North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[derry and bill <wchase@interchange.ubc.ca>]

Del,

I agree, summer-pruning is still in the future for you.

When you are looking at your trees, the wood which grew last year (2004) will 
be
almost exclusively vegetative buds.

For newcomers, look at a branch of a tree and start at the tip of the branch. 
As
you move your viewpoint from the tip of the branch slowly towards the trunk,
you'll notice that the buds are closer and closer together and at one point 
they
are very close together and you'll notice an 'annual ring', a sort of a ring
around the branch. This is where growth started in 2004. So from this point 
to the
tip of the branch will be all one year growth and the buds will be all 
vegetative.

Continue to look down the branch and you'll notice another ring. This is the 
wood
that grew in 2003 or two-year old wood. This will have some vegetative and 
some
fruit buds. The fruit buds will be fatter than the vegetative buds.

Of course, there are exceptions and the one that occurs in PNW is that we 
have a
hot summer and growth slows down and then when it cools off, but is still 
quite
warm, we get a second burst of growth. In this case there will be a second 
annual
ring where growth started up in the Fall. You can differentiate these rings
because the wood which grew in the Fall will be softer and furrier and may 
have
even frosted back at the tip.

Another exception occurs when you get good early-in-the-season growth, you 
may see
one or two fruit buds in the wood that grew early-in-the-season.

All I know is growth patterns of apple trees in south coastal B.C.

Someone like Bernie may be better able to describe apple wood growth in the
permafrost!

Derry

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Derry Walsh & Bill Chase
wchase@interchange.ubc.ca
Aldergrove,  B. C.,  Canada
phone/fax (604) 856-9316
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Home web pages: http://derrysorchardandnursery.ca
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:  I believe I am still years from summer pruning - you and I are in such
different zones.

: My seedling trees, spaced at 18'  are far from even having their final form 
even
: established. So do I interpret correctly that summer pruning is years off 
for my
orchard
: yet?
: Thanks, Del

: Regarding fruit buds being fatter, I went out to examine a couple trees that
bloomed a
: bit last year and still find it difficult to be sure - as primary buds are
larger as well.
: