of the tree begins to be saturated with a large amount of mineral and useful substances

- there are much more ovaries and large fruits on the tree, which also suggests that anti-aging pruning has given its results, and the plant began to feel completely differently, giving such results. This is especially felt when before that for many years the harvest of the tree was scarce, or even absent.

Of course, in order for summer pruning to work, and in order for it to really show real benefits, it must be done in accordance with some basic rules and conditions. Firstly, during the pruning work, it is worth getting rid of all the branches that are located along the contour of the apple tree. Also, the so-called "tops" are removed, which grow in depth, make the crown very dense, which increases the risk that fungal diseases will form in the depths of the crown due to lack of ventilation. Secondly, it must also be borne in mind that it is worth immediately cutting off those shoots that extend from the skeletal branch, or from the trunk, and at the same time they are located at an acute angle. The third condition for a successful summer pruning is that it is necessary to monitor how the remaining branches are located. After pruning, horizontal branches will be able to give much more fruit, and the ripening time will shift - they appear much earlier.

There are also a few differences between pruning old trees and pruning young apple crops. The scheme will differ in some parameters, which, of course, needs to be paid attention to. Let's start by looking at pruning that is done on young trees.

The goals of pruning young apple trees

The purpose of pruning young apple trees is to achieve fruiting in a more gentle way and also to provoke active growth of the apple tree. Basically, you should pay attention to the so-called skeletal branches, it is necessary to remove the processes that prevent the apple tree from developing normally in the future. They also actively remove branches that impede the growth of the main branches, which then become those that give the very first apple fruits. If other processes block them, then the harvest will have to wait for a very long time. Pruning is carried out necessarily at an angle, and this procedure can be repeated after two years, if this is also necessary for the plant itself.

If the crown is formed correctly and the pruning of the young apple tree is done as it should, then this will also facilitate harvesting, since access to all the fruits that have managed to form on the trees will be open. Of course, the pruning processes cannot be ignored, and you cannot do without it, so the gardener should think that if you do not prune young trees, then the harvest will be small, meager and tasteless. It is also worth immediately removing those branches that are already dried up or painful, because if you do not do this in time, they can actively select useful substances from healthy and growing branches, and as a result we will not get abundant fruiting and a decent harvest.

Pruning mature trees

If the apple tree is at a more mature age, then here it is worth knowing about some of the intricacies of pruning. The main sign that the tree has aged, and only rejuvenating pruning can give it a sufficiently positive effect, is that the shoots practically do not grow. Also, the quality of the harvest is noticeably reduced, which, of course, suggests that something needs to be done with the tree, otherwise it will die, and we will not be able to receive any further benefits and results from the apple tree itself. It is worth removing those branches that are located at an acute angle to the trunk itself. Also, gardeners who already have experience in pruning know very well that the tree should not grow upward, as this can worsen not only its general condition, but also the condition of the crop itself as a whole. By pruning mature trees, it is possible to re-ensure the ovary of excellent and high-quality fruits even on a tree that seemed to have outlived its own, and will no longer be able to produce the amount of fruit that it originally produced at a younger age. Thus, it is thanks to the implementation of summer pruning that apple trees can be healed, rejuvenated, increased fruiting, and also postponed for some time (depending on the abundance of pruning and its intensity). If you follow all the rules for pruning, then you can achieve really excellent results. The most important thing is not to allow the plant to be unnecessarily pruned, or to leave too many branches on it. Otherwise, there will be absolutely no sense from pruning, on the contrary, it will only harm the general condition of the plant, make it weakened, unable to bear fruit.