Annual pruning of cherries helps maintain branch health and shape the crown. A tall tree without proper care will soon take the desired crop to an unattainable height. You can find interesting information about the features of trimming in this article.
Material Content:
Cherry pruning tools
The choice of tool depends on the thickness of the cut branches and shoots. Use secateurs, a knife, a hacksaw. Summer pinching of the tops of the shoots can be carried out with scissors or two fingers.
In addition to a clean and sharp tool, you will need special compositions for disinfection and healing of sections.
The time and date of cutting sweet cherries at different times of the year
Pruning can be done in spring, summer and autumn. Each gardener chooses for himself what time of year it is more convenient for him to work with a tree, taking into account the recommended terms of seasonal pruning.
Pruning is especially necessary in the early years of cherry tree development. In an adult fruiting cherry, pruning removes damaged shoots and reduces the density.
In the spring, they begin to form a crown when the air temperature is above +5 ° C, and the threat of return frosts passes. It is advisable to have time to carry out the procedure 3 weeks before the start of the active vegetation.
- Two-step summer pruning. The first time it is done when all the leaves have blossomed, the second time after harvesting the fruits.
- Fall foliage is expected, only after that they begin to do pruning. But you can’t tighten too long - before the cold weather begins, the plant must gain strength.
Tree pruning schemes
With the help of pruning, the crown of the cherry tree is given a certain shape.
It can be different:
- sparse-tier;
- bushy;
- fan-shaped, etc.
It is especially important to carry out form cutting in the first 4 years of tree development. In addition to formative, there are 2 more types of circumcision - sanitary and anti-aging. Forming and anti-aging pruning of sweet cherries in spring is carried out. This allows the plant to heal the wounds more quickly and start to grow. Sanitary can be done in the autumn.
Most summer residents form a sparse-tier crown in cherries, when eight main skeletal branches are located at 3 levels.
The scheme for cutting young cherries step by step (one step corresponds to a year):
- The central stem of the seedling is shortened, leaving 6 buds below. If there are side shoots, they are cut over 4 kidneys. All branches growing to the trunk at an acute angle are removed to the ring.
- The tree is shortened at a height of 0.7 m, the side branches - at a height of 0.6 m. Several buds should remain on the main shoot to form 2 level branches. Cut all shoots growing inside the crown.
- At the second level, the branches are shortened so that they are 15 cm smaller than the lower level. The central conductor is cut above the second level of branches at a height of 0.5 m, leaving the kidneys to create 3 levels. Remove all branches growing inward and located at an acute angle to the trunk.
- Circumcision of the main skeletal branches is done. They should be placed evenly around the trunk, without shading one another. Remove branches that interfere with the flow of light, cross, growing incorrectly. Shorten the central conductor at a height of 0.5 m above the last side branch.
In the future, thickening shoots are thinned out annually, trying to maintain a given shape and height of the tree.
Spring pruning
Young trees prune every spring. Conduct the formation of the crown, free it from broken, frozen branches. In adult trees, pruning is done selectively, cutting shoots no more than 30 cm.
Perform the spring procedure effectively help certain rules:
- Cut off all the branches that grow to the trunk at an acute angle, the crop will ripen on the shoots directed horizontally.
- Branches that are stunted over the entire season cut off more than others.
- They clean the crown from interfering branches seeking to replace the central conductor.
- Young seedlings are not pruned too much, this can reduce yield in the future.
Incorrect spring pruning can lead to rapid aging of the tree and loss of yield.
Summer pruning
The first two decades of July is the most fertile time for summer pruning of trees. Summer pruning is important because at this time you can engage in shaping (not molding, as in spring or autumn, when the crown is given a certain shape).
For summer pruning, or tweezing, pruning shears, hairdressing scissors or a sharp knife are suitable. Vertical shoots pinch over the top real leaf, so that they do not grow up, but are overgrown with fruit formations. If, after the tweezing, the branch starts letting out side shoots, it is cut off above the first side.
Holding an event in the fall
Autumn pruning is used for sanitary purposes to reduce the risk of infections. During this event, they get rid of the branches infected with parasites. All cut pieces of wood are then burned.
In the fall, they sometimes make anti-aging pruning of old cherries that do not bear fruit. Positive results are already evident next spring.
Autumn pruning events begin after the fall. In preparation for winter, not only patients are cut, but also weak branches growing inside the crown.
Annual shoots are shortened by 1/3 of the length. After trimming, when the slices dry out a little, they are treated with protective compounds - garden varieties or special mastics.
Trimming to reduce height up
Pruning of annual seedlings begins to reduce growth in early spring. They are shortened to a meter height, and if the tree is lower, the procedure is skipped.Subsequently, a crown is formed, depending on the selected shape, by trimming twice a year.
With a sparse-tier crown, the main trunk is shortened annually. For 4 years of cultivation, it is cut at a height of 50 cm above the lateral branches of the third tier.
Possible mistakes gardeners
Errors in cutting the cherry seedlings can lead to improper tree development and reduced yields. Not only beginners, but also experienced gardeners can admit them.
Common mistakes:
- 1 tier of branches is laid too high when, in an adult tree, the beginning of the crown runs 1.5 m in height.
- Violation of the law of hierarchy when the upper branches are longer and more powerful than the lower ones. The lower tier gradually dies away, the tree stretches, the crop is formed only at the top.
- Too shortening of the branches leads to the formation of many spinning tops, thickening of the crown, violation of the timing of fruiting and deterioration of the quality of the crop.
The key to success in the difficult business of pruning a tree will be patience. Each subsequent tier must be formed only after the lower branches have become stronger.
Cherry pruning, beginner's video
Cherry pruning is a difficult event, which is desirable to carry out, based on the recommendations and visual guidance from experienced gardeners. To get a good result, you need to be patient and form a crown, adhering to a given scheme. Then the tree will please a plentiful harvest in the coming years.
