Table of contents
- reasons for cutting
- summer cut
- spring pruning
- fall pruning
- regularity
Pruning is probably the most important care you can give a tree in the garden. Garden owners and hobby gardeners largely agree on this. However, there is a lot of uncertainty about exactly when trees should be cut. The most important rule when pruning a tree is very simple: it should be pruned regularly from the very first year. This brings by far the greatest success.
reasons for cutting
Today there is no question that the trees in the garden have to be cut. They simply develop better through pruning, are more resistant to diseases and pests and also bring more yield. Cutting essentially means that old or old shoots are removed. With good reason: Young shoots develop much more foliage than old ones. They are also less prone to disease. Since the tree grains are inevitably thinned out by the cut, the entire tree also receives more Light and subject to better aeration, which in turn affects its growth and well-being promoted. The cut also means that they develop more young shoots. This increases the yield, especially with fruit trees. And then it's also about the shape in the garden.
A notice:
The topiary can be of enormous importance. This is especially true when there is a risk of the tree's branches getting in the way of buildings or other trees.
summer cut
There was a time when tree pruning in the winter was recommended in the first place. However, the focus was not on the needs of the tree, but on those of the farmers and gardeners. Both had more time for editing in winter, since there was significantly less other work than in spring or summer. Too bad that trees are also the most sensitive in winter. The injuries that inevitably result from a cut heal much more slowly this time of year. Today, experts therefore largely advise against winter pruning. According to your expertise and experience, the cut should definitely be made in the summer. This is especially true for fruit trees such as
- Apple
- cherry
- Pear
- plum
- Plum.
However, you should never cut too early. The scissors or the knife should only be used when the shoots no longer develop new leaves. This is usually around mid-August.
A notice:
The first fruits that develop can be cut off without hesitation. Since the tree receives more light after pruning, the remaining fruits often grow larger and produce more sweetness.
spring pruning
Spring in the garden is when vegetation begins, i.e. the first shoots form on the trees. As long as that has not yet happened, one can still speak of winter, even if the calendar may already say otherwise. Only when the first shoots have formed can pruning be done in spring. However, you should limit yourself to trees that have particularly long shoots or form branches. The classic example of this is the peach tree. In this way, it is possible to prevent the branches from breaking under the weight of the relatively heavy fruit, which would seriously injure the tree. The early cutting in spring means that a particularly large number of short shoots are formed, which are less likely to kink.
fall pruning
Autumn is the ideal season for the so-called topiary. With it, the trees are brought back into shape in the truest sense of the word. Autumn pruning is therefore more about visual aspects than promoting growth. In addition, trees that produce a relatively large amount of plant sap and possibly also secrete it should only be cut in autumn. These trees include:
- maple
- beech
- birch
- linden tree
- walnut
In autumn, wound healing in trees is still active. Since each cut inflicts a wound on the tree, it still closes relatively quickly at this point. This is particularly important for survival in trees that release a lot of plant sap. Autumn is also the ideal time to thoroughly remove superfluous side and water shoots that have developed over the summer.
regularity
Trees are relatively sensitive organisms. As already mentioned, practically every pruning action results in a tree being injured and suffering a wound. The bigger this wound, the higher the risk that the tree will be damaged. That is why it is of utmost importance to keep the wounds as small as possible. As a rule, however, this only works if not too much has to be cut away at once. By far the most important tip in connection with tree pruning is therefore: Always cut regularly. The regularity of the cut plays a greater role than the time of the cut. The reason for this is obvious: regular tree pruning at least once a year leads to that less cutting has to be done with each operation, which means fewer and smaller injuries develop. And that in turn means that the tree will do better over the years.
garden editorial I write about everything that interests me in my garden.
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