Cherry yield directly depends on the quality of the crown pruning. The success of the procedure is influenced by many factors: the season of the work, the age of the tree and compliance with the technological scheme. The article describes the main features of branch removal, types of crown formation and common mistakes of novice gardeners.
What is pruning for?
Many homeowners consider trimming an optional event. Citing their own trees as an example, they boast stable growth and high yields. But without proper care, the crown quickly thickens, not passing light and air to the central part of the tree.
Fruitful branches begin to die off quickly, and the few remaining branches form many times less kidneys. Fruits that are tied up with a lack of lighting, grow small and tasteless, and the lack of ventilation in the crown provokes the development of bacteria and rotting of the wood.
Timely pruning of cherries improves the condition of the tree and harmonizes its development:
- allows you to properly form a crown;
- significantly increases productivity;
- develops resistance to temperature changes;
- reduces the risk of contracting garden pests.
It is known that lateral horizontal branches have maximum fruitfulness. The pruning procedure directs the development of the seedling in these areas, allowing you to achieve a high yield.
Trimming Dates
The beginning of corrective work often coincides with the time of planting a tree. This event is carried out in several stages, since the removal of a large number of branches in one season reduces the vital activity of the plant and reduces its yield. Consider the specific cutting time, depending on the period of work.
Winter pruning period
Since in the cold season wood becomes fragile and vulnerable to temperature extremes, large-scale removal of branches is undesirable. The only permissible measure is anti-aging pruning - a procedure performed by large old trees in which yield decreases and the quality of the fruit decreases.
It is better to perform work in February, following the temperature forecast and choosing the most warm days.
Spring pruning period
Spring improvement of the garden should be carried out before the swelling of the buds and the beginning of sap flow, from mid-March to the first week of April. During this period, the branches of plants are thinned out, which improves the air supply to the crown and promotes an even distribution of sunlight. Trees are carefully inspected, removing damaged branches and branches that have been spoiled by frost.
Summer pruning period
Summer pruning events are held in two stages, between the end of flowering and the beginning of the appearance of the fruit. They are carried out in early July, accompanied by the shortening of young shoots and the formation of the foundation of the future structure. The second time the sweet cherry is cut after harvesting.
Autumn pruning period
The signal for autumn pruning is falling leaves. The procedure is carried out until the end of September or the beginning of October, so that the sections grow better, and the tree does not waste a lot of nutrients. Broken and infertile branches are also removed, the absence of which allows the cherry to better survive the winter.
What tools are needed?
The basic requirements for cropping equipment are durability and quality. Tools purchased from an unscrupulous seller will quickly become worthless and will not be able to perform their functions, which will damage the tree's health and productivity.
Sharp cutting tool for working with branches:
- Secateurs - used for trimming branches up to 2.5 cm thick.
- Delimbers - similar to secateurs, but has longer handles that are convenient to work in hard to reach places or in a running crown. It copes well with thick branches of 3 cm.
- Garden saw - The main tool for processing old trees and sawing thick branches.
- Knife - used for stripping sections and performing procedures requiring accuracy.
- Scissors - used to thin out seedlings and shoots that have not yet become numb.
Accessories for gardening:
- Ladder - necessary for trimming tall trees.
- Work gloves - provide protection for the hands when performing activities.
- Protective glasses - prevent small debris falling from the tree when pruning in the eyes.
- Rope - fixes bent branches in one position.
- Spacers - A simple device that bends the branches from the treated area.
- Cuffs - bands of elastic material that protect the bark of young branches from mechanical damage.
Cherry wood is softer and more fragile than other garden crops, so it is undesirable to cut branches with a simple pruner. To minimize damage to the shoots, it is better to use garden saws, carefully scrubbing the cutting area with a knife.
How to cut branches correctly?
Regardless of the time of the sanitary work, there are general recommendations that must be followed:
- The pruning process begins with a tour of the garden. This will help to identify poorly lit and poorly ventilated places inside the crown, to eliminate diseased and undeveloped areas. If some branches cross, they are cut, leaving a stronger one.
- Cut cherry branches is necessary at the base, in the middle of an annular influx. At this place there are tissues that accelerate the overgrowth of wood. If you make a cut after the influx, the wound will turn out to be too large, and the plant will recover for a long time.
- Also, stumps cannot be left on the main trunk and lateral branches - over time they rot and the tree can die completely. If the branch is thick and heavy, it can be cut in two stages, sawing off the bulk of the wood and removing the remaining stump.
- Be sure to disinfect the sections. When removing small branches up to 1 cm thick, the surface is treated with garden varnish or natural oil paint. Larger sections are coated with mullein and clay, and then covered with a film.
If the procedure is carried out in the spring season, you need to beware of cold and damp. Hypothermia at the pruning stage can cause the appearance of gum on the branches and trunk, which is harmful to all stone fruits.
Features of sweet cherry pruning
The full range of trimming measures depends on the region in which the crops are planted, its climatic regime and the age of the tree itself. In order to form a healthy plant that will actively bear fruit, have an aesthetic appearance and ensure ease of harvesting, work should be carried out regularly from the first year of planting.
Spring pruning
During this period, different types of pruning are carried out, it all depends on the age of the cherry.
Seedlings. Applying to seedlings at an early stage of development, the procedure lays the foundation for the development of the crown and gives it a stable shape. Correction is usually carried out when the seedling reaches a height of 70 cm or more. If the cherry was planted in the fall, the shoots are cut off no earlier than a year and a half later. Unlike adult trees, in the first spring a part of the top is removed from the seedling. The required distance is calculated by counting 6 young buds from the main shoot.
The tree is 2 years old. In spring, a lower tier of branches forms in two-year-old cherries. To correct this area, you must select 4 strong shoots. Using a secateurs or delimbers, each branch is shortened by 40-50 cm. A similar procedure is carried out with a central conductor, from which 4 upper buds are counted and the apex is removed.
Third year. A tree that has reached the third spring forms a crown on two tiers. To control this process, skeletal shoots are shortened by comparing the length with the smallest branch. Young shoots directed deep into the crown are cut off completely. If the remaining branches are directed up and to the side, forming an angle of no more than 45 degrees with the central trunk, the crown is formed correctly.
Fourth year. During the fourth spring pruning, the trunk is brought to the level of young skeletal branches located on the side of the crown. The third tier is adjusted 20 cm below the top, but not longer than 70 cm. If the branches of the second tier do not exceed this length, shortening is not required. All of the following operations carried out in the spring season will include the removal of branches growing deep into the crown or straight up.
Watch the video about pruning sweet cherry in the spring:
Summer pruning
Timely summer pruning is a good way to limit the growth of annual growth, which is not valuable to the gardener. Crohn thinned this season is open to favorable environmental influences, which directly improves the taste and quality of growing fruits. Technically, the procedure resembles spring pruning of an adult tree, but due to active growth, it passes faster and with less damage.
Summer corrective work is carried out at the end of May. In this case, the gardener removes defective branches and part of the central conductor, removing the trunk at a height of 3.5 m and translating the growth to a strong side shoot. The growth of the current year is shortened by 4-5 leaves to a total length of 15-20 cm. This procedure stimulates branching and ovary formation. If the deadline for corrective work is missed, carry them out after harvesting.
At the end of the fruit season, cut branches grow again. They need to be shortened to 10 cm, leaving 3-4 leaves on which new flower buds will be formed next year. In addition to healing the tree, this will get rid of pest colonies, protect skeletal branches from exposure and reduce labor costs.
Pruning after planting
The optimal time for trimming the seedling coincides with the time of planting. Removing extra branches at this stage gives the crown the desired shape, speeds up the root system to take root on new soil and improves the distribution of nutrients in the remaining shoots.
The procedure is performed before the formation of the kidneys. The gardener chooses 4-5 of the strongest branches, cuts off the rest and carefully covers the wounds. The remaining shoots should be directed to the sides and be 10 cm from each other. Further work is carried out on seedlings that are well rooted and have lived on the site for more than a year.
If you are interested in how to plant sweet cherries correctly, you can read this article. It details the method of planting cherries in spring and the further care of the tree.
Works on an old tree
Ripe cherry trees bring a good harvest and have a shaped crown, but they need no less sanitary work than young seedlings. Every year, frozen shoots appear on the trunk, the bark in some areas exfoliates and is affected by diseases, and the branches undergo mechanical damage and cease to bear fruit. Pruning an old tree promotes plant rejuvenation and is performed in dry, warm weather.
When inspecting the trunk, all growths that have appeared over the past 3-4 years are removed, they get rid of broken branches and other defective areas. Similar to other types of pruning, the saw cuts are smeared with garden varieties, and if the wound is too large, they are wrapped with a film. If the correction was carried out correctly, during the season the tree will give many young shoots, and the number of fruits will increase significantly.
Pruning a young tree
The actual type of pruning of a young seedling is the shortening of an annual shoot. There are three types of such a procedure: weak, medium, and strong shortening. The specific type of event is determined based on the characteristics of the growth of other trees on the site, the composition of the soil and the established climate at the place of work:
- With a slight shortening, the young seedling is cut to a quarter of the length, stimulating the growth of the upper buds and elongation of the shoots at an acute angle.
- The average shortening involves trimming half of the plant: the seedling forms more lateral shoots and begins to bear fruit earlier, but the skeletal branches form more slowly.
- A strong shortening option involves removing more than half the seedling. Strong lateral shoots appear on the left kidneys, running parallel to the trunk or with a slight deviation.
The process of pruning a young tree can be seen in the video below:
Sweet cherry formation
The goal of sweet cherry formation is to keep the tree within certain boundaries, to control its growth and fruit formation. The procedures carried out at different periods of seedling development differ in execution, but they are based on the general principle of increasing yield.
In the first year
For cherries, a sparse-tier crown is best suited. It includes a thick trunk 3-4 m high and a number of skeletal branches extending from the central conductor at an angle of 40-50 degrees. To lay the foundations of such a structure, annual growths shorten from a third to half, removing unripe parts and frozen shoots. Work is carried out in early spring until the formation of the kidneys.
In the second year
The main stage of corrective work takes place in the second year, when the seedling successfully acclimatized at the planting site. The first tier of the crown is made up of young shoots growing half a meter from the ground. The gardener selects the 3 most powerful branches located at a distance of 15-20 cm from each other and completely cuts off the remaining growth.
Next years
In the third year, cherry sapling grows strongly, so you can begin to form a second tier. Getting to pruning, from the first layer of branches go half a meter up and choose 2 strong shoots. The third tier is formed in a similar way, 30-40 cm away from the second. One skeletal branch is left in it and the central conductor, which rises above it, is cut.
After processing the crown base, side conductors must be formed. For this, several first-order shoots are selected on the skeletal branches. When the selected branches reach 70 cm, they are shortened. If the shoots are involved in the creation of the skeleton, they are cut to 50 cm, otherwise up to 20 cm. The final shape of the sweet cherry crown takes on 5-6 years, after which sanitary and anti-aging pruning is performed.
The main forms of the crown
Sparse-tier crown is not the only type of arrangement of branches in a growing seedling. In foreign gardening, crowns can also be given other forms, providing high productivity and guaranteed stability of fruit formation.
Before starting corrective work, make a cropping plan in advance. If the wireframe branches have already formed, it will be impossible to change the structure of the tree.
"Spanish bush"
The technique for correcting fruit crops, adopted on the Iberian Peninsula, not only inhibits the growth of trees, but also tightens plantings, improving the ripening of fruits and simplifying their collection. It is well suited for regions with a mild climate and the absence of strong temperature extremes.
How to form:
- Formation of the “Spanish bush” begins in the spring, if more than a year has passed since the planting of the seedling on a new site. After making sure that the plant has gained sufficient height, it is shortened to 40-70 cm. The specific value depends on the number of buds on the trunk and the planned location of the shoots that form the base of the crown.
- During the summer, the remaining kidneys on the trunk form branches 50-60 cm long.It is necessary to choose the 4 strongest shoots and shorten them, leaving the tops 10-15 cm above the main trunk. To adjust the angle of inclination, the branches are tied to pegs.
- In the autumn, trellises are built on the site where young trees are grown. They need to be tied up with annual half-meter shoots. Such a procedure allows you to form a symmetrical open crown, improve access of sunlight to fruits and accelerate the formation of ovaries.
- One year after corrective measures, the branches are re-trimmed. Shoots tied to trellises and annual shoots on the sides of the trunk are shortened to a quarter meter. Branches located in the center of the crown or growing parallel to the ground are left untouched.
Correct work will contribute to the branching of shortened shoots and the formation of the first crop in pristine areas.
In the presented video, the gardener shares his experience in the formation of cherries of the type "Spanish bush". This type is considered the most popular, so we decided to show it:
"Australian bush"
The Australian pruning method involves creating a low crown to simplify fruit picking. The structure of the branches is strengthened by the presence of several trunks of the same size.
Sweet cherry formation:
- Immediately after landing. Cherry cut to half a meter. During the summer season, lateral shoots appear on the trunk, from which 4 pieces are chosen. Branches that are not suitable in strength and length are removed. After the shoot reaches a length of 4-6 cm above its growth point, the clothespin is clipped, placing it parallel to the trunk. This corrects the direction of the branches, making them almost horizontal.
- In the spring of the second year. The tree is again inspected, removing all shoots that are knocked out of the crown structure. If the shoot is skeletal, gentle first-order branches are left on it, which gives the cherries the shape of a fruit vase.
- In the third year. The crown of cherries is cleaned of young growth, cutting it to a length of 8-10 cm. If this is not done, the main bouquet branches will be shaded and the yield will decrease.
Further work will include autumn pruning of annual growth, sanitary removal of shading branches, pest and frost control, and crown adjustment within the existing shape.
KGB sweet cherry formation
Kym Green Bush (Kym Green Bush) - a modern scheme of formation, which provides a compact planting, promotes the rejuvenation of trees and reduces the risk of winter freezing. The KGB system resembles the “Spanish bush”, but differs from it by the location of fruiting areas.
It is known that in fruit crops trimmed according to the Spanish system, vertical leaders are constant, and the formation of ovaries passes to renewable shoots and side branches. In the KGB system, on the contrary, the development of the lateral branches is canceled, and the fruit growth takes place on renewable vertical leaders.
Regardless of the age of the tree, the shape of the crown and the characteristics of growth, the pruning procedure stimulates its development, increases yield and protects against aggressive environmental influences. The nuances of this procedure described in the article will be useful for both beginner gardeners and experts in the field of agriculture.