North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["S & E Hills" <ehills7408@wowway.com>]

It looks as though I will finally have more than one pawpaw flowering this year (I had buds on two last year, but the Easter freeze wiped out all of them on one of the trees).  From what I’ve read, pawpaws are not (usually) self-pollenating.  They are also not among the most popular flowering trees for insects to visit (hanging roadkill aside) so I planned on doing the pollenating by hand.  My problem is that the likelihood of well timed blooms is a crap-shoot. 

 

Is there an easy way for me to save pollen to facilitate pollenation should the need arise?

 

Also, how does one tell when the flowers have changed from male to female (or am I mis-understanding what is going on with these trees?

 

Scott Hills

Michigan 6b

 

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From: nafex-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org [mailto:nafex-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Lee Reich
Sent: Friday, April 18, 2008 7:52 PM
To: North American Fruit Explorers
Subject: Re: [NAFEX] Can I lightly prune my apple trees now that theyare leafing out?

 

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

http://leereich.com/

 

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.  

as for your main pruning, kelly, i'd steer clear of bud break and bloom and fruit set (spring) for a couple reasons: it is really easy to knock around the fragile buds and fruitlets when pruning, and it's also a period of strong root growth, which is adversely effected by above ground pruning at the same time.  ditto about the root growth for fall pruning, sept through nov. 

the best times are when the tree is dormant for pruning to invigorate the tree, young trees, encouraging branching, etc. dormant (visually) means no leaves, and tight buds that aren't starting to swell.  (though i am certainly guilty of pruning late winter as buds start to swell and break... we probably all are.)

summer pruning is good for controlling the size of a vigorous tree, for encouraging the formation of fruiting wood.  it's harder though, with all the leaves and fruit in the way, to see the structure of the tree and know what you want to remove. summer timing is maybe june-july, a little into august.  it's certainly the best time to remove all those unwanted new water shoots and suckers off the trunk and top if nothing else.

good luck, and enjoy it.

karen

 

oregon city, OR - zone 8a and wet

 

 

 

 

 

On Apr 18, 2008, at 7:43 AM, kelly@theravenrocks.com wrote:

I have the same question, but would broaden it to: Is there any time(s) when I should NOT prune apple trees? I've been told by an elderly relative that Sundays is the only time when apple trees should not be pruned. I'm in the North Carolina mountains.

 

Kelly Coffey

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Hilborn.E@epamail.epa.gov [mailto:Hilborn.E@epamail.epa.gov]
Sent: Friday, April 18, 2008 10:12 AM
To: 'North American Fruit Explorers'
Subject: [NAFEX] Can I lightly prune my apple trees now that they are leafing out?

I dutifully performed my dormant pruning however, some of the buds I identified as flower buds were only large terminal leaf buds. Now that they are leafing out/blooming I see where I made mistakes. I am training these dwarf trees as oblique cordons, so I hate to leave longish laterals if they are not producing fruit. Is it OK to prune these laterals back 6-8 inches or so now? Thanks! Betsy Hilborn 7a NC _______________________________________________ nafex mailing list nafex@lists.ibiblio.org Reproduction of list messages or archives is not allowed. This includes distribution on other email lists or reproduction on web sites. Permission to reproduce is NEVER granted, so don't claim you have permission! **YOU MUST BE SUBSCRIBED TO POST!** Posts from email addresses that are not subscribed are discarded. No exceptions. ---- To subscribe or unsubscribe, go to the bottom of this page (also can be used to change other email options): http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/nafex File attachments are NOT stripped by this list. TAKE STEPS TO PROTECT YOURSELF FROM COMPUTER VIRUSES! Please do not send binary files. Use plain text ONLY in emails! NAFEX web site: http://www.nafex.org/

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