Spring Crop Pruning - Rules for Beginners

The question of pruning cherries in the spring is one of the most controversial for experienced gardeners and beginners. The latter do not dare to prune the branches, as they are afraid of damaging the yield and weakening the tree.

Professional gardeners consider this absurd and do not understand why many people neglect such an important procedure. In their opinion, pruning cherries is extremely important and contributes to increasing the yield of the tree and improving the taste of the berries.

In most cases, the main reason for the negative attitude towards pruning of cherry trees is elementary ignorance of the basic rules of this procedure.

What you need to cut the cherry in the spring

For novice gardeners who wish to grow abundantly flowering and fruiting cherries, it is necessary to understand the goals and principles of spring pruning of cherries in detail. Cherry, unlike other fruit crops, is very early ripening, that is why it is so common in garden plots.

But such precociousness is also a disadvantage for cherries: the tree is quickly depleted, rapidly aging and losing its fecundity. Therefore, in order not to lose a cherry at all, it needs to be cut in a timely manner.

Trimming is needed in order to:

• to form the crown of the tree of the correct form, to prevent its one-sidedness and uneven development;
• increase yield;
• improve the taste and size of berries;
• destroy old diseased branches, which reduces the risk of morbidity and attack of pests;
• rejuvenate the tree and prevent it from aging for a longer time.

How and when to prune cherries in spring: general rules

Now consider when it is better to cut the cherry: in spring or autumn, to ensure the best result for fruiting. In gardening, there is a common spring, autumn, winter and even summer pruning, which is more auxiliary.

In the spring prune cherries before bud break. If the tree was damaged by frost after hibernation, pruning is done a little later, when the buds start growing to remove frostbitten shoots. Usually, spring pruning of cherries falls in the middle of March - beginning of April, since this heat-loving tree does not tolerate severe frosts.

If you find sore branches, they need to be removed, otherwise they can infect the whole tree. Also remove the neighboring branches, entangling and thickening the crown. Annual shoots about 20-40 cm long do not need to be cut. Pruning cherries in spring is basic, forming the crown of a tree, and is carried out according to certain schemes, which differ depending on the variety, age and tree.

If pruning in the spring helps the cherry to recover after the winter, then autumn pruning prepare the plant for a long winter hibernation. Such pruning is usually in September - early November and is preventive in nature.

In southern latitudes, trees are pruned immediately after the leaves fall.During this period, large increments are cut, which prevent the tree from developing, and also thicken the crown. You also need to remove dry, damaged, diseased branches and burn them, it will save other trees from infection.

Slices need to be treated with paint or garden pitch. Autumn pruning is carried out 1 time in 3 years. You can not prune trees before frosts, as this will reduce the hardiness of the tree and weaken it.

Some gardeners are shaping the crown of a cherry tree. in the winter. In winter, only mature trees can be pruned; they tolerate frosts better than young ones. When trees are dormant, they recover faster and more easily after pruning than in the fall or spring. In addition, in winter the minimum risk of a teaser bark.

After trimming, the cuts must be processed with a twist or paint. In severe frosts, the bark of the tree becomes very fragile, and can be damaged during pruning, so it is impossible to cut in such conditions.

And finally summer processing cherry trees, which is auxiliary, as to cut the cherry thoroughly need only in the spring.

In the summer, when the tree is in a state of active growth, the cuts are tightened long and painfully.

Therefore, during this period, only a slight correction of the crown is carried out, removing the diseased branches in case of detection.

Features pruning young and old cherries

Pruning cherries in the spring should be based on the type and age of the tree, so for novice gardeners it will be useful to know the difference between these cutting options.

How to cut a young cherry

Pruning a young tree is done immediately after planting, it allows you to form the correct shape of the crown and help the roots to transplant better in a new place. Pruning is carried out before the buds swell so that up to 5 strong, well-developed branches remain on the seedling. Selected branches should be at a distance of not less than 10 cm from each other and grow to the sides.

Everything else is removed, the wounds are covered with paint or boiling.Throughout the spring, it is observed that the bush does not thicken, and that the crown is developing properly. All branches that begin to grow inward, must be removed along with new shoots formed on the trunk of a tree.

As the tree grows, new skeletal branches are left until there are more than 15 of them. These works need to be done very carefully, as cutting young cherry saplings in the spring correctly is a rather difficult task. Mistakes made during pruning of saplings lead to a drop in tree yield in the future.

How to prune fruiting cherries

Pruning cherry fruit can be done once a year in the spring, this will be enough if the work is carried out correctly. In order for the tree to be accessible to the sun's rays, it is necessary 5 years after planting, when the tree is considered formed, the crown should be cut correctly.

So, spring pruning fruit-bearing cherries are carried out according to the standard scheme:

• removal of all branches that thicken the crown of a tree, except for branches located parallel to the soil;
• removal of branches that interfere with the proper growth and development of the main frame;
• if the main trunk is taller than the frame branches more than 20 cm, it should also be trimmed.

Annual branches of fruit-bearing trees are not shortened, as this leads to their drying. In graft trees, root shoots must be removed so that it does not reduce the yield of the cherry. Skeletal tree branches need to be shortened to the place where the formation of side branches has ceased. Further anti-aging pruning is carried out for 2-3 years.

Features trimming old wood

For beginners in gardening, it will not be out of place to find out whether it is possible to prune old cherry trees in the spring and what features of these works. Pruning of old trees is carried out in order to rejuvenate the cherry and return its yield.

For this it is necessary to reduce the number of branches and shorten them to half or one third of the length of the shoot. In addition to shoots, you need to remove the skeletal branches to the kidneys or developed lateral branches.Annual growths on the old tree can not be deleted.

Rejuvenation of the crown is carried out only when the skeletal branches of the tree are bare at the base, and annual growths do not reach 15 cm in length. In the case of shrinking branches in the middle of the crown, cut branches on the side branches.

Bush and tree: what is different pruning cherries

Proper pruning of cherries necessarily provides for different schemes for tree and bush types of wood. In tree cherry berries are located on annual growths and bouquet branches, bearing fruit for several years, and in bush-type cherries fruitful branches are only annual.

Pruning Cherry

Pruning spray cherry is carried out when the ends of its branches begin to bare. It is necessary to shorten these branches to half or one-third of the length, and half-skeletal and skeletal branches - to dormant buds or developed lateral branches. Forming the crown of the bush trees, 7-8 skeletal branches are left.

It is best in one year to prune skeletal branches, and the next - semi-skeletal. It is necessary that the tree has time to recover and bear fruit annually.You can not remove the annual increments that occur as a result of such pruning, otherwise the branch may dry out.

Rules for pruning a cherry tree

Consider how to properly prune cherry tree varieties. These works consist in a slight shortening of the annual shoots, which will result in fruit-bearing bouquet twigs.

When annual shoots do not reach 15 cm in length, and the skeletal branches have bare bases, they rejuvenate the cutting of tree cherry.

When a tree trunk reaches a height of 3.5 m, its growth should be limited to the transfer of skeletal branches and the main conductor to strong side branches. In tree cherry, 5-6 skeletal branches are left to form the crown.

So, for the annual and preventive cutting of cherries will have to spend time and effort. However, the results of such manipulations and improved yields can be seen already in the first year of pruning. Thus, even a beginner in gardening, who performed the procedure correctly, will be able to conclude whether it is necessary to cut cherries in spring.