Workshop highlight: Winter fruit tree pruning!

Pruning Workshop Notes:

February 8th, 2020

Tools:

1. Snips: These should be a comfortable fit for your hand! 
   
   1. Buying a more expensive pair often means that the parts will be replaceable and you will be able to keep the blades sharp. Instructor recommends Felco Pruners - https://www.felco.com/us_en/our-products/pruners/felco-2.html
      
   2. If you are buying a different brand, be sure to buy pass pruners and not anvil pruners.
      
2. Loppers : Used for thicker branches (but still under 1 inch diameter)
   
3. Japanese Hand Saw: For even thicker branches. They work on the back stroke.
   
4. Sharpening: Keeping your tools sharp makes the job easier and you are less likely to injure yourself!
   
   1. Sharpening stone: Use either oil or water, but once you have used one of those mediums you are committed and have to use the same going forward!
      
   2. Diamond blocks are also awesome! 
      
   3. Sharpen the blade on the side that has the beveled edge. Sharpen from toe to heel (i.e. start at the tip) and make sure that you are sharpening at a 30 degree angle.
      
5. Cleaning
   
   1. Can use steel wool, but sand paper or universal cleaning blocks are easier on your skin.
      
   2. Clean your tools with Lysol after every tree you prune so as not to spread diseases. If you suspect your tree might be diseased or you are removing a canker, you should clean your tools with lysol between every single cut.
      
   3. Rubbing alcohol or Hydrogen Peroxide can be used in place of lysol, but stay away from bleach because it can cause your tools to rust.
      
6. Ladders: Stay off them if you can!
   
   1. Do not use step ladders - ground is often uneven or squishy.
      
   2. Ladders that lean against the tree are okay but still dangerous.
      
   3. Orchard Ladders (tripod) are the best! Make sure to keep them at a 30 degree angle or less!
      

Pruning:

At the garden, our apple tree has been pruned using the open centered technique. Other techniques include espalier pruning that has your tree growing on one plain. Last year our tree had a hard pruning, for deciduous trees, keep in mind that the harder you prune, the harder the tree will respond (or come back). 

Unless hard pruning, on a normal year, you should take no more than 25-30% of the whole tree. Having said that, you should remove all dead, diseased and damaged branches. 

How do you know what to prune? The goal is to take the tree back by ⅓, keeping a balance of new and old growth and fruiting and not fruiting branches. 

• If 2 branches are crossing, one has to go! Keep the stronger branch and remove the weaker one.
  
• To encourage flowers for next year, cut a branch back to 2 vegetative buds.
  
• On some branches, you are going to want to remove the flower bud at the end so as to halt apical dominance. By doing this, you will encourage the branch to put its energy into the earlier buds instead of funneling it all to the last bud.
  
• On new growth, tip off by ⅓
  
• Keep in mind that apples are more likely to flower on a horizontal branch. Whereas pears, cherries, and plums will flower vertically.
  
• Water shots are up-right growth that grow from the thicker branches of the tree. They should be left and taken out in the summer (june/early july) so that they won’t grow back.
  
• Ideally, you want 18 inches between branches.
  
• Remember that you are unlikely to kill the tree by pruning it!
  
• At a junction, you want to make your cut as close to the other branch as possible. 
  
• If you want to control the size of your tree, prune to a weak leader. I.e remove the dominant shoot on a branch.
  
• Make cuts above a bud on an angle away from that bud.
  
• Always prioritize horizontal over vertical! 
  
• You should be done pruning your apple tree by the end of February.
  

What about Fig Trees? Watch this cool video by Bob Dunan for tips and tricks!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RB0D_tuKgtQ

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