Here's how to get your plum in shape

Why does a columnar plum have to be cut at all?

The term column fruit not only suggests a particularly slender growth form, but is also automatically used by many gardeners as an indication of a relatively compact one size Understood. With the right care and in a well-suited location, columnar plums show quite vigorous growth, so that they can be used as a fruit tree in the pot on the balcony can only be considered to a limited extent. There are several reasons for pruning a columnar plum:

• the preservation of the columnar habit
• the amount of the Yield is from Fruitwood addicted
• Plant health benefits from a well-ventilated habit that is open to the sun

The best time to cut

Similar to the "regular" plum trees, columnar plums can also be cut at different times. Some gardeners generally prefer to cut fruit trees in winter, because then not only is there relative “sap calm”, but also the branches without leaves are much more clearly laid out in front of the gardener's eyes. However, plum trees tolerate pruning better if this is done in June. Nevertheless, certain corrective cuts or the removal of water shoots can be made relatively unproblematic in spring.

Here's how to go about pruning a columnar plum

Basically, a columnar plum should be a year after at the earliest planting be cut for the first time. Thereafter, the regular cut of the main shoot counteracts the bare of the trunk from below. With columnar plums, it is particularly important that new side branches are shortened to about two or three eyes. Due to the cut, these develop particularly well into so-called fruit wood by the following year, so that the yield of a tree can be significantly increased. Also make sure that cuts are always made close to a pair of eyes, so that the shoots are, so to speak, “diverted” at this point. This cutting technique is therefore also linguistically referred to as “redirecting” the shoots.