by Glenn Davis, UCCE Master Gardener, El Dorado County
January 2003
When I first started as a Master Gardener, I attended
a workshop on pruning. The workshop class was held at a volunteer’s garden and
each participant was encouraged to practice pruning on the owner’s trees. I
realized at the time this was a great way to get your trees pruned and at the
same time I realized I was working on someone else’s trees. Practicing a skill
on someone’s property can cause you to be hesitant, and hesitancy, when
pruning, is just as dangerous as failure to prune at all. On the other hand, a
wild and reckless approach to pruning can also do a lot of damage. If you are
an inexperienced gardener, pruning may be a daunting task; too much pruning on
the wrong branches and the fruit is set back, too little and the results are a
scarcity of fruit.
Pruning is not a book or lecture activity; you need to put the
loppers in your hands and practice on real specimens. There are, however, some
basic rules to remember when you approach the job.
Dead and diseased wood are weak spots in the tree’s protection
system; if this wood is not removed there is a possibility that the inner
portion of the tree could be attacked through these areas. This pruned wood
should be taken away or burned -- certainly not put into a compost pile.
Try and remove any weak or non-productive wood to open the
tree up.
If there are less vigorous
branches that are positioned better for the trees structure, consider taking
out a more vigorous branch and allowing the weaker branch to strengthen itself.
If you are trying to keep the tree small you might consider removing the
vigorous branches and letting the weaker branches increase in strength;
gardeners with dwarf fruit trees use this procedure to keep their trees
small.
Another general rule is to remove all crossing branches; this
allows the tree to open up and cuts down on the possibility of the branches
rubbing against one another.
There are two types of sucker growth, those that are located
at the base of the tree that arise from the root stock and those within the
tree that start on a branch and go vertical, sometimes known as “water
sprouts.” The latter should be cut out where they attach to the branch and the
former can be cut off at ground level. Rootstock suckers are less apt to return
if they are broken off the rootstock rather than pruned at ground level.
If you are working where there is a possibility of disease
make sure all of your pruning equipment is cleaned with a disinfectant. Some
disinfectants can cause corrosion of your pruning equipment; a little light
machine oil and steel wool can be used to clean them.
Now that we have the generalities covered, there are a few
terms that will help you to understand pruning. Each tree has a group of buds
and if you know their location and function pruning becomes a much easier task.
Fruiting buds are generally more robust than leaf buds and in
some cases occur on new wood or spurs only; it’s a good idea to identify these
before you start pruning. Apples and pears have spurs while peaches and
nectarines fruit on one-year-old wood. Terminal buds are located at the end of
the branch and their removal can cause the buds below to become more active.
There are also dormant buds that can be found at the base of the leaf; these
are the buds for the next year’s growth.
Finally, try and make sure that the branches that bear fruit
are more horizontal since these branches have the strongest inner structure.
Branches that have a narrow fork sometimes split from the trunk with the weight
of the fruit.
Practice with a good gardener is the best way to learn how to
prune; if you are interested in taking a class, the El Dorado County Master
Gardeners will be conducting a field demo pruning class on February 8 from 1-3
pm. Please use the back button on your browser to return to the list of
articles, then select the calendar link on the
far left-hand side of your screen for directions. If you have any other
questions contact El Dorado County Master Gardeners at (530) 621-5512, Monday
through Friday, 9:00 AM to noon.