Pruning An Old Apple Tree: How To Prune Correctly In The Fall? How To Rejuvenate A Tree In Spring According To The Scheme For Beginners? Pruning Adult Neglected Apple Trees

2024 Author: Beatrice Philips | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 05:33

In the life of an old apple tree, crown pruning plays the most important role. It is a process that allows an already mature and mature tree to be renewed. It needs to be produced on a regular basis so that the plant is less sore and can be more fruitful.

This will give the tree strength that could be weakened by the order. In this way, you can give the tree a neater and more beautiful appearance, get rid of the diseased or dried out part of it. Therefore, we can say that such a procedure is not only practical, but also aesthetic in nature.

Timing

Pruning an old apple tree is usually performed in the fall, before the onset of the first frost . However, this should not be done in early September, as pruning can provoke active growth of new unwanted shoots. An old tree often needs to be rejuvenated. This procedure must be performed at least once a year .… The plant can easily exist without pruning and care, but it is worth remembering that it can successfully run wild. In this case, the quantity will decrease from year to year, and the taste properties of the crop will deteriorate. Pruning branches correctly is like having a high-quality and beautiful haircut from a professional hairdresser. You can live without it, but your hair can become unkempt and brittle - and so here.

Excess branches and shoots will slowly destroy the tree, preventing it from growing and developing.

A younger and less damaged tree is usually pruned in the spring . It manages to fully recover by the season of flowering and fruiting, without wasting its internal resources. It is best to start the procedure for updating an adult apple tree by identifying the main and central branch. It should not be allowed that there are more of them, otherwise the whole process may not bring the desired result. It is around this guide that all the action will take place. Some stepchildren should be completely removed, thereby providing the plant with additional freedom . Others need to be reduced as much as possible (by more than a third). They may still be useful to you. With this simple action, you will provide the tree with safety from possible diseases and parasites, give a neat and aesthetic shape to the young crown, and also increase the yield several times.

Required tools

Unfortunately, tree pruning cannot be done with bare hands, so you may need the help of some tools

• An indispensable attribute of garden life can rightfully be called classic pruner … They can cut almost any branches neatly and without the risk of injury.
• An equally important tool is considered saw … It is designed for larger branches, since not all of them will succumb to a regular pruner. It is best to take the most common one - a manual one, and with a chainsaw there is a risk of accidentally damaging the crown or trunk of a tree. It can be especially dangerous in the hands of a beginner.
• For long and thick knots, it is advisable to purchase lopper … It will perfectly cope with branches from one and a half to five centimeters thick. Long and comfortable handles allow you to reach the highest and inaccessible branches.
• An important helper will be a strong stool or high stepladder … With their help, you can get to the very top of the crown and shorten it. This procedure will help you keep in shape.

The absence of these important and necessary items for every gardener will greatly complicate tree pruning. With their help, the process will move much faster, and the result will be more impressive. All these tools are within walking distance, so it will not be difficult to acquire them. Each of them in work is controlled quite easily, you do not need to have colossal experience to understand the principle of their operation. We must not forget that before use, the tools must be thoroughly disinfected so that there is no risk of pathogenic bacteria getting into the tree.

How to do anti-aging pruning?

To properly rejuvenate an old apple tree, you need to correctly determine the season . For this, the autumn or spring time is ideal. This is the time when frosts are not scary, and the plants in the garden have not yet plunged into a deep sleep or just woke up from it. This pruning is not difficult at all, but it can take a long time. Sometimes, in order to do it correctly, you even have to cut some of the central branches to form the crown. The types of this procedure can be classified into three types: gradual, half, one-time.

Gradual

Gradual pruning is the smoothest, softest and most delicate of the three varieties .… However, of all, it takes the most time, since each of its cycles occurs once a year. It lasts for several years, after which the tree will be young and healthy again. This type of pruning is great for beginners. In the first year, all small and unnecessary knots are completely removed. So you can free the crown of the tree from unnecessary burden, which only interferes with the fruiting process.

Next, you should remove one or two fruiting branches, thereby further facilitating the task of the tree. Don't delete too much - just two will be enough . Cut off the driest and least productive ones first: they usually slow down all growth. In the third year, the remaining branches should be slightly shortened, thereby giving accuracy and beauty. This technique will help awaken new shoots and give them the opportunity to develop, thereby replacing cut branches.

Regularly carrying out the procedure of gradual rejuvenation, the life of the tree will increase several times. It will no longer be threatened by parasites, which most often choose older plants as their nest.

Half

The newest among all the techniques, she came to the world of gardening relatively recently . Now she is one of the most demanded and popular. By right, it can be considered quite sparing, because pruning does not occur immediately, but many attribute it to cardinal. It can be divided into two main stages. The first stage takes place in the spring. It is necessary to shorten the height and width of the tree on the south side by more than one and a half times. After that, process and glue all the resulting sections. You should be extremely careful with especially large cuts. To speed up the healing process, it is necessary to treat the damaged area with a special resin, and then carefully seal it with a healing film.

It should be ensured that it remains in place until the very autumn, only after that you can get rid of it .… If it turned out that it flew off earlier, then stick a new one. Next year, you need to carry out all the same actions, but now on the north side. You don't need to cut everything. Leave only the strongest and most fruitful branches of all. For greater effect, they should be shortened slightly. Make cuts as carefully as possible so as not to damage the main part of the tree.

Disposable

Very fast, but also radical procedure . It is carried out only once. You should be extremely careful with it, as it can give a completely opposite effect. There is a risk, instead of the expected rejuvenation, to get a quick death of the plant. Therefore, it is recommended to resort to it only in case of urgent need , for example: in case of illness or drying out. In other cases, it is worth giving preference to the first two options. First you need to shorten the size of the tree. The height should be cut at your discretion, but you must adhere to the golden mean. If you cut too little, then the procedure will simply not have any result, and all the risk and effort will be in vain.

After removing the upper part of the crown, you should go down to the fruiting branches. Take a close look and pick the most annoying ones. Cut off these specimens first, then switch to less conspicuous twigs and twigs. After all these manipulations, the crown will almost halve. If the tree was too overgrown, then repeat all these steps the next year. It is worth mentioning that one-time pruning should be done in the spring ..

If you do it in the fall, then from the injuries and lost strength the tree simply cannot survive even the lightest frosts and, as a result, will die.

Sanitary work scheme

Every owner of an apple tree must know the basic rules for caring for it .… This is a very unpretentious tree, but it also needs to maintain its health. To revive a fairly dry and diseased plant, the gardener must first of all cut down all dry and excess branches. If these actions did not bring the necessary and expected result, then it is worth getting rid of some large branches. A large branch is several times more difficult to cut than a regular one, so try to be more careful with the saw. Do not hurt your hands or the trunk of the tree itself. If the plant is affected by a bark beetle or other parasite, then first remove, if possible, all damaged areas and thoroughly treat the rest of the parts. Mask all sections with resin or special tape. Watch the apple tree closely at all times.

If you notice that the disease has returned, then repeat the procedure again . Well, if this attempt fails, get rid of the diseased plant, otherwise the disease may spread to other trees. The diseased parts obtained in the course of work must be completely destroyed, this must be done in order to stop the spread of infection. The best and most reliable way to do this is to simply burn it. The resulting ash is not recommended to be used as fertilizer, as it is possible to provoke the appearance of a fungus or other disease on a healthy tree. Subject to all the rules, the tree should recover soon . This can usually take two or three years. All this time, the plant needs special care and attention, since it was weakened by the disease. Therefore, it presents an easy target for other parasites.

How to prune running apple trees?

If a tree has already lived a sufficient number of years without proper care, then you can see a whole scattering of chaotically located branches and twigs on it . Most of this growth is infertile and only harms an already mature plant. So they also give it an unaesthetic and sloppy look. Most likely, such an apple tree will not bear a harvest, and the fruits will be small and sour, with a slight bitterness.

To put such a neglected tree in complete order, it is necessary to get rid of the excess length and width of the plant first . This means that all large branches must be adjusted to the same size. The next step is to cut off all the lower branches, as they are the least fruitful of all. They pull the tree downward, increasing the risk of kinks or unwanted bends. Next, you need to remove all dry shoots or infected branches. Such processes will not bear fruit, therefore, they are completely useless - they must be disposed of. It is important to provide the plant with plenty of light, so cut off any shoots that interfere with its flow. It is important for the speedy recovery of lost branches and full ripening of fruits.

If you carried out this procedure correctly, then the tree will return to normal after a few seasons . He will have an increase in the size of the fruits, and they themselves will become more juicy and sweet.

Changes in the crown and foliage of the tree will also become noticeable. It will acquire a brighter green color, yellowness and leaf dryness will disappear. All these signs will indicate that the tree is now healthy and full of strength to grow further.