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Re: [NAFEX] Can I lightly prune my apple trees now that they are leafing out?
- From: Lee Reich <garden@leereich.com>
- To: North American Fruit Explorers <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
- Subject: Re: [NAFEX] Can I lightly prune my apple trees now that they are leafing out?
- Date: Fri, 18 Apr 2008 19:52:20 -0400
A few years ago, in researching information for my book, The Pruning Book, I spoke with Dr. Dave Ferree of OSU about timing of pruning. Quoting from my book... As the growing season progresses, response to pruning changes, because shoot growth of woody plants generally grinds to a halt well before leaves fall in autumn. In fact, growth commonly ceases by midsummer. So the later in the growing season that you prune, the less inclined a woody plant is to regrow -- the year of pruning, at least. Traditional theory holds that summer pruning is more dwarfing than dormant pruning, but recent research puts this theory on shaky footing. True, if you shorten a stem while it is dormant, in February, for example, buds that remain will begin to grow into shoots by March and April, whereas if you cut back a shoot in midsummer, no regrowth might occur. Ah, but what about next spring? That’s when the summer-pruned shoot, according to this recent research, waits to respond. Plants have an amazing capacity to act however they please no matter what we do to them. What are the practical implications of all this? First of all, if you want to stimulate bud growth, prune a stem when it is dormant. On the other hand, summer is the time to remove a stem to let light in among the branches (to color up ripening apples or peaches, for example), or to remove a stem that is vigorous and in the wrong place. Upright watersprouts, for example, are less likely to regrow if snapped off before they become woody at their bases. Under certain conditions, summer pruning can be more dwarfing than dormant pruning, because regrowth following summer pruning can be again pruned. Under certain conditions, summer pruning also can prompt the formation of flower buds rather than new shoots -- just what you want in order to solidly clothe the limbs of a pear espalier with fruits or the branches of a wisteria vine with flowers. The response to summer pruning depends on the condition of the plant as well as the weather. A weak plant may be killed by summer pruning. A late summer wet spell, especially if it follows weeks of dry weather, might awaken buds that without pruning would have remained dormant until the following spring. And these responses interact with plant response to various degrees of pruning. Lee Reich, PhD Books by Lee Reich: The Pruning Book Weedless Gardening Uncommon Fruits for Every Garden A Northeast Gardener's Year On Apr 18, 2008, at 12:03 PM, Karen Tillou wrote: i would say yes to betsy and kelly - some light touch up pruning, a twig here, a small branch there, will never go amiss anytime, even sundays. after all my winter pruning is done, and i start mowing in the spring, i am always touching up as i go by on the mower - usually removing low growths and hangers that are trying to stab my eyes out as i drive by - and as the fruit starts to weigh down branches into awful configurations of droop and about-to-break. |
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Re: [NAFEX] Can I lightly prune my apple trees now that they are leafing out?,
kelly, 04/18/2008
- Re: [NAFEX] Can I lightly prune my apple trees now that they are leafing out?, Naomi, 04/18/2008
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Re: [NAFEX] Can I lightly prune my apple trees now that they are leafing out?,
Karen Tillou, 04/18/2008
- Re: [NAFEX] Can I lightly prune my apple trees now that they are leafing out?, Hilborn . E, 04/18/2008
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Re: [NAFEX] Can I lightly prune my apple trees now that they are leafing out?,
Lee Reich, 04/18/2008
- [NAFEX] pawpaw flowering, S & E Hills, 04/19/2008
- Re: [NAFEX] Can I lightly prune my apple trees now that theyare leafing out?, dmnorton, 04/19/2008
- Re: [NAFEX] Can I lightly prune my apple trees now that theyare leafing out?, dmnorton, 04/19/2008
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