North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["William C. Garthright" <billg@inebraska.com>]

> Terminal buds are the buds located on the end of a shoot.  Let me refer you 
> to http://pubs.ext.vt.edu/422/422-025/422-025.html that will give you a 
> clearer understanding of the physiology of pruning and the effects of summer 
> pruning.
>   


Thanks, Dennis. But sorry, I'm afraid my question wasn't stated very 
well. You said "once the terminal buds have set, fire blight risk is 
minimal if not completely gone." I've read that fireblight is dormant in 
the winter, but are you saying that it doesn't spread - or not much - 
later in the summer?

Hmm,... I'm not sure that would help me much, anyway. I wanted to summer 
prune to keep the trees smaller and to encourage growth where I wanted 
it. But once the terminal buds have set, I'm not sure that there would 
be any point to it (I mean, as opposed to dormant pruning). Would there?

Two of my Asian pears, in particular, send up really tall, unbranched 
vertical shoots, as well as very long watersprouts (if my understanding 
of that term is correct) on more horizontal branches. I wanted to cut 
them back early, and keep them cut back, to encourage growth elsewhere 
(and to encourage branching in some cases, although dormant pruning 
would do that, too). Once the terminal buds have set, they've stopped 
growing, haven't they? So I might as well wait for dormant pruning at 
that point, right?

Thanks,

Bill
Lincoln, NE (zone 5)

--
The invisible and the non-existent look very much alike. - Delo McKown