Timely and correct pruning of fruit trees is a guarantee of a good harvest not only this year, but also in the following. Beginners are often faced with the fact that the cherry blossoms spring abundantly, and the berries every year becomes less. And many are asking themselves: will this help trim?
In the article you will learn whether you need to trim the cherry, and how to do it in the spring.
Pruning cherries, as well as other fruit trees , is necessary. Only if the tree is weakened or sick, then it is not recommended to cut it off, since gum-forming (the formation of resinous clots on the trunk) can begin, in this case it is worthwhile to think about replacing it with a young one. In healthy trees, the cuts made during the processing with garden fry quickly overgrow.
It is better to prune cherries in the spring, after the end of frosts and frosts, around mid March - early April.
How to trim a young cherry?
First time cut off immediately after planting. Pruning of a young tree must be completed before budding budding begins. If the procedure is delayed, the beginning of growth is delayed, and in only planted, the shortened branches may shrink. If the kidneys are already swollen, then it should be postponed until next year.
A young cherry needs to lay the crown correctly. To do this, leave the skeletal branches with an interval between them of 8-15 cm and not grown from the neighboring kidneys. First cut out on the ring too low, you need to leave the trunk of 30-40 cm, and then weak and disturbing. Leave strong branches, conveniently located and retreating at an obtuse angle from the trunk. Skeletal branches slightly shorten as necessary to subordinate the conductor and equalize them with the rest. The conductor should be 5-15 cm higher.
In the future, the pruning scheme for obtaining a good crown will be as follows:
- in bush forms, only up to 10 pieces of first-order branches are left, and in tree-like forms, up to 8.
- branches of the second and third order are removed only growing inward and thickening.
To change the direction of growth, the branches are cut only 1-2 kidneys. Interweaving and crossing are planted with pruning over the lateral branches, which grow outside the crown. When the tree grows to 2.5 m, it is necessary to cut the conductor in order to limit the growth.
How to cut a fruit cherry?
Annual pruning of fruiting cherries is supported by crown shape and prevents blackout.
In the tree cherry, it is sometimes necessary to shorten the annual shoots that have grown longer than 45-50 cm. To do this, they cut 1/7 of the length, which causes them to branch and strengthen the bouquet branches. In the bush cherry, the shortening of the annual growth is not done, since the growth of the shoot occurs from the upper kidney.
When the growths at the ends of the skeletal branches of the cherry are reduced to 15-20 cm, and the branches start to be bare, then it is necessary to perform light rejuvenation. To do this, cut the bare ends to the first lateral branch with the kidneys.
To rejuvenate the old cherry, you need both to thin the crown, and cut off the bare unbranched part of skeletal branches to the first strong branching. If the tree is neglected, then the rejuvenating pruning should be carried out in several stages in 2-3 years, otherwise it will greatly weaken and may become ill, and also a gum detective will appear. After such a spring strong pruning of the cherry tree, the tops appear, from which new branches of the tree form.
With regular pruning of cherries in the spring, you will achieve:
- the correct formation of the crown of the tree, preventing its one-sidedness and thickening;
- increasing the quantity and quality of the crop;
- increase in the size of berries;
- reducing the possibility of damage to the tree by diseases and pests ;
- increase the duration of the fruiting period and the life of the tree.
Forming, thinning and rejuvenating spring pruning of cherry plantations is good for the trees and the harvest that you will collect from them.