Spring Cherry Pruning Rules
A good harvest and health of a fruitful cherry orchard directly depends on the annual pruning of branches and the formation of the tops of trees. A scientific approach to such a procedure will allow you to achieve high results and stimulate the flow of important nutrients clearly for the ripening of fruits. As a reminder, pruning cherries in spring only affects healthy trees that can withstand this procedure. Weak or diseased plants can simply dry out after major surgery. Therefore, during the warm season, before pruning the branches, it is necessary to provide the garden with good feeding and watering.
Content
When to trim
If throughout the winter the air temperature did not drop below 30 degrees, then the branches of the cherry can be cut off in early spring in March.
The main thing is that on this day there is no precipitation in the form of rain or sleet, which can harm the rapid healing of wounds.
If the winter was very frosty and the air temperature dropped below 30 degrees, then in this case the recommendation of a specialist is needed, who can completely prohibit pruning this spring or postpone it to the beginning of sap flow.
How to prune a fruiting tree
Mature trees are pruned first, because fruiting stone fruit plants release their inflorescences before vegetative buds, and here you need to carry out the necessary branch formation in time. It is not scary if such a procedure drags on until the kidneys become very swollen. The main thing is that the pruning of cherries does not start with the appearance of greenery on the cone, which will certainly weaken the entire fruitful tree. Delay in the procedure will lead to a loss of nutritional reserves, as well as shortening of new shoots.
How to prune a young tree
Young cherry trees that have not yet borne fruit are pruned later than mature plants in the spring, gradually shaping the future garden. Pruning is carried out from seedlings, leaving only the five strongest branches. Such rules for fruit growing help to avoid further thickening of the crown, which inexperienced gardeners often sin. For example, you can watch video tutorials that will help you understand the nuances of caring for fruit trees.
General rules and tips
Pruning branches and crowns of fruit-bearing ones excludes:
- thickening of the crown;
- one-sided growth of a tree;
- decrease in productivity.
It is important to remember:
- no foam should be left on the center conductor when trimming. Their drying out can lead to an additional risk of contamination of the plant with a destructive infection;
- when forming branches and moving from one to another tree, it is necessary to disinfect the instrument, excluding the spread of all kinds of wood diseases;
- each operation to remove branches should end with disinfecting the wound with a garden solution, thereby helping the tree to quickly heal damaged areas of the bark.
All garden care measures are based solely on the characteristics of their fruiting, as well as on varieties.
In the spring, before pruning a cherry orchard, you need to find out what sort of cherry is planted: bush or tree. Shrub cherry should not have branches longer than 50 cm, hence the formation of the future bush. When forming a young tree, it is necessary to carefully remove young branches, because the future of the cherry and its fertility depend on this.
Cherry trees also need a crown, but here it is important not to overdo it with pruning young branches.Do not injure the tree and cut off many shoots at once. High varieties of trees, tree-like over time, need to be limited in growth and gradually form a crown up to 3 m.If the cherry grows quickly, increasing by 40 cm per year, then when pruning, only thinning of the branches is carried out, eventually reaching the required planned height. With an average growth rate of branches up to 20 cm, the first lateral branch on the shoots of the last year is shortened. In the event that the tree's growth has slowed down even in spring or the renewal of shoots has completely stopped, serious pruning is applied to those places where there has been no branching since previous years.
What cropping gives:
- the correct shape of the tree;
- increases productivity;
- removes old branches;
- stimulates plant immunity;
- increases the "youthfulness" of the tree.
Pruning cherries in the spring will give a good boost to the formation of a large number of fruits on the trees and maintain high yields throughout the life of the plants. If pruning is done on time, the young shoot will have time to accumulate enough nutrients to fill the fruits with taste and healthy color.
The fruit type of plants requires constant attention to itself, and if such a tree is left without care, the yield will drop significantly next year. A good large cherry will delight the gardener if you follow all the recommendations of experts exactly. Competent pruning will not only form a beautiful crown, but will improve the immunity of the tree, preventing fungal infections and all kinds of wood diseases.
Cherry Pruning Video
Rules and features for pruning cherries in the video below.