Why is a summer cut useful?
In addition to the fruit wood, numerous wood shoots develop along the annual branch extensions, i.e. the shoots that emerged in the previous year. They must also be converted into short fruit wood so that the desired, loose crown shape is created. Especially young fruit trees in the Parenting phase benefit from such a cut.
also read
- Fruit wood - information about the most valuable wood on the fruit tree
- The summer pruning as a maintenance measure for the apple tree
- Important for growth habit, health and fruit development - the upbringing pruning for the fruit tree
How to do a summer pruning
To do this, pinch the young, still green wooden shoots as soon as they are about 20 centimeters long. To do this, pinch the shoot tips back to around three to four well-developed leaves, although you should not remove them directly on the leaf. Instead, you better put the knife or scissors a little over it. The tree reacts to this first sharpening with renewed strong wood shoots: From the first one to three eyes of the sharpened shoots, new ones develop. However, you should only leave one at a time, otherwise the fruit wood would stand too close together. The excess shoots are cut away, the remaining shoots shortened to two leaves. In addition, you should shorten wood shoots that arise from perennial fruit wood during early summer.
Caution: Only herbaceous, still young shoots can be converted into fruit wood
When removing the point, you should only select herbaceous, sparsely woody shoots with a maximum length of 20 to 25 centimeters. Only these can be converted into fruit wood.
This remains to be done with a subsequent winter pruning
After a summer cut, there is not much left to do in the coming winter. You now leave the short fruit wood untouched. If, however, wood shoots have developed from the fruit wood, these are removed down to the lowest one during the vegetation break and this in turn shortened to two eyes. if on older fruit trees If the fruit wood is too close, it is cleared with the scissors. Cut so that the remaining fruit wood gets enough light.
Tips
Also, who is more likely to have his fruit tree keep it small should preferably cut in summer. While a winter cut stimulates growth, trees cut in summer grow much more slowly in size and girth.
