If you caught last week’s Secret Garden, you’ll have learnt why we prune fruit trees, how to train to an open vase shape, and some general principles for winter pruning. This week, I want to look at the basic techniques required for different varieties. First though, a quick recap. Start by removing any dead, damaged, diseased or crossing branches, always make clean cuts using sharp tools, and it’s generally best to prune to an outward facing bud. Then fruit tree pruning becomes a matter of horses for courses.
Pome Fruit
Most apples and pears bear fruit on permanent fruiting spurs. Not to be confused with cowboy’s spurs, or the calcified lumps that can grow from your heel, fruiting spurs are similar in shape to those that grow from a rooster’s legs. They form on wood that is two or more years old. Thus implies that for apples and pears, the most important pruning is the establishment of a permanent framework. Once this has been formed, it’s a matter of keeping the centre of the tree open, encouraging horizontal branches, removing any crowded growth and heading back any overly vigorous side branches.
Cut back vigorous vertically growing shoots to the point from which they originate in summer. This is important to maintain an open vase shape, and in the case of pears especially, to control excess vigour. The other thing pear trees (and the more vigorous apples) do is produce way too many fruiting spurs. It’s easiest to see these in winter, and this is the time to thin them out by keeping about 15cm between each spur. You’ll get fewer fruit as a result, but those that are produced will be bigger and tastier.
Peaches and Nectarines
Both of these varieties fruit on wood formed last summer. With that in mind, a major pruning of peaches and nectarines is done every year and completed just after the tree has finished fruiting. Start by identifying fruiting growth by its characteristic cluster of buds, two fruit buds either side of a leaf bud. Cut this back by half to two thirds. The tree will respond by producing lots of vigorous new side shoots. These should be allowed to grow as they will fruit next spring. In winter, there’s actually very little to do other than the basics: train to a vase shape and thin out any excess lateral growth by pruning right back to a main branch.
Plums and Cherries
The first thing to learn about plum trees is that European plums and Japanese plums are two individual species, each with a different pruning requirement. Japanese plums (Prunus salicina) fruit on last season’s wood, much like a vigorous peach. Treat them similarly. European plums (Prunus domestica) form short pointed spurs on two year old wood. They require little pruning other than initial training and a “heading back” of over vigorous branches to encourage spur formation. Avoid pruning all plums in winter, as they can be susceptible to fungal disease.
Cherries also fruit on short spurs formed on older wood. They differ from plums in their tendency to produce just a few willowy main branches, so to encourage spur formation, it’s a good idea to prune back hard in the first couple of years after planting to develop a framework of four to six main branches. On these main branches lateral branches will form, and in turn, spurs will form on the laterals. Once the main framework is developed, prune only to maintain a compact size and keep the tree tidy.
Apricots
If there’s one plant you want to leave alone while dormant, it’s the apricot. They are notoriously prone to fungal infections during winter, and other than when first planted, pruning is best carried out in autumn, or after the tree has finished fruiting. Apricots are generally heavy bearing trees, forming fruit on both last season’s wood, lots of small twiggy bits known as sprigs, and short spurs on older branches. The simplest way to prune is to cut all new wood back by half.
One final piece of advice: it takes years of experience to learn how to properly train a fruit tree, so you’re bound to make some mistakes when starting out. That’s okay. Trees are generally pretty forgiving. My philosophy in gardening and in life, is to get stuck in and have a go, learn from my stuff ups, and remember the failed footy player’s adage – there’s always next season.
First published in the The Chronicle 1st August 2009. Image by Steve Snyder via istockphoto.
