The Subtleties Of Autumn Pruning - What To Cut, When And Why. Types Of Cropping, Photo

2023 Author: Ava Durham | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-11-27 07:13

With the onset of autumn, the summer troubles of gardeners come to an end - everything is grown, canned, frozen, photographed and posted on Instagram. It's time to put things in order. It is the autumn work in the garden that is so loved by many gardeners and summer residents - the summer bustle is a thing of the past, and the rustle of falling leaves evokes a feeling of calm and measuredness. Meanwhile, there is still a lot of work in the garden, in particular - pruning of fruit and ornamental trees and shrubs is ahead. Autumn pruning of garden crops will be discussed in this article.

Content:

• What is pruning?
• Subtleties of autumn pruning of fruit trees
• Autumn pruning of berry bushes
• Pruning ornamental shrubs in the fall

What is pruning?

Competent pruning of trees and shrubs is of great importance for the prevention of diseases, maintaining immunity, good growth and fruiting, maintaining the health and attractive appearance of plants. In areas with severe snowy winters, this event is essential for the successful wintering of our plants.

When pruning in the garden in autumn, the main rule is that it should be started after leaf fall, when the plants have a dormant period and sap flow stops. And it must be completed before the onset of frost. All procedures - sawing or pruning with pruning shears are carried out in dry weather, with clean and sharp instruments.

There are several types of pruning, and each of them has its own goals and objectives, and they are performed at different times. Therefore, it is important to understand what to cut, when and why? After all, illiterate pruning will do more harm than good. Let's start with the terms.

Sanitary pruning

Sanitary pruning is done in both spring and fall. This removes all broken, dried or disease-damaged shoots. It is especially worth paying attention to the branches with various thickenings, the so-called galls. The larvae of gall midge, a dangerous pest of fruit and berry crops, winter in them. Such branches must be cut and burned.

Sanitary pruning is essential for all trees and shrubs without exception.

Thinning pruning

Thinning pruning serves several purposes at once. Removing excess shoots makes it easier for a fruit tree or shrub. Fruits on an ungilled plant are well ventilated and illuminated by the sun, which means they have a large mass and an attractive appearance.

In addition, thickening contributes to the appearance of various diseases and pests, and it is quite difficult to process such plantings.

Thinning pruning is also of great importance for the successful wintering of plants. The abundance of branches traps the snow, and during heavy snowfalls, real drifts are often formed in the crowns. In the cold, shoots lose elasticity and often break. Therefore, in preparation for winter, it is necessary to remove excess shoots, especially those growing inside the crown, and tops - young vertically growing shoots.

Formative pruning

Formative pruning is applied from an early age of the seedling and is aimed at the correct formation of the bush or tree crown. The main task of such pruning is to stimulate the most powerful shoots to grow and bear fruit. Along the way, branches growing in an undesirable direction are completely removed or shortened.

As a result of such pruning, all parts of the plant evenly receive nutrients and sunlight, and, as a result, a properly formed plant easily copes with diseases and pests, winters well, and in summer it pleases with a plentiful, high-quality harvest.

Anti-aging pruning

Rejuvenating pruning - freeing a tree or shrub from old branches. As a result of such pruning, there is room for the growth of young shoots, which contributes to an increase in yield, rejuvenation and prolongation of plant life.

Subtleties of autumn pruning of fruit trees

In central Russia with cold, often unpredictable winters, it is undesirable to carry out autumn pruning of apple and pear trees. During winter frosts, in places where branches are cut, the bark can freeze out, and the wood can dry out. A heavily pruned tree from prolonged frost can simply die.

Therefore, in the fall, fruit trees are sanitary pruning, and, if necessary, thinned out so that snow does not linger in the crown. All other manipulations are left for the spring. This is especially true for young seedlings - they are cut only in the spring.

All of the above applies to stone fruit crops. Cherries, sweet cherries, plums, peaches and apricots are best pruned in early spring, and in autumn, remove only dry and broken branches and root growth, which serves as a winter refuge for some pests.

Autumn pruning of berry bushes

Berry bushes spend a lot of energy during the growing season and fruiting. To help them prepare for the new season and extend their life, it is necessary to pay special attention to them in the fall. Top dressing after fruiting, combating diseases and pests, loosening and timely watering are very important measures for caring for berry bushes, but autumn pruning is an indispensable element of agricultural technology for these crops.

Many fruit shrubs wake up quite early in the spring and you may simply not have time to carry out the necessary pruning in the spring. Therefore, in addition to sanitary, the berry farmers carry out thinning and, if necessary, and rejuvenating pruning in the fall.

When pruning berry bushes in the fall, several rules must be followed:

• Do not shorten the shoots - it is better to do this in the spring.
• Cut old or dead branches as close to the ground as possible.
• When cutting branches, do not leave stumps, but make a cut "for a ring".
• Cut out all unripe shoots, since they will not withstand severe frosts and can harm the winter hardiness of the shrub.
• With rejuvenating pruning, make sure that the number of cut shoots does not exceed the number of remaining ones.

Features of raspberry pruning

Everyone's favorite raspberry is the first contender for autumn pruning. And then you don't even have to wait for the fall leaves. The fact is that fruiting in this culture occurs on two-year shoots, which will not yield next year. Therefore, it is advisable to cut them out immediately after picking the berries.

Then the young shoots will receive more air and sun this year, which means they will ripen better and be able to prepare for wintering and subsequent abundant fruiting. Fruit-bearing shoots are easy to distinguish from young ones - they are brown in color and break easily.

Repaired raspberry varieties are cut off completely after leaf fall, at the root. In the spring, young shoots will grow, on which berries will subsequently appear. Repaired raspberries, unlike ordinary ones, bear fruit on annual shoots.

Features of pruning honeysuckle

Honeysuckle is one of the first to please us with its harvest, so autumn pruning is simply necessary for it. In addition, with age, this bush grows strongly, covered with a large number of branches.

When pruning honeysuckle, you need to remove all shoots and shoots lying on the ground, and thin the bush itself, cutting out all weak or just extra shoots. Do not shorten the remaining branches, since the main fruiting of this culture falls on powerful annual shoots.

Features of cutting currants

Blackcurrant shoots reduce yields at the age of 4-5 years, therefore, starting from this age, it is necessary to remove old branches, allowing young shoots to mature and gain strength.

Red and white currants are able to delight with a good harvest a little longer than black currants, however, starting from 6-7 years of age, old shoots must be cut out of these varieties. This is best done in the fall.

Features of gooseberry pruning

Gooseberry fruiting begins at the age of 2–3 years and up to 6–7 years of age the bush pleases with a friendly return of fruits. From about this age, the aging of the bush begins.

When carrying out autumn pruning, it is necessary to annually remove old branches and fattening shoots that do not produce berries. For gooseberries, pruning is very important - a neglected bush begins to hurt and ceases to bear fruit.

Features of autumn pruning of fruit lianas

Fruit lianas have long ceased to be a rarity in our gardens. Today gardeners successfully grow grapes, lemongrass and actinidia. All these crops are distinguished by strong sap flow in the spring, so they are cut off only in the autumn. In this case, sanitary pruning is combined with shaping and thinning.

Pruning ornamental shrubs in the fall

Autumn pruning of ornamental shrubs directly depends on the time of their flowering. And if sanitary pruning is carried out in the fall for all shrubs without exception, then shaping (with shortening of shoots) will not harm only crops blooming on the shoots of the current year.

In order not to be mistaken, you need to remember that only shrubs can be cut in autumn, the flowering of which occurs in mid-summer, for example:

• some types of spirea blooming in summer;
• panicle hydrangea;
• hydrangea;
• buddley of David;
• fieldfare;
• goose cinquefoil and many others.

I have listed the most common ornamental shrubs that bloom on the shoots of the current year. But in fact, their list is much more impressive. If you have ornamental shrubs that you do not know how and when to prune correctly, in the fall it is better to limit yourself to sanitary pruning, and carry out the main haircut after flowering.

Features of pruning rose bushes

In most of the territory of our country, roses hibernate under cover, so autumn pruning is simply necessary for them. Pruning is carried out in mid-autumn in dry, clear weather. First, remove all branches growing inside the bush, damaged, weak and unripe shoots. In grafted varieties, all root shoots are removed.

There are several ways to prune roses - with strong pruning of branches, medium and weak. Most often, gardeners use the second method, cutting off the shoots above the fifth or sixth bud. An important nuance - the bud must be outside, otherwise a new shoot will grow inside the bush.

Climbing roses should not be greatly shortened in the fall; it is enough to carry out sanitary pruning and remove flowers and buds.

Dear Readers! Autumn pruning of trees and shrubs is a necessary stage in plant care. Correctly performed pruning in compliance with the terms contributes to good development, preservation of immunity, increased productivity and well-groomed appearance of plants. Therefore, do not ignore this activity when necessary.