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Winter

New fruitseries
pruning

Garden solutions

Fruit-tree
pruning
Apple and pear trees benefit
from regular winter pruning
so that they continue to bear
good quality fruit. Follow this
simple approach to create a
RHS / Graham Titchmarsh

well-shaped tree and gain


a good harvest
Author: Lenka Cooke, RHS Horticultural Advisor,
RHS Garden Wisley. Photography: Tim Sandall

January 2016 | The Garden 45


Winter fruit pruning
Fruit trees are not only growth and fruiting. Often,
productive, but they can also uncertainty over how to approach
Prune the tips of the main
give structure to a garden while pruning ends with mixed results. branch leaders but leave
providing shelter, shade and a food Little or no pruning will lead to a side branches (laterals) uncut
On tip bearers Prune branch
source for wildlife. The eye-catching congested crown of old, less- remove some of leaders
blossom is attractive to pollinating productive branches bearing lots of the older fruited
branches that
Shorten by a quarter
insects and brings welcome colour small, inferior quality fruit, mostly bend down in to a third, cutting to
to a spring garden. high on the tree. Overpruning will favour of more an outward-facing
Apple and pear trees will always result in a mass of vigorous, upright upright branches bud. Prune strong
naturally bear fruit, but annual growth (watershoots; see p48) and shoots more lightly.
pruning will improve the shape small crops of (albeit) larger fruit.
of the tree, allow better light and Traditionally, gardeners needed to
air penetration, and encourage know if their fruit were spur-bearing
growth of younger, more-productive or tip-bearing trees (see below) as
wood to replace the old. they were advised to prune in differ
Regular pruning of fruit trees ent ways. More modern pruning
(bush or standard) begins from the techniques are similar for both, On spur bearers
remove some of  rossing
C
time of planting, by creating an open easier to follow and make fewer
goblet shape with a framework of cuts, while encouraging a balance
the short fruit
spurs where they
branches
are crowded Remove vigorous Keep the well-placed,
three to five strong main branches between a good harvest of fruit and
branches that outward-facing
and well-spaced side branches. new shoots to support future crops. are crossing branch and remove
However, when an inherited fruit Use the right tools for the job to or growing into the crossing branch
tree is more congested, its structure make it easier. Sharpen secateurs the canopy
growing towards the
can still be improved by following and loppers to achieve a neat cut, centre of the crown.
a few simple rules. use a pruning saw when removing
The aim of annual winter pruning larger branches, and a ladder if you

rhs / anthony masi


is to achieve balance between need to reach higher stems.

What is the difference


between tip and spur?
T  ip bearers (right) produce fruit buds predominantly
Simple pruningof fruit trees Follow a few simple pruning rules that apply to all apple
Inward-facing
growth
Remove any vigorous
branches growing
at the tips of thin young branches that developed and pear trees, then tailor the regime to suit the fruiting towards the centre of
in the previous season. habit of each tree. the crown. Cut back
Spur bearers (below right) produce fruit buds The aim is to create an open goblet-shape tree with close to the main stem.
on short sideshoots (spurs) growing from the well-spaced side branches (laterals). Work evenly through
main branches. the canopy, and always step back periodically to check that
Partial tip bearers produce some spurs you are not removing too much wood.

RHS / Anna Brockman


carrying fruit buds, and further fruit buds
S  tart by removing dead, diseased and damaged wood, cutting
at branch tips.
back to a healthy branch and taking care not to leave a stub.
Traditionally, techniques for pruning made a
Remove vigorous branches that are crossing or growing
distinction between these types of trees. The modern
towards the centre. You can leave thinner shoots, up to a
approach suggests we can take a more relaxed
secateurs length, that are growing towards the middle.
attitude to most trees common to all is pruning
Shorten the previous years growth on branch leaders
to open up the canopy for health, and to remove
by a quarter to one third.
some growth from branch leaders.
Remove laterals that are crossing or crowded (spaced Downward
However, to ensure ultimate success, there
are still a couple of pruning refinements to
closer than 1015cm/46in at the base). Leave the remaining growth
laterals unpruned. Remove downward
follow depending on the type of tree:
Remove any downward-growing branches low on the tree, growth low on the tree
Spur-bearing trees: thin out any congested
pruning to a more upright branch or back to the main trunk. that receives little light.
spur systems, aiming for a 1015cm (46in)
spacing of spurs along the branch. On larger, mature trees that have become crowded, lessen Prune to a more
Tip- or partial tip-bearing trees: cut back some of the congestion in the crown by reducing larger branches, by up to a upright branch or
older fruited branches to a strong, younger, outward-facing shoot. third. Prune to a strong outward- and upward-facing side branch remove completely.
Avoid over pruning; should most of the new growth on a spur-bearing (with a diameter at least a third of that of the branch being
tree be shortened, it encourages excessive non-flowering (vegetative) removed). Alternatively, remove branches completely.
An inherited tree may not have been pruned regularly
growth. If a tip- or partially tip-bearing tree is given an all-over haircut or evenly, but with some staged pruning and thinning of Where several branches need to be reduced or removed,


style, a large proportion of potential fruit is removed. branches it can crop well and take on a better shape. spread the work over two or three winters.

46 The Garden | January 2016 January 2016 | The Garden 47


Winter fruit pruning

Science: importance of
health, light and air
Pruning in winter offers the opportunity to also remove
material that could potentially spread disease.
Light is needed to penetrate the leaf canopy
as fruits ripen and also to promote
ripening of young wood that will
lead to flower-bud formation, so
a crowded canopy of many
shoots should be thinned.
Congested branches and poor
air circulation favour some
pests and diseases.
Winter pruning offers an
opportunity to remove
diseased material and any
damaged wood, as this is
vulnerable to disease infection.
Ensure pruning cuts are neat and Use a pruning saw
made using sharp, clean tools to when removing
larger branches,
avoid damage.
cutting close to

Dealing with watershoots Prune out young shoots


infected with apple scab or pear
scab (it will show as blistering and
the main stem
(to the branch
collar) to avoid
A tree that has been pruned excessively often produces a mass of leaving a stub.
regrowth in the following year that will itself require pruning. cracking of the bark).
r
io
Hard pruning causes an imbalance in the root and shoot ratio. Damaged bark provides an s
Pr
ri
entry point for apple canker, a

Ch
The root system needs an outlet for its energy, and watershoots

S/
fungal disease that may girdle

RH
are produced as a result. Watershoots are strong, unbranched shoots
(pictured below) arising from dormant buds in the older wood. and kill young stems. If
possible, remove affected
A  void stimulating any significant watershoot growth by aiming to
branches where the infected
remove only 10 to 20 percent of the total canopy in any one year.
area is often sunken and
R  emove any watershoots growing on the trunk or the lower parts
covered with dead bark
of the main branches, by cutting them at the base.
showing concentric rings.
P  rune out half of the watershoots (at the base of each shoot),
to achieve an even spacing and to open up the crown. To reduce the problems of
T  ip-prune the remaining shoots, by removing the top quarter brown rot and blossom wilt,
to a third of their length, to remove any mummified fruit that
encourage these to branch. tend to stay hanging on the tree Apple canker, a
preferably with the piece of branch. fungal disease,
In the following year, remove can appear as a
another half of the remaining When fruit touches the bark, it sunken area of
watershoots. Keep the well- can transfer the disease dead bark.
placed shoots and, where they and cause further small
have branched, prune the infections (cankers).
branch leaders to an outward-
RHs / mark timothy

facing side branch. Remove


T hin the canopy further in the mummified fruit
third year if needed. with a portion
of branch.

Pruning events FURTHER READING www.rhs.org.uk For more advice on


Thornhayes Nursery, Devon, RHS Pruning and Training, pruning apples and pears, search the following
20 January, 10am3pm: Traditional by Christopher Brickell and David Joyce, on the RHS website.
orchard management. See Diary, p79. RHS/Dorling Kindersley, 2011, 19.99,
isbn9781405363129.
Pruning made easy: a simple approach
RHS Garden Rosemoor, Devon,
Winter pruning apples: a how-to guide
21 & 27 January, 11am 12.30pm: Apple RHS Vegetable and Fruit Gardening,
pruning demonstrations; members 13, edited by Michael Pollock, Winter regulated pruning: to control size
non-members 23. Call 020 3176 5830 to RHS/Dorling Kindersley, 2012, 20, Renovating old trees: for overgrown trees
book. www.rhs.org.uk/rosemoorwhatson isbn9781405394420. Identifying fruit buds: tree cropping habits

48 The Garden | January 2016

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